05 – PHOENIX

Subject: Phoenix
Real Name: Rachel Summers
Height: 5’7″ Weight: 125 lbs.
Group Affiliation: Excalibur
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #141, January 1981

Power Ratings:

• Energy Projection: 7/7
• Mental Powers: 7/7
• Strength: 2/7
• Fighting Ability: 2/7
• Intelligence: 2/7

Of course any pinup of Rachel Summers would have to be her surrounded by the Phoenix Force, and this card doesn’t disappoint. As a character that swung wildly back and forth between major plot device and pure irrelevance, she struck gold landing the number 5 spot, especially since much of her time in the early 90′s as a member of Excalibur required her to curb her powers and stay out of the way.

Lee’s art treats her with respect, with a regal (and not super-slutty) pose and plenty of bright/dark contrast to highlight her raw power, and much the same can be said for her Power Ratings, which rightfully maxes out her Energy Projection and Mental Powers ratings, but somehow only affords her a paltry 2/7 for Intelligence. Sure, she’s no Beast, but somehow I assumed being possessed by one of the greatest forces in the universe, being a time traveler, and the future Mother Askani would mean she’d rank a little higher in brains than, say, Iceman.