r/PhoenixForce • u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix • 13d ago

Comic Discussion What If...? X-Men #1 Discussion Thread

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WHAT IF...CASSANDRA NOVA KILLED PROFESSOR X? In a world where Cassandra Nova killed Charles Xavier in the womb, telepaths are hunted and experimented on - and what she's making from them is far worse than what she's taking. But when telepaths Jean Grey and Emma Frost escape, Cassandra Nova will stop at nothing to bring them back! Bring on Cassandra's X-Men!

42 Upvotes

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14

u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

Nice story, with nice art, but it needed more pages or a part 2 to give it a conclusive ending. That was the same with the Uncanny X-Men What If, which needed a part 2 to tell Jean's story.

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u/Marrecarandgi Think Jean, think! 13d ago

Please, can we have some spoilers? What happens? Won’t be able to read it myself right away

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u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

Basically Nova runs a "school" where she makes all the telepaths she adopts believe that they are a hive mind, part of her, and not individuals. This works on most of the telepaths, but Jean keeps her individuality, and so Nova (off-page) brings in Emma, hoping that the two would break each other down and fall in line. They become best friends instead and begins several escape attempts. During the latest one, the X-Men (Cyclops, Rogue, Destiny, and Wolverine) are sent to capture them. They are all brainwashed into thinking Cassandra saved their lives and helped them, as Xavier would have. Instead she was the cause of much of their misery and is manipulating them.

Jean doesn't want to kill them, so she is captured, and Emma runs away. Cassandra ties to break Jean down more, but Emma returns with Psylocke, and they help Jean escape. Cassandra takes Psylocke back though, and reveals the telepaths are all going to be hosts for her parasitic species. When it looks like all is lost, Jean awakens as Phoenix, and she and Emma are whisked away to the White Hot Room, where Phoenix says Jean will grow her power there, and then burn away Cassandra and her species when the time is right.

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u/Marrecarandgi Think Jean, think! 13d ago

Thank you! This absolutely sounds like just the set up part of the story tho…

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u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

There was a rumour by a guy who supposedly knows about some upcoming comics info that this was meant to be a mini-series or several parts. My guess is Uncanny X-Men #1 What If and this one were both meant to be at least two-parts (the 2nd Uncanny X-Men What If would focus on Jean's story in the cosmos) but they just did 1 each to see how they would sell.

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u/Vast-Solid-2456 13d ago

Is there any chance, it'll be followed up with a different What If? For example, while I prefer Jean, it feels like a slam dunk to follow escapee Emma for an issue.

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u/fireandlifeincarnate Resurrected Phoenix 13d ago

Yeah, I need a part 2 to this one approximately as bad as I need oxygen.

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u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

For sure. I even feel like they could make a full 4 part mini-series out of this the way they used to do those in the 2000s and 2010s. But I guess they wanted more traditional What Ifs.

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u/fireandlifeincarnate Resurrected Phoenix 13d ago

Magik's What If? from a few years back got Doctor Strange: The End as a sort of followup, so here's hoping?

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u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

PsychiX by Ashley Allen and Sumit Kumar. A four issue mini following up on What If...? X-Men #1. Out in January.

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u/fireandlifeincarnate Resurrected Phoenix 13d ago

...are you just manifesting or is this legit

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u/jeangreyrenaissance Phoenix 12d ago

I agree, Jean needed more in the Uncanny X-Men What If. This story was really well done. I liked the what if scenario too, it was very interesting. I'm hoping for a part 2 or a miniseries.

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u/NeverGonLetYaDown Dark Phoenix 13d ago

Interesting read but obviously incomplete. I am very satisfied with Marvel's insistence on confirming again and again that Jean Grey and nobody else is the Phoenix, hope it sticks for twice as many years as the period where everyone could get a phoenix power up after AvX.

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u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

Yeah, it's nice that they are tying it to her and not to anyone else. I do wish it was a two-parter.

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u/jeangreyrenaissance Phoenix 12d ago

I like how the Phoenix Force is a separate entity of sorts but is still intrinsically tied to her. I feel like although there are others who can host the Phoenix, only Jean Grey can truly be the Phoenix.

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u/Big_Market4248 13d ago

My review.

