First Things First…
We’ve arrived at the finale of “The Phoenix Saga.” Here’s hoping they land the plane.
3 Things I Like
3. The Indestructible Crystal
Despite my other crystal-related issues, I’m happy to find out the M’Kraan Crystal can’t be destroyed. Not even sending it to the center of the sun will do the job. That keeps it in play if someone ever manages to retrieve it. And I’ve always liked the idea of a powerful or magical object that’s location is known, but that’s nearly impossible to get.
2. Mother Earth Revolts
“It is terrible, Professor. It is as though the Earth has gone mad!”
Storm
Natural calamities abound as the galaxy is pulled into the crystal. It feels like Earth is fighting back, as if it has a mind of its own.
1. Goodbye, Jean
“Goodbye, my friends. I love you all.”
Jean Grey
Jean makes an incredible sacrifice by claiming responsibility for keeping the crystal out of the wrong hands.
Now, it’s obvious she won’t be gone from the show forever, but her goodbyes are still emotional. Cyclops is very young to lose the love of his life. Wolverine isn’t nearly as young, of course, and he’s lost other lovers before, but he’s hurting, too. And then there’s the whole rest of the team.
However, nothing beats the twirling, floating kiss with Cyclops. That’s a special moment.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. Inside the Crystal
We only spend a short time inside the crystal, but it’s pretty cool. Being that D’Ken arrived shortly before the X-Men, I guess his creation is at its beginning, so it looks like a wasteland. There’s a red sky and electrical storms, floating land masses, and it’s composed, at least in part, by some type of organic matter. It reminds me a little of the Upside Down.
I just wish we got to spend more time here. This could’ve been a full episode, because there’s so much in the environment for the team to struggle against.
3 Things I Don’t Like
3. Gladiator Disappoints
“I regret, my Empress, that my service to you must begin under such circumstances.”
Gladiator
Gladiator burst into this saga like such a badass a few episodes ago, but he was easily defeated by Phoenix mere minutes later. And he’s been mostly inconsequential since. He’s extremely powerful, yet he’s constantly overpowered by someone. This time, it’s D’Ken. He keeps commenting on how powerless they are, and when he attacks D’Ken, he proves himself right as D’Ken makes him look like a bitch. He comes off as too much of a bumbling sidekick, similar to Eric the Red, and never gets his chance to shine.
2. The Power of the Crystal
The power of creation is essentially the power of God. That’s what D’Ken has been granted. And yet, I don’t buy that it’s all it’s cracked up to be.
I don’t mean that in a moral way—that it’s too much power for any man to have, and more power than I’d ever want—even though all that’s true. I mean it in the sense that, as Phoenix says, he’s “one with the crystal.” Power or no, he’s also stuck inside the crystal. Even trying to look at it from D’Ken’s perspective, that’s not appealing to me, and certainly not worth starting an intergalactic war over.
D’Ken feels kind of like a genie, possessing immeasurable power, but always a slave to his lamp. As Lilandra tells him, “The crystal will gain you nothing. You are trapped within it, as we are. Its power will destroy you!”
1. The Simplicity of Saving the X-Men
When Phoenix enters the crystal, saving the X-Men is way too simple. It isn’t easy—only someone with extraordinary power could do what she does. But once she enters, she saves them without much resistance from D’Ken. She’s able to transport the X-Men and Starjammers out of the crystal, just like that. She’s basically immune to D’Ken’s power.
It’s also unclear exactly how she seals the crystal to contain its power and keep it from sucking the galaxy into it anymore. She asks for help and then mentions a particular attribute from each member of the X-Men. But what does that actually do? Does she channel those attributes?
Tim Matassa
