Phoenix Force
| Phoenix | |
|---|---|
| File:Classic-X-Men-008-back.jpg The Phoenix entity. From the back cover to Classic X-Men #8. Art by John Bolton | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Uncanny X-Men # 101 |
| Created by | Stan Lee Dave Cockrum |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Phoenix Force |
| Team affiliations | None, X-men |
| Notable aliases | Phoenix |
| Abilities | Seemingly omnipotent control over cosmic and psionic energies, Capable of altering reality, Can revive the dead, Amplification of latent psionic powers in other beings |
The alias of Phoenix has been used by several fictional comic book characters published by Marvel Comics. The first, Baron Zemo, used the alias only once, but the later bearers of the identity are far more notable, and all are associated with the Phoenix Force. The Phoenix Force is famous for its central role in one of the most influential storylines in American superhero comics: the Dark Phoenix Saga.
Cosmic force
The Phoenix Force is the nexus of all psionic energy which does, has, and ever will, exist in all realities of the multiverse, and Guardian of Creation. During its time as a sentient entity, she traveled the cosmos just like other cosmic beings. At first, the Phoenix Force was a formless mass of energy, but thousands of years ago, she came to Earth, and met a magician named Feron (who worshipped the legendary Phoenix), who shaped her into the firebird form she has today. He asked the Phoenix to help him be lending her energy to project a stone pillar (which resembled a lighthouse) across the multiverse, she did, and the pillar became the lighthouse base for the British superteam Excalibur (A team her future host Rachel Summers herself would join). Phoenix Force left Earth, but was called back, when she felt the mind of human transcend the physical realm, a mind that resonated with the Phoenix's energy. A young Jean Grey had telepathically linked her mind to her dying friend, Annie Richrads, to keep Annie's soul from moving to the afterlife. In doing so, Jean's mind was being drug along to the "other side" with Annie. Phoenix lent her energy to break the connection, and kept close watch on young Jean, as she felt a kinship with the young mutant. Years later when Jean was dying on a space shuttle, her mind called out for help and the Phoenix Force answered, transforming Jean into the Phoenix.
As originally written, the Jean Grey incarnation of the Phoenix was not a separate cosmic entity, but Jean herself, having attained her ultimate potential as a psychic, only to become slowly corrupted by the manipulation of such foes as Mastermind and Emma Frost; unable to adapt to her enormous power, Jean was driven mad. Becoming the Dark Phoenix, Jean destroyed a planet populated by sentient creatures and subsequently committed suicide on Earth's moon.
In order to return Jean to the fold several years later, this storyline was retconned to reveal the existence of the cosmic Phoenix Force entity, which had created a duplicate body of Jean, believed itself to be Jean, and acted in her place while the real Jean lay in a coma in the ocean. This let Jean be revived as a member of X-Factor. The extent to which the duplicate and Jean are separate entities depends on who is writing the character(s) at the time.
Part of the Phoenix Force joined with Jean's second clone, Madelyne Pryor who was made by Mr. Sinister, until she was ultimately killed and the Phoenix conciousness rejoined with the awakened Jean.
Another person who went by the code-name Phoenix is Rachel Summers, Jean's daughter from the Days of Future Past alternate future. In the case of Rachel, she was able to access the Phoenix Force and allow it to possess her to use limited amounts of its immense powers.
Later,when Rachel was sent into the future, and Jean assumed the mantle of Phoenix once again. She even began to manifest the Phoenix raptor without the Force. In New X-Men Jean and the Phoenix Force merged into one being. The Phoenix Force told Xavier, that "Jean is only the house where I live." But even with all of the Phoenix Force's power, she was killed by Xorn(who was posing as Magneto)
During the mini-series X-Men: Phoenix: Endsong, the Phoenix Force returned to Earth and resurrected Jean Grey from her grave. Through a number of incidents; including Jean having Wolverine kill her a number of times, Jean trapping herself in a glacier, the Phoenix Force jumping into Emma Frost, and parts of the Astonishing/Uncanny X-Men teams being trapped in a Shi'ar-generated event horizon, Jean Grey managed to assert herself and gain control of her Phoenix self and rescue everyone from the event horizon. As a result of a Shi'ar attack on the Phoenix Force, it is currently in an incomplete state. However, a fragment of the Force has apparently taken up residence in one (or possibly all) of the Stepford Cuckoos. The consequences of this will be addressed in the upcoming mini-series X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong
We learn during this series that Jean Grey is the closest thing the Phoenix Force has to a true earthly Avatar or physical embodiment and further that the Phoenix Force empowers Jean with life in a kind of mutualistic relationship or psychic bond.
Powers and Ablities
Phoenix Force possesses vasts amounts of powers and limitless cosmic energy. With its powers it can destroy all living things including the entire universe as it was said in the Phoenix saga. With or without a host it is one of the most powerful entities in the marvel universe. It can directly absorb energy such as an optic blast from Cyclops and the flames of the Sun. The Phoenix Force can control life and death itself, and revive the dead. As it is the nexus of all psionic energy, it has poweful mental abilities, such as telepathy, and often seeks out hosts who have psionic abilities. When bonded with a host, the Phoenix Force amplifies their abilities to their fullest potential, and only Omega-level mutants can wield the Force without being consumed by Force's powers. When bonded with a host, such as Jean Grey, it can manipulate matter on an atomic level (such as turning wood to gold, stone to crystal, etc). It's powers appear to be at their strongest when bonded to Jean Grey, as the two have a strange, profound connection to each other. If the Phoenix Force is harmed or killed, it will form an "egg" of cosmic power, incubate in the White Hot Room, and hatch out completely healed.
Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse reality, after Jean Grey's death at the hands of the AoA version of Havok, nuclear bombs set to destroy America were suddenly destroyed by a bird-like display of fiery psionic power. It was Jean, awakened as the Phoenix (known as "Mutant Alpha", the legendary first mutant). Mr. Sinister captured Phoenix, and brainwashed her into becoming his servant. He then turned Phoenix against the X-Men, displaying the personality of Dark Phoenix. Phoenix generated so much heat that even Sunfire was nearly burned to death, but Weapon X used his love to bring her to her senses. Jean used the Phoenix Force to incinerate her former "master", and became leader of the X-Men in Magneto's abscence.
Ultimate Phoenix
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Jean Grey was placed in a mental institute after she began hearing voices and seeing visions of an omnipotent phoenix god. After her release, she later thought she had contacted a celestial god-entity which destroyed worlds.
As a result, the Hellfire Club believed that it would be in their best interests to summon the Phoenix God and merge it with Jean Grey via a ritual. With Jean acting as the Phoenix's human avatar, she would be worshipped in a greater world. While the ritual was successful, the Phoenix had different plans and promptly slew the Hellfire Club.
Subsequently, Jean managed to gain some control over the Phoenix, though not without using dangerous amounts of its power and causing extreme destruction. In the process, she telekinetically lifted an entire land mass and atomized it, destroyed a helicopter and ten men within, created a giant Phoenix Raptor, and subdued a woman named Spiral.
Recently, Charles Xavier was confronted by Lilandra Neramani, the leader of a religious group known as the Shi'ar, who worship a god known as the Phoenix.
Legacy of Fire
In one alternate reality, the Phoenix Force is not just an entity, but a weapon. The Phoenix Sword as it was called was guarded and wielded by the sorceress Madelyne Pyre, who inherited the sword from her mother. When Madylene's time as wielder of the sword was nearly up, she trained little sister Jena in the arts of fighting and magic. When their reality's version of Shadow King stole the Phoenix Sword, Jena tried to get it back, and Shadow King stabbed her with the sword. But in doing so, he inadvertantly passed the powers of the Phoenix Sword to the dying Jena, who became the Phoenix's first host. She used the powers of the Phoenix to vanquish Shadow King, and is now the guardian of her dimension.
Future
- Main article: Phoenix (Guardians of the Galaxy)
In the 30th century in the Guardians of the Galaxy comics series, ordinary human Giruad of New Haven became host to the Phoenix Force. As Phoenix, Giruad is a rarity for a Phoenix host; since he is an ordinary human with no magic or psi abilities-- only those powers granted him directly by the Phoenix Force.
Crossovers
Phoenix has appeared in the following intercompany crossovers:
- Dark Phoenix teamed up with Darkseid in the Teen Titans/X-Men crossover between DC and Marvel Comics' respective teams. The story was made by Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson and Terry Austin in 1983. The story follows Darkseid conversing with Metron for the Anti-Life Equation at the edge of the Universe. Metron and Darkseid make a deal, and Dark Phoenix becomes part of that equation. The Teen Titans try to stop Darkseid, with the help of the X-Men who later go head to head with Deathstroke the Terminator. The Dark Phoenix breaks free from Darkseid's grasp, is briefly hosted by Cyclops, and eventually dies, again. The team-up is generally considered non-canonical by fans. With good reason, as unless stated otherwise by the companies themselves, inter-company crossovers generally take place outside of the normal continuity.
- The Phoenix Force was transported to the Ultraverse in The Phoenix Resurrection where it possessed the pyrokinetic ultra Amber Hunt. The X-Men, Ultraforce, Exiles, and numerous other characters team-up to stop the Phoenix from destroying the world.
Appearances in other media
- The entire saga of the Phoenix is retold and adapted in the third season of X-Men: The Animated Series, subdivided into the five-part "Phoenix Saga," in which Jean acquires the power of the Phoenix and the battle for the M'Kraan Crystal occurs, and the "Dark Phoenix Saga," showcasing the battle with the Hellfire Club, the Phoenix's transformation into Dark Phoenix, and the battle to decide her fate. These particular episodes are a close as the cartoon came to directly duplicating the comic book storylines - the "Dark Phoenix Saga" is so accurate to the original stories that the episodes have the additional credit, "Based on stories by Chris Claremont." Notably, however, as the Phoenix Force retcon had occurred before the creation of the series, the episodes were made with this change in mind - rather than having Jean develop her powers independently (as was the original intent of the comics), or be replaced by the cosmic Phoenix Force entity (as events were later retconned), the two concepts were merged, into Jean's actual body being possessed by the Phoenix Force, leading to a true struggle between two independent entities. Aspects of the original ending of Uncanny X-Men issue 137, in which Jean survives, are used in the series - Jean does still commit suicide (leaping into the Shi'Ar's laser beam, rather than finding an ancient weapon), but with her death, the Phoenix Force is purified, and then uses its powers to resurrect Jean, drawing on the combined lifeforce of the assembled X-Men to bring her back to life. Jean retained her original basic powers, whereas in the aborted comic book ending, she would have been lobmotised by the Shi'Ar and lost them entirely.
- The Phoenix makes a cameo in the last episode of X-Men: Evolution following Apocalypse's defeat. Her cameo is part of Professor Xavier's glimpse of the future, and shows Jean Grey screaming out as she becomes the Phoenix.
- In the third X-Men movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, Jean Grey (played by Famke Janssen) becomes Phoenix, but in this movie, her power is innate and her insanity is caused by her lack of control over her power, rather than the powers and insanity being derived from an external force or being.