In the seminal Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event, Hope Summers, a young mutant and potential Phoenix Force host, took a crash course in the history of the cosmic force and its former hosts to prepare for her likely merger with the cosmic force. To achieve this, Hope traveled widely and worked with a variety of superheroes, some of who had surprising new information about the Phoenix Force.

In some of the most surprising moments of the crossover, Brian Michael Bendis's and Mike Deodato's New Avengers #25-27 followed a past version of the hero Iron Fist and the mystical city of K'un-L'un. And in this flashback to the 15th century, that era's Iron Fist,  Wu Fonji, also became a host to the Phoenix Force.

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Wu Fongji was born after her mother had a tryst with an unknown Western man during a pilgrimage. Her mother seemed to experience some shame from this and raised her daughter largely in the margins of society so her unusual red hair and selective mutism would draw little notice. But Fongji's quiet life was shattered when K'un-Lun's ruler, the Yu-Ti, began to see her in prophetic dreams that showed her being fought over by a giant fiery bird and dragon before absorbing the energy of both. The Yu-Ti found Fongji after searching the entire city for a girl with her features and ordered her to be trained as the next Iron Fist, despite her lack of experience in martial arts.

The Yu-Ti recognized the fiery dragon of his dreams as the representation of the power the Iron Fist wielded after defeating the dragon Shou-Laou but knew little about the bird of fire aside from it's potential to devastate the Earth. While Fongji trained with the immortal martial arts master Lieu-Kung, he sent for the help of a surprisingly famous genius: the artist and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci arrived in K'un-Lun just in time to see an exhausted and resentful Fongji manifest some of the Phoenix's energy to send Lieu-Kung flying during a training session. Correctly deducing that this meant the Phoenix Force was fast approaching Earth, Da Vinci set up a powerful telescope to keep a close watch on it.

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Despite having virtually no training, the time came for Fongji to battle Shou-Laou for the power of the Iron Fist. She managed to do it and even began to speak for the first time, but Da Vinci announced the Phoenix Force was on its way, which would prove to be a far more perilous trial.

With only a few minutes left before the cosmic entity reached K'un-Lun, the Yu-Ti finally told Fongji the most important part of his prophetic dreams: they showed that either she would stay in control of herself and master the Phoenix Force or that she would succumb to the incredible power and devastate her world like so many Dark Phoenix hosts before her. As the Force approached, Fongji manifested the fiery dragon the Yu-Ti had seen in his dreams, and the two fought fiercely before being absorbed by Fongji's body just as he had foreseen. The young girl now wore a combination of the Iron Fist and Phoenix Force host costume, signifying her mastery over both forces--at least for the moment.

Fongji managed to speak with the others as herself for a bit, but her control faltered for a second and nearly became the Dark Phoenix. After an internal struggle where she seemed to communicate with the Force directly, she mysteriously said, "The world isn't ready." Bidding them a fond farewell, she flew into the night sky, never to appear be seen again.

There's still a lot we don't know about Wu Fongji and her experience as both Iron Fist and Phoenix Force Host. Although the Phoenix Force was last seen heading to Earth at Namor's beckoning, it's still possible that one day we might get to see Fongji again, even if it's just through a flashback that reveals what she did or how she died soaring through Marvel's cosmos.

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