Phoenix Man

I couldn’t remove my bird costume, and before I realized it, I had become a monster!

Phoenix Man (フェニックス男, Fenikkusu Otoko) is a Mysterious Being who first appears during the attack in S-City accompanying Elder Centipede as an ally. He is a member of the Monster Association.

Appearance
Phoenix Man is a tall golden bird which resembles a phoenix. He possess big white eyes and his most notable feature are human hands which he hides behind his feathers. His appearance seems to be based on a character from a comedy show called Animal Kingdom.

After his revival, he takes on a more human like form, gaining an extra pair of wings, armor like scales across his body and a helmet shaped as his original phoenix head. Similar to the webcomic, his human face is visible, although with this new transformation, his face is in a normal place, and his bird-head appears like a mascot head.

His appearance is slightly different in the webcomic: instead of being completely aviary, his original human face is seen popping out of his stomach, although it does not speak.

Personality
He's the first friendly monster to appear, not attacking Garou despite his rude attitude against him. When Rhino Wrestler asked what he thought of his disaster level, he remarked that he didn't care. He also seems to be confident in his abilities. Phoenix Man is only the two monsters, him and Gyoro Gyoro, that dislikes the savagery of other monsters and prefers to deal with problems on a civilized manner. Phoenix Man will occasionally go to Gyoro Gyoro and ask it for advice and question about certain things, such as Gyoro Gyoro's decision to send Bug God and Royal Ripper to watch over Garou.

Phoenix Man is also one of the few monsters who appears to show some level of care for his allies. He proposed sending reinforcements to help his fellow monsters, but when it was ultimately denied, he did not argue against it. He would give advice to others, be it monsters or potential allies, that appear to be for their own benefit.

He also seems to have a good sense of judgment and keen intellect. As he was seen taking charge of the situation of their mission and instructing Rhino Wrestler, Sludge Jellyfish, and Elder Centipede. He was also able to figure out Metal Knight's robot was remotely controlled and fighting it would only exhaust both him and his teammates.

He is shown to be fearful of Orochi since he plans to quit the Monster Association in case he fails to capture Garou after sacrificing most of the elite troops of the Monster Association. When he learns of Orochi's past and how he was once a human who went through countless sacrifices and gained immense strength, Phoenix Man wonders if he could become stronger too, imagining himself as the Monster King instead of Orochi, demonstrating an ambition for power.

His personality is significantly different in the webcomic. In the webcomic, he is a typical monster with a high superiority complex, stating his strength to surpass a disaster level of Demon, and believing the Monster Association to be a mere stepping stone for him to be at the top of the world. However, in the manga, his lines are for the most part the same as in the webcomic, showing that he still harbors the lust for power and desire to rule the world in the manga.

In battle, in contrast to his analytical demeanor, he can be quite cocky and likes to talk big towards his opponents, causing him to be unprepared against countermeasures from his enemies, which contributes to his demise during his first fight against Child Emperor.

After his revival and power-up, he becomes extremely arrogant, proclaiming himself to be the strongest of all living beings on the planet, not taking into account Orochi's power or the power of other Dragon-level monsters.

It is possible that Phoenix Man harbors some form of sympathy or weak spot for children that originates from his time as the mascot for a children's show. This is seen when Phoenix Man promises Child Emperor a painless death the first time they meet, and even after being revived and becoming even more arrogant, he still intends to follow through with his promise.

History
At an unknown point in time, Phoenix Man was the mascot of the kids show "Animal Kingdom", where he played a stupid Phoenix called Birdbrain who constantly got himself accidentally killed on the show, only to be resurrected soon after. After the show was cancelled due to its black humor, he couldn't take his costume off and eventually fused with it, the resulting event turned him into a Mysterious Being and granting him the powers of a phoenix.

Monster Raid Arc
Phoenix Man is first seen in S-City, accompanying Sludge Jellyfish and Rhino Wrestler. The three monsters corner Mohican and Pineapple, who are carrying Narinki and his son Waganma. He is seen watching the battle between Garou and Metal Bat, commenting Garou could be an useful asset.

He later tries to invite Garou to join the Monster Association, but it is turned down. He says he will overlook Garou's rude behavior this time and promises that they will meet again if Garou continues to hero hunt.

