Rise of the Powers of X Brings the Phoenix Force Back into Action

Marvel’s Phoenix Force is tearing its way back into the fight for the future of mutantkind. Now it’s just a matter of time to see whether it is stronger than Enigma.

Rise of the Powers of X #5 opens with Jean Grey reaching up through the decimated remains of what used to be the White Hot Room. Rather than emerging alone, however, Jean has brought the Phoenix Force along with her. While the two are more than ready for their fight against the Dominion known as Enigma, it is clear that there is still plenty of fighting left to be done, and there is no guarantee that the Phoenix will be able to survive it.

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Rise of the Powers of X #5

• Written by KIERON GILLEN
• Art by LUCIANO VECCHIO
• Colorist DAVID CURIEL
• Letterer VC’s CLAYTON COWLES
• Design by TOM MULLER and JAY BOWEN
• Cover by R.B. SILVA and DAVID CURIEL
• Variant Cover Artists CARMEN CARNERO, ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ, DAVID NAKAYAMA, JOSHUA “SWAY” SWABY and MAHMUD ASRAR

The impossibly powerful cosmic raptor known as the Phoenix Force made its Marvel Comics debut in the pages of 1976’s X-Men #101 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum. Initially, the Phoenix Force presented itself in the form of Jean Grey, who was in truth trapped in a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. Over the years that followed, fans watched as the Phoenix Force twisted Jean’s mind, leading to the emergence of the Dark Phoenix and the mutant hero’s tragic demise.

With the rise of Dominion, ascending intelligence that has surpassed time and space, the Phoenix Force became one of if not the last hope for mutantkind’s salvation. Of all Dominion, the one posing the greatest threat to reality is Enigma, the being who was once Nathaniel Essex, better known as Mister Sinister. Thanks to Essex’s clones of himself and his late wife, the villain was able to explore the various ways in which he could reach Dominionhood via various sciences, technologies, and magics.

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While the White Hot Room was once both an afterlife of sorts and the home of the Phoenix Force, it has become a refuge outside of space and time for the few mutants who remained following Orchis’ assault on the most recent Hellfire Gala. From within the White Hot Room, numerous heroes have taken part in a series of missions to prevent the rise of Dominion. For the members of the Dead X-Men, this meant traversing the Multiverse in the hopes of hunting down Moira MacTaggert, whose self-resurrections were key to the development of Orchis and the stranglehold they had established over the planet.

Rise of the Powers of X #5 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

X-Men

Since their debut in 1963, Marvel’s X-Men have been more than just another superhero team. While the team really hit its stride as the All New, All Different X-Men in 1975, Marvel’s heroic mutants have always operated as super-outcasts, protecting a world that hates and fears them for their powers.

Key members of the X-Men include Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Beast, Rogue, and Storm. Often framed as the world’s second strongest superheroes, after the Avengers, they are nonetheless one of Marvel’s most popular and important franchises.

First TV Show

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men (1989)

First Episode Air Date

September 16, 1989

Cast

Hugh Jackman , James Marsden , Patrick Stewart , Ian McKellen , Halle Berry , Ryan Reynolds , James McAvoy , Michael Fassbender , Jennifer Lawrence

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