Rachel Anne Summers (Grey) 2021

[Havok83]

Jean teams up with the Cuckoos to punch a whole into the Otherworld to help save Cable. Need a former PF host to tame the Phoenix? Call anyone but Rachel. The lack of coordination with Jean is the most glaring and problematic but not for the writers I guess.

The list goes on. The problem is (I would say both in universe and for writers) that for years Rachel has been the Jobb Queen and punching bag in the X-Men. You need to show how powerful a villain is? Put them up against Rachel and watch them beat her down. You need a baddie who is a telepath? Make them go against Rachel and turn her into a slave. She's also had great showings as well, but writers have consistently made her seem like a powerful but inferior mutant. And writers also haven't given her the glow-up others have gotten.

I dont think its had that affect. It didnt make the baddie look powerful, but rather Rachel look weak. Xmen Gold, Im looking at you

[Askani's Flame]

I dont think its had that affect. It didnt make the baddie look powerful, but rather Rachel look weak. Xmen Gold, Im looking at you

I agree with you, but the intent by the writer was to make this villain look more powerful by going against someone they claimed was very powerful. X-Men Gold, X-Men Red, Extermination, X-Force.. all of those were not good showings but Gold was by far the most egregious.

[Scott402]

I agree with you, but the intent by the writer was to make this villain look more powerful by going against someone they claimed was very powerful. X-Men Gold, X-Men Red, Extermination, X-Force.. all of those were not good showings but Gold was by far the most egregious.

I agree with you on all but X-Force. She went and handed Stryfe is ass after. Before that...... yes I agree with you lol

[Celestialbodies]

I', impressed with Duggan that he is the only writer (for me) who gets the dynamics of them in a way and he's actively forcing the female Summers to inhabit the same space. And it's great to see, but then also sad because it's the only place you will see it and this book is ending.



Whimper? WAS SHE EVEN REALLY IN THE ISSUE?

I have to agree, most writers who've written the Grey/Summers clan does so primarily from the perspective of the Summers men. Not many give the X-women much agency let alone allows them to take the lead narratively speaking and Duggan continues to do the opposite of what most writers do when writing Jean or Rachel and I appreciate it as well.

[juan678]

[Scott402]

Great to see her! I have to say though. Are they suggesting she took out the Scarlett Witch? or is she time shifting again to view the last moments? Cause I could live with her taking out Wanda, not sure as to the motive and I hope it had nothing to do with mind control but I think it might be interesting. A villainous turn might be intriguing to see.

[juan678]

Great to see her! I have to say though. Are they suggesting she took out the Scarlett Witch? or is she time shifting again to view the last moments? Cause I could live with her taking out Wanda, not sure as to the motive and I hope it had nothing to do with mind control but I think it might be interesting. A villainous turn might be intriguing to see.

[Daedra]

so happy to see Rachel .....and using her chronoskimming as well

[Drexelhand]

So, the full 140.5 story has leaked on Reddit (I won't be linking it, and if it's still up, check it out yourselves guys), but here are the spoilers (since this isn't available to purchase anywhere but was released as canon):

spoilers:

