Overview |
| — Phoenix Man to Child Emperor[1] |
Phoenix Man (フェニックス男, Fenikkusu Otoko) is a Mysterious Being and formerly a member of the Monster Association. He held a middle management position under the association, outranked only by the executives.
After being defeated by Child Emperor and losing most of his power, he has become known as Monster Chick Man (怪人ヒヨコ男, Kaijin Hiyoko Otoko; Viz: Chick Man).
Appearance
Phoenix Man is a tall bird resembling a phoenix, characterized by large green eyes, red and gold feathers, and purple tail feathers. He has also a retractable pair of human arms seen when he offers Garou to join the Monster Association and when he turns into a monster for the first time.
Following his first resurrection, his costume transforms into a suit of bird-like armor, adopting a more humanoid shape. In this form, he gains an additional pair of wings, armor-like scales covering his body, a large avian eye at the center of his chest, and a helmet shaped like a phoenix's head. His human face becomes visible within the beak of the phoenix, though it remains mostly shrouded in shadow, revealing only his piercing, glowing eyes.
Upon achieving this form, he could also transform into three other modes: his Fire Falcon Mode, which resembles a peregrine falcon; his Prominence Hawk Mode, which significantly increases his muscle mass and engulfs his entire body in flames, except for his face and the eye on his chest; and his Penguin Mode, where his suit resembles an emperor penguin complete with a bowtie.
After succumbing to the assault from Tickle-Tickle Bug 1, he transforms into Monster Chick Man appearing as a small chick with his signature face-in-beak look. Shortly after his battle with Child Emperor, he grows in size and returns to his original height while still maintaining the appearance of a small chick.
Gallery
Personality
Phoenix Man is a refined and intelligent monster. As middle management, he is able to speak with both the higher-ups and the grunts of the Monster Association, giving him the perspectives of both a commander and a foot-soldier. He seems to care little for combat compared to some of his subordinates; when Rhino Wrestler asked what he thought of his disaster level, he remarked that he didn't care.
He is one of the few monsters, alongside Gyoro Gyoro, who disapproves of the brutality exhibited by others and prefers to address issues in a civilized manner. He occasionally seeks advice from Gyoro Gyoro and has made strategic suggestions, such as sending reinforcements. Phoenix Man demonstrates a strong sense of judgment and sharp intellect, taking charge during missions and directing Rhino Wrestler, Sludge Jellyfish, and Elder Centipede. He astutely deduced that Metal Knight's robot was remotely controlled, realizing that engaging it would merely exhaust him and his teammates. He is also quite capable of controlling his monstrous urge to kill, approaching Garou affably on multiple occasions despite his rude attitude.
He was shown to be fearful of Orochi, since he planned to quit the Monster Association in case he failed to capture Garou after sacrificing most of the elite troops of the Monster Association. When he learned of Orochi's past and how he was once a human who went through countless sacrifices and gained immense strength, Phoenix Man wondered if he could become stronger too, imagining himself as the Monster King instead of Orochi, demonstrating an ambition for power.
Despite his apparent professionalism and self-control, Phoenix Man is truly just as unhinged as his comrades. This is especially evident when he gets into combat situations, showing his brutal arrogance and deranged sadism. He reveals his overly-ambitious nature, believing the Monster Association to be a mere stepping stone on his path to become the new king of monsters. He likes to talk big to his opponents, which was the cause of his defeat during his first fight with Child Emperor. After his resurrection power-up, his arrogance goes through the roof, proclaiming himself to be the strongest living being on the planet (implying he believed he had even surpassed Orochi and the executives).
Phoenix Man harbored some form of sympathy or weak spot for children that likely originated from his time as the mascot for a children's show. This is seen when Phoenix Man promised Child Emperor a painless death the first time they meet, and even after being revived and becoming even more arrogant, he still intended to follow through with his promise.
Phoenix Man holds a great deal of respect for powerful individuals who wear costumes. This is one of the reasons why he wanted Child Emperor to join him, since he saw the hero as someone else with a powerful costume, as well as Watchdog Man. Furthermore, he actually attempted to reason with Child Emperor, speaking to him in a very patient, understanding manner to have the hero join his cause, going so far as to bend down, hold the child's hand, and tell Child Emperor he needed his strength. Even after refusing his offer, Phoenix Man still attempted to persuade Child Emperor, and nearly managed to succeed had Saitama and Zombieman not changed the child's mind with their words of support and praise.
