Peach Momoko's newest critically acclaimed series Demon Days, which established her Japanese folklore "Momoko-verse" at Marvel Comics. Now, Demon Wars will adapt one of the X-Men's most beloved events, The Phoenix Saga, and pit fan-favorite characters Jean Grey and Magik against each other.
The Phoenix Saga, comprised of 1980's Uncanny X-Men #101 - #108, is the first part of the greater Dark Phoenix Saga event. Created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, The Phoenix Saga saw the already powerful telepathic mutant Jean Grey possessed by the cosmic entity known as The Phoenix, causing her to go insane with power. Seeing as Demon Wars is already adapting the Civil War event, it is incredibly impressive that the talented Momoko has chosen to also bring the Phoenix Force into the event.
Demon Wars: Down In Flames - written and illustrated by Peach Momoko with co-scripting by Zack Davisson - is the third one-shot in the Demon Wars event after the bombastic debut of Iron Samurai and the Shield of Justice, and continues to follow the brilliant version of Iron Man and Captain America seen in Demon Wars: Iron Samurai. Demon Wars: Down in Flames is no different, with an incredible interpretation of beloved X-Men heroes Jean Grey and Magik. Marvel's reveal of the cover for Down in Flames includes Momoko commenting on her decision to include Jean and Illyana in the issue, saying:
“'I always write the story as I think of Marvel characters to fit the Yokai role. And for this issue I wanted to introduce Hi No Tori (Fire Bird) because it represents life and destruction (one of the themes of Demon Wars) and felt Jean Grey (Phoenix) was the perfect fit for the role,' Momoko explained. 'Magik also had the perfect characteristics of a particular punkish oni so that is why I chose Magik to be in my Momoko-verse as well. I really enjoyed illustrating Phoenix and Magik’s relationship and using mainly fire for them to communicate. I actually wasn’t familiar with the Phoenix Force stories, so it was interesting finding out more as I researched.'”
Jean Grey And Illyana Rasputina Have Never Looked This Cool
The stunning cover for Demon Wars: Down In Flames, of course also illustrated by Momoko, depicts her desire to interpret the Civil War event while including parts of other Marvel stories and other classic Marvel characters, and it truly is fascinating to imagine how Civil War might have played out if a major cosmic character like The Phoenix played a role in it. Although Momoko's version of Magik obviously looks incredibly different from the standard Earth-616 Illyana, anyone even vaguely familiar with her character would immediately recognize her tough attitude and bruiser fighting stance, a true testament to Peach's skill as an artist and character developer.
Over in the mainstream Marvel universe Magik and Jean Grey are fighting alongside each other on the official X-Men team, so Peach Momoko's latest installment of the Demon Wars series will offer fans of the two incredible characters an exciting change in perspective for the powerful mutant women.
Demon Wars: Down In Flames #1 available in stores on February 1st, 2023.
Source: Marvel