• Day One: o Nightcrawler’s X-Men attack Rachel Summers and the Sentinel Strike Team escoring her. o Nightcrawler’s X-Men take down the Sentinel Strike Team to capture Rachel Summers. o Ahab asked by an Omega Class Sentinel about Rachel Summers’ status as Hound Prime. o Ahab is told by a soldier that they lost contact with Rachel Summers and her Sentinels. o Ahab angrily points out that Rachel Summers is the foundation of the Hound Program. o Ahab makes it clear they need Rachel Summers back since everything depends on her. o Bishop tells Nightcrawler the mission was an error as he struggles with Rachel Summers. o Rachel Summers throws Nightcrawler off beyond Sage and then right into Bloody Bess. o Bloody Bess takes advantage of Nightcrawler landing on her and quickly gives him a kiss. o Bloody Bess tells Nightcrawler they must take advantage of every moment in their lives. o Bloody Bess rushes at Rachel Summers and she manages to kick her down to the ground. o Nightcrawler reminds his team that Rachel Summers’ touch can infect them with nanites. o Bishop tries to hold back Rachel Summers long enough for Sage to knock her unconscious. o Rachel Summers breaks free of Bishop’s grip before Sage is able to knock her unconscious. o Rachel Summers prepares to infect Bishop with nanites as she quickly gets to his shoulders. o Rachel Summers is blasted down by an arriving Kid Stark, who makes sure she is stunned. o Kid Stark tells Nightcrawler she believes that they should have just killed Rachel Summers. o Nightcrawler picks up Rachel Summers as Gateway brings his team back to Maynards Plains. o Kid Stark asks Nightcrawler if he is sure about his theory they can still save Rachel Summers. o Nightcrawler points out that Ahab has made Rachel Summers more machine than human. o Nightcrawler reminds Kid Stark that handling such technological problems is in her family. o Kid Stark insists to Nightcrawler that they are all better off just executing Rachel Summers. o Nightcrawler tells Kid Stark that all he knows is they must all do better by Rachel Summers. o Nightcrawler tells Kid Stark how a young Kate Rasputin once taught him about having faith. o Gateway watches while Nightcrawler takes Rachel Summers over to Kid Stark’s machines. o Kid Stark has Rachel Summers placed inside multiple force fields due to the nanites in her. o Kid Stark analyzes Rachel Summers’ physiology and takes analyzes all of the nanites in her. o Kid Stark tells Bishop how Ahab used the nanites to turn Rachel Summers into a bioweapon. o Kid Stark notes Rachel Summers utilizes nanites to make more Hounds or to kill her enemies. o Bishop insists that bringing Rachel Summers back was a mistake and she cannot be saved. o Nightcrawler tells Bishop that he is missing the point as Rachel Summers is his goddaughter. o Nightcrawler informs Bishop that he would take any chance he had to save Rachel Summers. o Nightcrawler tells his team the truth is they barely saved anyone as God is not that merciful. o Nightcrawler tells his team that what they need to remember is that Sentinels cannot create. o Nightcrawler tells his team that the Sentinels require Ahab and Rachel Summers’ intuition. o Nightcrawler tells his team that the Sentinels use Rachel Summers to learn about humans. o Kid Stark tells Nightcrawler she understands that stopping Rachel Summers buys them time. o Kid Stark asks Nightcrawler if they are only buying time so that they can wait for a miracle. o Nightcrawler flatly admits to Kid Stark that a miracle is the only thing that they can wait for. o Kid Stark calls Nightcrawler a fool for having faith and herself a fool for following in his steps. o Kid Stark states only telepths can go help Rachel Summers, no physically entering her brain. o Kid Stark tells Sage and Bloody Bess to drain all the knowledge they find in Rachel Summers. o Kid Stark declares she will void whatever is left in Rachel Summers’ brain once they are done. o Kid Stark points out that the nanites will just bring Rachel Summers back once they are done. o Kid Stark points out that the nanites are struggling very hard against her systems right now. o Nightcrawler tells his team that the operation with Rachel Summers is their only real option. o Nightcrawler tells his team that each day they get older, the Sentinels keep getting better. o Nightcrawler tells his team that Kid Stark is their only real advantage since she is a human. o Nightcrawler tells his team that Kid Stark will not stay invisible form the Sentinels forever. o Kid