After the destruction of the Monster Association, alongside his failure in regaining his former strength, Phoenix Man became more calm and rejoined human society. Admitting to Child Emperor that he enjoyed his current job of being a children crossing guard and states he's no longer a threat to society.
His personality is significantly different in the webcomic. In the webcomic, he was a typical monster with a superiority complex, stating his strength to surpass a disaster level of Demon, and believing the Monster Association to be a step on the path to the top of the world. He is also said to have been sensitive for a bird brain, according to Child Emperor.
Abilities and Powers
As a Demon-level monster, Phoenix Man possesses considerable power in his base form. However, he was easily defeated by Child Emperor during their first encounter due to the hero's quick thinking. His true strength lies elsewhere; based on a TV character known for continuous resurrection, Phoenix Man can resurrect himself, growing stronger with each revival. After his resurrection, he became a Dragon-level threat, strong enough to compel Child Emperor to use his trump card, Brave Giant, and maintained the advantage for much of their battle. Additionally, he was able to adapt his form quickly to suit the situation.[7] His costume communicated telepathically with him, informing him of his abilities.[8] The costume served as the source of his powers and unique abilities; without it, he was as weak as an ordinary human.
After being defeated by Child Emperor, Phoenix Man lost most, if not all, of his abilities, transforming into a chick man. As he himself claims, he is no longer a threat to human society.
Supernatural Abilities
Phoenix Man having just resurrected.
Resurrection: Phoenix Man possesses the ability to resurrect himself after dying, seemingly as long as his body and costume remained intact, although it took some time as he only revived himself when Child Emperor backtracked to where his corpse was left after killing him the first time. This ability originates from his costume, which was constantly destroyed and repaired during his performances as Bird Brain.[9] When he resurrected, his body was engulfed in a burst of light and energy before emerging in his new form, thus living up to his namesake.[10]
- Power Enhancement: Each resurrection often comes with a great increase in power and an augmented form. Through this aspect, he grew stronger with a near-death experience or after being killed, similar to Garou, who also uses multiple near-death experiences to achieve significant growth in power. However, after his final resurrection during the battle with Child Emperor, he emerged in a chick-like form and was downgraded to a disaster level below Wolf, suggesting a limit to this ability.
- Fire Manipulation: After his resurrection, Phoenix Man gained the ability to create fire. This ability was shown to be even more extensive than any fire-wielder thus far, as he could completely envelope himself in flames.[11] Moreover, in Prominence Hawk Mode, Phoenix Man could absorb and release heat.[12] The heat Phoenix Man was able to release in Prominence Hawk Mode was shown to be so intense Brave Giant's armor was starting to melt from it.[13]
- Phoenix Space: After his resurrection, Phoenix Man is capable of entering a mental realm inside his costume where he can mentally communicate with other costume-wearing persons. The mental space, which he dubbed the Phoenix Space, is a strong reflection of his own psyche.[14]
- Ice Manipulation: After his resurrection, Phoenix Man gained the ability to create ice via his Penguin Mode.[15]
- Energy Projection: After his resurrection, Phoenix Man gained the ability to create a blast of energy from his mouth while in his Penguin Mode. His energy attack was strong enough to counter a similar attack from Child Emperor's Brave Giant.[16]
- Light Manipulation: After his resurrection, Phoenix Man gained the ability to create light and he can also resurrect others through light.[17]
- Reanimation: After his resurrection, Phoenix Man gained the ability to reanimate corpses. This ability affected all dead beings in the area, even if Phoenix Man was unaware of them. The corpses all possessed the original abilities that they did in life.[18] However, they did not possess the same amount of cognitive decision making and self-preservation as they did in life as they were only determined to attack the target indicated by Phoenix Man. Interestingly, the reanimated individuals could regain their sanity and cognitive functions if their minds were shocked with powerful electricity, as seen with Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame.[19] This power also rejoined the severed halves of the ninjas' bodies.
