Three members of the Avengers - Captain America, Black Panther, and She-Hulk - are about to become hosts of the Phoenix Force in a thrilling batch of new variant covers coming to Marvel Comics.
The cosmic entity known as the Phoenix is one of the most powerful beings in creation, tied to the death and rebirth of worlds, star systems, and even planes of reality. And it's coming back to Earth, after Marvel revealed the"cosmic chaos-bringer of life and death" will arrive in Jason Aaron's Avengers run in December. It was probably only a matter of time before Aaron used the Phoenix, given he's been tying the team's present-day adventures to the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC. There, he introduced a new Phoenix Host, a beautiful redhead who was actually the lover of Odin the All-Father. But more hosts of the Phoenix may be on the way soon.
Marvel has just released an official press statement teasing the coming of the Phoenix, along with five variant covers featuring different Marvel heroes transformed into Phoenix Hosts. Here's the full teaser:
"I AM PHOENIX!" Those immortal words will take on new life this December when Jason Aaron and Javier Garron’s next great Avengers epic, “ENTER THE PHOENIX,” begins. To anticipate the return of the cosmic chaos-bringer, your favorite Marvel characters will be reborn as Phoenix hosts this November in astonishing variant covers by some of the industry’s top artists including Salvador Larroca, Kris Anka, and Aaron Kuder. Captain America, Black Panther, and She-Hulk are no longer the heroes you knew as they bond with the Phoenix Force to spread rebirth—or destruction—throughout the Marvel Universe. In the end, only one will be chosen to wield this terrifying and great power when the Phoenix Force chooses a new host. Find out more when "ENTER THE PHOENIX" begins this December but in the meantime, check out the Phoenix Variant covers listed below and keep your eyes peeled for more coming your way in November!"
While the teasers only confirm Captain America, Black Panther, and She-Hulk as Phoenix Hosts, it's reasonable to assume both Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom will play key roles in the story as well. After all, five is an important number in Phoenix mythology, evocative of the so-called "Phoenix Five" in 2012's Avengers Vs. X-Men event. What's more, the teaser certainly appears to hint not all the people granted the power of the Phoenix will be heroes... said to be spreading "rebirth or destruction" across the cosmos. The problem is that the influence of the Phoenix affects every aspect of a person's character, dialing strengths and weaknesses to new limits. Meanwhile, the example of Avengers Vs. X-Men set a precedent for how things are likely to play out; if one Phoenix Host defeats another, they can "steal" that portion of the Force. It's not hard to imagine Doctor Doom in particular being quite eager to employ that method...
These costumes are artists' renditions by Aaron Kuder and Matthew Wilson, Salvador Larroca and Frank D'Armata, Declan Shalvey, Taurin Clarke, and Kris Anka are a treat to behold. At this stage, it's impossible to say whether these are the final costumes, or whether there are more surprises coming. One thing's for sure; Jason Aaron's Avengers run is set to get even wilder.