10 X-Men Who Became Hosts of the Phoenix Force (Who Weren’t Jean Grey)

The Phoenix Force is recognized as one of the most powerful entities in the Marvel Multiverse thanks to its ability to annihilate universes and rewrite reality. Over millions of years, the Phoenix Force has had numerous mortal hosts. Of course, no host is more iconic than Jean Grey. As the first character in comics to possess the Phoenix Force, Jean has defined the unlimited and oftentimes corruptive power of this omnipotent being. Since the Phoenix Force is always drawn to Jean, it has on more than one occasion found itself taking possession of other members of the X-Men. These mutant heroes have shown the limitless amount of life and death the Phoenix can bring.

The Phoenix Force is an entity of unbelievable destructive power. Over the years, many X-Men, aside from Jean, have become its host in her stead, with mixed results.

10) Stepford Cuckoos

The Phoenix Force is particularly interested in possessing mortals who wield potent psychic abilities. This obsession would eventually lead it to grant its power to three telepaths simultaneously. The Stepford Cuckoo sisters, Celeste, Mindee, and Phoebe, are cloned daughters of Emma Frost created by the nefarious Weapon Plus Program. During their time with the X-Men, the sisters were chosen by a portion of the Phoenix Force to be its new host. Unfortunately, although each of the Stepford Cuckoos received a fraction of the Phoenix’s unlimited power, it also had the unintended side effect of reactivating their Weapon Plus programming. After trying and failing to exterminate all mutants on Earth, Mindee and Phoebe were kidnapped by the villain Sublime, and Celeste became the sole wielder of the Phoenix Force fragment. Having broken free of her mind control, Celeste not only saved her sisters but worked with them to imprison the Phoenix Force fragment in a diamond, ensuring that it couldn’t hurt anyone else.

9) Namor

Namor the Sub-Mariner may be best known for being the King of Atlantis, but his winged feet are the result of his mutant X-Gene. Thanks to his mutant status, Namor became an official part of the X-Men in 2009. When the Phoenix Force was split into five pieces during the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, it found its way to five X-Men members: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik, and Namor. As a member of the Phoenix Five, Namor aided his empowered teammates in creating a mutant pseudo-utopia. However, when the Phoenix Five sought to arrest the Avengers, Namor took the opportunity to use his cosmic upgrade and mastery of the sea to try to destroy his longtime rival, Black Panther, once and for all. Harnessing a massive flood, Namor devastated Wakanda and killed thousands of people. For this horrific atrocity, the Avengers literally beat the living Phoenix Force out of Namor.

8) Colossus

Even before obtaining a portion of the Phoenix Force during the Avengers vs. X-Men arc, Colossus was already wrestling with being the host of a cosmic entity of pure destruction. Colossus has always been the X-Men’s muscle, but he received a significant power boost when he obtained Juggernaut’s powers and connection to the eldritch god Cyttorak. As one can imagine, a version of Colossus that has both the power of Juggernaut and the Phoenix is a seriously powerful and dangerous being. As a member of the Phoenix Five, Colossus worked alongside his sister Magik to crush all those that would oppose their reign. Still, of the Phoenix Five members, Colossus did his best to resist the corruptive pull of the Phoenix Force. However, Spider-Man managed to manipulate Colossus and Magik to attack each other to steal each other’s portion of the Phoenix Force. This battle resulted in both siblings losing the cosmic power and no longer being a threat to humanity.

7) Kid Omega

When Quentin Quire, aka Kid Omega, was first introduced, he was a cruel, bratty bully with Omega-Level psychic powers. Naturally, such a dangerous combination seemed like it would spell disaster if Kid Omega got his hands on the Phoenix Force. Upon encountering this all-powerful entity, Kid Omega made a deal with it and absorbed some of its power. As one can imagine, for an arrogant, immature, and oftentimes violent teenager, Kid Omega initially used this cosmic power poorly. He exploited its force to make himself be lauded as a god on an alien planet. However, Kid Omega would show his development by sacrificing his portion of the Phoenix Force to save Jubilee’s life and restore her lost powers. This won’t be the last time Kid Omega becomes the host of the Phoenix Force, as numerous possible future timelines depict him wielding the cosmic entity’s full power. Kid Omega has always been recognized for his great potential, and becoming the Phoenix Force’s next permanent host would make him one of the most powerful X-Men of all time.

6) Magik

Like her brother Colossus, Magik was one of the five mutants who were granted a portion of the Phoenix Force during the events of Avengers vs. X-Men. Even before this development, Magik, as the queen and Sorcerer Supreme of the hell-like dimension of Limbo, already was among the mightiest sorcerers in Marvel Comics. As one can imagine, Magik became even more dangerous with the Phoenix Force. Magik worked with the rest of the Phoenix Five to create an uneasy mutant utopia while punishing those who would defy them. Magik, in particular, began using the Phoenix Force in increasingly cruel ways as she became corrupted by its power. She trapped Captain Marvel in Limbo and tried to goad Colossus into killing Spider-Man. When Colossus began to get concerned about the corruptive toll the Phoenix Force was having on his sister, Spider-Man took the opportunity to trick them into fighting each other. It was lucky that Spider-Man did so, because with Magik’s control over the Phoenix Force and dark magic, she would have threatened all life on Earth.

