It was only a matter of time before Phoenix tackled the elephant in the room that comes with every Jean Grey story: the Dark Phoenix. The Dark Phoenix Saga has become a double-edged sword of Damocles hanging over every writer that tries to push Jean forward – yes it was a formative event in her history and one of the greatest X-Men stories created, but it’s led to Jean being stuck in a rut.
Thankfully, Phoenix #8 sidesteps this by having Jean tackle her past head on. Following her battle with Thanos, she ends up reliving the moment where she transformed into Dark Phoenix during the X-Men’s battle on the Blue Area of the Moon. But it turns out that the Phoenix brought her to this moment for a specific reason.
It’s here that Stephanie Phillips delivers a surprisingly emotional tale, as Jean is forced to come face to face with her past sins – but she learns that for good or ill, the Phoenix is a major part of her life. I also love that Phillips finds a new way to tackle the underlying theme of acceptance in the X-Men franchise. It’s one thing to try and work for a world that will accept you as you are, but as the Phoenix points out (through the X-Men, who are Jean’s surrogate family), what does that matter if you can’t accept yourself?
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I also like that Phillips’ script parallels Jean accepting the whole of the Phoenix with Adani learning to control her own powers. The only issue is that Perrikus, who was partly responsible for her world dying, is pushing her to embrace her power so he can use it for his own gain. That not only gives Jean a new set of cosmic enemies to fight but it also raises the emotional stakes of Phoenix, as it’s becoming quite clear that she and Perrikus are engaged in a fight for Adani’s very soul. This is the type of emotional storytelling that marks the best X-Men stories, and it’s what helped Phoenix stand out in the ‘From the Ashes’ era of X-Men.
Phoenix #8 also sees Alessandro Miracolo returning to illustration duties, and once again he delivers some crackling cosmic imagery. From the very first page, which sees a small spark of flame grow into the raging inferno that is the Phoenix, Miracolo doesn’t hold anything back. That’s especially evident in the sequences with Adani; a battle against a horde of Brood leads her to deliver a blast of cosmic fire, which is both awe inspiring yet utterly terrifying.
David Curiel and Cory Petit also deserve a shoutout for how they keep the element of fire at the forefront. After all, this is the comic with the woman who refers to herself as “fire and life incarnate” – it’s only fitting that Curiel would continue to deliver reddish-orange hues that grow in intensity with the cosmic flames, or that Petit would have two different sets of lettering to represent the duality within Phoenix and Jean.
Phoenix #8 is not just a stirring story of self-acceptance, but it truly strives to have Jean Grey come to terms with her past. It also brings to mind a line from William Shakespeare’s The Winter Tale: “Do as the heavens have done, forget your evil; With them forgive yourself.” The Bard probably didn’t know it, but he wrote the perfect line to describe Jean’s life.
Not just a stirring story of self-acceptance, but it truly strives to have Jean Grey come to terms with her past. Read More