EARTH-81727 (EARTH-PHOENIX HAD NOT DIED)
Type: Divergent Earth
Environment: Earth-like
Usual means of access: Presumably vibrational attunement
Dominant Life Form: Aramans, Cosmic beings, the D'Bari, mutants, the Shi'ar
Significant Inhabitants: Angel, the Aramans, Beast, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Avalanche, Blob, Pyro), Emperor D'ken, the Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, presumably Human Torch, Invisible Girl, Thing), Firelord, Galactus, Agent Peter Gyrich, Havok, Iceman, Senator Kelly, Mastermind, Lilandra Neramani, Polaris, the Sentinels, the Shi'ar, the Shi'ar Imperial Guard (Earthquake, Gladiator, Hussar, Manta, Oracle, Smasher, Starbolt, Warstar), Terrax the Tamer, the X-Men (Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, Professor X, Sprite, Storm, Wolverine)
First Appearance: What If? I#27 (July, 1981)
History: (What If? I#27 (fb)) - Jean Grey was a member of the mutant X-Men as Marvel Girl and fell in love with fellow member Cyclops. As the years passed, many members came and left the X-Men until one mission in space where the X-Men seemed like they would not survive. When their ship crashed, Jean protected the team, only to seemingly perish during the crash. She soon erupted from the river, apparently as a godlike being known as the Phoenix. Her power was soon tested by the cosmic being known as Firelord, a test that Phoenix easily passed, leading the X-Men to question where the power might lead her. The Phoenix soon brought the X-Men into a conflict with the mad Shi'ar Emperor D'ken, who had released the energies contained within the reality-warping M'Kraan Crystal, a conflict in which the Phoenix saved the entire universe. Worried about the sheer power of the Phoenix, Jean set up various psychic barriers to contain the power but the illusion-creating mutant Mastermind soon broke through the barriers while trying to control the Phoenix for his own ends. Once she had finally escaped Mastermind's clutches, it was too late to prevent the emergence of a darker side of the Phoenix called the Dark Phoenix. Craving sustenance, the Dark Phoenix consumed the entire D'Bari star system without concern of its inhabitants. Returning to Earth, Professor Xavier and Jean herself set up new psychic barriers to contain the Dark Phoenix. Unfortunately, Princess Lilandra of the Shi'ar soon transported the X-Men to a neutral battleground, where she decreed that due to the threat that the Dark Phoenix posed to the universe, Jean Grey must be destroyed. The X-Men quickly fought back against the decree, battling the Shi'ar Imperial Guard for Jean's life.
(What If? I#27) - During the battle, Jean saved Cyclops from an energy blast from the Imperial Guardsman Starbolt. Despite the time this bought Cyclops, he was eventually overwhelmed by the sheer numbers in the Imperial Guard. With the X-Men captured, Lilandra opted to destroy the Phoenix via psychic lobotomy, rather than kill Jean herself. The X-Men were then returned home with a powerless Jean Grey. Once home, the Beast and Angel returned to their own lives outside of the X-Men and Cyclops noticed that Jean seemed docile and childlike but remained by her side. Jean soon found herself useful at monitoring the X-Men's Danger Room training sessions, helping to train the X-Men and their newest recruit, Sprite. One of the training sessions was soon interrupted by a summons from Professor X, who announced that Arama, a planet in the Shi'ar system, was under attack by Galactus. While Cyclops was still angry at the Shi'ar for what they had done to Jean, Jean suggested the X-Men help. After calling in the Angel, Polaris, and Havok, the X-Men set off into space to help the planet Arama. Upon arriving, the X-Men found Galactus already present on Arama with his herald, Terrax the Tamer. The X-Men soon fell to Terrax and when Jean sensed the falling of Cyclops, the powers of the Phoenix erupted from her anew. Blasting from the ship and saving Sprite from the vacuum of space, Phoenix arrived in time to remove the Power Cosmic from Terrax's body, leaving him flesh and bone once more. She then turned her attention towards Galactus himself, eventually driving him away as Galactus warned that as she had the powers of a god, she would one day have a godlike hunger to appease. Once Galactus had been driven off, Lilandra arrived and thanked Phoenix for driving off Galactus. In the months that followed, Phoenix rejoined the X-Men and aided against the newly-formed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants during their attempted assassination of Senator Kelly. With Phoenix back in the X-Men, the newest member Sprite began to feel lonely excepting when she was training with Professor X and she was first to notice his strange headaches and