Stark hooks Sage and Bloody Bess up to her machines to protect their physical bodies. o Kid Stark tells Bishop that their best case scenario is that Sage and Bloody Bess both return. o Nightcrawler tells Bishop that their worst case scenario is that they kill Sage and Bloody Bess. o Sage and Bloody Bess psilink with Rachel Summers and send their astral forms into her mind. o Bloody Bess is astonished by the sheer amount of nanites that are in Rachel Summers’ mind. o Sage realizes the nanites stripped Rachel Summers bare of her memories or consciousness. o Sage tells Bloody Bess that she can sense something and asks for time so she can investigate. o Bloody Bess starts battling the nanites so that Sage can investigate Rachel Summers’ mind. o Sage notes how Bloody Bess considers no one to be her equal and has proved so in battle. o Sage hopes that Bloody Bess will be able to defeat the overwhelming odds of the nanites. o Sage discovers an idealized version of the Baxter Building built in Rachel Summers’ mind. o Sage notes the building is a stronghold representing the totality of Rachel Summers’ life. o Sage notes the nanites are shredding but not devouring Rachel Summers’ consciousness. o Sage spots four lights shaped akin to the Einstein Cross far above the memory stronghold. o Sage notes the lights represent a light and power that is nearly as primal as creation itself. o Sage heads for the lights but is blocked by the fragments of Rachel Summers’ memories. o Sage finds that Rachel Summers is telepathically defending herself in spite of everything. o Sage watches a memory of Jean Grey holding a baby Rachel Summers forms before her. o Kid Stark takes note of Sage and Bloody Bess’ bodies starting to spike due to the nanites. o Bloody Bess tracks down Sage just as their astral forms are both infected by the nanites. o Bloody Bess tells Sage they were tricked and their astral forms have now been infected. o Bloody Bess tells Sage that the only chance they now have is to return to their bodies. o Sage informs Bloody Bess that doing so will only lead the nanites back into their bodies. o Sage tells Bloody Bess that Rachel Summers is too important and they must rescue her. o Sage tells Bloody Bess that their only hope is to destroy all of the nanites that they face. o Bloody Bess tells Sage that they do not have a chance when a nanite horde nears them. o Sage looks at the memory of Jean Grey and she notes to Bloody Bess that she has hope. o Jean Grey begins to manifest through the memory as Phoenix to save Rachel Summers. o Nightcrawler, Bishop and Kid Stark watch Rachel Summers’ mind manifest around them. o Kid Stark is astonished by the power surge which is coming from Rachel Summers’ core. o Kid Stark is astonished by the manifestation of the mind materializing around them all. o Phoenix begins purging all of the nanites from Rachel Summers, Sage and Bloody Bess. o Nightcrawler realizes Jean Grey manifested as White Phoenix to try and save them all. o Jean Grey holds Rachel Summers’ astral form and tells her she is back as she should be. o Jean Grey tells Nightcrawler that it is about time that he came to save Rachel Summers. o Jean Grey tells Nightcrawler that she is herself but also Phoenix as she has always been. o Jean Grey tells Nightcrawler that she has been protecting Rachel Summers for years now. o Jean Grey states Earth is her home, the X-Men her friends and Rachel Summers her child. o Jean Grey points out that because she is Phoenix, she is also responsible for all of creation. o Jean Grey admits that she is still getting used to the responsibilities that she has as Phoenix. o Jean Grey points out she kept the smallest part of herself in Rachel Summers to protect her. o Jean Grey tells Nightcrawler’s team that what will happen next depends entirely on them. o Nightcrawler and Bishop check on Bloody Bess and Sage as they wake up in their bodies. o Kid Stark accuses Jean Grey of letting her parents die though she saved Rachel Summers. o Jean Grey reminds Kid Stark that Iron Man gave up his own life to make sure she lived. o Jean Grey reminds Kid Stark that Amanda Sefton gave up her life to save Nightcrawler. o Jean Grey declares she did what she needed to do to save the life of Rachel Summers. o Jean Grey states it was all she could do and what comes next is Rachel Summers’ choice. o Jean Grey asks Nightcrawler and his team to help Rachel Summers make the right choice. o Rachel Summers fades to allow Nightcrawler and his team to fight as her purpose finishes.

