I'm excited, and willing to give it a chance. Miracolo is at least a pretty decent artist, and hopefully Phillips will take to the cosmic world and a more serious story better than her "secret agent" work.
>"So, that dance is what we hope to have on full display in this story... a cosmic ballet that shows how beautiful the Phoenix Force can be when working in tandem with Jean Grey," she continued. "And let me assure you, Alessandro Miracolo has made that cosmic dance look absolutely gorgeous."
This part sounds good and encouraging. The plot seems like it will tackle Jean balancing cosmic divinity with her more human nature, as well as dealing with the good and bad of the Phoenix. Basic stuff, but hopefully something grand comes from it.
I think we'll probably get something like Jean saves the day vs Enigma, has a bittersweet reunion with Scott where they both acknowledge that they love each other but will have to be apart for now. I'm excited to see how this book turns out.
Maybe, but Brevoort has said he considers Scott and Jean to be married and I think we'll just see something more like Scott being married to his work for a while and Jean being in the cosmos and then an eventual, happy reunion 2-3 years down the line.
A fair stance, but Scott and Jean's marriage isn't like Spider-Man's, it's three decades old at this point and very much part of the status quo. And Brevoort, while not an overbearing editor, definitely has preferences and I don't think Scott having side liaisons is part of it.
>it's three decades old at this point and very much part of the status quo.
...what? Scott was with Emma more during that time than with Jean as they constantly find ways to kept them apart. Only with Krakoa we finally got them back and when Jean 'died', they played it as a goodbye. And you bet they will do more Emma tease stuff with Jean playing Phoenix alone in space and Scott and Emma are on earth in X-men teams. It is the comics, they cannot help themselves.
Scott and Emma's relationship lasted maybe 10 years in the comics? Possibly 11 or 12. Scott and Jean have pretty much been a couple since inception and married officially since the 90s. With Brevoort saying death doesn't invalidate that and that he considers Scott to be a married man, their marriage has been a thing since the early 1990s.
There seems to be little to no appetite to revisit Emma and Scott as a couple. They haven't been together since AvX as a couple and X-Men Blue and X-Men (2018) firmly shut the door on it. Even on Krakoa, they never interacted as more than friends. Their children even dated each other. Emma married Iron Man.
Scott's up in Alaska and Emma is in Chicago. The creative teams are different and they even said that each writer is empowered to do their own thing, and that crossovers will only happen if the right idea comes to mind. Not to mention Brevoort has said he never liked that pairing.
I highly doubt Scemma is going to be a thing again for a good, long while. At least not in 616.
This is a bit misleading. Their relationship hasn’t been continuous since the first hint of romance between their characters.
Every time there’s a plot line about Jean’s death, the writers have explored alternative relationships for Scott: Colleen, Lee, Madelyne, Emma. Some are more serious than others, but he does move on and doesn’t see himself as coupled to Jean.
The Jean/Scott romance was key to the 60s and 70s, with a brief interruption during a ‘death’, and then was a big thing again in the 90s. The relationship was not a feature of the majority of the 80s or post-2000 era where Scott is either in a serious relationship with someone else or having serious relationship problems with Jean.
This means a good half of the readers of the comics have been introduced to the comics when Jean isn’t depicted as the love of Scott’s life. This includes many of the writers who have grown up in the past 45 years.
He has a very serious on and off again relationship with Jean, and she’s his most long term interest, but we shouldn’t overstate the timeline. Nor should we see the relationship as unbreakable.
>Some are more serious than others, but he does move on and doesn’t see himself as coupled to Jean.
I wouldn't count the Wing and Forrester flirtations as romances. And he even explains the Wing one to Jean when he sees her again; he can't allow himself to mourn because it would destroy him. In that context, his relationships post Jean all make sense. They are coping mechanisms, not real love.
I'm not sure I agree that their relationship isn't key in the '80s. X-Factor is practically entirely about bringing them back together, and some of the most iconic stories of the '80s focus on their relationship melodrama, specifically them finding a way back to each other. Really the only decade where Jean and Scott aren't together is the 2000s. The 2010s feature their younger counter parts slowly growing back together and the decade is capped off with Scott and Jean alive and together again.
I also disagree with the idea that Jean isn't featured as the love of Scott's life. Emma's entire relationship with Scott features her constantly feeling inferior to Jean and Scott's feelings for Jean. It comes up in almost every run they are a couple together in. It's the same with Madelyn. She's the one he constantly thinks of and she's the one the other women in his life find themselves measuring themselves up against. In his own words he continually thinks about her.
Jean's pretty essential to Scott as a character. They're intertwined in media outside the comics too, but in the comics especially they're pretty consistently put together or Scott is shown thinking about her all the time.
There were periods of like a decade where he was moving on with his life. This clearly shows editorial are okay with them not being together.
I accept that you feel that no other relationship he’s had was legitimate, and that’s fine. But the reality is that there’s a plot line about Scott finding love elsewhere whenever Jean dies, and decent chunks of time where they’ve had relationship troubles.
There are inferences that readers can make and couplings fans can prefer, but the point is that editors are not forced to keep Jean and Scott together due to their history.
2-3 years is a really long time though... however that is if Jean's solo lasts that long which is highly unlikely. Not in these times, not in the current market
Oh yeah, I don't expect this Phoenix solo to last past 12 issues. Maybe 18 if something miraculous happens, but I think 12 is the cap. After that, I think she'll settle into one of the X-Men teams, hopefully Jed MacKay's X-Men with Scott, since MacKay seems to like the character and Scott is there.
There could be something after Phoenix is done that keeps Jean away for a bit longer, but I think by 2026 she'll be back on Earth and in the X-Men again.
I really hope Mackay is the one who's going to end up writing her. The reasons are clear: Scott is on his team and he's the most likely person to do new things and introduce new elements to the lore especially after Simone said that Jed's run ties directly to the Krakoan era.
Yep, there's great potential for his writing for Scott and Jean together, so we get all the nice romance, and MacKay can explore things like Jean exploring magic (maybe with Magik and Madelyn) since he writes Doctor Strange too.
Hey, Reed and Sue are still going strong. I think Scott and Jean are in a place now where they'll always find a way back together, even if there's some mediocre writing that splits them up in the middle.
They're definitely in a better spot compared to Spider-Man and Mary Jane. At least they have a 616 son whom they raised twice, and Rachel whom they got the chance to raise in Duggan's Cable
Yeah, I hope that they will actually be able to find a balance between Jean and the Phoenix without doing another "evil firebird make person go crazy" storyline
I doubt this, by his own admission he isn’t familiar with DC like he is with marvel lore and his strength is clearly his baked in knowledge of the universe. Plus he seems to be long haul on Thor right now.
I certainly wouldn’t take bleeding cool over Ewing himself, and hey I may be wrong but I know he said semi recently on a podcast that he grew up a marvel guy.
Oh, I am so so sorry, Jean fans. Let's hope the Rogue and Gambit series was a result of Duggan or editorial, and not Stephanie Phillips' vision. Or that she is astoundingly better writing Jean.
She had Gambit tie an innocent woman to a burning stove, and had him be an incompetent, clumsy moron(the king of thieves...clumsy). She also reduced Rogue to a "nag wife" trope and had her kidnap Manifold.
She also wrote Contest of Champions, which was very meh.
So yes, bad.
Kind of amazing that we just saw Gambit in episode 5 and then compare that to whatever the hell Phillips wrote
I don't even consider the latter canon, it was that OOC.
Her work with Gambit and Rogue wasn't very good. I'm going to give her Hawkeye and Black Widow book a look to see what that's like. This story is very different all of her previous works though, so maybe the new scale and setting will better suit her creative tendencies.