memory lapses. As time passed, Wolverine began to feel that he was a better match for Phoenix than Cyclops and Phoenix began sneaking out of the mansion at night to satisfy the Phoenix's hunger by destroying uninhabited asteroids. One afternoon the X-Men received a call from their former teammate Iceman, who was being attacked by Sentinels at the Angel's home in the Rocky Mountains. The X-Men quickly made their way to the Rocky Mountains, where Phoenix defeated the Sentinels after all of the other X-Men had been captured. While the others returned home, Phoenix explained that she'd fly back, only to secretly fly into space and consume an uninhabited star system to replenish her strength. When she returned to the mansion, she found Sprite outside and all of the lights on. Sprite explained that Professor X had been monitoring her telepathically and that they had discovered that she had consumed another star. When Sprite explained that they were her friends and would not let her lose control, Jean transformed into the Dark Phoenix and angry that anyone would deny her any of her desires, the Dark Phoenix incinerated Kitty Pryde. Professor X quickly confronted Dark Phoenix, threatening that he could destroy her entire mind using his powers. The two psychics then battled on the psychic plane, where Xavier realized that it was Phoenix who had been tampering with his mind before he fell to the ground, losing the battle. Dark Phoenix then announced her anger at Xavier for allowing Lilandra to lobotomize her, claiming that she had now returned the favor to Xavier. She then telekinetically threw the Angel against the wall of the mansion and buried Storm alive under a ton of rubble from the mansion. Following that, she buried Iceman under tons of bricks, killing him, and incinerated Nightcrawler in a blast of fire. Colossus then hurled Wolverine at Phoenix, only to have Phoenix telekinetically hurl Wolverine back, causing Wolverine to fatally stab Colossus, whom Dark Phoenix had forced to transform back into his human form. She allowed Wolverine time to feel the guilt of killing Colossus before hurling Wolverine into the pyre that was Nightcrawler's body, effectively burning Wolverine alive as well. The three most powerful X-Men remaining, Polaris, Cyclops, and Havok prepared to stand their ground against Dark Phoenix as well but Polaris was quickly incinerated while trying to distract Phoenix long enough for Cyclops and Havok to move into their attack positions. Havok immediately fired his full power at Dark Phoenix, staggering her momentarily but when Cyclops hesitated to attack the woman he loved, Dark Phoenix blasted a hole through Havok's chest. As Havok lay dying, he asked Cyclops why he hesitated. Cyclops, distraught over his brother's death, finally fired his full optic force at Phoenix but she quickly struck him down. Shocked at what she had done, Jean yelled out in anguish, a moment that allowed the Phoenix Force to completely take her over. The Phoenix then grew and spread across the city until it engulfed and destroyed the entire planet Earth, expanding across the universe destroying anything in its path.
Comments: Created by Mary Jo Duffy, Jerry Bingham, and John Stuart.
This reality diverged when Marvel Girl blocked the blast from Starbolt during the X-Men's battle with the Imperial Guard.
The Phoenix in this story was Jean Grey, although it's very probable that this was just the Phoenix Force assuming Jean's appearance and memories, like it did on Earth-616. Given the nature of alternate and divergent Earths, it could also have been that in this reality, the Phoenix possessed Jean and it was the actual Jean instead of a duplicate of her form.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-Phoenix Had Not Died has no known connections to
Angel was the same as his Earth-616 counterpart up until he witnessed Jean's psychic lobotomy by the Shi'ar. Once the X-Men had returned to Earth, the Angel returned to his life outside of the X-Men, explaining that the X-Men could call upon him anytime he was needed. It wasn't too long before the X-Men were called to the Shi'ar planet Arama to help against Galactus and the Angel was called in to help, along with other X-Men recruits Havok and Polaris. Soon after, while Iceman was visiting his Rocky Mountain home, the Angel was captured by Sentinels. The X-Men came to their rescue, with Phoenix destroying them all. Angel and Iceman returned to the mansion with the other X-Men while Phoenix flew into space to consume a star. When she returned, the X-Men confronted her about her cosmic hunger. Angered, she killed Kitty Pryde. Angel was the first to try to talk sense to Phoenix but he was met with a telekinetically push that smashed him into the side of the mansion, killing him as well.
