Phoenix #1: I am FIRE! And life INCARNATE!

HEAR ME X-MEN! NO LONGER AM I THE WOMAN YOU ONCE KNEW! I AM FIRE! AND LIFE INCARNATE! NOW AND FOREVER I AM PHOENIX!!! And the fans of this woman we once knew as Jean Grey, Marvel Girl, were transformed into the Phoenix. The Phoenix Force has become one of the primal forces in the Marvel Universe, since that humble transformation in 1976.

In the opening pages Phillips has Jean save an entire world from being destroyed by an exploding sun. The people of this world belong to the Universal Church of Truth, the church that the Magus, Adam Warlock’s dark side, brought to life. The people of this planet are afraid of the name Phoenix, because of her past, which is mythic at this point. From there, Jean would be alerted of a distress call from Nova, who was at an intergalactic prison about to be sucked into a black hole. In the confusion, Perrikus, a Dark God not seen since the Jurgens/Romita Jr. run, so seeing him here was a delight, and I can’t wait to see what he’s up to.

Stephanie Phillips and Alessandro Miracolo have been tasked with making Jean and the Phoenix whole again. Since 1976 Jean and the Phoenix have become intrinsically entwined, always just one step away. Even when the Phoenix had other hosts, it was always Jean that fans associated with the concept. The Phoenix force has unfortunately been dissected, and abused by some writers who didn’t seem to have an understanding on what it is the Phoenix is supposed to be, and shoehorned it into ridiculous nonsense, like having a Phoenix gun, or a portion of the force trapped in an anime inspired sword. I have high hopes that Phillips will be able to untangle the nonsense the force has become.

The story’s told from a third person narrative, and were bereft of Jean’s perspective of what she’s going through, and it’s a detriment to the story, and the character. Jean’s a goddess to be worshiped or reviled, as she brings her wrath or grace on these unsuspecting people. It’s this lack of Jean’s humanity that these aliens are deprived of. Let them know that she is not some cosmic goddess, but human. When you pick her, she bleeds. Her powers, while great, are not infinite, and that she too has limits. Hopefully we’ll get to know who Jean is at this point in her life.

Joining Stephanie is artist Alessandro Miracolo, and his depiction of Jean is amazing. I’ve been turned off of Jean’s new costume since it’s debut, but he makes it look pretty great here. I especially enjoyed watching her working to fix a star, AND a black hole all within a few pages. His images of Jean reveling in her power, and the miracles she’s performing into an almost poetic dance on the pages. It’s quite a treat to see, and Alessandro depicts him excellently. I also liked seeing Nova here, as he’s one of those characters we just don’t get enough visibility. It should be criminal that he still doesn’t have a series of his own, but that’s for a whole other diatribe. Alessandro really outdid himself here. I feel like we’ve got a rising star in the making.