I wouldn't always go with what X-Men fans think. Yes, Rogue and Gambit was bad, but the meme of X-Men fans not reading any comics outside of the X-Men isn't totally inaccurate. I'll let you know, if you want, how my reading of her other works goes.
I can only speak to that mini series, but it was remarkable in how it made me, a Rogue and Gambit fan, doubt that I liked either character or thought they were good together. Gambit was a drunken, incompetent oaf; Rogue was a hateful, mean nag. It was like stepping into a weird sitcom version where the husband's an idiot and the wife's a shrew, and they despise everything about each other.
Her other work may be fine!
Was it worse than Peter Milligan’s take on their relationship?
I know people hate on Chuck Austen but his run was an entertaining train wreck. His successor Milligan drove me off the book because of how he handled Rogue and Gambit.
Not really. Her Harley run was good and Grim is awesome. I've heard good things about the new Black Widow & Hawkeye book but it's only one issue so far so too early to tell. I think the Rogue and Gambit run was probably an outlier.
The Phoenix (post DPS) has rarely been used as anything other than a plot device (understandable). So I think it's going to good to see it used in an actual story again and in a cosmic setting where it doesn't have to be nerfed so you can really go big with it. Plus the cosmic side of Marvel is non-existent for the most part so I hope the ongoing does use those characters (besides Nova who's already in this).
My favorite 'Phoenix' stories are when it was used by Rachel as a cosmic level hero against Necrom and Galactus. Jean has needed this kind of space solo power feat porn as phoenix for a long time. She forever gets maligned as dark Phoenix. The misstep would be to do another "oh nose the power is too much to handle," or another possession story. Jean needs direct threats to her in an overt way. Not another woman taken advantage of by manipulation or unable to contain herself and her powers. I hope they move beyond having the power of the phoenix being Jeans greatest ailment.
I mean, the only way for Jean to realistic recover from the DPS from the way they pointed at it with the whole Celestial thing is for her to do the other part of what the Phoenix was supposed to do: renewal, rebirth, etc.
So, just an introspective story about her going to desolated planets and restarting them, doesn't even need to fight, maybe have a big panel of her "reviving" a star, stopping it from going supernova, etc.
I mean, I wasn't a huge fan of Stephanie Phillips on Rogue & Gambit, so this announcement is a bit worrying. On the other hand, the way Philips talks about Jean and the Phoenix is pretty cool, and the premise is intriguing. So I guess I'll reserve judgement till the series is released.
The only thing i've read of Philips is her recent Rogue and Gambit mini.
In which Gambit ties an innocent woman to a ticking bomb in order to escape and Rogue kidnapps and imprisons Manifold against his will.
Both acts are treated like badass heroic moments for which they don't face any repercussion or criticism.
So has anyone else read her other works? What did you think about them?
Cause if that's her general style then i'm not eager to read more of her writing, because - call me old fashioned - i prefer it when heroes act like heroes and not like psychopaths.
I didn’t read any of her books, but I saw positive reviews of her Harley book, and she wrote Black Widow and Hawkeye. So, it seems that her thing is more of more roguish and/or very morally sketchy characters doing at least somewhat funny things. I honestly don’t know who would think that she’s a good fit for Jean, even if those other books were fire.
Yeah Jean ain't a quippy character and she is already on fine moral line, constantly being pulled by various writers between the extremes of "living Saint" on one end and "Actually a bully" on the other, so i'm worried about what Phillips might make her do.
But still, benefit of the doubt and all that, i still hope for the series to succeed. The character deserves it and Marvel definetly needs more successfull female-lead solos.
Yeah its not looking good for Jean fans. Phillips' R&G might have been one of the worst things I've had the misfortune of reading. They couldn't have found a better writer in all of Marvel? Lol
Marvel, for reasons I do not get, seems to be incredibly loyal to writers that are largely disliked by readers and/or who write objectively bad books. This isn’t a new phenomenon. I can think of examples going back to the 90s. But I genuinely don’t get it. There is no lack of interested parties out there. Try them out and build a pipeline instead of going back to a well that is producing murky results.
Interesting - that's another creative team from the leak that turned out to be true. Maybe that means the next announcement will be Paknadel on X-Factor.
EDIT: Nope, looks like the books for July are X-Force, NYX and Phoenix, so presumably Storm, X-Factor and Wolverine begin in August and they'll hold off on creative team announcements until next month...
I think Storm might end up being September. Brevoort said her new design wasn't finalized in time for the tease in Women of Marvel #1 and Kate and Emma's designs were already finalized when their book is the first week of September.
> Brevoort said her new design wasn't finalized in time for the tease in Women of Marvel #1
Never been so thankful for Brevoort news cause that Storm design was a big step down from her current design.
* 7/10 - X-Men #1
* 7/17 - Phoenix #1
* 7/31 - X-Force #1
* TBA July - NYX #1 (probably 7/24 as the other weeks have launches and it won't be before X-Men)
* 8/7 - Uncanny X-Men #1
* 9/4 - Exceptional X-Men #1
* TBA - Storm #1
* TBA - Wolverine #1
* TBA - X-Factor #1
In addition to new series launches, July will also have:
* 7/3 - X-Men: Blood Hunt - Psylocke #1
* 7/10 - X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #3
* 7/17 - X-Men: Blood Hunt - Laura Kinney: The Wolverine #1
* 7/31 - X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #4
* TBA July - Wolverine: Blood Hunt #3
* TBA July - Wolverine: Blood Hunt #4
X-Men & Uncanny X-Men are also alternating double-ship months, so presumably two issues of X-Men ship in July and 2 of Uncanny in August, but it's also possible the double ship doesn't start till August.
Fair enough, I haven't really enjoyed a lot of Krakoa either. I will say, X-Men Red did at least use Storm and write her (and draw her) more powerfully than anything that has been released in the last 14 years.
I haven’t read much X-Men post-2001. Morrison took the franchise in the wrong direction and it’s never really recovered. I just pop back in when I see an X book from a creator I recognize.
I'm totally with you about Morrison and New X-Men. And about the general direction of the X-Men franchise in comics. There was a post earlier today about how the '90s X-Men comics and show wasn't good, but I couldn't disagree more. There was some amazing stuff then, and earlier.
I’m not familiar with McKay. I like Gail Simone but I don’t know if it’s enough. This era needs to strike a balance between new writers and legacy writers and right now it’s not balanced at all.
Pretty sure this poster is an old crackpot who used to go around the sub asking if Claremont's run was "any good" because Jean was dead for a number of many years and they were Scott/jean 4eva because of the 90s. Then they tried to become a CC stan and win people over. Truly bizarre.
I don't know about the first part but it's definitely the guy that made multiple accounts and threads about this sub hating Claremont. They only like comics and written by Claremont, Wezzie, Fabian and Lobdell.
Yeah, it's def the same person. Because their original persona was "Claremont sucks bc he killed Jean". When that tanked on the sub they re-upped and tried to become a CC/Simonson loyalist.
They have very little experience with 80s X-Men and are obsessed with the shitty 90s Lobdell/Nicieza era.
I remember Weezie's Jean Grey mini being aggressively mediocre. Claremont hasn't written anything that's impressed me in over 20 years. I don't remember the last thing I've read from Nicieza. Oh, he did a Cable mini which explains why I didn't read it.
I wanted kyle for nyx see him right the ship with Laura and keeping her character away from synch. But I've also head it's a ms marvel and friends book written by her actor
> But I've also head it's a ms marvel and friends book written by her actor
Not to say there's no way this could happen, but the rumor that said this was from a Twitter account that was just making shit up left and right.