Angel had the same wings capable of flight that his 616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27 (fb) (#27d,
The Aramans were an alien race from the planet Arama, under rule of the Shi'ar Empire. When Galactus threatened their planet, Lilandra telepathically contacted the X-Men, who came to the planet's aid. During the mission, Jean Grey once again manifested the powers of the Phoenix and was able to save the planet.
--What If? I#27
The Beast was just like his 616 counterpart up until he witnessed the psychic lobotomy of Jean Grey. He then returned back to Earth with the X-Men and then left in an Avengers Quinjet to resume his life outside of the X-Men. He was presumably destroyed when the Dark Phoenix engulfed the planet Earth.
Beast had the same superhuman strength, agility, and dexterity that his 616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27 (fb) (#27d,
The
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were newly-formed in an effort to assassinate the anti-mutant Senator Kelly but with Phoenix on their side, the X-Men made short work of their plans. The Brotherhood was presumably killed when the Dark Phoenix engulfed the planet Earth.
All of the members of the Brotherhood had the same powers as their Earth-616 counterparts.
They were (from left to right): Avalanche (getting punched by Nightcrawler), Blob (getting punched by Colossus), and Pyro (getting rained on by Storm).
--What If? I#27 (#27d,
Emperor D'ken was exactly like his Earth-616 counterpart.
--What If? I#27 (fb)
Firelord was exactly the same as his Earth-616 counterpart.
Firelord had the same Power Cosmic-derived abilities that his 616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27
(fb)
Galactus was the same as his Earth-616 counterpart up until he attempted to feed off of the planet Arama. He was opposed by the X-Men and during the battle, when his herald Terrax struck down Cyclops, Jean Grey once again manifested the powers of the Phoenix and drove off Galactus. As he left, Galactus warned that one day, the Phoenix's godlike hunger would return.
Galactus had all of the cosmic abilities of his 616 counterpart.
--What If? I#27
Peter Gyrich was the same as his Earth-616 counterpart up until the newly-formed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attempted to assassinate both him and anti-mutant Senator Kelly. He was saved by the X-Men and Phoenix but presumably perished when Dark Phoenix engulfed the Earth.
--What If? I#27 (#27d,
Havok was the brother of Cyclops and lead a life exactly like his Earth-616 counterpart up until Jean Grey had her psychic lobotomy. Since he had quit the X-Men at the time, he was called in to aid them when they went into space to help the planet Arama against Galactus. During the battle, Havok remained the only X-Man standing, battling Terrax on his own until Jean again manifested the Phoenix Force and saved the entire team. She then drove off Galactus. He was later called in once again to help the X-Men against the Sentinels attacking Angel and Iceman. After the mission, Phoenix flew off on her own and consumed another star system and when she returned, the X-Men tried to confront her about it. She angrily rejected their help, killing the X-Men one-by-one until only Cyclops and Havok remained. Knowing they would have to work together, Havok blasted Dark Phoenix with his cosmic energy, temporarily staggering her but Cyclops hesitated in hurting the woman he loved, an act that cost his life when Dark Phoenix regained her senses. As he lay dying, Havok asked Cyclops why he hesitated.
Havok had the same cosmic energy projection abilities that his Earth-616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27 (#27d,
Iceman was the same as his Earth-616 counterpart up until Jean Grey had her psychic lobotomy. While visiting the Angel at his Rocky Mountain home, Iceman was attacked by Sentinels and managed to summon the X-Men before he was downed. The X-Men soon arrived and with Phoenix at their side, they made short work of the Sentinels. As Iceman joined the X-Men in returning to their mansion, Phoenix flew into space and consumed another star system. When the X-Men tried to confront her about it, she angrily killed them one-by-one, killing Iceman by burying under tons of bricks from the mansion itself.
