So I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the
last time the Phoenix force came back, when it only got a five-issue limited
series, not a publishing event to tell the tale.
Greg Pak wrote the series, and it is sort of a mixed bag. I
really like his take on Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Jean Grey, but I don’t
necessarily love them together. Cyclops is crazy in love with Emma Frost, which
is weird, seeing how they’ve been together so long in real time now. Emma Frost
is still trying to prove herself to the rest of the X-Men, and the Kitty Pryde
vs. Emma Frost conflict is in full effect. Jean Grey is more a force of nature
than anything else; in fact, her most moving scene is the one where we see the
X-Men remembering their fondest moments with her.
Pak has done some work I’ve
loved over the years, but this stuff is just OK. The exception is Cyclops; I really love his take on the X-Men's long-suffering leader. Cyclops directs the team through each issue, and his unrequited (at the end) love for Jean Grey is palpable in his dialogue.
One thing that really hit home reading this is how much I
miss Nightcrawler. He really belongs with the X-Men, and his long team-up with
Storm during this story could have used more panel time. The two don’t have
complementary powers, really, but they joined the team at the same time and
share a lot of history.
Quentin Quire serves as a distraction for all five issues as
he tries to get the Phoenix force to ramp up his already omega-level abilities.
Angel, Storm, Kitty and Beast all get some work (this is when Angel still had
his weird healing blood) but Wolverine is the only other guy given a lot of
dialogue. He pines and suffers as Phoenix changes outfits, but his main role is
to stab her. It is interesting seeing how many AvX plot points get directly
called out here, too.
As for the art, wow. Greg Land full on draws ladies with no
clothes on and counts on the coloring to hide that fact. I swear there are
panels with Jean Grey’s bare @$$, it is just painted red to distract you. The
adult film faces are in full effect too, Jean Grey is really enjoying herself
with all that power. Emma Frost looks like her costume needs to go too. Land
actually does a nice job with Nightcrawler, and it does make sense that Angel
looks like a model. But wow, Beast totally looks like the Muppet Ralph, a weird
mix of dog and lion.
Average
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