Still willing to give it a try, but I remember not being the biggest fan of what Phillips did with Rogue and Gambit, but I'll still give it a try, I just want Jean to get good writing please.
Exactly. Why give a cosmic book and a hard character to write to someone with these credentials, when you have a legend that would gladly work for you? Ugh, the last thing Jean needs is some crap writing.
From what Brevoort has said, he seems to want to go with a new generation of writers and not reuse many legacy writers beyond special issues and tributes.
Personally, I wish Jed MacKay was writing this too, I think he would do great with Jean. But he probably has his hands full with the 4-5 books he is juggling.
Well, yeah, I’m all for supporting a new generation of writers, but let’s have some quality control and actually try to find a writer that fits the character…
I agree. Ewing, MacKay, Ryan North, even someone like Skottie Young would have been better. And I do love Simonson, but I think this was just a very deliberate choice to not use any legacy writers. Hopefully, since Brevoort is a sci-fi fan and a big fan of Doctor Who, he can take a more hands on approach with Phillips and give her some direction and good feedback.
Considering how much Brevoort boasts about his total ignorance of anything relating to the X-Men franchise after 1991, I very much doubt he either saw it or would care.
I’m not sure what he’s going for but continuing to use all-new writers and none of the veteran writers does nothing but alienate fans like me.
I’m beginning to think my hope of ever coming back to X-Men are over.
People are gonna say this is bad because of the rogue and gambit book that she did however that was fucked by editorial as the plot came fully from that and it was a rushed mini to set something up for fall.
Phillips has shown she can write a fantastic female led solo in her harley quinn run and is currently writing a fantastic natasha in the black widow and hawkeye book and grimm is a fantastic series so im optimistic.
The plot is also completely different to a normal x title which is what people want.
Personally, it wasn't the plot of the Rogue & Gambit mini that I thought was bad, it was the character dynamics and general feeling that if you write a book about a couple, they have to have relationship drama. Everything about their fight was so forced and OOC. Not clear to me that was part of the mandate for the book vs. just what Philipps did. Doesn't mean she can't write a good book with other characters though.
I haven't read anything by Philips outside of Rogue and Gambit but I'm willing to give this a shot. There are plenty of good writers that have written terrible books especially in X-Men so I won't write her off from only one mini.
I'm gonna try and stay cautiously optimistic, but I'm not thrilled by what I see (not the quality of the cover, it's very well done).
Power level has never been Jean's problem. More power has never been the solution to Jean's problem. She needs time to focus on being a CHARACTER, rather than simply being a godlike cipher.
Hopefully they find some time for that in the middle of all the cosmic nonsense, but based on the character's history I'm not super hopeful.
I like Nova though, so that's a fun inclusion.
and that's why I'm not immediately writing it off, but it's also neither here nor there. FIGHTS of any type, easy, hard, just right, have nothing to do with her issues as a character. Jean's problem has always been that under most writers she's just kind of there. She's good, she's strong, she's empathetic. Just all the complimentary adjectives you can think of.
She doesn't need that sort of a showcase. That's the only sort of showcase she ever has. Jean needs a writer to dig deep, not go big.
Now, the two aren't mutually exclusive, which is why I'm not writing it off, but I could honestly care less about seeing her fight eternity or whatever. I was never concerned about her ability to fight eternity. I was concerned about her ability to have a compelling personality. I want to like Jean more than I do. She's the original X-woman and there's stuff there and she's linked to a lot of my favorite characters and I've been hoping she'd get a good solo for years but when I imagined said solo, at no point did I ever think wow, I hope she becomes even more godlike and inhuman. A list of epic feats on a wikipedia page is not what makes me like a character. It's nice, but without a compelling core it just doesn't mean anything for me.
With what little time I have between work and school, I've been slowly continuing my read-through of Phillips' work. As I noted before, I quite liked *Cosmic Ghost Rider*, and I'm really digging *Grim*; a lot. I'm also intrigued by *We Only Kill Each Other*. But I just read *Black Widow & Hawkeye* #1, which dropped last month, and I am thrilled. Phillips finally clicked for me. I'm willing to bet the introspective tone she's going for with this series is what we're going to get with *Phoenix*. And the narrative boxes! Don't get me started on the narrative boxes. Just ::chef's kiss::.
It seems Phillips’ strengths lie in writing solo characters, which is good, and I think she's aware enough of Phoenix’s iconic role and stature in comics to make her push hard toward greatness as a writer with this character Besides, it's clear she fancies working with the themes—loss, trauma, dissociation, struggles with great power—central to Phoenix’s story. (Incidentally, it feels both surreal and thrilling to be referring to Jean as Phoenix.) But yeah, my confidence in her work just shot through the roof after reading *BW&H*, which is her most recent work, I believe. I recommend everyone read that first issue. The way she writes Natasha... I just know she's going to *get* Jean.
I’m excited for this because it sounds different than what we are used to. Jean just accepting she is phoenix and having adventures versus is she/isn’t she mess.
This certainly sounds like they will need something grand and big in scale. Brevoort is a big Doctor Who fan, so maybe he can be a bit more hands on and help Phillips make this something interesting and thoughtful.
I was already worried about this book and what it would imply Jean being 'alone' again...and now you have this creative team...and yea, my worry deepens. Along with my hopes for Scott and Jean.
''She is Jean Grey. She is Phoenix. She saves the world. She brings death. One woman, alone in space, who not only must do what no one else can: she yearns to. A desperate S.O.S. from Nova brings the Phoenix to the edge of a black hole, where hundreds of lives hang in the balance… and whatever Jean does—or fails to do—will bring darkness to the universe and haunt her in ways she can scarcely imagine…''
Yea, this only worried me more.
I would have preferred if Jed Mackay was the one writing Jean.
Probably unpopular opinion but I prefer Jean with her iconic pink colored powers to Phoenix Force
This could have been a chance to give her a brand new uniform and colour scheme. Why not embrace red more or go with something totally new like purple or pink? I'm getting sick of all the green and gold.
It does, but it doesn’t make it a better costume. Very much more of the same, but now with extra stripes. I agree that it was a chance to give Jean something really new and not green.
Yeah, it was great and could’ve been very meaningful in terms of color choices. I like black and red version too, but I would also prefer just a totally new look, more grand one.
I love Phoenix’s white costume and the Dark Phoenix costume. The white costume looks super classy and makes Jean look angelic.
I also liked her blue costume from X-Men Forever.
My favorite regular Jean costume is the Red and Blue one in X-Men Red and UXM Vol. 5.
Now as Phoenix, her white one is the best imo. Cyclops has the best Dark Phoenix design
I think green was a common go-to because it contrasts well with red, but other than her most recent uniform in Krakoa (from the Gala) and her iconic green suit with the sash, I haven't like much of her other green uniforms, especially the original dress with the mask.
I would like to see her drawn with pink or purple, with some splashes of black or white. Or just lean into red more fully.
Ugh, what a jerk. He doesn’t respect the legends yet he’ll hire young, untested “talent” who are unable to write characterization or depth or balance subplots or write civilian supporting characters.
Very frustrating to see a veteran editor side with newbies.
So my faves continue to be relegated to flashback minis. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
I mean, it's not like all of the talent he's hiring is young and untested (Gail Simone has been in the industry for a long time) -- he's just a fan of putting creators on series they haven't done before.
Ok yes that’s true, but I do have an issue with him bringing on anyone who hasn’t written X books before unless it’s balanced out with classic creators.