5) Emma Frost

Emma Frost has far from the best experiences with the Phoenix Force. When she was a member of the Hellfire Club, she helped corrupt Jean Grey and turn her into the universe-threatening Dark Phoenix. And when Frost joined the X-Men, Jean used her cosmic powers to kill Frost temporarily. Her first attempt to possess the full power of the Phoenix Force ended poorly, as the entity quickly recognized that she wasn’t strong enough to wield its infinite power. However, while Frost can’t handle the entirety of the Phoenix Force, she was able to master a fifth of its power when she became part of the Phoenix Five. Even with just a fraction of the Phoenix Force, Emma was strong enough to beat Thor within an inch of his life. As with any story about absolute power, Emma’s did not turn out well for her. Frost was betrayed by Cyclops so that he could steal her portion of the Phoenix Force and become unstoppable. Unsurprisingly, this betrayal did not bode well for their relationship and led to Frost and Cyclops breaking up.

4) Hope Summers

Not only was Hope Summers the first mutant born after M-Day, but she’s also the child of the Phoenix Force itself. As one can imagine, a part of Hope’s omnipotent mother always existed as a part of her. Even as a baby, Hope was believed to be destined to become the savior of mutantkind. When the Phoenix Force was heading towards Earth, the X-Men trained Hope so that she could become its host and restore all the mutants lost after M-Day. However, after the whole disaster with the Phoenix Five and Cyclops becoming the Dark Phoenix, Hope worked with Scarlet Witch to rip the cosmic entity from the leader of the X-Men. Having finally become the host of the Phoenix Force, Hope used its power to fulfill her destiny of restoring mutantkind’s lost population. At the end of the Krakoa Era, Hope even sacrificed her life to resurrect the dying Phoenix Force. While Hope may now be dead, her connection to the Phoenix makes her resurrection inevitable.

3) Wolverine

Wolverine is the most iconic X-Man of them all, so it’s not a big surprise that he would eventually find himself becoming the host of the Phoenix Force. During a time-traveling adventure with Spider-Man, Wolverine became possessed by the Dark Phoenix and threatened all of reality. It was only by Spider-Man talking Wolverine down that the X-Man managed to cast the Phoenix Force from his body. However, on Earth-14412, a future version of Wolverine fully embraces the Phoenix Force’s unlimited power. In this post-apocalyptic future, Wolverine, now known as Old Man Phoenix, has served as the host of the Phoenix for billions of years. Few beings in the multiverse have mastered the Phoenix Force like this ancient version of Wolverine. With infinite power at his disposal, Old Man Phoenix travels the cosmos to bring life and death across the universe. Old Man Phoenix is the best there is at what he does, and what he does best is maintain universal order.

2) Rachel Summers

In the bleak future timeline of Days of Future Past, also known as Earth-811, Rachel Summers, the daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey, inherited her mother’s connection to the Phoenix Force. This connection allowed Rachel to travel back in time to the present, trying to prevent the dystopian future she came from. When that plan failed, Rachel made the present-day her new home. For a long time, Rachel was the sole host of the Phoenix Force and used her powers as both a member of the X-Men and the British mutant superhero team Excalibur. Rachel’s mastery over the Phoenix Force was so great that she was able to defeat the omnipotent Beyonder and nearly destroyed the universe. Unfortunately, a time-travel incident caused Rachel to lose her connection to the Phoenix Force, and she’s yet to regain its full power. Still, aside from Jean Grey, no other character in Marvel has held the Phoenix mantle as long as Rachel.

1) Cyclops

As Jean Grey’s longtime lover and leader of the X-Men, Cyclops has always had a close and oftentimes tragic history with the Phoenix Force. Famously, Jean died to save Cyclops and the rest of the universe from the Dark Phoenix’s wrath. However, many decades later, Cyclops would find himself becoming the new Dark Phoenix. Cyclops was the leader of the Phoenix Five and used his connection to a fraction of the Phoenix Force to help mutantkind and to wage war against the Avengers. The power soon became too great for Cyclops’ mind to bear, so he made things worse by stealing Emma Frost’s portion of the Phoenix Force. Then, having completely gone mad with power, Cyclops killed Professor X and transformed into the Dark Phoenix, threatening to destroy the Earth. Even the Avengers and X-Men working together couldn’t stop Cyclops’ devastating rampage. Only by Hope Summers and Scarlet Witch’s collaboration could they exorcise the corrupted Phoenix Force from Cyclops, bringing the leader of the X-Men back to his senses. Cyclops may have started with good intentions to save mutantkind, but he quickly devolved into Earth’s greatest threat.

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