10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About The X-Men
5. The Entire Phoenix Saga
Oh the Phoenix Saga. One of the best and most memorable of not only the X-Men but all comic storylines. It is also one of the most convoluted stories in all of comic history. It's no wonder why so many people make mistakes when it comes to just about anything to do with Jean Grey or the Phoenix force. And let us be quite clear when we state that while we will point out the factual inaccuracies associated with it there is a lot that is still open to interpretation. Things have been retconned and reworked so often that even some writers can't seem to get things right.
First of all, the Phoenix force is not Jean's mutation. It is a cosmic entity that chose Jean Grey as a vessel due to her extremely potent psionic abilities when she telepathically called out for help in outer space. While it can still be debated that perhaps the force is an extension of her powers due to such manifestations of Phoenix-like abilities when Jean was not possessed by the entity it must be agreed upon that the two are completely separate life forms. It could also be possible that Jean's powers 1) were naturally developed to accept the Phoenix force and bond with it or 2) evolved upon joining with the force giving her such cosmic powers even outside of possession. These are not facts but simple observational possibilities.
The fact that Rachel Summers - being Jean's 'supposed' daughter from an alternate timeline (see the next post for clarification) - had a deep connection to the Phoenix does point out the possibility of the Grey line having a mutation that allows absolute bonding. It doesn't, however, explain why others unrelated to Jean so easily bonded with the force as well. Secondly, the woman that committed the terrible horrors during the Dark Phoenix Saga was not Jean Grey. That's right; Jean did not commit murder on a cosmic scale but rather it was the force having taken on her form, memories, and overall identity. The real Jean Grey was later revealed to have been safely preserved in a telekinetic cocoon residing at the bottom of Jamaica Bay.
The third point - and this one is but speculation - sees Jean and the Phoenix force as separate entities with the force being an omnipotent presence within the cosmos. It is said that there are multiple avatars with which to host the Phoenix and that they are created - as is everything - from its energies. Jean Grey was said to be the one most closely related to the Phoenix and that it has been with her since her inception. Once again, that is but a theory. It seems that no matter what the true story with the Phoenix is - having been rewritten so often - readers and non-readers alike will make mistakes in coming to understand it. For the sake of not treading too far into dangerous territory we too will let the matter rest.