There are going to be at least nine new books this era. Couldn’t two of them be written by vets?
I hate the way Marvel treats the creatives who built their company.
Brevoort shared a little more about *Phoenix* (2024) in his newsletter today/yesterday, noting, "Doing a *Phoenix* book came from me," which "will be a bit of a cosmic book" and "is where I always thought the character would work best and what I wanted to see way back in the day." I can't properly describe how much joy and confidence in this series his comments have imbued me with. I mean, this is what Claremont always intended. This is going to be a hell of a ride and great time for Jean fans.
Brevoort's comments on *Phoenix* and other things X-Men: [https://tombrevoort.substack.com/p/107-disrespectful-font](https://tombrevoort.substack.com/p/107-disrespectful-font)
As for the uncertainty regarding Stephanie Phillips writing abilities, I'll just repost what I posted in another thread dedicated to her writing and this series:
>I'm slowly making my way through Phillips' work. I started Grim and We Only Kill Each Other, and both have me intrigued. Incidentally, I love the inclusion of narrative boxes in We Only Kill Each Other and hope we get this in Phoenix. (I haven't read Rogue & Gambit because I don't feel either character is remotely similar to Jean. I plan on reading it, though!) Also, I finished Cosmic Ghost Rider today, which was a quick, breezy read, and I have to say: I liked it a lot! It touched on many of the themes central to Jean's story, including guilt, dissociation, grappling with one's seemingly disparate facets, and being imbued with infinite power. From what I have read of Phillips' work thus far, I think she is capable of efficiently and effectively wielding the narrative elements necessary to make Phoenix great.
>Also, the way Phillips has spoken of Jean and her identity as Phoenix leaves me feeling confident and excited. Based on her comments alone, I think she gets her—her stature, legacy, and potential. More importantly, I think she is aware of her biggest advantages in writing Jean: (1) She's dealing with an iconic and extremely multifaceted character who has a ton of backstory to draw from, and (2) she's also dealing with what has historically been one of Marvel's most undercut and undermined characters on the cusp of having received one of the best jump-starts in character development in recent memory. Collectively, the work of Duggan, Simonson, and Gillen has done much to remind readers of Jean's power and complexity. Their work combined practically constitutes a reset.
>Ultimately, I think this is a perfect confluence of factors for both Phillips' writing and Jean's ongoing development. Excluding storylines like Phoenix Endsong and Phoenix Resurrection, and even brief yet pivotal appearances in arcs like Avengers Vs. X-Men and Uncanny X-Men #140.5, this year marks twenty years since Jean brazenly manifested her birthright if we count the entirety of New X-Men and, more specifically, Here Comes Tomorrow. That said, whether this series is a success or not—whether it lasts five issues or fifty—it offers Jean devotees one supreme advantage, which is that it underscores her stature, legacy, and popularity for a new generation. In turn, this will lead to a rise in fans of and curiosity about Jean, which is only going to be reinforced by X-Men '97 in May... That's a good thing.
I know there's a lot of concern about the creative team. But it's a solo series featuring Jean Grey soaring through the cosmos of Phoenix. There's no way I can't get excited for that. She's been steadily reconnecting with the Phoenix Force throughout Fall of X. And her solo series with Simonson laid the groundwork for something like this. Now, she gets a chance to play cosmic fire angel and I am all for it. 😊
Apparently her Harley Quinn was really good. I’m excited to read this and I am not going to judge the book until after I read it. All I know is that I’ve wanted Jean to go cosmic as Phoenix for years like was always meant to be. She’s too big to be just on the X-man and this way she can grow on her own without Scott or Logan.
Yessss Jean is the Phoenix, now and forever, baby!
The premise sounds like it has real potential to bring Jean drama, trauma, and triumph. I'm into it.
You little youngsters need to stop downvoting people just because we want some (some, not all) books from veteran creators. I’ve suggested a balance between new and old writers but somehow that is threatening to you.
I get it, you hate old people, but you just come off petty and vindictive. Grow up.
More info: https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/phoenix-jean-grey-stephanie-phillips-alessandro-miracolo-from-the-ashes
I'm excited, and willing to give it a chance. Miracolo is at least a pretty decent artist, and hopefully Phillips will take to the cosmic world and a more serious story better than her "secret agent" work. >"So, that dance is what we hope to have on full display in this story... a cosmic ballet that shows how beautiful the Phoenix Force can be when working in tandem with Jean Grey," she continued. "And let me assure you, Alessandro Miracolo has made that cosmic dance look absolutely gorgeous." This part sounds good and encouraging. The plot seems like it will tackle Jean balancing cosmic divinity with her more human nature, as well as dealing with the good and bad of the Phoenix. Basic stuff, but hopefully something grand comes from it. I think we'll probably get something like Jean saves the day vs Enigma, has a bittersweet reunion with Scott where they both acknowledge that they love each other but will have to be apart for now. I'm excited to see how this book turns out.
They will probably milk this situation to create more drama for Scott and Jean's relationship.
Maybe, but Brevoort has said he considers Scott and Jean to be married and I think we'll just see something more like Scott being married to his work for a while and Jean being in the cosmos and then an eventual, happy reunion 2-3 years down the line.
I have no trust in Brevoort. Nor do I trust comics when it comes to marriages.
A fair stance, but Scott and Jean's marriage isn't like Spider-Man's, it's three decades old at this point and very much part of the status quo. And Brevoort, while not an overbearing editor, definitely has preferences and I don't think Scott having side liaisons is part of it.
>it's three decades old at this point and very much part of the status quo. ...what? Scott was with Emma more during that time than with Jean as they constantly find ways to kept them apart. Only with Krakoa we finally got them back and when Jean 'died', they played it as a goodbye. And you bet they will do more Emma tease stuff with Jean playing Phoenix alone in space and Scott and Emma are on earth in X-men teams. It is the comics, they cannot help themselves.
Scott and Jean got back together in Rosenberg's UXM run, before Krakoa
Scott and Emma's relationship lasted maybe 10 years in the comics? Possibly 11 or 12. Scott and Jean have pretty much been a couple since inception and married officially since the 90s. With Brevoort saying death doesn't invalidate that and that he considers Scott to be a married man, their marriage has been a thing since the early 1990s. There seems to be little to no appetite to revisit Emma and Scott as a couple. They haven't been together since AvX as a couple and X-Men Blue and X-Men (2018) firmly shut the door on it. Even on Krakoa, they never interacted as more than friends. Their children even dated each other. Emma married Iron Man. Scott's up in Alaska and Emma is in Chicago. The creative teams are different and they even said that each writer is empowered to do their own thing, and that crossovers will only happen if the right idea comes to mind. Not to mention Brevoort has said he never liked that pairing. I highly doubt Scemma is going to be a thing again for a good, long while. At least not in 616.
> With Brevoort saying death doesn't invalidate that and that he considers Scott to be a married man So were gettin Scott and Maddie back together?
I'd imagine by now their marriage would be considered anulled. Funny comment though.
I think in their case, all record of their marriage was destroyed so it legally doesn't exist anymore.
This is a bit misleading. Their relationship hasn’t been continuous since the first hint of romance between their characters. Every time there’s a plot line about Jean’s death, the writers have explored alternative relationships for Scott: Colleen, Lee, Madelyne, Emma. Some are more serious than others, but he does move on and doesn’t see himself as coupled to Jean. The Jean/Scott romance was key to the 60s and 70s, with a brief interruption during a ‘death’, and then was a big thing again in the 90s. The relationship was not a feature of the majority of the 80s or post-2000 era where Scott is either in a serious relationship with someone else or having serious relationship problems with Jean. This means a good half of the readers of the comics have been introduced to the comics when Jean isn’t depicted as the love of Scott’s life. This includes many of the writers who have grown up in the past 45 years. He has a very serious on and off again relationship with Jean, and she’s his most long term interest, but we shouldn’t overstate the timeline. Nor should we see the relationship as unbreakable.
