Warning: Spoilers for Phoenix #5!The world of Phoenix learns in her new series, there is something more powerful than gods in the Marvel hierarchy, which elevates Jean Grey well beyond mutant status and even beyond the realm of gods.

A founding member of the X-Men, Jean Grey has had a tumultuous go at being a hero, devolving from a hero into a villain driven mad by the cosmic entity in her head, and even becoming Dark Phoenix. But in Phoenix #5 by Stephanie Phillips and Alessandro Miracolo, she has returned to her full power and is working in tandem with the Phoenix Force.

She comes face to face with the abstract ideals behind the fabric of reality and realizes that she is the primal force of creation in the universe. Using this power, she returns to kill Gorr the God Butcher by turning him into a star, telling him that she is more powerful than a god - because life itself has no limits.

Phoenix's New Form as the Avatar of Creation Elevates Her Beyond God Status

Phoenix #5 by Stephanie Phillips, Alessandro Miracolo, Marco Renna, David Curiel, and Cory Petit

Jean Grey has received a cosmic redesign in her new solo series. She has graduated from the X-Men and is fighting cosmic battles against gods like Gorr, Perrikus, and, soon enough, Thanos, as well as interacting with the powers behind the universe in the form of Eternity. Even in small ways, she has shown that she doesn't have bodily functions, such as needing to eat, breathe, or drink water to stay alive. She is entirely self-sufficient in her own creative power, separating Phoenix from the legacy of the X-Men - though she is no god but something greater.

Phoenix summons the power of creation, both in theory and in physical force, in her battle against Gorr.

Jean Grey's ascension to impossible power and might is a redemptive arc in response to the still heavy consequences of her Dark Phoenix Saga. This solo series deals with the still-present repercussions of her time as the Dark Phoenix, such as when she wiped out an entire alien civilization. It's apt, too, that the story arc revolves around redemption, as that is the primary power of the Phoenix: its ability to recreate itself. Phoenix summons the power of creation, both in theory and in physical force, in her battle against Gorr.

Phoenix Proves That Cosmic Abstracts Beat Gods Every Time

Phoenix #5 Cover by Yasmine Putri

Going even further, Phoenix shows the culmination of her redemption as she turns Gorr the God Butcher into a star. Gorr, with the All-Black, is immensely powerful, and yet while fighting a god is nothing to treat lightly, Phoenix burns him from existence with ease, showing that an abstract ideal of creation can go places a god simply can't. Gods fight within the bounds of reality, but as Phoenix shows, she, as the avatar of creation and rebirth, works outside the physical laws and limits, going well beyond mortal limits. As every comic fan knows, the gods, in the end, are mortal. Jean Grey, then, is something else entirely.

Gorr's death in this issue is also apt in the way that his death mimics the life-cycle of the Phoenix. Since the mythological concept of the Phoenix is in how it bursts itself back to life from the momentum of its own death, and this is how stars are made too, the parallels are clear. The death of Gorr's All-Black gives way to new life. No god could do this. Phoenix doesn't just have power over death but over life too, making them one and the same, a crucible of creation, making her one of the most powerful beings in all of Marvel - the most powerful person in existence.

Phoenix Is Marvel Comics' Symbol of Universal Life

Jean Grey Completes Her Redemption Arc

In Marvel's comics, gods are usually seen as the ultimate top step in the hero's evolutionary ladder. Beings such as Thor are some of the most powerful beings in the universe, and yet there is always something higher, such as Eternity or Uatu the Watcher, who exist and act behind the fabric of reality. Jean Grey is bursting through this fabric of reality, suring the feared gods of the Marvel canon. Gods may die, but Jean Grey always comes back - creation itself beats a creator every time.

In both her power and her story, Phoenix is redeeming her wrongs as Dark Phoenix and resurrecting a better place in the universe. In her ultimate form, she has the powers of creation and rebirth, and she uses her sacred flame to burn away every trace of evil and make something good out of it, like the light of a star. Phoenix is more than a Marvel Comics god now - she is life itself.

Phoenix #5 is available now from Marvel Comics!