When you realize you create all your own problems…
Creative Staff:
Story: Stephanie Phillips
Art: Marco Renna
Colors: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
What They Say:
ON THE RUN AMONG THE STARS! JEAN GREY has been going toe-to-toe with some of the universe’s toughest foes…but now a new threat is brutally asserting his dangerous reputation: none other than THANOS. And while she single-handedly battled back the BLACK ORDER, their nefarious progenitor (and his mysterious connection to Jean’s many galactic enemies!) is another story entirely. To have a hope of victory, PHOENIX will need to reach out – beyond the limits of her own powers – and find allies to take a stand against the Mad Titan!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With two issues behind it so far, I’m still mixed on it but am enjoying it on a kind of basic level. I’ve been wary of it 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. This one has Marco Renna stepping in to take over the artwork for a bit, however, but it’s similar in style and tone and captures the look of the book so far pretty well. 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.
With Thanos having taken control of the galactic council in the last issue thanks to the events orchestrated by Perrikus, Jean’s now in a situation where she realizes that everything she’s done since coming into space has resulted in this happening. She’s starting to realize it was all orchestrated but she’s not factoring in all the good she did because she can only see the dark side of things. Which is understandable as we see how Thanos is tightening his grip on many of the worlds now in his control, resulting in a lot of deaths because of choices made there. It’s not a complicated situation per se but we’re still in this phase where Jean hasn’t realized just the full capacity of what the Phoenix can do and is engaging in the universe with both arms behind her back. Which is probably for the best as you can imagine the Phoenix force just laying waste to everything and letting it start over again.
Thankfully, she is getting some help from Nova as they deal with Corvus and his initial attack on her. Since it seems like something is keeping both Thanos and Jean from seeing each other, they’re having to operate through other means and Jan has no idea where he is. Thanos has a few more options since Jean is isolated and learning that Nova is with her provides the opening he needs to control him to attack her. But this comes at a surprisingly bleak moment for Jean as she’s communicating with Scott to tell him about just how bad things are, how Thanos has managed to direct so much hate her way throughout the galaxy. It’s an intriguing sequence where she does understand the scale of things and that she can’t just go home again, but there’s that part of her that does wish she could just retreat quietly, at least for some time. Thankfully, there’s help in this larger fighting starting to take shape…
In Summary:
There’s a good bit going on in this issue and it feels like it could have spread it out to a couple of issues so that it felt like it resonated more and had more impact. Jean’s struggle is definitely real and the sense of guilt she must have for so much, even while working through a lot of it, isn’t something that she can just move past easily. I do like her time with Nova though they’re not quite on the same page with a lot of things and it’s still hard to get a handle on this current portrayal of him as I’ve been out of his stories for decades. But it’s enjoyable enough to watch unfold. I just wish we had more time establishing things for Thanos here or digging more into Adani’s struggles with how Jean has helped her some by closing access to her mind for the moment from the outside voices that would otherwise dominate her.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: December 11th, 2024
MSRP: $3.99
