Warning: Spoilers for Phoenix #5!The world of Marvel Comics is filled with gods, heroes, monsters, and villains, and fans can expect these gods to be Marvel's most powerful beings. And yet, as Phoenix learns in her new series, there is something more powerful than gods in Marvel's hierarchy, which elevates Jean Gray far beyond mutant status and even beyond the realm of the gods.
A founding member of the X-Men, Jean Gray had a tumultuous experience becoming a hero, going from heroine to villain driven mad by the cosmic entity in her head, and even becoming Dark Phoenix. But in Phoenix #5 by Stephanie Phillips and Alessandro Miracolo, she has returned to her full power and is working in conjunction with the Phoenix Force.
She comes face to face with the abstract ideals behind the fabric of reality and realizes that she is the primal force of creation in the universe. Using this power, she returns to kill Gorr, the Butcher of Gods, turning him into a star, telling him that she is more powerful than a god – because life itself has no limits.
Phoenix's new form as the avatar of creation elevates her beyond the status of God
Phoenix #5 by Stephanie Phillips, Alessandro Miracolo, Marco Renna, David Curiel and Cory Petit
Jean Gray has received a cosmic makeover in her new solo series. She graduated from the X-Men and is fighting cosmic battles against gods like Gorr, Perrikus and, soon, Thanos, as well as interacting with the powers behind the universe in the form of Eternity. Even in small ways, she has shown that she has no bodily functions, such as needing to eat, breathe or drink water to stay alive. She is completely self-sufficient in her own creative power, separating Phoenix from the legacy of the X-Men – even though she is not a god, but something greater.
Phoenix invokes the power of creation, both in theory and physical strength, in his battle against Gorr.
Jean Grey's rise to impossible power and power is a redemptive arc in response to the still heavy consequences of her Dark Phoenix Saga. This solo series deals with the still-present repercussions of her time as Dark Phoenix, such as when she destroyed an entire alien civilization. It is also appropriate that The story arc revolves around redemptionfor this is the primary power of the Phoenix: its ability to recreate itself. Phoenix invokes the power of creation, both in theory and physical strength, in his battle against Gorr.
Phoenix proves that cosmic abstracts always beat the gods
Phoenix #5 Cover by Yasmine Putri
Going even further, Phoenix shows the culmination of his redemption by transforming Gorr, the Butcher of Gods, into a star. Gorr, with All-Black, is immensely powerful, and yet Although fighting a god is not something to be taken lightly, Phoenix burns him from existence with ease.showing that an abstract ideal of creation can go places a god simply cannot. The gods fight within the limits of reality, but as Phoenix shows, she, as the avatar of creation and rebirth, works outside physical laws and limits, reaching far beyond mortal limits. As every comic book fan knows, gods are, after all, mortal. Jean Grey, then, is something completely different.
Gorr's death in this issue is also fitting in the sense that his death mimics the life cycle of the Phoenix. Since the mythological concept of the Phoenix lies in the way it comes back to life from the moment of its own death, and this is how stars are also made, the parallels are clear. Gorr's All-Black death gives way to new life. No god could do that. Phoenix not only has power over death but also over lifemaking them one and the same, a crucible of creation, making her one of the most powerful beings in all of Marvel – the most powerful person in existence.
Phoenix is ​​the symbol of universal life from Marvel Comics
Jean Gray completes her redemption arc
In Marvel comics, gods are often seen as the last rung on the hero's evolutionary ladder. Beings like Thor are some of the most powerful beings in the universe, but there is always something higher, like Eternity or Uatu the Watcher, that exists and acts behind the fabric of reality. Jean Gray is breaking this structure of reality, surpassing the feared gods of the Marvel canon. Gods may die, but Jean Gray always comes back – creation itself always wins over a creator.
In both his power and his story, Phoenix is ​​redeeming his mistakes as Dark Phoenix and resurrecting a better place in the universe. In her ultimate form, she has the powers of creation and rebirth and uses her sacred flame to burn all traces of evil and turn it into something good, like the light of a star. Phoenix is more than one Marvel Comics God now – she is life itself.
Phoenix #5 is now available from Marvel Comics!