end of spoilers

[Drexelhand]

spoilers:

• Day Two: o Rachel Summers stands by the coastline of Africa to try and heal from her experiences. o Rachel Summers watches the Phoenix Effect briefly flare in the distance over the ocean. o Rachel Summers bids goodbye to Jean Grey and cries for having lost her a second time. o Rachel Summers stands tall as she remembers everyone that was lost to the Sentinels. o Nightcrawler and Kid Stark approach Rachel Summers and tell her that they have a plan. o Kid Stark informs Rachel Summers that their plan to defeat the Sentinels depends on her. o Nightcrawler tells Rachel Summers she does not need to act as she has suffered enough. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that if she does nothing, then others will suffer more. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that power and responsibility is still a big part of her. o Rachel Summers promises Nightcrawler that she will be able to handle Ahab for them. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that she knows the Sentinels better than herself. o Rachel Summers states she is beyond the Sentinels’ conception of humans and mutants. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that the Sentinels will do nothing until they learn more. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that the Sentinels will learn she has immunity to nanites. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that the Sentinels will try to break her but she will resist. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that it is a risk that she owes to all of the dead to take. o Rachel Summers tells Nightcrawler that whatever happens next will be really interesting. o Nightcrawler’s team gather around Gateway so that he teleport Rachel Summers away. o Bloody Bess points out Rachel Summers can just end the Sentinels with all of her power. o Nightcrawler points out Rachel Summers has effectively just been reborn into the world. o Nightcrawler points out Rachel Summers’ powers are still the potential she will grow into. o Kid Stark tells Nightcrawler that all depends on whether or not her plan ends up working. o Kid Stark tells Nightcrawler that otherwise they have made the Sentinels more powerful. o Nightcrawler tells his team that all they can do is have some faith and pray for the best. o Bishop, Sage and Kid Stark find that in spite of everything, they agree with Nightcrawler. o Gateway teleports Rachel Summers back to New York City before Ahab and the Sentinels. o Ahab and the Sentinels collect Rachel Summers, unaware just how much she has changed.

end of spoilers

[Drexelhand]

My takeaways from this are:

spoilers:

This is as much a prequel to Uncanny X-Men 140.5 as it is a sequel to Claremont's backups in Classic X-Men 8 and 43 (hope I got those right) which were (along with his arc in X-Factor where that team fought Apocalypse Prime) his way of reversing Kurt Busiek's retcon that separated Jean Grey. So, the story for those who don't know it is that from Uncanny 101-138, Jean Grey died and was reborn as Phoenix before dying again as White Phoenix. Busiek (who is still an amazing writer even if I confuse his work with Mark Waid's a lot) suggested a retcon that took hold that said Phoenix actually replaced Jean Grey. What Claremont did in those two backups was suggest that Phoenix merged with Jean Grey and left a backup of her in Jamaica Bay - not her real self. So, had Jean Grey accepted the holoempathic matrix upon her resurrection, it is possible we wouldn't have gotten her running around every panel from the mid-80s to mid-90s saying "but that was Phoenix who died on the moon while I was replaced by her" and they would've merged again in terms of memories. With the Phoenix Egg introduced in Morrison's run, he took from those two stories to further reverse the retcon. Does this issue canonize that Rachel Summers is the child of Phoenix? Yes. So is she not the daughter of Jean Grey? No. She is the daughter of Phoenix because she is the daughter of Jean Grey, not in spite of it - at least terms of the story. There's a panel where Rachel states that she is something new - now people may take that as her saying she isn't a mutant and she is this Phoenix Child and all. However, it's clear that she's talking about her being a kind of human or mutant that the Sentinels will be confused by due to her having broken free of their nanites. So, this story affirms this much: she is Phoenix's daughter, she is Jean Grey's daughter, she is Cyclops' daughter, she is a mutant and she is much more. Now, before we were having a discussion on when does the Earth-811 diverge from the 616? Was the divergence during the Dark Phoenix saga as Claremont once suggested (and as Alan Davis used in his run on Excalibur) in Uncanny X-Men 199 where Jean's parents rejected her? Or was it indeed the death of Senator Kelly, with Days of Future Present having Ahab directly declare that Kate Rasputin's actions in the past altered the Earth-811 future (with such changes as Xavier's death being known to us)? Or was it both, with it having originally been Kelly's death but the time travel having caused a Stark Trek scenario where other prior instances of time travel completely changed everything? This story doesn't answer that question directly but it suggests the Days of Future Present scenario by mentioning the incident where Amanda Sefton died (which is also how Xavier died when time travel rewrote the future) and also mentioning Kate Rasputin's plan to rewrite the past. If this is true, what does this mean for Uncanny X-Men 199? Perhaps those are some of Rachel's false memories. What about Excalibur 52, which claims that the X-Men never fought Phoenix? Well, from that perspective you can suppose this story suggests the Dark Phoenix divergence but with Jean appearing as White Phoenix and when you consider the circumstances of Classic X-Men 43, I doubt it. I suppose with this question, you can just see that it's a timeline/continuity mess and it's best to just enjoy the story for what it is. Now when is this story set? Obviously its set before Rachel gets sent into the camps. While it's not clear if its set before Rachel said no and demolished Ahab's body, it has to be because Ahab appears as a cyborg here. I suppose that can be interpreted as Rachel being subject to the nanites because of what she did and her being sent into the camps by the Sentinels after this when they learn she's become immune.

