Here it is. I posted this on Alvaro's a while ago to shut 'em up.
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Like Bad Mojo has said, the Phoenix is a state of being. While for Jean Grey that's true, it's not the whole truth.
Please keep in mind that the universe, the ENTIRE universe, from quantum particles to psychic forces, are all parts of the SAME thing: the ENTIRE universe. Some old and famous dude once said that we are all stardust, and to one degree, we are. Everything you see in reality is made of molecules held together with energy.
Now, there's a human desire to always see the universe as separate things. Like that's a chair, this is a pen, I'm sitting at the computer, and I am a human being. But all of it is part of the universe. Even my thoughts about the universe are part of the ENTIRE universe. Human beings are the sentient, or thinking, "parts" of the universe "whole".
But what if that universe wasn't "healthy"?
The universe whole would need an immune system, similar to human being's immune systems, in order to set it right.
Now, the Marvel Universe has within its natural systems for evolution to produce sentient lifeforms that have psychic powers that bridge the gaps between other sentient individual's thoughts, as well as produce sentient lifeforms with telekinetic ability - the ability for thought to affect the physical elements of reality. That means that an individual granted with both those abilities could, potentially, have power to affect everything: things and the ideas of things.
These individuals could evolve to the point where their thoughts are indistinguishable from all others' thoughts, and everything else in the universe. As they can change everything with their thoughts, the ENTIRE universe is all just thought to them.
The "Phoenix" is one name of the universe's natural ability to evolve sentient lifeforms to the telepathic/telekinetic state mentioned above. These "Phoenix"-ed lifeforms serve as empowered immunity system "white blood cells". They exist to heal the broken parts of the universe. The Shi'Ar Empire studied the Phoenix evolution phenomenon as it occurred in its people. Feron, an ancient Earth magician, managed to reach Phoenix level ability - but, like most Earth people, saw it as something separate, an entity with its own "emotions". Another resident of Earth also managed to reach Phoenix level, a mutant named Jean Grey.
Jean pushed herself harder than ever before as she attempted to save her friends and lover. The stress triggered her Phoenix evolution. But, like Feron, saw the Phoenix power as a semi-religious experience. She personified the change she felt in herself and granted it a consciousness of its own - based on hers. Thus did Jean Grey create the Phoenix Force Entity (PFE) - a fragment of herself.
The PFE joined the X-Men, thinking it was the woman Jean Grey, when in fact it was a copy of Jean's mind and body. The PFE died, but its consciousness did not transcend unto the collection well for the ENTIRE universe's sentient individuals' conscious thought - the White Hot Room. As Jean Grey still lived at the bottom of Jamaica Bay, the consciousness of the PFE remained as a spirit near Earth. Until it collided with the time-lost thoughts of Rachel Summers.
The PFE, while part of Rachel, granted her psychic access to a Phoenix evolution through its own familiarity with it. The PFE learned many things about itself, and retroactively imagined its own history - thinking itself a separate entity than the universe it was part of, and served. An encounter with Galactus and the personification of Death scared the PFE, and set things right for a time. The PFE dissolved its own consciousness and Rachel's familairity with the Phoenix evolution slowly evaporated.
Meanwhile, Jean Grey finally grew confident in her telepathic/telekinetic powers, and maturity. She naturally, and easily evolved into her Phoenix evolution, and this time, acknowledged it as part of herself — or better yet, a higher, super-conscious part of herself.
She died, and then reemerged later to fight for, and then against the Sublime Beast - who sought to halt all evolution on Earth, and spread that resistance to growth throughout the universe. Jean Grey managed to destroy the Sublime consciousness that threatened the growth of the Universe, and transcended herself unto the White Hot Room.
While in the White Hot Room, and outside of the flow of space and time, Jean grew to understand her role as a magnificent part of the Universe, perfectly evolved to serve as an element of its immune system — and that meant healing the damage that had taken place. She reached into the past and changed Scott's decision to mourn her death into the decision to choose to love Emma Frost. Instead of allowing solitude and sadness to spread, Jean forced Scott to accept a new future and new responsibilities.
The ENTIRE universe includes our thought,s reasoning, and our ewmotions. Healing the universe means healing thoughts too. That was what Jean did. This subtle change was enough to alter the entire future. What is interesting is that as these sentient "Phoenixes" rise in experince, they also expand their self-sacrificing sense of compassion and understanding. If one sees the ENTIRE universe as their own thoughts, why not think good and nice things? |
