In recent years, Fortnite has grown into a bit of a bonanza of pop culture franchises, with characters from an array of fictional universes entering the game. That has included a number of heroes and villains from the Marvel universe, most notably in an entire Marvel-themed season last year. While that batch of content brought characters like Iron Man, Thor, She-Hulk, and Doctor Doom into the game, there’s still a long list of characters that fans hope to see appear โ and a new leak could hint at a pretty major one. According to a new tweet from Fortnite leaker HYPEX, the newest Hotfix for the Epic Games title includes labels for “The Phoenix Force Set”, which could very well hint at Jean Grey / Phoenix entering the game.
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While there has been no previous speculation or indication that Jean Grey would appear in Fortnite, it certainly feels like a possibility, after fellow X-Men characters Wolverine, Mystique, and Storm entered the game. And while the “Phoenix Force” codename could easily be applied to another non-Marvel character, there have been instances of some pretty clear references in Fortnite’s code, most recently with the game’s upcoming Naruto crossover.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963’s The X-Men #1, Jean Grey is a powerful telepath who eventually bonds with an alien entity called the Phoenix Force. Over the years, Jean has sported many costumes as Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix, so there’s no telling what incarnation could potentially make its way into Fortnite.
Ever since last year’s “Nexus War” season, Fortnite‘s Marvel references have largely been scattered across new cosmetics and skins for movie and TV-related characters. But as Epic Games Worldwide Creative Director Donald Mustard explained last year, the crossover with Marvel isn’t stopping anytime soon.
“The reason why we called this season ‘Nexus War’ is this is just the start,” Mustard explained to the This Week in Marvel podcast. “This is just the start of lots of stuff we have planned for many years in this Marvel integration. This is not the end; this is the beginning.”
What do you think of Jean Grey potentially arriving in Fortnite? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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