A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Title: Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Of Jean Grey (2017-2018) #5 (of 5)
Author: Matt Rosenberg, Khoi Pham (Illustrator), Leinil Yu (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 3.5/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: February 1, 2018 to February 2, 2018
Book Summary: The X-Men need to stop the cycle of death the Phoenix brings. Their worlds will violently collide as Jean searches for an opening and the X-Men fight for closure. But when they are brought together, will the X-Men be reunited with their long-lost teammate – or something darker?
Book Review: We have arrived at the epic conclusion of Jean Grey's rise from the ashes.

And let me tell you it was not an ending anyone would be expecting.

This issue picks up right after the last one.

Logan has made it inside the diner and is doing his best to reach through the illusionary world the Phoenix has created to get Jean to remember. And he seems to be getting right through to her by slicing her childhood friend, Annie. He thinks by "killing" Jean's childhood "friend" it would do what it had done when she was a child - awakening her powers.



Unfortunately it doesn't really do much damage to Annie. After all, she is the Phoenix herself and she is not happy at all with what Logan is trying to do.



But what Logan has done, it has awaken Jean and she emerges from the flames dressed in a rather new Phoenix uniform.



Of course, the X-Men are ready to take on Jean as the Phoenix but all this is halted when it becomes quite clear that this war comes down to just two entities - Jean and the Phoenix Force. The X-Men are aware of this and any fight they were ready for would not be happening for the moment.

The Phoenix Force uses everything in its arsenal with the hopes of luring Jean back into the fold. It tries to use Jean's parents and loved ones but Jean isn't having it at all.



Jean is so angry with the Phoenix and its illusions that it is unaware of that the real Cyclops has come to see her. Their reunion is bittersweet and Cyclops dies in Jean's arms.

Jean turns her attentions once more to the Phoenix Force and decides that she is done playing a God and that the time has come for her to just be herself now. This means she will no longer allow herself and the Phoenix be part of each other.



What comes next is rather interesting. Instead of a massive fight between Jean and the Phoenix, it is more of Jean trying to get the entity itself to realize that Jean doesn't want to have the power to play God or be the one who destroys her friends or brings them back. She just simply wants to be herself and nothing more and the Phoenix force is doing its best to try to change her mind. Unfortunately Jean isn't interested anymore in becoming something she really hasn't wanted.







Does this mean the end of a cosmic connection between Jean and the Phoenix Force? Perhaps. Perhaps not. There is never really an end to a story when something as powerful as the Phoenix is a very much part of Jean. Will we see the Phoenix again? Who knows. We may see her return to Jean later on in the future but for now, the Phoenix and Jean have seemingly parted ways.

My thoughts

I felt so sorry for the Phoenix Force. I believe that since Jean has been a part of it for so long that it believes that is cannot function without her. I think that is why we have seen her resurrected in the past. With Jean's death, the Phoenix really had nothing to do and felt empty without it's powerful host and that made it feel alive.

And it wanted that again.

Perhaps even thought the best way to get to Jean was to become a friend to her and living a normal life with her.

As for Jean, what does this mean for her? That simply remains to be seen. We really won't know what is going to happen with her and even what sort of confrontation that may come between her and her younger self but it should be interesting. We do know that Jean may have a team of her own called X-Men Red.

I really do hope we will see the Phoenix again. This does not resolve anything and we know the Phoenix isn't simply going to just go away because Jean says so. She may be out there waiting and bidding her time when she knows that Jean will need her the most.

Will I be keeping up with Jean now that she is back? I might. I do want to see what is going to happen between her and younger Jean. Plus I want to see what exactly the aftermath to this storyline is going to do to the X-Men.

Title: Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Of Jean Grey (2017-2018) #3 (of 5)
Author: Matt Rosenberg, Joe Bennett (Illustrator), Leinil Yu (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 4.95/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: January 11, 2018
Book Summary: Beast doesn't know how or what shape it will take, but he knows they are running out of time before the Phoenix makes its true presence known.
Book Review: This issue starts us right off into an intense dream Jean Grey is having. In her dream, she finds herself piloting the space shuttle through radiation before it splashes into the water.



