It's been just a shade over 25 years since the "Dark Phoenix Saga" changed the X-Men forever. Though Jean Grey isn't exactly a regular fixture in the X-comics these days... well, the Jean Grey that got Phoenix'd isn't around anyway. She went on to merge with the Phoenix Force and kind of exists on a higher plane or some such thing, but that young version from the original team is around because of time travel reasons. You know, typical X-manning.

Regardless of which version of Jean is around, the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix version has long been a fan-favorite incarnation. It's hard to argue with that costume design. It was probably the first time Jean actually got an outfit that wasn't fairly ridiculous. While the current Jean might be kicking around trying to not live up to the legacy she will one day create back in the past (just thinking about this stuff gives me a headache), there's a reason original recipe Jean is the one getting a statue from Sideshow Collectibles. It's because she rules.

Designed in part by Kris Anka, who also worked on the '90s era Jean for Sideshow, the Dark Phoenix Jean Grey premium format figure is fierce and fiery in all the right ways. It all starts with the gorgeous flaming phoenix base, which features flickering flames wrapping up around Jean's leg. I'm a sucker for shapes being created out of fire, and the way it's sculpted here really does the way we've seen it done in the comics justice.

The rest of the sculpt looks really sharp, too, with Jean taking a really imposing stance hovering above the flames of our imminent destruction. There's a real sense of the threat she poses, and the Phoenix is made even more frightening by the blank white eyes and massive waving hair. I mean, if you see a woman rolling up on you looking like this, you run. You run fast and far. Or you add her to your collection.

The Dark Phoenix Jean Grey premium format figure will be available for pre-order this Thursday for $499.99. If you order it from Sideshow, you'll get an exclusive second head sculpt that features a far less possessed Jean.

 

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