so many marvel characters already have contact with the phoenix force that it is even strange to put this codename again
In regards to Phoenix...before they whore'd it out to everyone just shy of Bill the Lobster, when it was just Jean and Rachel...I thought it would be cool to differentiate and specialize them a bit.
Jean would have a connection to the M'Kraan Crystal and act as a guardian of realities. Jean's biggest Phoenix feats include healing the M'Kraan Crystal itself, and undoing the Here Comes Tomorrow alternate reality and replacing it. Jean(from the White Hot Room) also seemingly protected Rachel and Psylocke from Wanda's House of M reality warp.
Rachel/Phoenix would have a connection to the timestream and act as guardian. Rachel's biggest Phoenix feats include rescuing Captain Britain from the timestream and taking his place, eventually becoming Mother Askani in the far future, and psychically retrieving Scott&Jean to raise and protect Nathan/Cable. Also, while unable to change her timeline, she was able to physically travel to it(with Excalibur) and end the Sentinel threat there going forward.
Love those Alaska Jean/Scott images. Such a powerful moment for Jean, and was truly a gem of the 90s.
I love Jean looking powerful and strong in that pic!
When I think that editors killed that story for one of the mediocre arc and terrible ideas they had in mind (fake X-Men, the hunt for Xavier) it still pains me.
Each time writers want Jean to embrace her Phoenix imagery, some Marvel editors cancel it. It's crazy. It's like :"Jean Grey as Phoenix is powerful. We don't want that. Let have her cry and die in space, in her mini skirt. A codename ? Phoenix has to much depths, it sounds way too good. So no. Give her the Marvel Girl codename instead. The Phoenix suit? It's perfect and timeless. Who in the hell want perfection for a super-hero?? Let her wear washing gloves and a suit from the 60's"
No, no, no. Let's not blame Jean's death in HoX on Jordan White, who was the editor through most of X-Men Red, Extermination, and Decimation/Age of X-Man, all of which showed Jean as pretty badass in her own right. All regression is to be blamed on Jonathan Hickman.
"We come into this world alone and we leave the same way. The time we spent in between - time spent alive, sharing, learning together... is all that makes life worth living." - Jean Grey
Yeah that era was bad. Though I admit I loved Kitty, Nightcrawler, and Colossus coming back to the X-men but overall the stories weren't so good and the arcs forgettable. Remember the Gathering? Or was it the Shattering? The stuff with Nina? Astonishing X-men with Scott, Jean, Nate Grey, Cable, and Angel? The Twelve. Ages of Apocalypse. Yikes!