When she wakes herself up, she finds that she is not at home at all but in the middle of a supermarket surrounded by broken bottles of water. Jean has no idea what has happened and this scares her that she races off amid people whom want her to be checked out by the EMTs.

The scene changes to a father and son, whom are in the middle of Jamica Bay enjoying fishing. Unfortunately their tranquility is shattered when the Phoenix Force comes up out of the water and tips over their boat.

The X-Men are headed to the cemetery where Jean Grey lies. There they find her coffin empty and now they need to find her. Kitty knows of one person who can help them.

The scene returns to Jean Grey. She is at a car repair place where a young Wolverine is working on her vehicle. Unfortunately something said causes Jean's psychic abilities to appear and send Wolverine flying into the wall. As Jean apologizes for this, Wolverine simply brushes it off as nothing more than an earthquake.

The X-Men are in England with Emma Frost, who tells them she has already had a run-in with the Phoenix Force and it was not a pleasant experience. She goes on to tell them that during her time with Scott, she often finds his mind wandering, thinking of Jean.

And she knows where Jean is.

In New Mexico.

Jean is running from something. It keeps calling for her but she keeps ignoring it. It is not until she goes into a building and lock the door that it breaks it down to reveal the Phoenix herself.



The X-Men arrive in New Mexico only to find something is quite going on.


This issue gives us some really bizarre events that I have found even a bit confusing. Heck some of the storyline has been a bit confusing. That is until I have gone back through the first two issues and re-read them again to understand that Jean seems to have made each person appear to her. Maybe not realizing it. I am pretty sure she does it to give herself some familiar comfort in this isolated world.

But at the same time all of the storyline is coming together to give us a bigger picture but exactly what bigger picture it is remains to be scene. It seems that only the Phoenix has motivate to keep it under wraps until the time comes to reveal it. We know the Force is behind Jean's ressurrection but at what cost? Is that why the Phoenix is haunting younger Jean?

Still a lot of questions but still no real answers in sight at the moment. I am hoping that the next issues will fully wrap up this storyline and give us the answers we so desire.

Title: Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Of Jean Grey (2017-2018) #1 (of 5)
Author: Matt Rosenberg, Leinil Yu (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 4.25/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: January 1, 2018
Book Summary: She will return, like a Phoenix from the ashes. Years ago, Jean Grey died and the X-Men mourned her. Since then, the world has changed, her teammates have lived without her and died without her. And now, when strange events start happening all over the world, those teammates can only come to one conclusion – the one true Jean Grey is back!
Book Review: Guess who is baaaccckkk!

Something strange is going on in Jean's hometown of Annadale-On-Hudson, New York. Two young children, who are enjoying an afternoon of bike riding, come across a body laying on the ground in a pool of blood. The two are trying to see if the girl is okay but she rises up with no eyes in her eyesockets wanting to play a game of frisbee. It is then that they are interrupted by another girl holding a dead pigeon in her hands. Suddenly the girl with the dead bird rises up in the air causing the dead pigeon to awaken and fly off.

The scene changes and we find ourselves with the X-Men, who have arrived upon hearing of this incident. They know something strange is going on especially finding those same two children floating. When they return to the X-Mansion, the X-Men are perplexed by these strange events and even more when they are sent off in three groups to even more stranger events.

Each of three groups are attacked in each location but as suddenly as the attacks have come, they are gone. And once more it leaves the X-Men with more questions than answers.

In another part of the city, two waitresses are outside witnessing an event up above. A Phoenix-like projection has appeared above them and disappeared. It is then we find Jean Grey is one of those waitresses. Later on, we find Scott Summers outside her door waiting to take her on a date.

So this sort of confused me. Does this mean Scott knows Jean is back? Or is this just the workings of the Phoenix Force coming into play? Or maybe Jean is living a life inside of the White Hot room where she is back with the others? None of these answers seem to be within reach at the moment.

Am I glad to see Jean back? Yes, I am. I missed her. Don't get me wrong I like the younger Jean but I am not entirely fond of her. I cannot wait, however, to see the two Jeans coming face to face. i think that will be an interesting storyline right there.