Iceman had the same ice-manipulating abilities that his 616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27 (fb) (#27d,
Senator Kelly was an anti-mutant senator, just like his Earth-616 counterpart. He was saved by the X-Men and Phoenix when the newly-formed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attempted to assassinate him and Special Agent Peter Gyrich, although he presumably perished when Dark Phoenix engulfed the entire planet.
--What If? I#27
(#27d,
Mastermind was exactly the same as his Earth-616 counterpart up until he presumably died when Dark Phoenix engulfed the planet.
He had the same illusion-generating powers that his 616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27 (fb)
(#27d,
Princess Lilandra Neramani was the same as her Earth-616 counterpart up until the X-Men were defeated by the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. With the X-Men defeated, Lilandra opted to stop the Phoenix by giving Jean Grey a psychic lobotomy, rather than killing Jean altogether. While she took no joy in doing this, she felt it was the only way to prevent the Dark Phoenix from reemerging and destroying the universe. She later telepathically asked Professor X for help against Galactus, who was preparing to ravage the planet Arama in the Shi'ar system. The X-Men agreed to help and during the battle, Jean once again manifested the Phoenix Force, saving Arama from Galactus. As a show of thanks, Lilandra allowed Jean to remain the Phoenix.
She had the same telepathy that her 616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27 (fb) (#27,
Polaris was the same as her Earth-616 counterpart up until Jean Grey was given her psychic lobotomy. She was later called in to aid the X-Men against Galactus on the planet Arama. During the battle, Jean once again manifested the Phoenix Force and drove Galactus away. Polaris was later called in once again to help the X-Men save the Angel and Iceman from Sentinels. After the battle, Phoenix flew into space and consumed another star system. Upon her return, the X-Men tried to confront her about what she had done. Jean then became the Dark Phoenix and angrily began killing the X-Men one-by-one until only Polaris, Havok, and Cyclops remained. Polaris attempted to use her magnetic powers to hold Dark Phoenix off until Cyclops and Havok could make their attack but she was no match for Dark Phoenix and was incinerated.
Polaris had the same magnetic powers as her 616 counterpart.
--What If? I#27 (#27d,
The Sentinels were the same as their Earth-616 counterparts up until they attacked the Angel at his home in the Rocky Mountains. When the X-Men arrived to help, the Sentinels captured them one-by-one until the Phoenix easily destroyed them all.
The Sentinels were equipped with internal prison cells housed in their chest cavities, blasters that convert moisture surrounding the Sentinel into ice blasts, adamantium capture containers, gas projectors, equal and opposite magnetic force generators, force beam generators, and mutant-detecting sensors. Each Sentinel had superhuman strength and durability, and they were composed of material that could ground any electrical force used against it.
--What If? I#27 (#27d,
The Shi'ar were the same as their Earth-616 counterpart race up until their Princess Lilandra decided to destroy the Phoenix by giving its host Jean Grey a psychic lobotomy. The Shi'ar later needed help against Galactus, who was threatening to consume the Shi'ar planet Arama, and the X-Men came to the planet's aid.
--What If? I#27 (fb) (#27,
The Shi'ar Imperial Guard were exactly the same as their Earth-616 counterparts up until they battled the X-Men for the life of Jean Grey. When Jean intercepted a blast from the Imperial Guardsman Starbolt, she bought Cyclops enough time to continue fighting back. Unfortunately, the sheer numbers of the Imperial Guardsmen overwhelmed Cyclops and the X-Men lost the battle. They then brought the X-Men to their Princess Lilandra, who announced that rather than kill Jean Grey, they would perform a psychic lobotomy that would prevent her from using her powers.
The Imperial Guardsmen were: (clockwise from top left): Smasher, Earthquake, Oracle, Gladiator, and Warstar. Not pictured are: Hussar, Manta, and Starbolt.