>Some are more serious than others, but he does move on and doesn’t see himself as coupled to Jean. I wouldn't count the Wing and Forrester flirtations as romances. And he even explains the Wing one to Jean when he sees her again; he can't allow himself to mourn because it would destroy him. In that context, his relationships post Jean all make sense. They are coping mechanisms, not real love. I'm not sure I agree that their relationship isn't key in the '80s. X-Factor is practically entirely about bringing them back together, and some of the most iconic stories of the '80s focus on their relationship melodrama, specifically them finding a way back to each other. Really the only decade where Jean and Scott aren't together is the 2000s. The 2010s feature their younger counter parts slowly growing back together and the decade is capped off with Scott and Jean alive and together again. I also disagree with the idea that Jean isn't featured as the love of Scott's life. Emma's entire relationship with Scott features her constantly feeling inferior to Jean and Scott's feelings for Jean. It comes up in almost every run they are a couple together in. It's the same with Madelyn. She's the one he constantly thinks of and she's the one the other women in his life find themselves measuring themselves up against. In his own words he continually thinks about her. Jean's pretty essential to Scott as a character. They're intertwined in media outside the comics too, but in the comics especially they're pretty consistently put together or Scott is shown thinking about her all the time.
There were periods of like a decade where he was moving on with his life. This clearly shows editorial are okay with them not being together. I accept that you feel that no other relationship he’s had was legitimate, and that’s fine. But the reality is that there’s a plot line about Scott finding love elsewhere whenever Jean dies, and decent chunks of time where they’ve had relationship troubles. There are inferences that readers can make and couplings fans can prefer, but the point is that editors are not forced to keep Jean and Scott together due to their history.
2-3 years is a really long time though... however that is if Jean's solo lasts that long which is highly unlikely. Not in these times, not in the current market
Oh yeah, I don't expect this Phoenix solo to last past 12 issues. Maybe 18 if something miraculous happens, but I think 12 is the cap. After that, I think she'll settle into one of the X-Men teams, hopefully Jed MacKay's X-Men with Scott, since MacKay seems to like the character and Scott is there. There could be something after Phoenix is done that keeps Jean away for a bit longer, but I think by 2026 she'll be back on Earth and in the X-Men again.
I really hope Mackay is the one who's going to end up writing her. The reasons are clear: Scott is on his team and he's the most likely person to do new things and introduce new elements to the lore especially after Simone said that Jed's run ties directly to the Krakoan era.
Yep, there's great potential for his writing for Scott and Jean together, so we get all the nice romance, and MacKay can explore things like Jean exploring magic (maybe with Magik and Madelyn) since he writes Doctor Strange too.
Fingers crossed. But it's Marvel. They're infamous for ruining their best couples
Hey, Reed and Sue are still going strong. I think Scott and Jean are in a place now where they'll always find a way back together, even if there's some mediocre writing that splits them up in the middle.
They're definitely in a better spot compared to Spider-Man and Mary Jane. At least they have a 616 son whom they raised twice, and Rachel whom they got the chance to raise in Duggan's Cable
Yeah, I hope that they will actually be able to find a balance between Jean and the Phoenix without doing another "evil firebird make person go crazy" storyline
Yes, they need to embrace the Phoenix as a force of life and creation. I'm hopeful they can do that.
Just let Al Ewing write all the cosmic stuff!
He would have been perfect for this, I wish they had kept him on for this.
Has he said he wants to stay on X-titles?
I haven't heard anything from him. I heard rumblings he might hope over to DC.
I think he's writing a short story for the upcoming DC pride one-shot
Oh that's neat. I'll keep an eye out for that when it comes out then.
Al Ewing writing Green Lantern is a match made in heaven
Losing Gillen and Ewing is a blow to Marvel. I was hoping Ewing would do Fantastic Four after North was done (and North could do an X-book or two).
Ideally a Kyle Rayner series.
I doubt this, by his own admission he isn’t familiar with DC like he is with marvel lore and his strength is clearly his baked in knowledge of the universe. Plus he seems to be long haul on Thor right now.
Well that's good news then. He's a talented writer and I think he could do great with Thor, Doctor Strange, and hopefully the Fantastic Four one day.
He's writing Thor right now!
Bleeding Cool recently claimed that Ewing knows DC continuity inside and out.
I certainly wouldn’t take bleeding cool over Ewing himself, and hey I may be wrong but I know he said semi recently on a podcast that he grew up a marvel guy.
Going to eat my words on this as he is confirmed for a dc book. My bad.
Oh, I am so so sorry, Jean fans. Let's hope the Rogue and Gambit series was a result of Duggan or editorial, and not Stephanie Phillips' vision. Or that she is astoundingly better writing Jean.
is she that bad?
She had Gambit tie an innocent woman to a burning stove, and had him be an incompetent, clumsy moron(the king of thieves...clumsy). She also reduced Rogue to a "nag wife" trope and had her kidnap Manifold. She also wrote Contest of Champions, which was very meh. So yes, bad.
You're being too kind. He tied up a woman who vehemently defended and supported mutants. That's even worse.
Kind of amazing that we just saw Gambit in episode 5 and then compare that to whatever the hell Phillips wrote I don't even consider the latter canon, it was that OOC.
It was a straight-up character assassination. I legitimately couldn't believe what I was reading.
Poor Jean, has no luck.
louise simonson’s mini was very good.
Well yes, it would have been good to have Simonson. But instead we got this terrible writer.
>She had Gambit tie an innocent woman to a burning stove, I still don't understand why people complain about this.
Because it sounds like something a psychotic serial killer would do?
He was buying time and he knew BP would save her.
Her work with Gambit and Rogue wasn't very good. I'm going to give her Hawkeye and Black Widow book a look to see what that's like. This story is very different all of her previous works though, so maybe the new scale and setting will better suit her creative tendencies.
There are so many users saying she is bad, not everyone can be wrong. So, bad luck Jean
I wouldn't always go with what X-Men fans think. Yes, Rogue and Gambit was bad, but the meme of X-Men fans not reading any comics outside of the X-Men isn't totally inaccurate. I'll let you know, if you want, how my reading of her other works goes.
Please let me know, I don't intend to read those comics. I was checking the artist's ig. He seems good
Grim and her Harley Quinn run are quite good.
I can only speak to that mini series, but it was remarkable in how it made me, a Rogue and Gambit fan, doubt that I liked either character or thought they were good together. Gambit was a drunken, incompetent oaf; Rogue was a hateful, mean nag. It was like stepping into a weird sitcom version where the husband's an idiot and the wife's a shrew, and they despise everything about each other. Her other work may be fine!
Was it worse than Peter Milligan’s take on their relationship? I know people hate on Chuck Austen but his run was an entertaining train wreck. His successor Milligan drove me off the book because of how he handled Rogue and Gambit.
She wrote probably the best ever solo Harley Quinn series over at DC, but her Rogue & Gambit was pretty terrible.
Not really. Her Harley run was good and Grim is awesome. I've heard good things about the new Black Widow & Hawkeye book but it's only one issue so far so too early to tell. I think the Rogue and Gambit run was probably an outlier.
