Phoenix Resurrection #2 (of 5) Review
Spoiler Free
The X-Men are at a decided disadvantage in this entry. They are low on psychics and are dealing with a massive psychic problem. We get closer to Jean in the world that she’s in and as strange as it is it seems to be connected to the rest of the world. The X-Men split into groups again and one group does battle with an old foe who, like foes in the previous issue, mysteriously disappear. This all seems to be affecting Jean as well.
Spoiler Filled
The issue opens with an astronaut performing repairs on a satellite when he glimpses the Phoenix by the moon.
Next, we find Jean asleep in her room, talking in her sleep and levitating items in her room around her. She wakes up and it all crashes down and she seems really afraid. Hours later, Jean is running late to work. She talks to a friend mowing her lawn named Jamie who she says seems to be 10 places at once. As she drives away with her coffee cup on the roof of her car, the panel shows 8 versions of Jamie working on lawns.
The X-Men, running low on psychics, discuss their options, especially since they know that they are dealing with the Phoenix. Since the main psychics are down or missing, Cable volunteers to operate Cerebro to find any other manifestations of the Phoenix.
Back with Jean, she serves a man who seems familiar to her some coffee. He says he was friends with her old teacher and that his name is Erik. He notes that she seems like she had a rough night. She mentions that she’s not been sleeping well and takes his order.
As Cable tries to use Cerebro, it overloads, and it takes him down, leading to an excellent variation on a classic line from Beast. The X-Men are now at a decided disadvantage now that they have no psychics.
As Jean places Erik’s order, Annie, the diner’s owner, notes that she’s noticed something different about Jean. Jean tells her she hasn’t been sleeping well due to nightmares. She also discusses how she’s seeing things and it feels like someone is poking around in her brain. Annie recommends that she go see Dr. MacTaggart about it. She goes back out to serve Erik his food, who is now missing.
Kitty addresses the X-Men to let them all know that the Phoenix is back and that they are out of psychics. They split into teams again, some to look for missing teammates, others on Phoenix duty. The teams on the road seem to have no problems, but the team that stayed behind gets a visit from an angry Magneto in his old costume. He begins a fight with Iceman’s group and gets his arm blown off, which regrows. Mid-fight, he orders a fresh cup, which clearly confuses the X-Men. He pulls X-23 toward him and she kills him with her foot claw, but he simply disappears.
Finally, back with Jean in the diner, Erik orders a fresh cup just like during the fight. He starts bleeding from the nose and notes that it’s an old war injury. She asks him if he was in the war and his reply is that he was the war. The issue wraps up with Jean seeing the town on fire and the silhouette of the Phoenix in the sky above it all.
Reflections, Impressions, and Predictions
Based on how the last issue ended, what happened to/with Scott?
Where are the Jean portions taking place? Are they in a physical location or is it all a psychic projection?
The X-Men should contact literally any other team. The Phoenix is clearly too powerful for just one team if they are truly as concerned as they seem to be.
These deceased characters that are mentioned or seen around Jean – are they coming back as well?
Cool Claremont shout out early on in the book.
Love seeing Kitty as the leader of all of these prominent X-Men. Her character has developed so much, starting with the Astonishing X-Men run that brought back Colossus
I’m hoping Jean is as incredibly powerful as the book alludes to when she comes back
Beast dropping the expletive in the middle of his classic line is hilarious and awesome.
The X-Men are clearly unaware that Jean is back, so it will be interesting to see how they all interact with her once she returns
Where does this story fit in? In Gold and Blue respectively, the teams are in the Negative Zone or the past.
Final Breakdown
Story – Answers some questions, but leaves others unanswered. Creates other questions as well, namely about Jean’s situation. 7/10
Art – Art on this book is good, particularly the coloring. The X-Men are a vibrant franchise and should always look like it, which they do here. 8/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – Continuity is muddy here between this book and the regular X books, which is bothersome. Jean is not quite her normal confident self, so hopefully that changes soon. 7/10
Twist Factor – Beast has the line of the issue when Cerebro goes haywire. 9/10
Final Score – Marvel book of the week here. 8/10