After successfully capturing the child, Phoenix Man told Rhino Wrestler to retreat after explaining how fighting Metal Knight would only be in vain for both of them. Phoenix Man instructed a retreat to Elder Centipede, and him along with Rhino Wrestler were taken by the large Monster and burrowed underground.

Super Fight Arc
Phoenix Man took Waganma to the Monster Association headquarters and is commended by Gyoro Gyoro. He informs Gyoro Gyoro about monsters being cornered by heroes and asks if they should send reinforcement, but his request was denied.

Monster Association Arc
During Garou's fight against his former teacher, Bang and his brother, Bomb, Pheonix Man is sent by Monster Association to rescue Garou with the assistance of Elder Centipede and other monsters.

After seeing Genos, Bang and Bomb's presence, he laments that he cannot approach them to grab Garou without risking death. Phoenix Man considered quitting the Monster Association and fleeing since he will be devoured by Orochi if he comes back empty-handed after sacrificing so many troops of the Association to capture Garou.

After Garou's recovery, Phoenix Man reveals to Garou that Bang, Bomb, Genos, and the rest of the heroes survived the battle with Elder Centipede.

During Royal Ripper and Bug God's observation of Garou, Phoenix Man questions Gyoro Gyoro on the purpose of sending combat types to observe Garou as both Royal Ripper and Bug God can decide to kill Garou if they're being provoked enough. Gyoro Gyoro reveals that it was a test and to facilitate Garou's growth, stating that he needs to be ravaged both physically and mentally. Gyoro Gyoro in particular is excited to see what changes Garou will undergo as a result of experiencing monsters. Gyoro Gyoro reveals that Orochi was once a human that, after countless failures and sacrifices, became the ultimate being, much to the deep shock of Phoenix Man. Gyoro Gyoro created Orochi and that only it knows the secret trick of doing so. Gyoro Gyoro mentions that with the right nourishment, Garou has the potential of becoming a second Orochi, but that if he dies then he was never good enough. While resting in his nest, he ponders that if Gyoro Gyoro could make Orochi, a former human, become such a powerful monster, so could he. Therefore, he began to dream about being a monster king like Orochi.

During the Hero Association raid, he faced off against Child Emperor, but wastes too much time mocking Child Emperor, which enables the latter to put the transparent defense wall to nullity his Beak Attack, effectively stunning him. He is eventually shredded to death by Child Emperor's utility backpack.

However, in a shocking turn of events, Phoenix Man overcame his near death experience and explosively grew in power to a Dragon-disaster level. He then engages Child Emperor in battle and forces the hero to call in his trump card.

Gyoro Gyoro
While they hold different ranks in the Monster Association, Gyoro Gyoro and Phoenix Man share a mutual friendly relationship as fellow monsters. Phoenix Man follows Gyoro Gyoro's orders and Gyoro Gyoro praises Phoenix Man for his success.

Phoenix Man is not afraid to discuss possible options and question Gyoro Gyoro's decisions. He is even allowed to enter Gyoro Gyoro's room with little complaint from Gyoro Gyoro.

Gyoro Gyoro has some level of recognition and respect for Phoenix Man. It is enough for her to reveal some secrets that she has told no one else.

While he lacks the power to become a cadre, he acts as middle management between the cadres and the weaker monsters. Despite his respectful attitude to Gyoro Gyoro, Phoenix Man sees the Monster Association as a stepping stone and wants to take the Monster King title from Orochi.

Abilities and Powers
As a Demon level monster, it's safe to assume that Phoenix Man is a powerful being. He also seemed to be unimpressed of Metal Bat's and Garou's strength. However, even with the assistance of his teammates, he stated that fighting Metal Knight's robot would wear him down. Due to his monster form being based on a TV character resurrecting continuously after dying, Phoenix Man is capable of resurrecting himself while growing stronger in the process, as after he resurrected for the first time, he became Disaster Level Dragon. In this state, he's strong enough to force Child Emperor to resort to using his trump card, Brave Mecha.

