CreatureFeature: Phoenix

I told you I would post Creature Feature at any random time, so how many of you guessed that I would do it mere hours after I announced it? Pretty random, eh?

Today we will be talking about the mythical creature known as the Phoenix. Now the Phoenix is probably my favorite creature and rightly so, it's just so dang cool! I wish real birds could burst into flame and come back from their own ashes. The Phoenix is a gorgeous bird of red and gold plummage (or purple and blue-either way it's pretty) and are about the size of an eagle according to some sources (I picture it being much larger). A Phoenix can live from 500 to around 1,000 years before it comes to the end of it's life; it'll then build itself a nest made out of twigs before igniting on fire and burning until nothing is left but ash. Then, of course, it comes out of the ashes and starts it's life all over again.

There is only one Phoenix that comes to my mind when I think of the bird and that is Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix from Harry Potter. We see in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that it burst into flames just like any other Phoenix, but we also know by the conclusion of the novel that Fawkes' tears can heal fatal wounds. This is also trait with any Phoenix. The birds really are immortal in every shape and form.

Another good example of a phoenix is not of a bird, but of a woman. Marvel Comic nerds will rejoice when I mention Jean Grey's Phoenix. I won't delve to deeply in the comics because there are so many and most of you who are reading this probably haven't read them. So I will discuss Jean Grey in the X-men Trilogies. As we know by the end of the series, Jean has had the Phoenix locked inside her mind by Professor Xavier and after her death at the end of the second movie (did anybody notice when the camera pans out across the lake you can see flames in the water in the shape of a bird?) the Phoenix is released and completely takes over Jean. The only way to stop her is to kill her and we get to see the amazingly buff Hugh Jackman get his shirt and skin ripped off several times before he finally gets to her and does it. Since she's a Phoenix though, does that mean she'll rise again? An intriguing thought.

The phoenix is a central figure in Lebanese ancient and modern cultures, as Lebanese are descendants of the Phoenicians and often claim themselves sons of the Phoenix. Lebanon, and Beirut particularly, is often depicted symbolically as a phoenix bird having been destroyed and rebuilt 7 times during its long history.

Don't you just love mythical creatures? There's so much to learn and to appreciate about them. I'm sure there's way more to Phoenixes than what I have found so far, so be watchful of updates to this column. You never know when I'll be adding new stuff!