Monster Cell Manipulation: Through unknown means, Phoenix Man apparently was able to control a Monster Cell he held on his person, making it try to force itself into Child Emperor's mouth.[20]
Physical Abilities
Flight: As a bird-like being, Phoenix Man has the ability to fly at great speeds through the use of his wings. His flight speed and maneuverability were further enhanced in his Fire Falcon Mode.
Immense Strength: In his initial state, Phoenix Man possessed enough physical strength to blow a powerful gust of wind that knocked Bang, Bomb, Genos, and Garou off their feet by flapping his wings.[21] Phoenix Man's second form from his resurrection possessed incredible strength, breaking through five layers of Child Emperor's Invisible Wall with no apparent difficulty as well as bending the young hero's shield and sending him flying,[22] while before this he couldn't break through just one layer, only hurting himself in the attempt.[23] He was also strong enough to damage the armor of Brave Giant,[24] and momentarily block its Giant Fist Strike,[25] only being overpowered when Child Emperor removed the robot's power output limitations and unleashed its full power.[26]
Child Emperor's Brave Giant chasing Phoenix Man.
Immense Speed and Reflexes: In his first form, Phoenix Man was fast enough to swoop down and blow Bang, Bomb, Genos, and Garou back with his wings when they were distracted and quickly grab hold of Garou to make off with the Hero Hunter before any of the humans were able to react properly. After his first resurrection, he became fast enough to pierce through all five layers of Child Emperor's Invisible Wall in one flight jump and attack the hero so quickly that he was barely able to react. His overall flight speed dramatically increased in his resurrected form, as he was able to easily dodge the attacks of Child Emperor's Brave Giant.[27] In his Fire Falcon Mode, Child Emperor noted his speed had increased even further.[28]
Immense Durability: Initially, when in his first form, Phoenix Man was swiftly defeated by Child Emperor, who shredded his body with his utility tools. After resurrecting, he sustained a direct blow from Child Emperor's mech, Brave Giant, as well as being thrown through a wall and multiple pillars, and was unaffected.[29]
Fighting Style
Phoenix Explosion Beak Attack.
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: In his first form, Phoenix Man appeared to mainly rely on incorporating his bird-like attributes with close-quarter attacks. After resurrecting and gaining a humanoid form, he combined both martial attacks of punches and kicks along with his enhanced avian features and fire to explosively increase his combat potential. His skills in his new form along with enhanced power allowed him to fight evenly with Child Emperor's Brave Giant mech head-on.
- Beak Attack (クチバシ攻撃, Kuchibashi Kōgeki): Phoenix Man attacks his opponent with his beak in the form of a piercing attack.[30]
- Phoenix Explosion Beak Attack (フェニックスエクスプロージョンクチバシ攻撃, Fenikkusu Ekusupurōjon Kuchibashi Kōgeki): Phoenix Man builds up speed with his wings and smashes his opponent at full force with his beak. This attack is significantly more powerful than his Beak Attack, capable of breaking five layers of Child Emperor's Invisible Wall simultaneously when his original attack could not even break through one.
New King's Awakening Light (新王目覚めの光, Shin-Ō Mezame no Hikari): Phoenix Man radiates light out of his body, resurrecting nearby corpses into aggressive zombies that feed on the victims' brains. The zombies do not seem to retain the skills of the original users and appear to be very frail. Strong enough electric shocks can return these zombies back to life if their bodies are able to withstand the shock without crumbling. The attack was named in a scrapped version of the fight and used by Phoenix Man in a mode called Phoenix Diamond Eagle Mode (フェニックス金剛イーグルモード, Fenikkusu Daiyamondo īguru Mōdo), whereas in the final redrawing Phoenix Man speaks Hebrew and utters the quote from the Bible Let There Be Light (光あれ, Hikariare, ויהי אור). The zombies were originally supposed to retain the physical abilities and techniques of when they were alive, but this feature was also scrapped in the final version of the fight.
