As the Fall of X continues to destroy everything the X-Men have built over the last few years, it has been revealed that the cosmic threat known as Dominion is coming to devour humanity. A vast interstellar intelligence, a Dominion is the highest evolution of a machine mind and can only be beaten by a cosmic being like Galactus or the Phoenix Force.

A Dominion forms as a godlike collection of ten or more Titans - societies who advanced so far that they collapsed in on themselves into a singularity - that work in unison to continuously expand and consume, absorbing all sentient life into its ever-expanding vastness.

Inferno #3 Phoenix Blade destroyed Dominion

In Inferno #3 Karima Shapandar, now operating as the villainous Omega Sentinel, told Nimrod that a Dominion is the only way for machine life to "win," and beat both mutantkind and humanity. However, in the Moira X timeline that Omega comes from, the "timeless machine mind" that came to absorb their collective consciousness was defeated by the Phoenix Blade.

A Dominion Can Only Be Destroyed By An Entity Like The Phoenix

Featured Image: AI villains from Marvel's X-Men; Dominion (left) and Nimrod (right)

The Phoenix Force is life and death incarnate, one of the most powerful universal constants in the Marvel Universe, and an entity that has corrupted nearly all of its previous hosts. In Powers of X #4 Jonathan Hickman explicitly stated that, "The only primal threats that a Dominion fears are the World Eater, Galactus, and the singular universal manifestation of life, the Phoenix." The Phoenix Blade, a powerful weapon that holds a tiny sliver of the Phoenix Force inside of it, was first wielded by the second-ever host to the Phoenix Force and the first Dark Phoenix, the Shi'ar warrior Rook'shir.

According to Omega Sentinel, in Moira X's 6th life, a descendant of Rook'shir used the Phoenix Blade to destroy countless Titans and Dominions, stopping their "ascension" and securing a future for mutantkind and humanity. Now, a Dominion - which exists outside all time and space - is approaching again. The synopsis for Rise of the Powers of X reveals that Omega Sentinel and Nimrod are betraying Orchis to help bring about machine ascension through the Dominion. The X-Men will need to find a way to utilize the incredible cosmic reckoning of the Phoenix Force to destroy the Dominion if they hope to save Earth and the future of all its inhabitants.

Jean Grey Will Need To Harness The Power Of The Phoenix Force

Featured Image: Jean Grey as the Phoenix from New X-Men, surrounded by flames in the shape of the mythic bird

While the Phoenix Blade from Earth-616 had its portion of the Phoenix Force removed, an alternate universe Blade was seen during the X of Swords event, wielded by Rachel Summers, meaning the Blade could still be in play. Regardless, the Jean Grey and Immortal X-Men series have seen Jean trapped within the Phoenix's White Hot Room, revisiting key moments from her past to find a way to save the X-Men. It appears that she may once again play host to the Phoenix Force and its awesome power, which will certainly play a pivotal role in the X-Men's battle against the coming Dominion and the plotting of Nimrod and Omega Sentinel.

While it is rare for individual biological beings to ascend to the power of Dominion, Marvel has made it clear that this is what has happened with the current Dominion, which is controlling Orchis and the Fall of the House of X. Whoever has ascended beyond time and space to become Dominion is clearly terrified of the Phoenix Force, meaning Jean Grey's journey to becoming the Phoenix Force's host once again is integral to the survival of the X-Men, and the entire planet Earth.