In Avengers, the Phoenix Force tournament turned a surprising hero into a cosmic force, and Jean Gray has some advice for her.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Avengers # 44 by Jason Aaron, Javier Garrón, Cory Petit by David Curiel & VC which are on sale now.
Throughout the “Enter the Phoenix” story in Avengers, fans debated who would drop out of the tournament to host the Phoenix Force. Wolverine wanted to keep it in the mutant family, but the phoenix showed a fondness for Black Panthers. Captain America seemed like the most worthy, perhaps, but the phoenix chose someone in Avengers # 44 who was completely unexpected
In a big twist, a hero who isn’t even in the Avengers stole the powers of everyone and became the new phoenix in Marvel Comics. This was Maya Lopez, the heroine named Echo. When Maya flew away, Jean Gray called her with advice from Krakoa.
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When Maya was soaked in the essence of the Phoenix Force, she admitted that the Phoenix did not love her or even wanted her. However, it was never about who wanted what, it was always about who was needed over time. The phoenix host is always someone who has fallen and suffered. Maya also admitted that it is a person’s emotion that draws the phoenix into them, not their individual power. She pointed out why she is the perfect phoenix. Maya can fight in any style with any weapon, and no Phoenix host has ever been like her. However, what Maya Lopez could soon learn is that this force is fraught with great danger and she cannot do it on her own.
Nobody knows this better than Jean Gray. After Maya took over the Phoenix Force, Jean ordered Wolverine to leave her alone and return home as he said he would kill anyone who took over the Phoenix Force. She then reached out to Maya and told the young woman not to go on this trip alone. While Maya Lopez has always been a loner, the Phoenix Force has the ability to make someone feel isolated from the world, which makes the host less human. Jean said that if Maya is to keep her soul as the new phoenix, she must make the phoenix her own.
While Jean wasn’t the first Phoenix host on Earth, she was the first character to wield her power when the 1976 Phoenix debut took place in Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum’s X-Men # 101. Nobody alive today knows the dangers of the Phoenix Force better than Jean., Who joined the Phoenix Force and rescued the X-Men after a mission into space. While this wasn’t Jean’s real body returning to earth as a phoenix, it was still Jean in spirit. After Mastermind from the Hellfire Club brainwashed her into becoming the Black Queen, Jean lost control and turned into the Dark Phoenix. It massacred an entire solar system by devouring a star and killing billions. Thanks to the effects of humanity’s distortion of judgment, Dark Phoenix became the most dangerous being in the universe, and Jean Gray seemed to die trying to stop it.
The Phoenix Force then returned to Jean Gray and later merged with others, including Rachel Summers. The Avengers got into a war with the X-Men when the Phoenix Force returned to Earth in Avengers vs. X-Men. Throughout all of this, the Phoenix Force caused even the noblest heroes to do nasty things, as demonstrated by Colossus when he was part of the Phoenix Five. Maya Lopez was a trained assassin turned hero. She murdered people and now has the power to make them the most dangerous person in the world. Jean Gray knows better than anyone what can happen when a person from the Phoenix Force allows them to take control, and there is no better person to warn Maya of these dangers.
About the author
Shawn S. Lealos
(1218 articles published)
Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism with a minor in Film Studies. He worked as a journalist for 25 years, starting with newspapers and magazines before moving to online media when the world was changing. Shawn is a former member of the Society of Professional Journalists and is currently a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has published work on sites such as The Huffington Post, Time Warner Cable, Yahoo Movies, The Movie Network, Chud, Renegade Cinema, 411mania, and Monsters & Critics. Shawn is also a published writer with a non-fiction book on the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers and has also started work on a new fiction series. Visit Shawn Lealos’ website to learn more about his novel writing and follow him on Twitter @sslealos.
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