History Main / ThePhoenix

Not to be confused with the city of the same name, located in Arizona. While there is only one in the U.S., (as opposed to, say [[TheSimpsons Springfield]] or Portland), unlike Chicago, Phoenix, Arizona has never had a major fire.

** Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet, saved Harry in the second book. He's introduced in the way mentioned in the trope description -- bursting into flame while Harry is alone in Dumbledore's office. It's left obvious it's the same animal that is reborn, and it "dies" at least twice during Harry's stay at Hogwarts. While rare, phoenixes are a species rather than Fawkes being one-of-a-kind.

* The city of UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco has the phoenix as its flag symbol.

[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skyfire_phoenix.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Who wants hot wings?]]

* Music/FallOutBoy's single [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hDZbroaQDc “The Phoenix,”]] which is also the opening track of the album Save Rock and Roll. Since this is the first album they made after a three-year hiatus, it works as meta symbolism of the band's rebirth.

* ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'': ThePhoenix is the symbol of the Phoenix Clan.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': One of the Three Keys of Power (artifacts that grant their owner tremendous magical power when used together), the Phoenix Gate, allows people to travel through time. Howver, [[StableTimeLoop due to the nature of time travel in that series]], no one can actually ''change'' the past, merely fulfill their role in it. In the canon comics, [[spoiler: the Phoenix Gate is broken and an ''actual'' Phoenix is freed as a result]].

* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'': This is implied to be the case with Mothra, who has a habit of laying an egg and then dying in the same film, then coming back in a later film after the egg hatches.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':
** Phoenixes are powerful and benevolent creatures of great wisdom that resemble enormous birds of prey made of fire. They are able to self-resurrect when slain only once a year, dying permanently if killed again before a full year has passed since their previous death. They have an important role in the worship of the sun goddess Sarenae, whose followers believe them to be sacred to the goddess and that Sarenae created the first phoenixes from {{roc|Birds}}s blessed with her power. They are distant kin to {{thunderbirds}} and tidehawks, powerful avian beings associated with lightning and water instead, and have rocky relationships with both -- phoenixes see thunderbirds as too harsh and unyielding and tidehawks as flighty, selfish and unreliable, while thunderbirds see phoenixes as excessively soft and forgiving and tidehawks see them as meddlesome do-gooders.

** Phoenixes are powerful and benevolent creatures of great wisdom that resemble enormous birds of prey made of fire. They are able to self-resurrect when slain only once a year, dying permanently if killed again before a full year has passed since their previous death. They have an important role in the worship of the sun goddess Sarenae, whose followers believe them to be sacred to the goddess and that Sarenae created the first phoenixes from {{roc|Birds}}s blessed with her power.
** The cult of the Peacock Spirit has ties to creatures referred to as peacock phoenixes, peacock-like firebirds native to a remote corner of the Plane of Fire. One such creature features in the ''Return of the Runelords'' adventure path, although in game terms it resolves as a fiery {{Thunderbird|s}}.

** Suriel, Phoenix of the Abidan, is one of the Judges of the celestial Abidan. She leads the organization's healers, and while they do have incredible healing abilities, they are best known for being {{Time Master}}s. Lindon meets her when an ascendant being destroys her home and kills his family, and Suriel rewinds time so that none of it ever happened at all.

Traditionally [[SingleSpecimenSpecies this is not a species; there is usually only one Phoenix]] (video games and other modern fantasy works [[AKindOfOne may beg to differ, but that's another story]]). More modern depictions will take this and run with it, depicting the phoenix as an EndangeredSpecies, with the single specimen often being the LastOfItsKind. Unlike most other mythical beings, it's not immortal, instead it lives, ages, lays one single egg and burns itself up, after which the heat of its self-cremation causes the egg to hatch. Alternatively, the new Phoenix may born directly from the ashes of its predecessor.

It is commonly mistaken to be a member of TheFourGods, due to its similarities with the Vermillion Bird. It may also be equated with the Fenghuang, another fabulous bird of myth, which is sometimes referred to as the Chinese Phoenix. When treated as an actively pyrokinetic creature, it may also be contrasted with or compared to the {{Thunderbird}}. LightningFireJuxtaposition is likely a factor in this.

* ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'': The tie-in field guide details phoenixes (with the image above being directly from the book). They are genderless creatures that, towards the end of their centuries-long lifespan, set up a nest they then incinerate themselves upon, leaving an egg that hatches into a new phoenix after nine days.

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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spiderwick_the_phoenix.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Behold the majestic Greek Fire-Chicken!]]

** The subject is treated somewhat more seriously with the final enemy in the series, the [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Phoenix]] [[AGodAmI Emperor]] [[PersonOfMassDestruction Saffron]], ruler of Mt. Phoenix to the south of Jusenkyo. Not only is he, like all his people, a WingedHumanoid with talons for hands and feet, but he [[PlayingWithFire can generate raw flame]] from his BattleAura and [[HealingFactor regenerate]] from ''[[NighInvulnerability any injury]]'' through his phoenix flame... up to and including having his head frozen solid or his entire body shattered into a million pieces (which merely causes him to be [[BornAgainImmortality reborn as an egg]].)

See BirthDeathJuxtaposition for a plot that reflects this {{motif|s}}. See BornAgainImmortality for other characters with the ability to be reborn after death. See also {{Ouroboros}}, another ancient symbol of immortality/eternity. See HotWings for other wings of fire.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': Garda birds are [[ElementalEmbodiment fire elementals]] resembling large, beautiful birds with gold, purple or silver feathers (the exact coloration depends on the specific form they are in, as they can take several). They are ageless and immortal -- when one dies, it is reborn in flame nine days later without fail. One of the forms they use for combat, a humanoid with six arms and the head, tail, wings and claws of an eagle, is also referred to as the Phoenix form.

* ''WesternAnimation/ConanTheAdventurer'', an InNameOnly AnimatedAdaptation, has a small, young, [[PollyWantsAMicrophone talking]] phoenix with the power to enter a metal objects and become a decoration upon them as a SmallAnnoyingCreature. In one episode it temporarily gets its adult form and becomes massive and powerful, easily carrying Conan on its back. In the sequel series where the firebird is missing, Conan makes an offhand comment saying that he eventually ate it.