end of spoilers

Overall, I'd give the story an 8/10. It's an improvement over his work in his anniversary special and a nice story that fills in some gaps for Days of Future Past - even if it doesn't answer where this alternate Bishop came from as the IGN article about it promised.

Claremont's teased a three-part Gambit story set before Days of Future Present/X-Tinction Agenda on his Instagram. I suppose that'll either be a miniseries like PAD's Maestro minis or part of X-Men Legends. Either way, on to the next one!

[Daedra]

My takeaways from this are:

spoilers:

This is as much a prequel to Uncanny X-Men 140.5 as it is a sequel to Claremont's backups in Classic X-Men 8 and 43 (hope I got those right) which were (along with his arc in X-Factor where that team fought Apocalypse Prime) his way of reversing Kurt Busiek's retcon that separated Jean Grey. So, the story for those who don't know it is that from Uncanny 101-138, Jean Grey died and was reborn as Phoenix before dying again as White Phoenix. Busiek (who is still an amazing writer even if I confuse his work with Mark Waid's a lot) suggested a retcon that took hold that said Phoenix actually replaced Jean Grey. What Claremont did in those two backups was suggest that Phoenix merged with Jean Grey and left a backup of her in Jamaica Bay - not her real self. So, had Jean Grey accepted the holoempathic matrix upon her resurrection, it is possible we wouldn't have gotten her running around every panel from the mid-80s to mid-90s saying "but that was Phoenix who died on the moon while I was replaced by her" and they would've merged again in terms of memories. With the Phoenix Egg introduced in Morrison's run, he took from those two stories to further reverse the retcon. Does this issue canonize that Rachel Summers is the child of Phoenix? Yes. So is she not the daughter of Jean Grey? No. She is the daughter of Phoenix because she is the daughter of Jean Grey, not in spite of it - at least terms of the story. There's a panel where Rachel states that she is something new - now people may take that as her saying she isn't a mutant and she is this Phoenix Child and all. However, it's clear that she's talking about her being a kind of human or mutant that the Sentinels will be confused by due to her having broken free of their nanites. So, this story affirms this much: she is Phoenix's daughter, she is Jean Grey's daughter, she is Cyclops' daughter, she is a mutant and she is much more. Now, before we were having a discussion on when does the Earth-811 diverge from the 616? Was the divergence during the Dark Phoenix saga as Claremont once suggested (and as Alan Davis used in his run on Excalibur) in Uncanny X-Men 199 where Jean's parents rejected her? Or was it indeed the death of Senator Kelly, with Days of Future Present having Ahab directly declare that Kate Rasputin's actions in the past altered the Earth-811 future (with such changes as Xavier's death being known to us)? Or was it both, with it having originally been Kelly's death but the time travel having caused a Stark Trek scenario where other prior instances of time travel completely changed everything? This story doesn't answer that question directly but it suggests the Days of Future Present scenario by mentioning the incident where Amanda Sefton died (which is also how Xavier died when time travel rewrote the future) and also mentioning Kate Rasputin's plan to rewrite the past. If this is true, what does this mean for Uncanny X-Men 199? Perhaps those are some of Rachel's false memories. What about Excalibur 52, which claims that the X-Men never fought Phoenix? Well, from that perspective you can suppose this story suggests the Dark Phoenix divergence but with Jean appearing as White Phoenix and when you consider the circumstances of Classic X-Men 43, I doubt it. I suppose with this question, you can just see that it's a timeline/continuity mess and it's best to just enjoy the story for what it is. Now when is this story set? Obviously its set before Rachel gets sent into the camps. While it's not clear if its set before Rachel said no and demolished Ahab's body, it has to be because Ahab appears as a cyborg here. I suppose that can be interpreted as Rachel being subject to the nanites because of what she did and her being sent into the camps by the Sentinels after this when they learn she's become immune.

