Original artwork, not a still
I am fire! And life incarnate! Now and forever — I am Phoenix!
— X-Men ‧ 1963
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The most operatic entrance in the Claremont and Cockrum run: a character the book had treated as the team's reliable heart suddenly speaks as something vast and new. It is also a bit of misdirection that later stories pay off, since the Jean who rises from the bay is a Phoenix Force duplicate, not Jean herself. The speech is the first line fans reach for when they want to say Phoenix.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for X-MenShow the scene
X-Men #101 (October 1976), 'Like a Phoenix, from the Ashes'. Jean Grey is piloting the X-Men's shuttle home through a solar flare and tries an emergency landing at JFK, but it skids off the runway and crashes into Jamaica Bay. The X-Men and Peter Corbeau surface, and Scott frantically looks for Jean. She suddenly flies out of the water in a new costume and proclaims herself Phoenix, power incarnate, then faints and plunges back into the water; Cyclops hauls her to shore.
Sources (1)
- Marvel Database: X-Men Vol 1 101Quotation and Synopsis; NotesReference checked
Context reviewed
