What do you want to happen to Hope?

I'm down for what Binaryan said, or that , or Boot's suggestion wasn't half bad either...

I'd like Jean back. I can't deny it. A phoenix story should involve Jean.

I'd have Cyclops encourage Hope to use her creepy mental influence to influence the Avengers - have her and Wanda combine powers to destroy the Phoenix, have the Phoenix disperse and enter the depowered mutants, sparking their powers to return.

Jean and Wanda can team up to lead a rehab/international rescue team, helping the mutants who are coming to terms with the return of their powers.

Have Wanda be burnt out to a low level - back to simple Hexes, and Jean just be a powerful telepath with TK.
Hope can just have her mental influence powers and go off with Cable to travel the world, continuing her training with him (off print. Hopefully...)

Following AvsX, the Avengers would accept that the X-Men have helped them defeat the Phoenix, but will mistrust the Utopia mutants following Cyke's decision to mislead them, leading to ongoing tensions between the teams.

I think the last thing the Phoenix mythos needs is Wanda and Hope thrown into the pot.

Originally posted by medium13 I think the last thing the Phoenix mythos needs is Wanda and Hope thrown into the pot.

I do agree, but what with Wanda supposedly playing a big part in AvsX, and Hope displaying big orange birds in her eyes and powers every now and then, I think it's rather inevitable...

Same here Binaryan.

Kitty's been a know-it-all for like 3 decades...don't hold your breath LOL

Dont worry BC you are not alone, I am more than ready for the Phoenix to just go away after this and stay gone for hopefully good but at least for years and years.

I kinda see it as one of those stories that MUST come to an end sooner or later, preferably sooner.

Edited by marhawkman - 02-Mar-2012 at 1:37am

Originally posted by Blackcyclops Kitty's been a know-it-all for like 3 decades...don't hold your breath LOL

Sabin, I agree with almost everything you said there, but can't help but feel you missed out one important factor-- She's also a deus ex machina. Take Fear Itself. Now, looking at the displays of power that were used against Juggernaut, we already get that he's more unstoppable than usual. But just to show us how much of an uber-threat he is, we needed to see Hope fail against him, as if that somehow hammers home the point more than seeing some of the most creative displays of power combinations ever written in a comic.

The first post-Schism arc of Uncanny-- Hope pretty much saves the day by popping a cap in Sinister's head. Something that Magik and Emma could have done by using their powers together (not to mention that Magik has, since her inception, been written as almost impossible to even read the thoughts of without her allowing it, never mind being taken over entirely).

The problem is that the writers have let themselves get to the point with Hope that I REALLY don't think there was ever a solid end-game. And I REALLY don't believe that even the conclusion of this story will be the true end of her story, or even reveal anything about her other than strengthening the evidence that she's somehow connected to Jean/Phoenix.

Here's what I actually see going down--
-Major conflict over whether Hope should be allowed to live or not between the Avengers and X-Men. I can see Ms Marvel, Iron Man, Cap, or possibly Spider-Man getting up in someone's grill about how the X-Men were the most vocal about having to 'put Wanda down' when she seemed to be a threat. Now that I think about it more, it's likely to be Carol or Spidey, although Carol will probably go to assault Emma, whilst Spidey's will be a more sarcastic aside. Cyclops tells them to get the f**k off Utopia. The Avengers do. Something Phoenix-y happens, and Hope has to go somewhere. She does, the Avengers follow (all the different teams), and Wolverine and some of the JGI staff follow to act as a buffer/warn Cyclops and Hope. Hope lands, is all Phoenix-y and loads of people suddenly turn into mutants (to provide new cast members). The Avengers turn up and start saying that by simply allowing her to rewrite things is hypocrtical, and exactly why people were so mad at Wanda, that these people aren't given the choice as to whether they WANT to be 'lights' and there's also the creepy element of mind-control.

