How Is Christianity The Basis For New X-Men Movie Dark Phoenix?
- By Derek Welch --
- 07 Dec 2017 --
The Character of Jean Grey Has Connections To Both Old and New Testament
“I am fire and life incarnate! Now and forever I am Phoenix!” Thus began the birth of one of the most famous stories in comic history and the storyline for the upcoming X-Men movie Dark Phoenix. This will detail the change of Jean Grey, telepathic member of the X-Men, into one of the most powerful mutants in the universe and a character with clear allusions to multiple different religions.
How Is Christianity The Basis For New X-Men Movie Dark Phoenix?[/tweetthis]
The X-Men characters were created by Jewish writers. There are clear connections to Judeo-Christian biblical traditions in the Jean Grey. The character has elements of Old Testament God. She destroys planets, killing billions for slights to her and for the greater good. She also sacrifices herself to save the galaxy. This could be the superhero equivalent to Jesus on the Cross. Instead of dying for our sins, she dies for her own actions, inverted the story to the internal conflict of good vs. evil discussed by countless sermons. The key difference is that Jean Grey has is tempted by evil, but that could easily be connected to Jesus being tempted by Satan, although Jean Grey gives into that temptation.
The character of Jean Grey was always connected closely to religion. In one particular story, an omnipotent being called “Goddess” takes the 33 most religious superheroes on Earth to rid the universe of evil. Guess who is in that group?
Diggin’ it. #DarkPhoenix pic.twitter.com/HLwCUDCGec
— Paul Shirey (@arcticninjapaul) December 7, 2017
The Phoenix is displayed as a primordial force of unbelievable power that is similar to any god in any religion. The Phoenix is by itself an important symbol in Greek mythology. A bird that is born in fire and cyclical goes through death and rebirth. It has been shown in many iterations in popular culture, including Harry Potter. The Phoenix is also mentioned in some translations of the bible.
The new movie is slated for a release next November. Early comments by cast and crew state that it will be the most emotional of any X-men movies. It is unclear how much of the comic storyline will be used for the movie. The Phoenix Saga was used loosely for the movie X-Men Last Stand, which was not well received.
Resources
RELATED NEWS