Searing Winds: Phoenix Man beats his wings to send a powerful gust of hot air.[31]
Phoenix Flares (フェニックスフレア, Fenikkusu Furea): Phoenix Man exerts some fire out of his body which he then sends towards his targets using his wings. This was first used to counter the heat-seeking missiles of Child Emperor's Brave Giant.[32]
Phoenix Fire Falcon Mode (フェニックスファイヤーファルコンモード, Fenikkusu Faiyā Farukon Mōdo): Phoenix Man changes form to a faster and more agile design and is able to land multiple strikes in extremely quick bursts.[33]
- Phoenix Heat Up Talons Strike (フェニックスヒートアップ爪攻撃, Fenikkusu Hīto Appu Tsume Kōgeki): Phoenix Man heats up his claws and attacks his targets from multiple angles. The attack is powerful enough to damage Brave Giant. The attack was named in a scrapped version of the fight, and it is currently unknown whether the official name was kept.[34]
Phoenix Prominence Hawk Mode (フェニックスプロミネンスホークモード, Fenikkusu Purominensu Hōku Mōdo): Phoenix Man changes form to a bulkier design, powerful enough to push back the colossal Brave Giant with a single kick, sending him crashing into several pillars, but nevertheless focused on defense. The form appears to envelop Phoenix Man in fire and raises his temperature up to 10000°C.[35]
- Full Power 10000C° Prominence (プロミネンス一万度フルパワー, Purominensu Ichi Man-do Furupawā; Viz: Prominence 10,000 Degrees Celsius Full Power): Phoenix Man swells up the muscles of his entire body and raises his body temperature up to 10000°C. The temperature is high enough to melt Brave Giant's fist and according to Phoenix Man this temperature can make it "evaporate".[36]
Phoenix Man attacks Brave Giant with an Iceberg.
Phoenix Penguin Mode (フェニックスペンギンモード, Fenikkusu Pengin Mōdo): Phoenix Man changes form to a much smaller penguin suit with wide, lifeless eyes and a bow tie. In this form, he seemingly gains ice-related abilities, also retaining his energy attacks and physical prowess.[37]
- Phoenix Antarctic Iceberg Attack (フェニックス南極氷山攻撃, Fenikkusu Nankyoku Hyōzan Kōgeki; Viz: Phoenix South Pole Iceberg Attack): Phoenix Man takes a large chunk of ice and throws it. This attack was capable of knocking Child Emperor's Brave Giant down.[38]
Miscellaneous Abilities
Expert Strategist and Tactician: Phoenix Man carefully considered the compatibility and abilities of his opponents, allies, and himself before any confrontation. This was first evident when he advised Rhino Wrestler against engaging Metal Knight. He further showcased this strategic thinking while deciding when to rescue Garou and assessing the strengths of Bang, Bomb, and Genos in comparison to Elder Centipede's abilities. However, he occasionally underestimated his opponents, as demonstrated when he faced Child Emperor, an S-Class hero, alone and was swiftly defeated. After his first resurrection, Phoenix Man maintained his analytical mindset, even as his confidence grew. He quickly recognized the significant limitations of Child Emperor's ultimate weapon, Brave Giant, which explained why the hero chose not to use it until their second encounter. Additionally, he tactically engaged the mech in a war of attrition to buy time and planned to utilize the labyrinth of the Monster Association Headquarters to evade Brave Giant until its power was depleted.
Equipment
Phoenix Costume: It's shown that Phoenix Man was, in fact, a regular person, and his costume was the source of all of his powers. The costume was immensely powerful, as it gave him all of the abilities of a phoenix. However, it's revealed that without the costume, his power was that of an ordinary human.
Monster Cell: Phoenix Man carried at least one Monster Cell on his person, which he tried to force Child Emperor to eat in order to turn him into a monster against his will.[39]
Major Battles
| Participants | Chapter(s) | Episode(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Man vs. Child Emperor | 100 | None | Loss |
| Resurrected Phoenix Man vs. Child Emperor | 101-103 | None | Loss |
Quotes
- "The method of how Orochi was created... If that story is true, then I could become one too. "Monster King" Phoenix Man."[40]
- "For me, the Monster Association is a mere stepping stone. Sooner or later, I will take the "King" moniker from Orochi."[41]
- "Gyoro Gyoro once told me, overcoming the hell of a near-death experience is the true secret behind a monster's explosive growth."[42]
- "It seems as of this moment, I've become the strongest of them all! I, the great Phoenix Man, now stand at the pinnacle of all organisms!"[43]
Trivia
Phoenix Man's resurrected form design by ONE.
