Phoenix - War Song #5 - Marvel

Well, this wraps up the Phoenix storyline. But, to me, it's all a little hooky. I mean, I get the idea of the Phoenix wanting to take over the Cuckoos. And I get the idea, that by splitting the force between all of them, especially the 1000 or so at The World, that it diminishes it's power and dilutes it. But, the part that gets me is the way that Celeste beats them all. And now Phoebe and Mindee are back alive? And Celeste has, " . . . split the Phoenix in 3. Frozen in each of our hearts. Our hearts are diamond now, permanently. We'll never feel anything ever again. But the Phoenix will never escape." I mean, sure she had the Phoenix power and with that power she could probably accomplish this. But, why would the Phoenix let her? I mean if you knew that your host was planning on permanently disabling you, why would you let her? Personally, and obviously, I don't think this story is done. I mean, how can it? And now the girls are going back to the school, as emotionless . . . . . little monsters. Really. And after seeing all the girls, that Emma was actually, sort of, the mother of, go up in flames, now she's vowed her eternal vengeance upon the Phoenix, or Jean Grey, or whomever she has to. So I see another part of this story coming up before to long. But isn't that the way is always is with the X-men? Answer 1 question and create 3 more. Anyways, this was a very cool mini-series. It'll be interesting to see where we go from here.

X-Men - Phoenix Warsong #4 - Marvel

We're still dealing with the Cuckoo's this issue. We're back at the World, the Weapon Plus training headquarters. It's a little confusing, but the Phoenix is centered in Celeste. It's also giving little pieces of itself to it's sisters. But in the main chamber, where all the other sister's, clones, are in their incubation tubes, the Phoenix fries them all. We also find out, as if we didn't know, that all these girls came from Emma's eggs. The purpose of this experiment was to have the sisters, not individually, but as a whole tied into the World's computer system. With so many telepathic minds connected, it created the world's strongest telepathic weapon. Which could be controlled and unleashed via three focal points, the three sisters. It's goal, to destroy all mutants. Of course. What else would it be there for? The computer, a simulation of Dr. Sublime convinces them that they have to expel the Phoenix from Celeste because the computer can't handle the energy. But it's all a ruse, because he really wants the energy expelled so that the computer can suck it in. And thereby become all powerful. So, now that we know what the plan is, now we have to see how the X-men are going to disrupt that plan. Next issue is the last in this series, so it all has to come to a head then. It'll be interesting to see how they wrap this all up. Oh, and again thanks to www.milehighcomics.com for their help with the cover.

X-Men - Phoenix Warsong #3 - Marvel

Ok, again I had to borrow a cover from www.milehighcomics.com. They are a fantastic resource for all things comic related. Check 'em out. Anyways, I really like the X-men, and these grandiose storylines, but this one doesn't quite seem to be pulling it off for me. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely some neat ideas coming out of this. I like the way they're tying the whole thing into "the World" storyline from a few years ago. And it's cool to think that the Cuckoos were actually biologically bread and grown and, I assume, advanced evolutionarily in this "World". Also they were then sent specifically to Xavier's school to try to help them adapt to the outside world. I also think it's cool that they were all harvested from Emma's eggs. Talk about mass copulation. And, since the Phoenix Force failed in it's leeching of Jean, Rachel and Emma, that it's next step would be to try out the forms of Emma's progeny. But the way the story is flowing, and how they're trying to fit the X-men into it, just seems kind of forced to me. Specifically with this, we are dealing with Scott, Emma, Peter and Kitty. Oh, and a SHEILD agent named Jake Oh. Then a back-up team arrives with the Beast and Wolverine. They also have the 2 cuckoo zombies in tow, whom they hadn't realized had come up from the ground and hitched a ride without them knowing it. So, that part of the story is a little convoluted. Maybe it'll clear up some in issue 4 or 5, but right now it seems more than a little messy. Which is really a shame, because I want to like this story. I just can't say I do right now. But, I do want to see how it turns out, so I'll let you know if I change my mind any after the next issue.

Phoenix Warsong #2 - Marvel

The real breakout of this story is not that the Phoenix may be residing in the Cuckoo's. That's just the next natural step. It went from Jean, to Madelyn, back to Jean, to Emma, then where to next? Oh yeah, the Cuckoo's. So what? The real story is that the Cuckoo's are not who they seem. Nobody's ever really questioned where they came from or why. And in this issue when they do try to question it, there's a mental block that make anyone who thought about it forget what they were talking about. Apparently those blocks have been in place ever since they arrived. No one noticed till now. And now that they have noticed, and know that they're there, Emma easily, if not painlessly, removes them from everyone. And on top of this weirdness, the other 2 Cuckoo's, the dead ones, rise up out of the ground to join there sisters. In the melee that follows, Wolverine ends up cutting off part of one of their arms and in doing so discovers that their skeletons are laced with nanotech. Which, once Wolverine knows what it is, he recognizes the smell from the World. Cyclops doesn't have happy memories of his trip there. "The last time I went to the World, I fought an artificially evolved supersoldier who could disintegrate people by looking at them. He was part of a team of monsters who were supposed to exterminate every mutant on the planet. Monsters bred in the World. Where your Cuckoo's come from.", Scott says to Emma. The final spash page of the story, is the Cuckoo's desending into the depth's of the World only to find caccoons, thousand of them, all filled with what appears to be more of their sisters. Now how the Phoenix plays into all of this, I'm not sure yet. But with only 3 issues to go, I'm sure we'll find out soon. Viva la X-men.

X-Men Phoenix Warsong #1 - Marvel

Ok we're going back to the Phoenix storyline again, but this time with a twist. This time it looks like it's the "cuckoo's" that are going to be the recipient of the gift. The story starts out with someone controlling the girls into sleepwalking out to the grave sight of their sisters. Whoever it is is also strong enough to control Hellion, at the same time, so that he can use his telekinesis power to aid them in flight. At the same time, Emma is having a dream that she wakes up and she is the Phoenix, burns up everyone on campus, and then proceeds to burn up the world. Luckily this is just a dream, but she can still tell that something is wrong with her girls. The X-men check and test them, to see if maybe they're just going through some secondary mutation, but they find nothing. In the end they assume the mantle of the Phoenix, and are attempting to bring their sisters back to life. We also see a flash of the boy that the X-men are keeping in statis. I can't remember his name. But, is he the one controlling the girls? This is part 1 of a 5 part mini,so, we're not going to find all the answers this issue. Greg Pak writes it and Top Cow studios does the interiors. It's really nice looking. We'll have to wait until next issue to see where it's going from here.