Binary is an odd little series. Like so many Age of Revelation mini-series, Binary doesn’t quite fit into the overall scale of the event. While much more on brand than Unbreakable X-Men and Rogue Storm, two mini-series that seem not to have engaged with the setting much at all, Binary still felt like a strange fit into the event. With a character of cosmic power, confining the story to a small-town setting was an inspired choice. There’s undoubtedly much to be said about not limiting such powerful characters to grand, galactic threats and events, but instead exploring how they interact with the more mundane world. And yet, Binary never truly lives up to its premise, mostly because it can never quite decide who and what it wants to be about.
Originally, the focus was on Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. In the previous issue, it is revealed that she has spent the last 9 years as Binary, after having become the host of the Phoenix Force following Jean Grey’s death. We learn later in that issue, however, that Jean Grey is not dead but rather Phoenix itself: fiery and luminous, a bird of flame and light. And when Madelyne Pryor comes to town, seeking to steal the powers of Phoenix for herself, the conflict begins.
Binary #3 has Madelyne fight Carol, only for Jean Grey, as Phoenix, to defend her. Jean rebuilds a physical body and informs Carol that life and death don’t really apply to her; she is beyond such concepts, always is. While Carol is mad at Jean for not revealing this sooner, Jean defends herself with the implication that Carol simply couldn’t hear her and was too stubborn to allow Jean to guide her. They reconcile, though not before Madelyne deals Carol a serious blow that rips the barrier protecting the town away. Carol insists that Jean take all the power of the Phoenix back, an act that will kill her, and the two tearfully embrace as Jean rises again, at her full power, and overcomes Madelyne.
As mentioned before, this is all very strange. Binary ends very clearly as a Jean Grey story. To the point where a reader would be justified in asking what the point even was in presenting it as a Carol Danvers story or involving her at all. Neither woman is truly given the exploration they deserve, and so the result is a strange binary of a story where two characters cannot fully breathe in such a short span of issues. Binary is more of a Phoenix story, and given the X-Men nature of this event, it would be more fitting perhaps to have done a straightforward Phoenix tale, possibly exploring a character of such power in a small-scale setting such as this. As it stands, the comic never fully explains why and how the X-Virus is so deadly to Phoenix and why it simply cannot be burned away.
Giada Belviso and Rachelle Rosenberg are the art duo for this book, penciller and colourist respectively. They’ve been the best artists for Phoenix and Phoenix-related titles since the From the Ashes launch. Belviso’s delicate pencils add grace and beauty to the characters and movement, while also showcasing dynamic action. Rosenberg’s colours are beautiful and add a warm glow to the book that truly highlights its cosmic nature and the fire of Phoenix.
Binary’s conclusion is satisfying enough, but it raises the question of whether it was the best avenue for taking these characters down at all. One can’t help but feel like Stephanie Phillips and the X-Men editors would have made life easier for themselves by simply telling a Jean Grey story rather than one that gave the short stick to all the characters involved, thanks to the confused focus. Belviso and Rosenberg shine as an art duo, however, turning in work that surpasses their work on Laura Kinney: Wolverine, and Phillips is able to give a mostly satisfying conclusion to her 18 combined issues of Phoenix work as she takes on She-Hulk and Daredevil in a new ongoing.
Binary #3 Review: Jean Grey’s Phoenix Rises as Carol Danvers’ Story Ends
Binary’s conclusion is satisfying enough, but it raises the question of whether it was the best avenue for taking these characters down at all.