- Phoenix Man's role in the story is expanded in the manga. In the original webcomic, he only had a single appearance and simply died after his first confrontation with Child Emperor without resurrecting. His human face was also visible through his costume's torso.
- Due to the expanded role of Phoenix Man, the manga version of his fight against Child Emperor currently holds the title for the longest fight in the series between an individual hero and an individual monster, ending after 126 pages, even though the scrapped version ended after 158 pages.
- In Phoenix Man's first appearance in the Monster Raid Arc, Phoenix Man's covert feathers (along the tops of his wings) are dark in color. They were later changed to be lighter in color.
- It was suggested to Murata that Phoenix Man become golden, which he thought was a good idea.[44]
- Phoenix Man's Phoenix Flare technique was originally intended by ONE to be used in the original storyboard of Chapter 84, in which Phoenix Man used it to avoid Genos' barrage.[45]
- Fluttering Wall (はためきウォール, Hatameki Uōru) was an attack where Phoenix Man swings his wings rapidly to push away the advances of anyone close to him, but the attack was removed in the final version of Chapter 102.
- In the original release of Chapter 103, Phoenix Man's fight with Child Emperor was drastically different. Some notable differences include a second death and resurrection resulting in Phoenix Diamond Eagle Mode — also called Phoenix Brilliant Eagle Mode (フェニックスブリリアントイーグルモード, Fenikkusu Buririanto Īguru Mōdo), his lack of Phoenix Penguin Mode, and his final death at the hands of Child Emperor.[46] These were all changed in the redrawn version of Chapter 103 released in the volumes.
- Similar to Garou, Phoenix Man is one of the few monsters to increase his disaster level as the battle goes on by growing and not because they were suppressing/hiding their power at first (e.g. Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame).
- Phoenix Man's design and personality appear to be influenced by Christianity:
- His four wings and his humanoid aspect in his resurrected form are shared with the cherubim, four-winged angels. His four forms might also be a reference to the cherubim having four faces.
- Phoenix Man apparently speaks Hebrew and directly quotes a sentence from the Bible to activate an attack related to resurrection.
- His ability to awaken corpses through light might also be a reference to the resurrection of Jesus.
- His scrapped form called Brilliant Eagle Mode reflected the six wings of the seraphim and the ability to produce blinding light.
- Phoenix Man is the only monster in the Monster Association who appears to be used as a messenger, the main function of angels.
- In the scrapped version of the fight, Phoenix Man's disaster level progressively increased with each resurrection and was getting closer and closer to disaster level God.
- Following his defeat, Phoenix Man is currently the weakest classified monster in the series, being below Wolf.[4]
- The anime adapts the earlier pre-redraw version of Phoenix Man's fight with Child Emperor instead of the updated canon version from the manga volumes.[47][48][49]
- This results in notable differences in the fight, including two of his abilities never appearing in the anime, which are Phoenix Space and Phoenix Penguin Mode.
- Instead of turning into a chick like in the manga, Phoenix Man weakened himself by ripping off his own costume after succumbing to Tickle-Tickle Bug, before being defeated by Child Emperor, which left him naked.
References
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 100, page 12
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 12
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 90, page 37
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 48
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 16-17
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 100, page 12
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 10, 15, 18 & 25
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 16
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 12-13
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 14-17
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 22-25
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 15-16
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 28
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 7-9
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 10-11
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 13
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 30
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 22-24
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 32 & 66
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 32-35
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga and Anime; Chapter 85, page 19-20, and Episode 24
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 22-27
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 100, page 14-15
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 12
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 25-28
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 29
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 10
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 11
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 36-39
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 100, page 12-13
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 18-19
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 7-8
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 10
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 12
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 16
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 102, page 32
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 10
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 11
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 103, page 32
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 90, page 35-36
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 100, page 11
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 15
- ↑ One-Punch Man Manga; Chapter 101, page 29
- ↑ One-Punch Man Stream; Interviews/Stream_Q/A_4#27.2F10.2F2018
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ONE_rakugaki/status/940474587673804800
- ↑ Tonari
- ↑ Tonari
- ↑ Tonari
- ↑ Tonari