I was going to have Jean become Phoenix but I may have her hold off in doing so for now. For those of you who don't know how it works, the Phoenix force is a cosmic being that is only sometimes present in Jean. Phoenix attached herself to Jean after Jean's heart had stopped beating on an ill-fated mission. Basically, she is keeping Jean alive by remaining present within her.
The Dark Phoenix Saga happens after Jean is manipulated into "dating" this really creepy dude. There's a lot more to it, but the cliff notes is that after realizing she was manipulated, Phoenix realizes that humankind is corrupt, goes insane and destroys a planet. Jean sacrifices herself before Phoenix can come back.
What's cool about the story is that Phoenix's transformation to evil happens slowly, so it doesn't completely come out of the blue. It starts off with Jean doing things she wouldn't normally do -- ie, she manipulates a parent who wasn't going to let Xavier take his daughter to his school for gifted youngsters. In another, she temporarily holds back Cyclops' laser eye blasts so they can
The reason I'm explaining all of this is Phoenix is a little bit like the relationship Doc Ock has with the mechanical arms, but it's a bit more complex. At the point I'm writing her at, Phoenix and Jean are one and the same, but sometimes she will be brazen or brash or even angry when she wouldn't have been before. But she's not evil, and Phoenix hasn't completely taken over to the extent that she does when she becomes Dark Phoenix, but sometimes she does. That'll be fun to play with in the RP, I think.
The other reason I'm bringing it up is the costume transformation is a mental thing that happens at the appropriate moment. Jean can change her street clothes too. Also, as Phoenix, she can fly. I'll know when the right time is for her to transform into the RP, but not yet.
The best way I can describe it say you know someone who has cancer. That cancer will always be a part of them, and it has changed their life forever. Sometimes, they'll behave differently because of their cancer. Some days, they may act completely normal, and you forget there's anything wrong. But the cancer is still there. And in spite of their illness, they're still the person you always knew. The analogy also works for a mental or another form of terminal illness.
... hope that makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't. It's a little hard to explain concisely, but it makes perfect sense in watching the cartoon or reading the comics.
Also, Mage, I'm curious as to how Alex knows about mutants if she only follows the MCU -- maybe she knows them vaguely?
I'll give other people a chance to respond and maybe Phoenix will jump into the fight somehow.
