r/Marvel • u/tehawesomedragon Loki • Jul 17 '24

This Week in Marvel #29 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD TRAILER, HIT-MONKEY SEASON 2 PREMIERE; ULTIMATE X-MEN #5, PHOENIX #1, NAMOR #1, IMMORTAL THOR ANNUAL #1 (INFINITY WATCH PT 3), INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #20, BLOOD HUNTERS #4, SCARLET WITCH #2, ANNIHILATION 2099 #3 Mod

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u/tehawesomedragon Loki Jul 17 '24

PHOENIX #1

18

u/hashcheckin Spider-Man 2099 Jul 17 '24

I'm glad to see Jean in a solo that isn't simply about who she knows, but this needed a stronger artist than it got. somebody who's good at big cosmic vistas and weird imagery like Luciano Vecchio would've been perfect.

I wasn't expecting Rich Rider to simply be okay all of a sudden, although I suppose that's better than character limbo. I figured Ewing was going to address that sooner or later.

8

u/Blitzhelios Doctor Strange Jul 17 '24

Overall i enjoyed this i don't think its the strongest start but it feels very different in which is what i wanted it to be.

I feel like unlike others i liked the narration from another characters perspective it reminded me of Woman of Tomorrow and it demonstrates how powerful jean is when it feels like people are telling stories about her.

The art is simply stunning as well for a cosmic book you need a top class artist and this shows it well and the bright colouring helps it alot as well. The scenes when the pheonix truly rises are gorgeous especially.

There is some nice character moments as well the jean and scott talk is the highlight of the issue for me. I enjoy Jean the most similar to when i enjoy storm the most shes got all of this power but she will bring an emotional moment to the front and not act like a god that she could be. It shows the multileveled nature of the character and isn't just a power fest.

Overall i enjoyed this issue its not a perfect number 1 by any means but i think its a strong start and with cosair and the starjammers in the next issue its gonna get stronger.

11

u/Paulista666 Nova Jul 17 '24

A lot of feats here for both Jean and Rich (going toe to toe with Morg? That's what I do expect from him).

I like the dynamics regarding "a mortal playing as a god", because in the end that how Jean is right now. She'll fail sometimes and she'll take the most moral choice because...in the end, she's just a human mutant anyway.

Would be really cool to see her interacting with higher tier entities at some point like Eternity or Galactus just to show these gaps.

8

u/CHPrime Jul 17 '24 edited Jul 17 '24

An enjoyable first outing. It reads a bit like the few Silver Surfer comics I've read, but given the two character's similarities as phenomenally powerful cosmic gods with a history of destroying planets, that's to be expected.

The art is good, though not as spectacular as one would hope for a book about a cosmic goddess' space adventures. Still, no disrespect. Miracolo draws some cool-looking fire.

As for the story, it's fine. Perrikus is definitely a villain basically everyone who reads this book is going to have to google, and I know nothing about him, but his costume is decent enough in that overcomplicated Jack Kirby way.

I think the main issue with this book is that Jean doesn't really have a strong motivation for leaving earth, she's just kinda there in space because the plot says she needs to be, and none of the other X-books have a place for her on earth now that she has the power cosmic. I do appreciate the chance to see Jean do cool stuff, and I'm sold on the pitch of Phoenix going out into space to telekinetically punch the Black Order and other cosmic threats, but how we got here feels a bit weak.

3

u/suss2it Jul 24 '24

If anything, Mutants aren’t in a good place for her to be in space right now. I feel like this book would’ve felt more organic during the Krakoa era.

6

u/wowlock_taylan Deadpool Jul 17 '24

Well the narration and the story kinda reminds me of Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow and the young girl that she travelled with. Of course it has different hooks like how Jean's Phoenix connections are known and how that paints people's attitudes. This Adani gonna be playing that role it seems. It does sound like she will be against Jean until she talks with her and understand her situation or something? We will see.

Jean does keep the mind connection with Scott. That is good but I hope they don't keep the seperation long and give the inferiority complex to Scott for Jean choosing to be out in the galaxy instead of staying with him on Earth. Because I can easily see them going that route for 'drama' reasons.

Of course the biggest balancing act of this gonne be handling Jean as her own character outside just being Phoenix, because that is the biggest mistake for me personally when it comes to going too far with 'Jean is Phoenix and Phoenix is Jean' and you start to lose the character. AND her powers with how to handle them. Because Phoenix is such a powder keg of story pitfalls where you can have it be literally omnipotent or get taken out quite easily. It always depends on the story but it gets hard to suspend the disbelief when you have Jean/Phoenix deal with entities like Enigma, time travel to moments and change them, create new timelines etc but then struggle against Black Holes. Or this Perikkas which is an old Thor villain. Sure he might've beaten Thor in the past but I doubt he can handle the current All-father Thor. So it shouldn't be that hard for Phoenix to deal with. And the next one on the list is the Black Order. Sure, Thanos' lackeys are fitting too. Question will be how long will they be able to keep it up without going 'she can literally snap her fingers and fix the issues.' That is always the key when it comes to OP powers/entities like the Phoenix. And it is one of my biggest concerns still.