Creative Staff:
Story: Stephanie Phillips
Art: Alessandro Miracolo
Colors: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
What They Say:
JEAN GREY is dedicated to protecting innocents in deep space! Yes, space is vaster than imagination, greater and darker than the mind can comprehend – and yet, not big enough to stop family from dropping by without warning… But that’s how it goes when your father-in-law is CORSAIR of the STARJAMMERS! Leaving the pirate life behind, he’s got the inside line on huge news, and PHOENIX is the only one who can act to save untold lives – that is, if she can believe he’s telling the truth…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I held off on checking out the new Phoenix series while sampling other new X-books simply because it’s such a complicated character in general, never mind being disconnected from it since the mid-90s. What helps is that Stephanie Phillips is a solid writer and can try and bridge the gaps a bit and pull it together, though the structure of this opening installment didn’t quite do it for me. What helped was knowing some of the characters coming because that’s the appeal at the moment. The other draw is Alessandro Miracolo on the artwork as they’ve got a good sense of layout and design and handle the whole space element and that Jean is largely flying most of the time to give it the right look. The characters look good and while there are a few simpler areas here and there, it’s a solid release, especially with Curiel’s color design.
One of the reasons I ended up checking out the first book was seeing the cover to the second and I was reminded of my enjoyment of Corsair and the Starjammers. What we get with this book again continues the two-track approach and we see how things are going for Adani through her narration now that her father is dead and Perrikus, having escaped from the intergalactic prison, is setting his own plans in motion on her world. He’s mostly just toying with her because she is without power but you can see him gifting her with some sliver of power and how it’ll chang everything for her. It’s simple and straightforward and reminiscent of the film side of the MCU with Thanos and Gamorra as a kind of shorthand. It’s nicely done so that it feels authentic enough and Adani’s narration helps a lot as we see her dealing with the death of her father and turning the page on that, especially as Perrikus talks about the perils of belief versus real power.
With Jean, we see how she’s continuing to help people as she can but she’s also a bit exhausted, even though she doesn’t technically tire, needs food, etc etc. It’s good to see her human side hold some sway over the Phoenix force. But things get complicated for her when a ship appears nearby that’s close to exploding and she discovers that it’s Corsair in there, which brings Scott’s father into the picture. I’ve always enjoyed him so watching him talk – in just a towel after a bit – about how he’s tried to do things right but has been abandoned by the Starjammers and struggles with everything is fun to watch. His recounting of his current job, which involves missing children, gets her attention of course and we see how that’s going to eventually connect as it brings us to the Black Order on a world near Gameworld that is going to make some reveals soon.
In Summary:
Similar to the first issue, Phoenix isn’t bad per se and I can see what it’s doing but it’s got a sense of keeping busy more than anything else. I get all the structural approaches to the story here and how it’s unfold but it really feels like it needed to be more fully about Jean, more time just spent doing her thing, and then easing into a larger story. But I know the need to introduce something big and important to make it feel worthwhile is how most fans view a series as needing to operate. I’m glad to see Corsair here for a bit and the various reactions to him and the story bits with Perrikus are interesting but familiar. It looks good once again overall and makes for a solid enough read but one where it feels like it could have been a bit richer and less familiar.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: August 21st, 2024
MSRP: $4.99
