SPOILERS for X-Men: Apocalypse follow!
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Things looked dire for our heroes at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse. Despite a huge team-up, with members of the “Horsemen” who had up until that point been working for the villain turning against him and joining the X-Men in their attack, despite Cyclops going full-blast, alongside Storm’s lightning, Quicksilver’s speed, and Magneto’s full force, and despite Charles Xavier taking on Apocalypse in a mental battleground, it still looked like the villain, the world’s oldest mutant, was going to win.
That is, of course, until Jean Grey entered the fray.
Jean started off in the astral plane, helping Charles there. She started to open up her full power, attacking Apocalypse mentally and physically simultaneously, then suddenly, her body was consumed by fire that grew, eventually becoming a full firebird behind her. Apocalypse reacted with amused surprise, as if he’d been looking for it all this time – or at least this level of power. He was amused, of course, until he wasn’t – and Jean Grey, with the power of the Phoenix, burned him into non-existence.
So just what is the Phoenix? Why are all your geeky friends freaking out over that scene? Because the Phoenix Force is party to two of the best storylines in X-Men history (which were both, incidentally, pretty faithfully and wonderfully adapted on X-Men: The Animated Series in the 90s). In the comics, the Phoenix comes from the far reaches of outer space. A revered, godly cosmic force, the Phoenix guards the M’kraan Crystal, a nexus of all realities – a living embodiment of the multiverse. The Phoenix sought out a host, finding Jean Grey, who with her already immensely powerful mind and very host-friendly powers of telepathy and telekinesis was found ideal. The Force greatly amplified her powers, bringing her to godly levels.
That godly power was eventually corrupted, leading to the Dark Phoenix saga, in which it became the X-Men versus the Phoenix (and Jean). It took Jean’s own willpower to eventually end the destruction.
In recent comics, the Phoenix Force was essentially dispersed after, well, a lot of comicbook shenanigans we don’t have to talk about here. A young, time-displaced Jean Grey who has never come in contact with the Phoenix Force was backed against a wall and displayed power nearly equivalent to Phoenix-Jean, all on her own.
So, will the movie universe be going fully cosmic with the Phoenix this time, or have it just be something coming from within Jean? We previously speculated that the technology Apocalypse uses could come from the Shi’ar, the alien race through whom readers (and the X-Men) were first introduced to the Phoenix Force. If that’s the case in the films, it would explain Apocalypse’s look of recognition. It could also open up a big, space-faring adventure for the X-Men, something else fans have been lobbying for years to see.
