Summary

• Advanced solicitations for Phoenix #4 tease the return of MCU antagonist, Gorr the God Butcher, who sets his sights on Jean Grey as she attempts to use the power of the Phoenix to become a cosmic Marvel.
• As Jean embraces the Phoenix Force, she must face resistance from the people of the galaxy who fear its awesome power – including the ruthless Gorr.
• The path to redemption for Jean Grey as the Phoenix will be filled with intergalactic threats and challenges, of which the return of the God-Butcher is just the first, most intense obstacle.

This October, Jean Grey, aka the Phoenix. How the maddened god slayer returned is currently a mystery, but what is certain is that if he gets his hands on the power of the Phoenix Force, it won’t just be gods trembling in fear this time.

The advanced solicitation for Phoenix #4 reveals that Jean Grey, in her new role as a cosmic, spacefaring Marvel hero, will soon have to face the wrath of Gorr the God Butcher, who makes his epic return to Marvel Comics.

With Jean merged with the Phoenix Force once again, she has exiled herself into space to try to use the destructive power for good. In order to do so, however, she will have to overcome the threat posed by Gorr.

MCU Antagonist GORR THE GOD-BUTCHER Returns With A New Cosmic Target: THE PHOENIX

Phoenix #4 – Written By Stephanie Phillips; With Art By Alessandro Miracolo

Unfortunately for Jean, her path to redemption as the Phoenix will be faced with strong resistance along the way.

Following the events of Fall of X, Jean died and her spirit transcended to the White Hot Room, a semi-afterlife realm where the Phoenix Force and its previous avatars return after an avatar’s death. After Enigma and Mother Righteous were finally defeated, thousands of deceased mutants, including Jean, were returned to Earth-616 thus beginning the X-Men’s current line of comics. Now, in Jean Grey’s fresh Phoenix comic series, she has fled to the stars in an attempt to find redemption for her past sins bonded with the Phoenix.

In the farthest reaches of space where the Phoenix is considered a legend of destruction, Jean will have to embrace a new title that most of the primitive universe sees her as: “God.” Unfortunately for Jean, her path to redemption as the Phoenix will be faced with strong resistance along the way. Not only is the open universe home to a variety of intergalactic threats, but many planets and their people have a distant antagonizing relationship with beings they perceive to be gods. One mortal in particular, Gorr whose hate for the gods is overwhelming, has already proven himself capable of exacting time-spanning deicide.

Jean Grey's Role As A Cosmic Hero Faces An Early Threat From Gorr

The God Killer Sets His Sights On The Phoenix

To Gorr, no matter how heroic Jean Grey may be, the Phoenix is a god, and therefore his enemy.

The last readers saw of Gorr the God Butcher, his plan to ignite a god-killing bomb that could transcend the limits of time had been thwarted by Thor. After the final battle, Gorr’s consciousness was transferred into All-Black, an enemy of the Phoenix.

To Gorr, no matter how heroic Jean Grey may be, the Phoenix is a god, and therefore his enemy. He won’t be able to acknowledge her heroic acts but will only see her for the paths of destruction the Phoenix tends to leave behind. While it would be easy to say that the infinite cosmic powers of the Phoenix could stop Gorr with ease, he is already well-known by fans to be a ruthless and relentless force of death untethered by the idea of mortal limitations. Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force will have to give it everything they have when they face Gorr the God Butcher.

Phoenix #4 will be available October 9, 2024 from Marvel Comics.