Not for beginners

X-men: Phoenix War Song

Greg Pak, Tyler Kirkham, Sal Regla

If you have not read the Grant Morrison’s New X-men and Phoenix End Song, reading Pheonix War Song would be like walking into the middle of two people gossiping. War song seems to be a story that was set up years ago and it is expected that you know what happened. I was always intrigued with the Stepford Cuckoos – they first appeared as quintuplets in New X-men and were Emma Frost’s favorites. They were the “five-in-one” – strong telepaths that were thought to think as one. I like the girls because they’re witty, tough and ironically independent – they survived, intact and sane after two of their sisters died.

In Pak’s End Song the Cuckoos – now the “three-in-one” played an important part – the Phoenix’s first contact was with the sleeping girls and at the end, the Phoenix force contacted one of the sisters – and since they’re identical you don’t know which of them was “touched.”

I expected War Song to be another Jean-Grey’s-alive-again story especially when the story started with the Stepford Cuckoos manifesting the Pheonix. But the story is about Emma Frost and the Cuckoos with the Phoenix Force to complicate things (which I am praying that it won’t ruin the Emma-Cuckoos story). Throw in Weapons Plus in the mix (good to know they are not that obsessed with Wolverine-like mutants).

I never saw it coming - that the girls were Emma’s clones engineered to be weapons. Pretty powerful ones than the wolverine prototype if you ask me. No wonder Emma was “drawn” to them. Emma’s last words by the third issue is, “Now, mama’s angry!” Bring it on Miss Frost!