X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong #1

Publisher
Marvel
Year
2005
Month
3
LastChanged
6/21/2024 11:00:32 AM
Phoenix Endsong

Summary

  The Phoenix force manifests in space, above a star. It thought it was dead, scattered across the galaxies, waiting to be reborn, but now it's here, but something's wrong and it's not time yet. It's so hungry.

  On a Shi'ar ship, the commander orders its destruction, but the helmsman says there's no trace of Jean. The Phoenix raptor manifested without its host, which isn't supposed to happen. The counselor says they've brought it back prematurely, and now they must accept its judgment, but the commander says they don't accept meteors or hurricanes but fight for life. That's why they built the device to reconstitute the Phoenix.

  The helmsman fires, and the Phoenix fades. A spark flitters away, making its way to Earth. Cold, weak, and confused, it needs something. It becomes a firefly and finds Logan sitting in the woods at night; "funny little man"; but it's not him, and it flitters by.

  In the mansion, the surviving Cuckoos can't sleep because one of them is fixated on a boy. The others think he's a dork, like Quire, who's dead and in Hank's lab (X-Men II:138). The Phoenix firefly buzzes around them, listening, and when they detect it, they yell out in unison, "Who's there?", but the Phoenix puts them to sleep and goes to the lab.

  Hank is doing research and notices the firefly as it lands on the glass and looks at Quire, who telepathically calls for Sophie (X-Men II:138). Phoenix knows he's strong and asks if he can come out and play but realizes he's in pieces, too. Hank gently grabs the firefly and puts it out the window.

  It flies up and finds Emma sleeping; they always thought she was cold, but it knows better. Scott sleeps beside her; that's who Phoenix needs so much. The firefly lands on his ruby quartz lens and calls for him to open his eyes; he does and calls out, "Jean!"; the lens shatters, and so does the ceiling. Scott remembers Jean as a schoolgirl, an X-Man, the Phoenix, the Dark Phoenix, her dying on the moon, and their wedding. Emma screams in psychic pain.

  Later, Hank apologizes for the faulty lens; someone could have been hurt. Scott says they just need to plaster the ceiling, and someone else has first dibs on kicking his butt. He returns to Emma, who is upset his bad dream featured his one true love, who isn't her. She demands he focus on one thought: "Jean Grey is dead" (X-Men II:150).

  The Phoenix goes to the cemetery; "He always wanted you. Maybe that's why…I like being you so much!" It reanimates Jean's body, but she fights it, saying she's not ready, and they're still dead in the white hot room (X-Men II:154). Phoenix insists it's life incarnate, but Jean resists, and they split into ruined corpse and beautiful woman. Phoenix says she called to it in her hour of need, when she wanted to save Scott; now it needs him, and it's calling on her. They merge, and Logan sees the fireball and comes running.

  He finds her standing there naked and doesn't think she's real, but she tells him to smell her, and he sniffs her hair, but he says she's only naked in his dreams, so she forms her green uniform. He reminds her she said the Phoenix ha a purpose: to burn away what doesn't work, and he asks if she's back to be a superhero or to kill another five billion (UXM 135), and everyone will pull their punches except him, but he's getting tired of killing her (X-Men II:148). Jean forms her red, Dark Phoenix uniform, so Logan rushes her but asks her to get Scott to do the dirty work next time. That reminds her of who she needs, and she blasts Logan before he slashes her and flies away. Jean continues to fight, asking Logan to kill her.

  The Shi'ar notice that a remnant escaped the "eleka'an event horizon": the Phoenix is injured or dying. The counselor warns them they tried to snuff the Phoenix's flames, but the Phoenix only burns so life can grow anew. They forced it to manifest prematurely and drove it insane, but the commander thinks it's weak enough for them to destroy and heads for Earth.