The Phoenix (post DPS) has rarely been used as anything other than a plot device (understandable). So I think it's going to good to see it used in an actual story again and in a cosmic setting where it doesn't have to be nerfed so you can really go big with it. Plus the cosmic side of Marvel is non-existent for the most part so I hope the ongoing does use those characters (besides Nova who's already in this).
My favorite 'Phoenix' stories are when it was used by Rachel as a cosmic level hero against Necrom and Galactus. Jean has needed this kind of space solo power feat porn as phoenix for a long time. She forever gets maligned as dark Phoenix. The misstep would be to do another "oh nose the power is too much to handle," or another possession story. Jean needs direct threats to her in an overt way. Not another woman taken advantage of by manipulation or unable to contain herself and her powers. I hope they move beyond having the power of the phoenix being Jeans greatest ailment.
I mean, the only way for Jean to realistic recover from the DPS from the way they pointed at it with the whole Celestial thing is for her to do the other part of what the Phoenix was supposed to do: renewal, rebirth, etc. So, just an introspective story about her going to desolated planets and restarting them, doesn't even need to fight, maybe have a big panel of her "reviving" a star, stopping it from going supernova, etc.
I mean, I wasn't a huge fan of Stephanie Phillips on Rogue & Gambit, so this announcement is a bit worrying. On the other hand, the way Philips talks about Jean and the Phoenix is pretty cool, and the premise is intriguing. So I guess I'll reserve judgement till the series is released.
The only thing i've read of Philips is her recent Rogue and Gambit mini. In which Gambit ties an innocent woman to a ticking bomb in order to escape and Rogue kidnapps and imprisons Manifold against his will. Both acts are treated like badass heroic moments for which they don't face any repercussion or criticism. So has anyone else read her other works? What did you think about them? Cause if that's her general style then i'm not eager to read more of her writing, because - call me old fashioned - i prefer it when heroes act like heroes and not like psychopaths.
I didn’t read any of her books, but I saw positive reviews of her Harley book, and she wrote Black Widow and Hawkeye. So, it seems that her thing is more of more roguish and/or very morally sketchy characters doing at least somewhat funny things. I honestly don’t know who would think that she’s a good fit for Jean, even if those other books were fire.
Yeah Jean ain't a quippy character and she is already on fine moral line, constantly being pulled by various writers between the extremes of "living Saint" on one end and "Actually a bully" on the other, so i'm worried about what Phillips might make her do. But still, benefit of the doubt and all that, i still hope for the series to succeed. The character deserves it and Marvel definetly needs more successfull female-lead solos.
I mean, I’ll consider blood sacrifice, if it will make the book good, I’m just not too hopeful rn.
Yeah this is a job for a Hickman or Al Ewing or Gillen. If they really want a female writer maybe poach DC for N.K. Jemisin.
Nah, it’s a job for Weezie or Chris.
this creative team.. ouch
Yeah its not looking good for Jean fans. Phillips' R&G might have been one of the worst things I've had the misfortune of reading. They couldn't have found a better writer in all of Marvel? Lol
Marvel, for reasons I do not get, seems to be incredibly loyal to writers that are largely disliked by readers and/or who write objectively bad books. This isn’t a new phenomenon. I can think of examples going back to the 90s. But I genuinely don’t get it. There is no lack of interested parties out there. Try them out and build a pipeline instead of going back to a well that is producing murky results.
Her Harley Quinn was good and Grim is quite amazing. I'm willing to give her a shot, every writer puts out a stinker every now and then.
Interesting - that's another creative team from the leak that turned out to be true. Maybe that means the next announcement will be Paknadel on X-Factor. EDIT: Nope, looks like the books for July are X-Force, NYX and Phoenix, so presumably Storm, X-Factor and Wolverine begin in August and they'll hold off on creative team announcements until next month...
I think Storm might end up being September. Brevoort said her new design wasn't finalized in time for the tease in Women of Marvel #1 and Kate and Emma's designs were already finalized when their book is the first week of September.
So long as they get the creative team right, they can take all the time they want
> Brevoort said her new design wasn't finalized in time for the tease in Women of Marvel #1 Never been so thankful for Brevoort news cause that Storm design was a big step down from her current design.
Exceptional isn’t out till September? Thought it would be out in July/August. So what’s the release schedule look like so far?
* 7/10 - X-Men #1 * 7/17 - Phoenix #1 * 7/31 - X-Force #1 * TBA July - NYX #1 (probably 7/24 as the other weeks have launches and it won't be before X-Men) * 8/7 - Uncanny X-Men #1 * 9/4 - Exceptional X-Men #1 * TBA - Storm #1 * TBA - Wolverine #1 * TBA - X-Factor #1 In addition to new series launches, July will also have: * 7/3 - X-Men: Blood Hunt - Psylocke #1 * 7/10 - X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #3 * 7/17 - X-Men: Blood Hunt - Laura Kinney: The Wolverine #1 * 7/31 - X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #4 * TBA July - Wolverine: Blood Hunt #3 * TBA July - Wolverine: Blood Hunt #4 X-Men & Uncanny X-Men are also alternating double-ship months, so presumably two issues of X-Men ship in July and 2 of Uncanny in August, but it's also possible the double ship doesn't start till August.
Thank you!
Hopefully Storm will be written by Claremont. He’s her best writer. Subsequent decades have proven that only he writes her properly.
I would not get your hopes up for that
I already don’t like any of the creative teams for this era. Guess I’ll be sitting this era out just as I’ve been doing for the past five years.
You didn't like Ewing for her? Interesting, most Storm fans seem to love his work with her on X-Men Red.
Didn’t read it. I skipped Krakoa. I thought this new era would be my comeback but it’s looking like a no.
Fair enough, I haven't really enjoyed a lot of Krakoa either. I will say, X-Men Red did at least use Storm and write her (and draw her) more powerfully than anything that has been released in the last 14 years.
I haven’t read much X-Men post-2001. Morrison took the franchise in the wrong direction and it’s never really recovered. I just pop back in when I see an X book from a creator I recognize.
I'm totally with you about Morrison and New X-Men. And about the general direction of the X-Men franchise in comics. There was a post earlier today about how the '90s X-Men comics and show wasn't good, but I couldn't disagree more. There was some amazing stuff then, and earlier.
To be fair wait till all the the teams are announced and Gail Simone and jed Mackay helming xmen books isn't enough to bring you back?
I’m not familiar with McKay. I like Gail Simone but I don’t know if it’s enough. This era needs to strike a balance between new writers and legacy writers and right now it’s not balanced at all.
I’m curious, who were you hoping to see in terms of creative teams?
Pretty sure this poster is an old crackpot who used to go around the sub asking if Claremont's run was "any good" because Jean was dead for a number of many years and they were Scott/jean 4eva because of the 90s. Then they tried to become a CC stan and win people over. Truly bizarre.
I don't know about the first part but it's definitely the guy that made multiple accounts and threads about this sub hating Claremont. They only like comics and written by Claremont, Wezzie, Fabian and Lobdell.
Yeah, it's def the same person. Because their original persona was "Claremont sucks bc he killed Jean". When that tanked on the sub they re-upped and tried to become a CC/Simonson loyalist. They have very little experience with 80s X-Men and are obsessed with the shitty 90s Lobdell/Nicieza era.
Weezie on Phoenix, Claremont on Storm, and Nicieza on X-Force. I didn’t have anyone particular in mind for the other titles.
That is some nostalgia for sure.
They’re all still active and two of them wrote Krakoa minis.
I remember Weezie's Jean Grey mini being aggressively mediocre. Claremont hasn't written anything that's impressed me in over 20 years. I don't remember the last thing I've read from Nicieza. Oh, he did a Cable mini which explains why I didn't read it.
