Wolverine and the X-men #1 PREVIEW - More Phoenix Please

When it comes to magic spells, the closet real-world equivalent is Photoshop or the undo button on a computer. I admit I feel a little like Doctor Strange when I fuck something up that I’m working on and the simple click of a button undoes that mistake as though it never happened. If only that worked as well for parking tickets. But whenever magic is used to fix something in a comic, that’s usually a sign that nobody can come up with a better idea on how to resolve a story or somebody ran out of acid. It’s basically a cop-out. It’s part of what made the ending to Avengers vs. X-men so shitty. This whole “No More Phoenix” bullshit might as well have been “We’re sick of the Phoenix. Just go away for a while.” Well as we already saw in X-men Battle of the Atom, that while has passed.

The combined magic of the Scarlett Witch and Hope fucking Summers proved to be about as potent as watered down light beer. In the future, the Phoenix Force isn’t just back. It has set up shop with Kid Omega of all people. It helped him take on Xorna/Jean in Battle of the Atom. Granted, he got his ass kicked and the Phoenix Force still showed that it had an affinity for pretty redheads, but it did give him a fighting chance. We saw him again at the end of Wolverine and the X-men #42, which showed that the Phoenix Force didn’t make him less a douche. Even cosmic power has its limits. Bet we never got an explanation or a hint of the ramifications for giving a douche-bag like Kid Omega the Phoenix Force. Like pumping Mike Tyson with crystal meth in a room of Don King clones, nothing good can come of it.

Now Wolverine and the X-men is getting relaunched. It will focus some of the same characters while bringing in new ones. It also promises to deal with new threats and maybe even answer some of the questions left by X-men Battle of the Atom. But that might be asking for too much. That said, Newsarama released a preview of Wolverine and the X-men #1 and maybe we will get some of those answers. They may be bullshit answers. But unlike my old gym teacher, I do give points for trying and I don’t throw deflated basketballs at fat kids for motivation.

Newsarama: Wolverine and the X-men #1 Preview

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #1
Jason Latour (W) • Mahmud Asrar (A/C)
VARIANT COVER BY MARK BROOKS
ANIMAL VARIANT BY Jenny Parks
WELCOME TO THE JEAN GREY SCHOOL OF HIGHER LEARNING! The ALL NEW MARVEL NOW smash hit series schools with Jason Latour (WINTER SOLDIER) and Mahmud Asrar (X-MEN) leading the charge with drama, action and homework(?)! World-famous X-Men Wolverine, Storm, and a star-studded faculty must educate the next generation all-powerful, but inexperienced mutants! But with their own lives steeped in deadly enemies and personal crises, how can the X-Men guide and educate—let alone defend—the school? At the Jean Grey School, you never know who will enroll…or who will lead the class! And what mysterious organization waits in the shadows to destroy Wolverine’s mutant sanctuary? These questions and more are answered in the All-New Marvel Now sure-to-be-smash, WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #1!

Before I touch on anything Phoenix related, I think one point needs to be made. Idie grows up into a total babe. I need to say that for the record. But with respect to Kid Omega, he gives the impression that he’s trying to be responsible with the Phoenix Force. That or having cosmic powered has made him bored of being a douche-bag. I’m not sure which it is. His future self hasn’t shown much charisma outside flaunting his Phoenix powers. But if X-men Battle of the Atom applies at all, then the Phoenix still has a connection to Jean Grey. And Kid Omega’s hold on it is more tenuous than the Congress’s approval rating.

It’s also not entirely clear who is the asshole in this preview. Is Kid Omega trying to stop Apocalypse or is it the other way around? Does Genesis grow up into being an apocalyptic douche-bag or does Kid Omega grow up to be Dark Phoenix? It’s left vague and the guy who has his dogs shit on my yard, it’s probably intentional. So I guess this means any “No More Phoenix” shit can be effectively thrown out and Avengers vs. X-men can be increasingly marginalized. And I’m perfectly okay with both. Nuff said!