Supernatural Abilities
Resurrection: Phoenix Man possesses the ability to resurrect himself after a near death experience. This ability stems from how the costume that composes his monster form when he was still human was based on a TV series character that constantly died and resurrected itself later. It seems it takes some time for him to return to life as he only revived himself when Child Emperor returned back to where his corpse was after killing him the first time. When he resurrects his body is engulfed in a burst of light and energy before emerging in his new form thus living up to his namesake.
 * Power Enhancement: Not only does Phoenix Man revives himself but this resurrection comes with an increase in power and form. With this power, he can become significantly stronger through every near-death experience, compared to Garou, who takes multiple near-death experiences to achieve significant growth in power. Hypothetically, as long Phoenix Man's body remains intact, he can renew and become even stronger indefinitely, demonstrating the potency of this ability.


 * Pyrokinesis: After his resurrection, Phoenix Man gains the ability to create fire. This ability is shown to be even more extensive than any fire-wielder thus far, as he can completely envelope himself in flames.

Physical Abilities
Flight: As a bird, Phoenix Man has the ability to fly through the use of his wings.

Immense Speed: In his first form, Phoenix Man was fast enough to swoop down and blow back Bang, Bomb, Genos, and Garou with his wings when they were distracted and quickly grabbed hold of Garou to make off with the Hero Hunter before any of the humans were able to react properly. After resurrecting the first time, he became fast enough to plow through all five layers of Child Emperor's transparent defense film in one flight jump along with attacking the hero stimultaneously that the latter was barely able to react in time to block the monster's attack. His overall flight speed dramatically increases in his resurrected form as he's able to easily dodge the attacks of Child Emperor's Brave Mecha along with outpacing the mecha's heat-seeking missiles.

Immense Strength: In his initial state, Phoenix Man possesses enough physical strength to blow a powerful gust of wind that can knock Bang, Bomb, Genos, and Garou off their feet by flapping his wings. Phoenix Man's second form from his resurrection possess incredible strength, breaking through five layers of Child Emperor's transparent film with no difficulty along with sending the young hero flying when before he couldn't break through one layer.

Immense Durability: Initially when in his first form, Phoenix Man was swiflty defeated by Child Emperor who shredded his body. After resurrecting he sustained a direct blow from Child Emperor's mecha, Brave Giant, as well as being thrown through a wall and multiple pillars, and was unaffected.

Fighting Style
Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Phoenix Man appears to mainly rely on incorporating his bird-like attributes with close-quarters combat. His attributes are further enhanced upon resurrection.


 * 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.
 * 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.


 * Searing Winds: Phoenix Man can beat his wings to send a powerful gust of heated air.


 * Phoenix Flare (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 Mecha.

Miscellaneous Abilities
Expert Strategist and Tactician: Phoenix Man takes into account the compatibility and abilities of his opponents, allies, and himself before any potential confrontation. This is first seen when he advised Rhino Wrestler against fighting Metal Knight. He further demonstrated this strategic mindset when he was deciding and waiting for the right time to rescue Garou and when comparing the abilities of Bang, Bomb and Genos against Elder Centipede's. Despite this, he is still prone to underestimating opponents, as seen when he took on Child Emperor, an S-class hero, singlehandedly and was quickly killed. After resurrecting for the first time, Phoenix Man retained his analytical mind despite becoming cockier as he quickly deduced that Child Emperor's ultimate weapon, Brave Mecha, had severe limitations, which was why the hero didn't resort to using it until their second confrontation.

Quotes

 * The method of how Orochi was created...If that story was true, then I could become it too. "Monster King" Phoenix Man

Trivia

 * In the manga, Phoenix Man's role is expanded compared to the Webcomic.
 * Phoenix Man is one of the few monsters from the original Webcomic to be more prevalent to the story in the manga.
 * In the webcomic, Phoenix Man is only seen when he confronts Child Emperor, and unlike in the manga, he does not have the ability of resurrection, and is permanently killed by Child Emperor.
 * In the original storyboard of Chapter 84, ONE gave Phoenix Man a technique called Phoenix Flare (フェニックスフレア, Fenikkusufurea), which Phoenix Man used to avoid Genos's barrage.
 * Phoenix Man is the first monster to increase his disaster level throughout battle and not through surpressing/hiding his power.