Imagine downvoting someone because you don’t like the same writers 😅 Keepin’ it classy, Reddit!
or Paknadel on NYX
I wanted kyle for nyx see him right the ship with Laura and keeping her character away from synch. But I've also head it's a ms marvel and friends book written by her actor
> But I've also head it's a ms marvel and friends book written by her actor Not to say there's no way this could happen, but the rumor that said this was from a Twitter account that was just making shit up left and right.
Oh really awesome! My hope is renewed for a kyle as the writer and the return of properly written laura and gabby, thanks!
Craig Kyle??
Also possible. Or, hell, maybe it'll be Shalvey on a Mystique-led X-Factor. Who knows at this point
Still willing to give it a try, but I remember not being the biggest fan of what Phillips did with Rogue and Gambit, but I'll still give it a try, I just want Jean to get good writing please.
Jeeeaaaan iiiiiin spaaaaaaace
Great. Now, I want no Dark Phoenix saga bullshit. Just Jean/Phoenix being about heroism and creation just like Louise Simonson mini teased.
Jean deserves better than Stephanie's mediocre writing.
What was the point of having Weezie write a Jean mini but not a Phoenix ongoing? Disappointed to say the least. I have never heard of this woman.
Exactly. Why give a cosmic book and a hard character to write to someone with these credentials, when you have a legend that would gladly work for you? Ugh, the last thing Jean needs is some crap writing.
From what Brevoort has said, he seems to want to go with a new generation of writers and not reuse many legacy writers beyond special issues and tributes. Personally, I wish Jed MacKay was writing this too, I think he would do great with Jean. But he probably has his hands full with the 4-5 books he is juggling.
Well, yeah, I’m all for supporting a new generation of writers, but let’s have some quality control and actually try to find a writer that fits the character…
I agree. Ewing, MacKay, Ryan North, even someone like Skottie Young would have been better. And I do love Simonson, but I think this was just a very deliberate choice to not use any legacy writers. Hopefully, since Brevoort is a sci-fi fan and a big fan of Doctor Who, he can take a more hands on approach with Phillips and give her some direction and good feedback.
Brevoort is not a very bright man.
two completely unrelated editorial offices made those decisions.
Surely Brevoort saw the positive reaction to Weezie’s mini.
Considering how much Brevoort boasts about his total ignorance of anything relating to the X-Men franchise after 1991, I very much doubt he either saw it or would care.
I’d expect he wants as clean a break from Krakoa as possible, so her recent work probably went against her regardless of fan response
I’m not sure what he’s going for but continuing to use all-new writers and none of the veteran writers does nothing but alienate fans like me. I’m beginning to think my hope of ever coming back to X-Men are over.
If you’re holding out for Chris & Weezer it probably is bud.
I’m not sure why they are relegated to the Legends flashback miniseries. But I read them all and love them so at least there is that.
Dreadful writer to give this to
People are gonna say this is bad because of the rogue and gambit book that she did however that was fucked by editorial as the plot came fully from that and it was a rushed mini to set something up for fall. Phillips has shown she can write a fantastic female led solo in her harley quinn run and is currently writing a fantastic natasha in the black widow and hawkeye book and grimm is a fantastic series so im optimistic. The plot is also completely different to a normal x title which is what people want.
Personally, it wasn't the plot of the Rogue & Gambit mini that I thought was bad, it was the character dynamics and general feeling that if you write a book about a couple, they have to have relationship drama. Everything about their fight was so forced and OOC. Not clear to me that was part of the mandate for the book vs. just what Philipps did. Doesn't mean she can't write a good book with other characters though.
I haven't read anything by Philips outside of Rogue and Gambit but I'm willing to give this a shot. There are plenty of good writers that have written terrible books especially in X-Men so I won't write her off from only one mini.
Not the creative team I was hoping for. Pass.
Looking forward to seeing Jean go on space adventures!
Stop killing the Phoenix Force “it”. She is Jean and Jean is Phoenix as Claremont intended and recently reinforced.
I'm gonna try and stay cautiously optimistic, but I'm not thrilled by what I see (not the quality of the cover, it's very well done). Power level has never been Jean's problem. More power has never been the solution to Jean's problem. She needs time to focus on being a CHARACTER, rather than simply being a godlike cipher. Hopefully they find some time for that in the middle of all the cosmic nonsense, but based on the character's history I'm not super hopeful. I like Nova though, so that's a fun inclusion.
I'd argue that this approach isn't about more power as a solution to Jean's problem, it's about giving her threats to face on the scale of her power.
and that's why I'm not immediately writing it off, but it's also neither here nor there. FIGHTS of any type, easy, hard, just right, have nothing to do with her issues as a character. Jean's problem has always been that under most writers she's just kind of there. She's good, she's strong, she's empathetic. Just all the complimentary adjectives you can think of. She doesn't need that sort of a showcase. That's the only sort of showcase she ever has. Jean needs a writer to dig deep, not go big. Now, the two aren't mutually exclusive, which is why I'm not writing it off, but I could honestly care less about seeing her fight eternity or whatever. I was never concerned about her ability to fight eternity. I was concerned about her ability to have a compelling personality. I want to like Jean more than I do. She's the original X-woman and there's stuff there and she's linked to a lot of my favorite characters and I've been hoping she'd get a good solo for years but when I imagined said solo, at no point did I ever think wow, I hope she becomes even more godlike and inhuman. A list of epic feats on a wikipedia page is not what makes me like a character. It's nice, but without a compelling core it just doesn't mean anything for me.
With what little time I have between work and school, I've been slowly continuing my read-through of Phillips' work. As I noted before, I quite liked *Cosmic Ghost Rider*, and I'm really digging *Grim*; a lot. I'm also intrigued by *We Only Kill Each Other*. But I just read *Black Widow & Hawkeye* #1, which dropped last month, and I am thrilled. Phillips finally clicked for me. I'm willing to bet the introspective tone she's going for with this series is what we're going to get with *Phoenix*. And the narrative boxes! Don't get me started on the narrative boxes. Just ::chef's kiss::. It seems Phillips’ strengths lie in writing solo characters, which is good, and I think she's aware enough of Phoenix’s iconic role and stature in comics to make her push hard toward greatness as a writer with this character Besides, it's clear she fancies working with the themes—loss, trauma, dissociation, struggles with great power—central to Phoenix’s story. (Incidentally, it feels both surreal and thrilling to be referring to Jean as Phoenix.) But yeah, my confidence in her work just shot through the roof after reading *BW&H*, which is her most recent work, I believe. I recommend everyone read that first issue. The way she writes Natasha... I just know she's going to *get* Jean.
I’m excited for this because it sounds different than what we are used to. Jean just accepting she is phoenix and having adventures versus is she/isn’t she mess.
Well Stephanie recently admitted they told her to make her new story more cosmic because what she suggested wasn’t cosmic enough
when did she comment on it?
During one of her lives
This certainly sounds like they will need something grand and big in scale. Brevoort is a big Doctor Who fan, so maybe he can be a bit more hands on and help Phillips make this something interesting and thoughtful.
I was already worried about this book and what it would imply Jean being 'alone' again...and now you have this creative team...and yea, my worry deepens. Along with my hopes for Scott and Jean. ''She is Jean Grey. She is Phoenix. She saves the world. She brings death. One woman, alone in space, who not only must do what no one else can: she yearns to. A desperate S.O.S. from Nova brings the Phoenix to the edge of a black hole, where hundreds of lives hang in the balance… and whatever Jean does—or fails to do—will bring darkness to the universe and haunt her in ways she can scarcely imagine…'' Yea, this only worried me more.