--What If? I#27 (fb) (#27,
Terrax was the same as his Earth-616 counterpart up until Galactus threatened to consume the Shi'ar planet Arama. The X-Men were soon called to aid the planet but most of them fell to the cosmic might of Terrax. When Cyclops fell, Jean Grey once again manifested the Phoenix Force and made short work of Terrax, using her godlike telekinesis to transform Terrax back into his normal form. She then drove Galactus off, who retrieved Terrax as he left, promising to return Terrax's powers and cosmic axe.
Terrax had the same Power Cosmic-derived abilities that his 616 counterpart had.
--What If? I#27
The X-Men were the same as their respective Earth-616 counterparts up until they battled the Shi'ar Imperial Guard for the life of Jean Grey. During the battle, Jean Grey intercepted an energy blast from the Guardsman Starbolt, buying Cyclops more time but eventually, Cyclops was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Imperial Guardsmen and the X-Men were defeated. Rather than kill Jean Grey, Lilandra decreed that she be given a psychic lobotomy to remove her powers, much to the protest of the other X-Men. The X-Men then sadly returned back to Earth where Jean attempted to live a normal life without her powers by monitoring the Danger Room training sequences. She also helped the X-Men's newest member, Sprite, until Professor X received a telepathic message from Lilandra asking for the X-Men's help against Galactus. While some of the X-Men did not think the Shi'ar deserved help after what they had done to Jean, Jean herself explained that they could not allow an entire planet to die because of their own grudges. Calling in Polaris, Havok, and the Angel to help against Galactus, the X-Men confronted Galactus and his herald Terrax but all met defeat at Terrax's hands. When Cyclops fell, Jean once again accessed the power of the Phoenix and drove off Galactus, who warned that Phoenix's godlike hunger would soon return. In the months that followed, the X-Men defeated the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Sprite began noticing that Xavier had begun to suffer from memory lapses. While Wolverine began to feel jealous of Phoenix's relationship with Cyclops, Sprite also began to notice that Phoenix was sneaking out of the mansion late at night. Soon after, Iceman and Angel were attacked in the Rocky Mountains by Sentinels and the X-Men quickly arrived to save them. During the battle, Phoenix destroyed the Sentinels and then went into space, where she consumed another star system. When she returned, Sprite tried to confront her about it but Phoenix, angry that anyone would ever dare to stop her from her desires, transformed back into Dark Phoenix and incinerated Sprite. The other X-Men then tried to talk sense into Dark Phoenix but she began killing the X-Men one-by-one until she had killed Cyclops as well. A distraught Jean screamed out in anguish and that brief moment of weakness allowed the Phoenix Force to fully consume her and spread outward, eventually destroying the entire planet Earth and moving out into the universe, destroying everything in its path.
All of the X-Men had the same powers as their Earth-616 counterparts.
They were (from left to right): Nightcrawler, Colossus, Phoenix, Sprite, Cyclops, Storm, and Wolverine. Not pictured: Professor X.
--What If? I#27 (fb) (#27d,
images:
What If? I#27, front cover (Dark Phoenix vs. X-Men, main pic)
p1, splash page (Beast)
p2, pan5 (Firelord)
p2, pan6 (Emperor D'ken)
p3, pan1 (Mastermind)
p6, pan5 (Shi'ar Imperial Guard)
p6, pan6 (Shi'ar)
p7, pan1 (Princess Lilandra Neramani)
p14, pan6 (Angel)
p18, pan2 (Aramans)
p19, pan2 (Havok)
p19, pan4 (Terrax the Tamer)
p21, pan2 (Galactus)
p26, splash page (X-Men, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Special Agent
Peter Gyrich, & Senator Kelly)
p29, pan4 (Sentinels)
p30, pan8 (Polaris)
p35, pan5 (Iceman)
Appearances:
What If? I#27 (July, 1981) - Mary Jo Duffy (writer), Jerry Bingham (penciler),
John Stuart (inker)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Last Updated: 08/16/04
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