WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Avengers #44, by Jason Aaron, Javier Garrón, David Curiel & VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
Through the entire “Enter the Phoenix” storyline in Avengers, fans debated who would come out of the tournament as the new host of the Phoenix Force. Wolverine wanted to keep it in the mutant family, but the Phoenix showed a preference for Black Panther. Captain America may have seemed like the most worthy, but the Phoenix chose someone totally unexpected in Avengers #44
In a major twist, a hero who isn’t even in the Avengers swept in and stole the powers from everyone, becoming the new Phoenix in Marvel Comics. This was Maya Lopez, the hero known as Echo. As Maya flew off, Jean Grey called out to her from Krakoa with a word of advice.
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As Maya soaked in the essence of the Phoenix Force, she admitted the Phoenix didn’t love her or even want her. Yet, it was never about who wanted what, it has always been about who was needed throughout time. The host of the Phoenix is always someone who has fallen and suffered. Maya also admitted it is a person’s emotion that draws the Phoenix into them, not their individual power. She pointed out why she is the perfect Phoenix. Maya can fight in any style with any weapon, and no Phoenix host has ever been like her. However, what Maya Lopez could soon learn is that this power comes with great danger, and she won’t be able to do this by herself.
No one knows that better than Jean Grey. After Maya took on the Phoenix Force, Jean ordered Wolverine to leave her alone and return home, as he said he would kill anyone who took on the Phoenix Force. She then reached out to Maya and told the young woman not to go on this journey alone. While Maya Lopez has always been a loner, the Phoenix Force has a way to cause someone to feel isolated from the world, making the host less human. Jean said if Maya wants to keep her soul as the new Phoenix, she has to make the Phoenix her own.
While Jean was not the first Phoenix host on Earth, she was the first character to wield its power when the Phoenix debut in Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum’s X-Men #101 in 1976. No one alive today knows the dangers of the Phoenix Force more than Jean., who bonded with the Phoenix Force and saved the X-Men following a mission into space. While this wasn’t Jean’s real body that returned to Earth as the Phoenix, it was still Jean in spirit. After Mastermind of the Hellfire Club brainwashed her into becoming the Black Queen, Jean lost control and turned into the Dark Phoenix. She massacred an entire solar system by devouring a star and killing billions. Thanks to the effects of humankind warping its judgment, Dark Phoenix became the most dangerous entity in the universe, and Jean Grey seemingly died to stop it.
The Phoenix Force returned to Jean Grey after this and later merged with others, including Rachel Summers. The Avengers entered into a war with the X-Men when the Phoenix Force returned to Earth in Avengers vs. X-Men. Through it all, the Phoenix Force caused even the noblest heroes to do evil things, as it showed with Colossus when he was part of the Phoenix Five. Maya Lopez was a trained assassin who became a hero. She has murdered people, and she now has the power to make her the most dangerous human on Earth. Jean Grey knows better than anyone what can happen if a person allows the Phoenix Force to take control, and there isn’t a better person to warn Maya of these dangers.
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