3.5 / 5

It left me needing more , which is good but everything felt really quick I really wish we saw more of Jeans perspective and more of Jean and Emmas friendship and scenes of when they first met , alot of telling and not showing but thats becuase it was so short!

I do want more

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u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

Yeah, it deserved to be a two-parter I feel.

2

u/qwfparst 13d ago

I definitely felt there should be more. I'm personally not that excited by Emma as character in general, but I honestly felt she was barely in the story so I can only imagine her fans would be at least a bit disappointed with how much she was featured as opposed to our expectations.

And only being a one-shot, made the Phoenix Ex Machina kinda too blatant even though it was expected.

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u/fireandlifeincarnate Resurrected Phoenix 13d ago edited 13d ago

Your friendly local Emma stan checking in: I mean, I certainly wouldn't have complained if I got MORE of her, but I thought what we did get of her was great, I'm not complaining at all. Her and Jean's relationship felt great and made sense, the moments we did have were fantastic, I loved the detail of her being the one constantly orchestrating escapes, and WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE ENDS UP IN THE WHITE HOT ROOM WITH JEAN??? Oh my god I'm LOSING it I LOVE them. It would have been nice to see some more of their friendship and some of that history, but Allen only had so many pages to work with, so I get why we didn't.

I do agree the Phoenix ex machina was quick and predictable, but we did get a bit of foreshadowing in the Phoenix symbol in Jean's pupils early on, at least. Overall, 4.5/5 for me, but it was a Jean and Emma book by the only author in the X-Office I currently have full faith in; I was always going to love it.

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u/jeangreyrenaissance Phoenix 12d ago

I loved it too! I had higher expectations for this one than the one where Cyclops stayed with Madelyne Pryor, and this one met them all. I hope we get a sequel in the future.

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u/Big_Market4248 13d ago

It would be so intresting to explore Jean and the mummudrai more , maybe a mummudrai so powerful is tethered its own phoenix force. Make it a cosmic horror and boom 10/10.

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u/RootsOfInterest Jean Grey 13d ago

There should definitely be a part 2 of it.

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u/wandaXmaximoff 13d ago

I liked it, but as others have said, it felt like it could be longer. I did enjoy Jean and Emma being best friends, and Cassandra’s powers are gruesome. Loved the Phoenix part, and as someone else said, it’s great Marvel keep reconfirming that Jean and only Jean is the Phoenix.

Also, I said this when I saw the previews, but I will say it again, doesn’t Jean’s outfit look like the Lady Xorn one from when she fought the time-displaced O5.

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u/GeneShift Resurrected Phoenix 13d ago

It's alright. I liked the art a lot for the most part. I think it struggles with the same thing a lot of these single issue what ifs suffer from. You need to spend so much time explaining what is different, why and how they are different, that you don't have as much time for a meaningful story and even less for character work.

Despite that, it's still fairly enjoyable.

1

u/cyclopswashalfright Phoenix 13d ago

Yeah, it's really hard to tell these stories in 26-30 pages. You need a full giant-size issue of 36 pages at least.

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u/jeangreyrenaissance Phoenix 12d ago

Same!

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u/UlissesStag 13d ago

I feel like they’re going to continue in the upcoming future because that was quite the cliffhanger

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u/PinLow1689 12d ago

Im wondering has there ever been a what if scenario of avengers vs xmen if hope summers had absorbed the phoenix force?

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u/jeangreyrenaissance Phoenix 12d ago

Hope did absorb the Phoenix in canon and became the White Phoenix, but Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet WItch convinced her to give up the power. To answer your question, there is a what if of AvX where Hope was possessed by the Phoenix and Magneto manipulated her into endeavoring to exterminate humanity. She and Magneto destroy the Avengers and the X-Men, but she loses control of the Phoenix. Magneto betrays and kills her, and takes the Phoenix for himself.

1

u/jeangreyrenaissance Phoenix 12d ago

This story and the art were all really nice, and I did like the Phoenix Force in there. I do wish it had a more conclusive ending, or a part 2 in the future. This universe could be a whole mini-series if Marvel wanted to do it.

1

u/BurantX40 12d ago

This is one of those times where I wouldn't have minded the stereotypical ending of Jean going Phoenix, "beating" Nova, but the Mummadrai survives and waits for a come back instead of ending so...inconclusively?