Warning! Contains a preview for Rise of the Powers of X #5!Of the original X-Men, Jean Grey, aka the once-and-future Phoenix, stands above the rest as a cosmic powerhouse, and she’s now returning yet again to bring cleansing fire. Jean is facing off against a threat outside of time and space itself, and the Phoenix has never been more necessary. As the franchise leads towards a new status quo where Jean will be embodying the cosmic entity full-time, this story will surely set the stage, even as it brings Jean her greatest challenge to date.

The preview for Rise of the Powers of X #5 shows Jean Grey’s return and resurrection as the Phoenix as the series ushers the Krakoan Era to a close.

Jean has been locked in the White Hot Room, the metaphysical birthplace and resting ground of the Phoenix, for the entirety of the miniseries so far. In RotPoX #3-4, Professor X kills Rachel Summers, Jean’s daughter from an alternate future, in order for Rachel to join her mother and restart the Phoenix where it lives, leading to the rebirth seen in this preview.

Jean Must Reclaim the Phoenix For a Battle Beyond Our Reality

In Immortal X-Men #15-16 and the 2023 Jean Grey miniseries, Jean appears in the White Hot Room after dying during the X-Men’s 2023 Hellfire Gala. Befuddled, bewitched and reliving her own history, Jean is almost killed within the White Hot Room, threatening the realm itself, along with the Phoenix. The miniseries X-Men Forever (2024) follows other X-Men who are also trapped in the White Hot Room as they rebirth the Phoenix. Hope Summers, aided by Jean, sacrifices herself and becomes the spark that creates the entity itself, making the Phoenix truly cyclical.

Jean’s rebirth is necessary because of the threat that the entire universe now faces. Mutantkind is fighting Enigma, an AI based on Nathaniel Essex, the model for Mister Sinister. Enigma is a Dominion, an entity that has transcended space and time. Rise of the Powers of X #4 shows Enigma recruiting other Dominions to fight the Phoenix, the one entity that can harm them all. RotPoX #5 will be the final battle between Phoenix and the Dominions, as Jean harnesses the full power of the Phoenix for this final battle.

How Will Jean Handle the Phoenix’s Power This Time?

What will be interesting to see is how the post-Krakoan status quo deals with both the Phoenix’s power and the impact on its host. The previews for the upcoming Phoenix (2024) ongoing series confirm that Jean will retain the Phoenix’s power, and also suggest that she now has better control of it than most times in her history. There’s no suggestion of Dark Phoenix or corruption so far, only power on a cosmic scale. This signals that the Phoenix will be treated as a more neutral, or even overtly heroic force, which isn’t always the case.

Whether the Phoenix is a positive, neutral or malevolent force oscillates wildly between different writers and status quos. By some writers’ telling, the Phoenix will inherently corrupt its users, always leading to a Dark Phoenix moment. Others take its motto of “fire and life incarnate” as not evil, but neutral, a cleansing force that burns away the rot in creation. It’s this spiritual, cosmic realm that’s the most interesting playground for the character. So, as Jean Grey once again comes into her own as Phoenix, the X-Men’s most powerful founding member may just be entering her best era yet.