If you've been reading Marvel's "X-books" for the last couple of years, particularly the "Messiah Complex" storyline and the subsequent issues, you'll know that there's a little "red-headed stepchild" floating arpound the X-verse that bears a suspicious resemblance to none other than Phoenix.
Let's backtrack a bit to the horrendous end of Grant Morrison's run on NEW X-MEN where the "superstar" writer (read that as "over-inflated hack"), in a burst of originality (sarcasm), decided to kill Jean Grey/Phoenix for the umpteenth time.
Then jump ahead a couple of years where the Scarlet Witch goes all "Dark Phoenix" on us and manages to alter humanity so that no more mutants will be born. However, being that Phoenix is a creature of resurrection, a mysterious mutant baby girl was indeed born, to parents we have never seen; a baby girl with the same hair and eye color of Jean Grey who also managed to grab Cyclops' locket, which contained a picture of Scott and Jean, signifying an important connection. Hopefully this isn't a "red herring." Scott silently acknowledges that this child must be protected, as it has been revealed that she may either be mankind's savior or destroyer, depending on which alternate timeline you come from, and he sends the baby girl into the future with Cable (who oddly enough may be Jean's son from an alternate timeline).
So, Cable has now been with the red-haired girl for what appears to be 17 years and the child named "Hope" looks exactly like Jean Grey. In fact as a child the Phoenix raptor was seen in her eyes in one panel of CABLE, and now "Hope" has manifested telekenetic abilities.
In the "present" day, Emma Frost had a vision of Jean/Phoenix returning, and the last we actually saw of Jean was in PHOENIX: ENDSONG, where Jean disappeared from existence, supposedly to reconstitute all her parts in what is called the "White Hot Room," which is a label for the existentialist crap that Grant Morrison named as the place where Jean awaits resurrection. Ah but... Jean has now become the White Phoenix, a complete amalgamation of human host and Phoenix force, no longer seperate entities.
Is being reborn as an infant, growing to full maturity and then manifesting the Phoenix raptor, the last stage of the Phoenix, signalling the return of Jean Grey once and for all, or is Hope a character that is misleading all of us?
Phoenix is arguably Marvel Comics' only iconic female character and second in X-Men popularity, only to Wolverine. In fact, CBR just voted "The Dark Phoenix Saga" the second most important storyline in comics, right behind WATCHMEN.
Marvel better not be playing with us with their hints about Jean's return as Phoenix this coming March, 2010. We had better be seeing Hope actually being a stage of the Phoenix, with Jean's memory and history fully restored! After that, take her out of the X-Men, give her a comic of her own, have her join the Avengers, and NEVER KILL HER OFF AGAIN!
LONG LIVE PHOENIX!
