Phoenix #13 // Review
She tried to tell him that he was special. That his abilities made him different. That he could survive in a world of cruelty. Sometimes despite your best efforts, your kids might still grow-up to travel back in time to try to kill you. That’s just the nature of life...in the Marvel Universe. And is weird as that sounds, it only gets weirder for Jean Grey in Phoenix #13. Writer Stephanie Phillips continues an enjoyable twisting of the life of a character that goes back several decades. The latest installment of the story is brough to page and panel by artist Roi Mercado and colorist Java Tartaglia.
Actually, Cable isn’t there to kill Jean Grey. He’s only there to deal with her sister. She’s not going to let him have her though. She’s just been reunited with her for the first time in a long time and she’s not about to let her go. Cable has other ideas, though. He’s claiming that all is not as it appears with Jean Grey’s sister. He’s going to have to employ drastic measures if he’s going to be able to prove to her that he knows exactly what he’s talking about.
Phillips takes a little bit of time in rendering the conflict at the heart of the issue. There’s a deep drama at the heart of the issue that doesn’t leave a whole lot of space for a whole lot of other elements in the issue. There are a few elements around the edges, but for the most part, this IS a conversation between Jean Grey and Cable that outlines a serious issue at the heart of the weird mutations of complexity that have been echoing around the X-Men for decades. That conflict feels quite engaging even if Phillips might not have framed it quite perfectly.
Mercado executes the complexity of the situation with some degree of intensity. Action feels stiff. Drama doesn’t quite hit the page with the nuance that it might need, but the more powerful end of human emotion IS quite visible on the page throughout the issue. The visual appeal of the issue is amplified quite impressively by the work of Tartaglia. The color enhances things quite a bit, adding a great degree of depth and radiance throughout the issue. Some of the visuals ARE impressive in both form and color as the story progresses to its big cliffhanger.
Phillips is playing around the edges of the cosmic end of the Marvel Universe. There might not be the kind of intenstiy one might expect from an entity as powerful as the one that was introduced back in 1980 by Claremont and Byrne, but it’s all very impressive on quite a few different levels. It’s been an interesting journey thus far. Phillips and company should be able to find the right momentum to launch Jean in a new direction at the end of the current conflict. It’ll be interesting to see what she comes-up with for future issues.
