Phoenix vs. Storm: Round 1

After reading some of the posts on the blog, I have noticed that Storm seems to be a class favorite out of all the X-Men characters. I find the pattern of discussing Storms character very interesting due to the fact that Professor Lirette made a remark in class that Jean Gray became a comic book reader favorite once granted the phoenix force. I believe Phoenix to be a much more influential and powerful female character in comic book history than Storm. Her character’s abilities can play rival to those of male superheroes in other comic books during the twentieth century.

 In The Dark Phoenix Saga, Jean Gray not only has strong telepathic powers but also possesses the power of the phoenix force. I found the exact definition that describes what this force actually represents on the Marvel Universe website. It defined the phoenix force as an immortal, indestructible, and mutable manifestation of the prime universal force of life, derived from the psyches of all living beings. I believe it to be absolutely incredible that this derived energy of the universe resides within Jean Gray’s character. She is even capable of consuming an entire star, which she actually does so in The Dark Phoenix Saga. Now how many superheroes have the power to do that? At the end of the issue, she sacrifices herself for the good of the universe even though that means she has to leave behind the love of her life Scott Summers. Jean Grey is illustrated as a very attractive character with long red hair and womanly physique. She is also highly desired by many male characters in the X-Men series. The comic book creators have added variety to her character and this diversity maintains the readers high level of interest. In The Dark Phoenix Saga, we see her as telepathic Jean Grey, eighteenth century Jean, Black Queen and Dark Phoenix. The authors of the X-Men comic book series turned Jean Gray’s character into a superstar; therefore, it is not surprising that she is a comic book crowd favorite.  

On the other hand, I can understand why the class has taken a liking to the character Storm. I think that for the most it is due to the fact that in The Dark Phoenix Saga she is always on the side of the good guys, the X-men. She is always in control of her powers even though they are not nearly as strong as those of the phoenix. When faced with trouble, she remains calm and aware of the particular situation. Storm also develops a connection with Kitty Pryde and serves to provide guidance to the young mutant.

In my opinion, Storm’s character is rather safe and predictable. I think that Jean Gray steals the show with her phoenix force!

http://marvel.com/universe/Phoenix_Force