… even the Phoenix Force.
I’ll start by covering my ass with a disclaimer; I have not read absolutely every big tale for Jean/ Phoenix. This is of course a ‘yet’, I have things like Inferno to get under my belt, Krakoa has only just begun, and considering she is the most powerful being in the cosmos there’s quite the library of research to do. However based on what reading I have done thus far, the following tales make up some of my pivotal Phoenix stories. Kicking it off is 2005’s Phoenix: Endsong.
I read Endsong having just turned 18 and deciding not to go to uni (straight away anyway) as I had no idea what or who I wanted to be. This little tale of finding ones self, and in this case the ‘one’ being a cosmic entity of galaxy destroying proportion which lets face it is every challenge at the age of 18, struck just the right cord.
Back in 1980 Jean very nobly sacrificed herself for her friends and the universe as we know it by blowing herself and the Phoenix Force to smithereens, scattering its parts far and wide across the cosmos. Now though a lot of those pieces have found their way back to each other but it hasn’t reached the total sum of its parts.
What follows is a confused, incomplete Phoenix trying desperately to find that missing piece. Temporarily resurrecting Jean, and testing the waters for any other powerful psychics that may be powerful enough to house it.
It felt a lot how I was projecting at the age of 18, confused as hell and trying to force either my problems or the blame onto anyone around me until something stuck. Alas of course it didn’t because, well, teenager.
That missing piece though turns out to be the most human piece that everyone searches and hopes for; the love of those around them. Even in death, in the white hot room of creation, the Phoenix heard Jean’s cry for help, and being lonely (and dead) just needed to feel the love of her friends and family again to know everything was going to be alright.
Basic right? But sometimes that’s all that’s needed. It’s really actually quite lovely.
It’s also one of the only stories of Jean and the Phoenix post Dark Phoenix that quantifies Jean and the Phoenix as the same being. One not being complete without the other, the White Hot Room of creation being their home and playground. The interpreting of their relationship is something that fluctuates from writer to writer
What isn’t so lovely is some of the misogynistic reactions of her ex-lovers when she resurfaces though. I fleshed this out a bit more in my third year dissertation, but the males of the team seem to define her in two binaries; red costume = Dark Phoenix, green costume = Phoenix/ Jean. Though both considered dangerous (because what powerful female isn’t right?), there’s no consideration that these binaries could be just two different parts of the same whole. Basically if you’re not in control, you need to be put down. But who doesn’t need to lose control once in a while!
The art is… confusing. This was my first introduction to Greg Land’s art and at the time I was pretty astonished. The hyper realism was something new for me, and I remember my sexually confused little brain back then seeing the splash page of Jean in her green and just thinking, she’s fit.
Having learned a bit more about how Land produces his art in the years since, and what it meant for those poor young Cuckoos and their portrayal in the series, it’s now a bit of an ick.
All being said despite the hindsight of the art, it’s still one of my absolute top Jean/ Phoenix stories. It’s a perfect continuation of Claremont’s and Morrison’s commitment to Phoenix being Jean; Jean being Phoenix. For yourself, if you need a tale about feeling lost, gathering up all your scattered pieces, and a reminder that all you need is the love of those around you to make you feel complete, then this is the short for you.
Gather your pieces.
#harrisonthehand