end of spoilers

Overall, I'd give the story an 8/10. It's an improvement over his work in his anniversary special and a nice story that fills in some gaps for Days of Future Past - even if it doesn't answer where this alternate Bishop came from as the IGN article about it promised.

Claremont's teased a three-part Gambit story set before Days of Future Present/X-Tinction Agenda on his Instagram. I suppose that'll either be a miniseries like PAD's Maestro minis or part of X-Men Legends. Either way, on to the next one!

Thank you so much for sharing all this, I was able to read the book as well and it was awesome, everything I could hope for as a Rachel & Jean fan.

[Subliminal]

Overall, I'd give the story an 8/10. It's an improvement over his work in his anniversary special and a nice story that fills in some gaps for Days of Future Past - even if it doesn't answer where this alternate Bishop came from as the IGN article about it promised.

Claremont's teased a three-part Gambit story set before Days of Future Present/X-Tinction Agenda on his Instagram. I suppose that'll either be a miniseries like PAD's Maestro minis or part of X-Men Legends. Either way, on to the next one!

Thanks for sharing. The biggest problem I have with this story is Rachel's lack of agency in any of her decisions, she's coerced by everyone. And she doesn't even save herself as suggested before. After enjoying Williams' characterization of Rachel as capable and useful, Claremont's perpetually jeune, Reloaded Rachel is cringeworthy in comparison. Sure this sets up Rachel as being a "worthy" Phoenix host, but isn't anyone and everyone in the Marvel universe these days?

Claremont has defaulted to making Rachel the princess in the tower lately, while he had more interesting concepts with her in the past. You could see his interest in pairing Rachel with Cadmus existentialism and some master-slave dialectic influences. Maybe this is the Disney effect? Everyone gets orphaned and aspires to be basic.

[Daedra]

Thanks for sharing. The biggest problem I have with this story is Rachel's lack of agency in any of her decisions, she's coerced by everyone. And she doesn't even save herself as suggested before. After enjoying Williams' characterization of Rachel as capable and useful, Claremont's perpetually jeune, Reloaded Rachel is cringeworthy in comparison. Sure this sets up Rachel as being a "worthy" Phoenix host, but isn't anyone and everyone in the Marvel universe these days?

Claremont has defaulted to making Rachel the princess in the tower lately, while he had more interesting concepts with her in the past. You could see his interest in pairing Rachel with Cadmus existentialism and some master-slave dialectic influences. Maybe this is the Disney effect? Everyone gets orphaned and aspires to be basic.

It’s quite the opposite, she’s finally getting agency over previously narrated events that used to just have befallen her in previous accounts, Rachel never had as much control over her tragic past as she was granted in this story.

[Subliminal]

It’s quite the opposite, she’s finally getting agency over previously narrated events that used to just have befallen her in previous accounts, Rachel never had as much control over her tragic past as she was granted in this story.

I still don't see it, but if I had the actual book with all the dialogue... perhaps. From the plot points that were shared, it sounds more like some rebels/friends are 'saving' Rachel because she is a valuable asset and potential weapon of mass destruction. It's more about their agenda rather than Rachel's own motivations. Rachel's previously narrated heroic break from Ahab's is now a spotlight on Jean/Phoenix's sacrifice. In X-Men 141, it was explicitly stated that it was Rachel's solution to do the time-mind swap to save the world, now it's Kurt's idea. We have a vulnerable girl, who has lived years under mental subjugation, now recently freed and we're now to assume she can automatically be proactive, without downtime to process trauma or any amount of time to even have imagination. This is more of Claremont's femsub fantasies.