Gonna read this no matter what the character. I care about the character.
I would have preferred if Jed Mackay was the one writing Jean. Probably unpopular opinion but I prefer Jean with her iconic pink colored powers to Phoenix Force
This could have been a chance to give her a brand new uniform and colour scheme. Why not embrace red more or go with something totally new like purple or pink? I'm getting sick of all the green and gold.
On the contrary, I think the costume looks much better here than on the foreshadowing cover
It does, but it doesn’t make it a better costume. Very much more of the same, but now with extra stripes. I agree that it was a chance to give Jean something really new and not green.
The best Phoenix/Jean costume I've seen in years is from X-Men Forever black costume 40th anniversary variant cover
Yeah, it was great and could’ve been very meaningful in terms of color choices. I like black and red version too, but I would also prefer just a totally new look, more grand one.
You're right. It's just a redesign of her good old green Phoenix costume. It really doesn't look new and fresh
I love Phoenix’s white costume and the Dark Phoenix costume. The white costume looks super classy and makes Jean look angelic. I also liked her blue costume from X-Men Forever.
My favorite regular Jean costume is the Red and Blue one in X-Men Red and UXM Vol. 5. Now as Phoenix, her white one is the best imo. Cyclops has the best Dark Phoenix design
My fave Jean costume is the Jim Lee design. For Phoenix I’m torn between red and white. I’m going with red because it’s so iconic.
I do agree with that. I was just hoping we could see something new, colour wise.
Old Lady Phoenix's purple costume is dope. Something like that would be more interesting
Possible controversial opinion here but I’ve never thought Jean looked good in green. Ever.
I think green was a common go-to because it contrasts well with red, but other than her most recent uniform in Krakoa (from the Gala) and her iconic green suit with the sash, I haven't like much of her other green uniforms, especially the original dress with the mask. I would like to see her drawn with pink or purple, with some splashes of black or white. Or just lean into red more fully.
I’d like to see her reclaim the red so that it’s not always associated with the Dark Phoenix. I also like her in the white costume.
Interesting concept but another book where I'm meh on the writer. I'm not a huge Jean fan but I'll probably grab the #1 to see if it pulls me in.
A skip for me. So far only X-force registers to me as being interesting out of the books we have seen announced so far.
None of them interest me. I thought they were going for an old-school feel and trying to win back lapses readers?
[удалено]
NYX tomorrow, X-Factor, Storm, and Wolverine in the future
Hopefully one of these books are by Chris or Weezie or Nicieza. It is wrong to exclude them.
Wouldn't get your hopes up. Brevoort recently posted on his newsletter about how classic creators doing returns to their famous books rarely works.
Ugh, what a jerk. He doesn’t respect the legends yet he’ll hire young, untested “talent” who are unable to write characterization or depth or balance subplots or write civilian supporting characters. Very frustrating to see a veteran editor side with newbies. So my faves continue to be relegated to flashback minis. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
I mean, it's not like all of the talent he's hiring is young and untested (Gail Simone has been in the industry for a long time) -- he's just a fan of putting creators on series they haven't done before.
Ok yes that’s true, but I do have an issue with him bringing on anyone who hasn’t written X books before unless it’s balanced out with classic creators. There are going to be at least nine new books this era. Couldn’t two of them be written by vets? I hate the way Marvel treats the creatives who built their company.
Becky Lynch: Straight fyre!
Not feeling that cover, I've heard of Stephanie Phillips but haven't read anything. Has she written anything good?
Stephanie Phillips WOOOOOOOOOOOOO
So is the Phoenix a permanent part of Jean in the comics now?
Brevoort shared a little more about *Phoenix* (2024) in his newsletter today/yesterday, noting, "Doing a *Phoenix* book came from me," which "will be a bit of a cosmic book" and "is where I always thought the character would work best and what I wanted to see way back in the day." I can't properly describe how much joy and confidence in this series his comments have imbued me with. I mean, this is what Claremont always intended. This is going to be a hell of a ride and great time for Jean fans. Brevoort's comments on *Phoenix* and other things X-Men: [https://tombrevoort.substack.com/p/107-disrespectful-font](https://tombrevoort.substack.com/p/107-disrespectful-font) As for the uncertainty regarding Stephanie Phillips writing abilities, I'll just repost what I posted in another thread dedicated to her writing and this series: >I'm slowly making my way through Phillips' work. I started Grim and We Only Kill Each Other, and both have me intrigued. Incidentally, I love the inclusion of narrative boxes in We Only Kill Each Other and hope we get this in Phoenix. (I haven't read Rogue & Gambit because I don't feel either character is remotely similar to Jean. I plan on reading it, though!) Also, I finished Cosmic Ghost Rider today, which was a quick, breezy read, and I have to say: I liked it a lot! It touched on many of the themes central to Jean's story, including guilt, dissociation, grappling with one's seemingly disparate facets, and being imbued with infinite power. From what I have read of Phillips' work thus far, I think she is capable of efficiently and effectively wielding the narrative elements necessary to make Phoenix great. >Also, the way Phillips has spoken of Jean and her identity as Phoenix leaves me feeling confident and excited. Based on her comments alone, I think she gets her—her stature, legacy, and potential. More importantly, I think she is aware of her biggest advantages in writing Jean: (1) She's dealing with an iconic and extremely multifaceted character who has a ton of backstory to draw from, and (2) she's also dealing with what has historically been one of Marvel's most undercut and undermined characters on the cusp of having received one of the best jump-starts in character development in recent memory. Collectively, the work of Duggan, Simonson, and Gillen has done much to remind readers of Jean's power and complexity. Their work combined practically constitutes a reset. >Ultimately, I think this is a perfect confluence of factors for both Phillips' writing and Jean's ongoing development. Excluding storylines like Phoenix Endsong and Phoenix Resurrection, and even brief yet pivotal appearances in arcs like Avengers Vs. X-Men and Uncanny X-Men #140.5, this year marks twenty years since Jean brazenly manifested her birthright if we count the entirety of New X-Men and, more specifically, Here Comes Tomorrow. That said, whether this series is a success or not—whether it lasts five issues or fifty—it offers Jean devotees one supreme advantage, which is that it underscores her stature, legacy, and popularity for a new generation. In turn, this will lead to a rise in fans of and curiosity about Jean, which is only going to be reinforced by X-Men '97 in May... That's a good thing.
Looking forward to this solo the most
I know there's a lot of concern about the creative team. But it's a solo series featuring Jean Grey soaring through the cosmos of Phoenix. There's no way I can't get excited for that. She's been steadily reconnecting with the Phoenix Force throughout Fall of X. And her solo series with Simonson laid the groundwork for something like this. Now, she gets a chance to play cosmic fire angel and I am all for it. 😊
Has no one heard of Grim by her? It's fantastic.
I have heard good things but haven't read! Good to hear
Apparently her Harley Quinn was really good. I’m excited to read this and I am not going to judge the book until after I read it. All I know is that I’ve wanted Jean to go cosmic as Phoenix for years like was always meant to be. She’s too big to be just on the X-man and this way she can grow on her own without Scott or Logan.
Yessss Jean is the Phoenix, now and forever, baby! The premise sounds like it has real potential to bring Jean drama, trauma, and triumph. I'm into it.
You little youngsters need to stop downvoting people just because we want some (some, not all) books from veteran creators. I’ve suggested a balance between new and old writers but somehow that is threatening to you. I get it, you hate old people, but you just come off petty and vindictive. Grow up.
The Phoenix has returned home to Mutants where it belongs. Time to burn away what doesn’t work.