Comics:Fantastic Four Vol 1 286

From Marvel Database

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #286

January, 1986

Editor-in-Chief

Jim Shooter

"Like a Phoenix!"
Writers John Byrne Pencilers John Byrne Inkers Terry Austin Colourists Glynis Oliver Letterers John Workman Editors Michael Carlin

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Fantastic Four #285

Fantastic Four #287

Appearing in "Like a Phoenix!"

Featured Characters:

• Fantastic Four
  • Human Torch
  • Invisible Woman
  • Mr. Fantastic
  • She-Hulk

Supporting Characters:

• Avengers
  • Captain America
  • Hercules
• Edwin Jarvis
• Marvel Girl

Villains:

• Stephen Lang, head of Project: Armageddon
• Sentinel Mk III, created by Stephen Lang
• X-Sentinel, Sentinels in the shape of the original X-Men
  

Other Characters:

• Avengers - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Black Knight - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Captain America - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Captain Marvel - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Hercules - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Sub-Mariner - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Wasp - (Appears in flashback and main story)
• X-Men - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Banshee - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Colossus - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Marvel Girl - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Nightcrawler - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Storm - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Wolverine - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Angel - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Beast - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Cyclops - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Iceman - (Appears in flashback and main story)
  • Professor Xavier - (Appears in flashback and main story)
• Phoenix Force / Phoenix II - (Appears in flashback and main story)
• Dr. Corbeau - (Appears in flashback and main story)

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Like a Phoenix!"

The FF return from a space adventure to Avengers Mansion, where they examine the cocoon the Avengers recently found in Jamaica Bay. Using the Invisible Woman’s powers, they learn that there’s a young woman in suspended animation within the cocoon. Mr Fantastic works to free the woman and finally succeeds. However, the woman, who turns out to be Marvel Girl, still believes she is fighting Stephen Lang and his Sentinels. After the FF and Avengers have calmed Jean down, they want to find out what happened to her, especially as Jean doesn’t remember what occurred after the X-Men’s battle with Lang’s robots. While Captain America stays behind, the others visit the home of Jean’s parents, where they find a holempathic matrix crystal of Jean. With the help of the crystal, they learn what happened to Jean: how, after the battle with Lang’s Sentinels, Jean was forced to steer the X-Men’s space shuttle through a solar storm. Jean was about to die, when a mysterious being appeared, sealing Jean in a cocoon, thus saving her life while taking Jean’s place as Phoenix. While Jean is left to wonder whether she’s truly herself or Phoenix, Captain America joins them. Having perused the Avengers files, he has learned of the threat of Phoenix and how she died. He explains that Jean’s personality, even as a copy, was so strong that it forced Phoenix to commit suicide, rather than become a threat to all that lives. Somewhat mollified, Jean still wonders what to do next with her life. Reed Richards states he has a suggestion and proceeds to call someone.

Notes

• The story is continued from Avengers #263 and continued in X-Factor (1st Series) #1.
  
• The flashback portion of this book was severely altered and, as a result, John Byrne (who had written and drawn most of the story) refused to have his name appear on it. According to Byrne, the changes were written and drawn by Chris Claremont and Jackson Guice. Hence, the story reads somewhat disjointed in part, regarding the nature of the Phoenix.
  
• The flashbacks shown are from X-Men (1st series) #98-100.
  
• At the time, the Fantastic Four were houseguests at Avengers Mansion, thanks to the destruction of their headquarters in Fantastic Four #279.
  
• The background story of how Phoenix copied Jean is told in greater detail in the back-up story of Classic X-Men #8.
  
• The FF and Avengers saw the X-Men team up with Magneto during the first Secret Wars limited series.
  
• Magneto stepped in as head of Xavier’s school, starting with Uncanny X-Men #200.
  
• Sue Richards was brainwashed and victimized by the Psycho-Man in Fantastic Four #280-282. Afterwards, she changed her name from ‘Invisible Girl’ to ‘Invisible Woman’.
  
• The Fantastic Four’s uniforms changed from blue and black to black and white as a result of a trip to the Negative Zone.
  
• The holempathic crystal was given to the Greys by Empress Lilandra in the wake of Phoenix’s death (X-Men (1st series) #138.
  
• The other presence Jean senses in the crystal is either Phoenix’s or possibly that of Rachel Summers, as Rachel added her own essence to that of Phoenix’s in Uncanny X-Men #201.
  
  
  

Trivia

• In Byrne’s original version of the story, Phoenix was intended to be a clearly selfish, evil being that trapped Jean to use her humanity as a pattern to gain a body. Jean fought back with the only weapon left to her, by telepathically dumping her entire personality onto Phoenix, making the creature believe it was truly Jean Grey and act accordingly.
  
• Kurt Busiek (whose name was misspelled in the credits as Busek) was still a fan during the Dark Phoenix Saga. However, he came up with the idea of how to bring Jean Grey back from the dead, circumventing Shooter’s edict that Phoenix, being a mass murderer, had to stay dead.
  
  

See Also

• Write your own review of this comic!
• Discuss Fantastic Four Vol 1 286 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Fantastic Four series

Recommended Reading

• Avengers #263
  
• X-Factor (1st Series) #1
  

Links and References

• None.