Fights break out, Hope is overwhelmed by power or something and passes out and vanishes mid-fight. When the dust starts to settle, both sides realise Iron Fist and someone else (probably Wolverine, Cyclops, Wanda and Cap) are missing, but more fights break out as the X-Men (for some unknown reason) decide to defend Hope and hope that she's got away to safety to do her thing and recreate the mutant race.

Fights rage, Iron Fist argues that the Phoenix is life, and all Hope is doing is recreating what was destroyed, Cap wants to take her into SHIELD custody, Cyclops demands that she comes back to Utopia and the Avengers butt out, Wolverine is concerned that she's going to go all Dark Phoenix and remembers the promise he made to her, that he'd kill her if she went that way, Wanda makes the link that somehow, Hope is evolution's way of getting around what she did to mutant kind, and she moves to defend her from Wolverine and Cap, Wolverine growls for her to get out of the way as the Phoenix raptor rises. Wolverine dives for Wanda, aiming to wound but not kill, Hope dives in the way and takes a gutful of adamantium. White light and Hope is talking to Jean. Jean explains that using Hope as a vessel, the Phoenix can start to reignite the mutant race, but that it was always going to take a sacrifice... she was hoping that she would have more time to reintegrate in the White Hot Room so that she could come back and help Hope, but she realises that there's no time now. Hope's dying and is too overwhelmed by the PF to be able to mimic Logan's healing factor. She alludes to, but doesn't spell out, some kind of connection, and then POOF. Hope vanishes in a burst of white light and a Phoenix raptor... The teams all leave, with Cyclops devastated and the Schism between he and Wolverine even wider now, due to the fact that Hope's death makes Cable's sacrifice worthless. The Avengers leave with Wanda pretty guilty that a child is dead as an indirect result of her again, and she requests to be sequestered until further notice. The Avengers leave feeling distinctly less heroic than they started.

Epilogue would be a split-scene between Utopia and JGI, with Emma/Cuckoos and Rachel figuring out that there's more mutants now, all over the world. Not only have some of the former mutants been repowered, but those who SHOULD have developed a mutation have manifested. Hope's sacrifice wasn't for nothing as there are now a million lights. The mutant race is reborn. And then we never speak of Hope again.

Epilogue 2 would be Rachel going to pay respects to her dead family. She goes there and finds that someone's laid flowers on her grand-parent's grave. She does a psi-scan and realises that she can detect the residual presence of Jean, but can't tell where she went.

Epilogue 3 is a single page, demonstrating that Jean has returned, but is avoiding the X-Men for now. The end.     

Powers burnt out to restart the X-gene, not repowering former depowered mutants, but a new generation of dormant mutants. Return emerging mutants to the status quo.

Ret-con some Cable teaching her the Askani ways. Put her on Uncanny X-force with Cable-tech (info-net, gravimetric field projector, body slides) and guns. Having her on X-force would give it a nice legacy vibe and some guilt when she meets AOA Kurt.

I'd quite like that....I think it would be a great ending for Hope....She'd finally become "worth it", in a sense...

Honestly I really don't think she can survive. At least, she can't survive AND bring back the mutant race without becoming a villain....I think the best way for her story arc to end is to have it be something which makes no one a winner in this "AvX" war and in the Schism.

Hope dies...devastating Cyclops because all he worked for and sacrificed seemingly went with her...Even when the mutant race is reborn, he's still feeling bitter and angry because he lost this girl he had so much hope in.

Hope gives rebirth to the mutant race...Proving Scott right and bruising Wolverine's fragile ego...

Hope dies...The Avengers basically are responsible for a 17 year old girl dying...Though they're probably the "winners" of AvX, they have that hanging over them...

The arguments for and against Jean's resurrection are very strong. I was originally okay with Jean returning but some of the arguments against it incline me to think about changing my mind.

But I'm with Cable I just don't really see her as a villain.

I could see pheonix disappearing for a long time after this though.