Jean Grey, having given part of her Phoenix powers to the young alien girl Adani, retreated into a cocoon at the end of the last issue, emerging from it even more powerful than before and ready to face Adani and the Dark God Perrikus she helped release from the Shadow Realm.
And Nova and Rocket Raccoon are along for the ride!
Phoenix #9 (written by Stephanie Phillips with art by Alessandro Miracolo and David Curiel) debuts Jean’s new costume. With its bright yellow Phoenix emblem and bodysuit covered in stars, it looks like a combination of her original John Byrne Phoenix outfit and Star Boy’s outfit from “The Legion of Super-Heroes.” It’s the perfect attire for a spacefaring heroine, and Alessandro Miracolo’s sleek artwork makes her look truly epic.
Rocket Raccoon and Nova are great co-stars for Phoenix #9, but we only see them briefly in this issue, as Jean, determined to fix the tears in reality that Adani has created, sends them off to a paradise world (complete with bathing trunks!) where they’ll be out of harm’s way. Now shut up Rocket and drink your Pina Colada!
As for Adani, she’s what’s called “a useful idiot.” She’s being used by Perrikus and the other Dark Gods to totally shroud the galaxy in the Shadow Realm and be forever engulfed in darkness, where they can reign supreme for all time. She just doesn’t know it yet. She wants to be all-powerful because she doesn’t want to be a mere forgettable mortal being.
She seems more like a bratty teenager than a terrifying cosmic villain, a person who’s gotten themselves in way over their head and hasn’t yet realized it. Still, her power coupled with her self-delusion makes her dangerous.
The second half of the issue is where the book really takes off as Phoenix manipulates spacetime to enter the Shadow Realm to confront Adani and stop her madness.
The Shadow Realm looks like something out of H.P. Lovecraft’s darkest visions. It’s infested with dark tentacled creatures sporting hundreds of eyes and teeth, with the landscape littered with shattered bones and skulls, it’s nightmarish and even Phoenix’s massive light fights to hold back the inky darkness that suffocates everyone who enters.
Once Phoenix faces Adani and tries to talk her out of the destruction she’s causing the two battle, and you have to feel for Jean, who seems to see Adani like a little sister and truly cares about her. She doesn’t want to fight her, but Adani gives her no choice.
Writer Stephanie Phillips has done a great job throughout this series, giving Phoenix nemeses who are worthy of her power. I’ve always felt Phoenix was like Superman, she’s so powerful that who can really be a challenge for her? But Adani, with her flaws and massive power, makes her a solid villain, and it’ll be interesting to see how Phoenix deals with her and the Dark Gods waiting in the wings to strike.
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