Phoenix Man/Synopsis

History
At an unknown point in time, Phoenix Man was an actor and mascot who played an idiotic phoenix character called Birdbrain in a dark humor TV show called Animal Kingdom who always revived every time he accidentally died in every episode. Because of the dark humor, the show was canceled due to the negative reaction from the audience and Phoenix Man was fired by his cruel and unsympathetic producer.

Unable to let go of his role in the show, he refused to take off the Birdbrain costume and began to lose his humanity day by day, until one day, he found that he couldn't remove it and began to hear the voice of his suit. Its will caused him to fuse with the costume, turning him into a Mysterious Being and granting him the powers of a phoenix, which is resurrection.

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 watches the battle between Garou and Metal Bat and comments that Garou could be a useful asset to the Monster Association.

He then invites Garou to join the Monster Association, but his offer is rejected. 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 Waganma, Phoenix Man retreats underground with Rhino Wrestler and Elder Centipede.

Super Fight Arc
Phoenix Man takes 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 reinforcements, but his request is denied.

Monster Association Arc
During Garou's fight against Bang and Bomb, Phoenix Man is sent by Monster Association to rescue Garou with the assistance of Elder Centipede and some other weaker monsters.

After seeing Genos, Bang and Bomb's presence, he laments that he cannot approach them to grab Garou without risking death, having seen many of his monster comrades already fall. Phoenix Man considers quitting the Monster Association and fleeing, since he would be devoured by Orochi if he came back empty-handed after sacrificing so many troops. Eventually, he decides to make his move, catching the group by surprise and blowing them away with a gust of air before grabbing Garou and flying off with him. As he escapes, Genos begins to target him to blast him out of the sky, so Phoenix Man calls Elder Centipede to cover him, intercepting the attack. He then takes Garou away, informing him of their plans to take him to Orochi.

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 in order to grow. He also reveals that Orochi was once a human who became such a powerful monster through the very same physical and mental hardships, and believes that Garou could become an even stronger monster if pushed in the same way. Phoenix Man is shocked by this revelation and begins considering his own monstrous potential. While resting in his nest, Phoenix Man ponders that if Gyoro Gyoro could make a human like Orochi such a powerful monster, so could he. Therefore, he began to dream about growing into a monster king like Orochi.

During the Hero Association raid, he faced off against Child Emperor but wastes too much time mocking him, allowing the latter to set up a transparent defense wall to nullify his Beak Attack. Stunned, he is then shredded to death by Child Emperor's utility backpack.

However, in a shocking turn of events, Phoenix Man overcomes his near-death experience and explosively grows in power to a Dragon-disaster level, resurrecting like a mythical phoenix and taking a step towards his dream of being monster king. He overpowers Child Emperor with his new strength, forcing the hero to call in his trump card, Brave Giant.

Before Child Emperor can attack, Phoenix Man transports both of them into his Phoenix Space. Phoenix Man explains to Child Emperor that he intends to scout him to become a costume monster, stating that of all the heroes, he has the most darkness within. Child Emperor denies this, saying that the other heroes look way scarier than he does, but Phoenix Man replies that Child Emperor appears to be the most stressed due to his inner desire for a trustworthy companion and an organization that makes the most of him. Phoenix Man offers to create a powerful organization with Child Emperor, one that can surpass disaster level God. He tries to convince Child Emperor to fuse with Brave Giant as he did with his own Birdbrain costume, but Child Emperor snaps out of it and returns to the real world, punching him to the ground with Brave Giant.

Phoenix Man transforms into his Prominence Hawk Mode and knocks Brave Giant back with a barrage of strikes, remarking on Child Emperor's stubbornness and stating that he will change his mind once he sees his resurrected form's powers. He then transforms into Phoenix Fire Falcon Mode and attempts to critically damage Brave Giant, but Child Emperor retaliates with his 20000 Fold Rope Skip Grinder, knocking Phoenix Man into a pillar. Child Emperor chases Phoenix Man through the Monster Association base, but Phoenix Man suddenly turns around and uses his Phoenix Flares to burn Brave Giant's hands. Phoenix Man then attempts another attack, but gets caught in another one of Child Emperor's shields laid as a trap. Phoenix Man asks Child Emperor to reconsider his offer, but the latter is undeterred and drives his fist into the bird monster.

Suddenly, Phoenix Man powers up into Full Power 10000ºC Prominence, burning Brave Giant's hands again. Child Emperor counters by releasing Brave Giant's output limiter, breaking the floor and sending himself and Phoenix Man into freefall.

Phoenix Man and Child Emperor reach an underground waterfall, causing structural damage to part of the Monster Association base. Adapting again to his surroundings, Phoenix Man transforms into Phoenix Penguin Mode, leaping away before throwing a large chunk of ice at Child Emperor in his special attack Phoenix Antarctic Iceberg Attack.

Phoenix Man, Child Emperor, and Waganma land on top of the mass grave of the Subterranean People, with an interloping Saitama landing next to them. Child Emperor continues to fight Phoenix Man, but before the fight drags on, the latter transports them back to the Phoenix Space again.

Phoenix Man points out that the Subterraneans killed each other, stating that their unity was weak and likening it to both the Hero and Monster Associations. He then mentions the behind-the-scenes crimes of the Hero Association. Child Emperor initially brushes it off as a psychological attack, but Phoenix Man states that he's just talking as a friend, and then confides in Child Emperor about his power, stating that his Birdbrain costume granted him freedom. Phoenix Man asks if Child Emperor's heroism actually benefits him and requests him again to join forces. Before Child Emperor can respond, their conversation is interrupted by Saitama, who somehow broke into Phoenix Space. Saitama states that turning into a monster doesn't give someone glory and admonishes Phoenix Man for bothering children, also expressing annoyance at the level of noise from all the fighting. Phoenix Man is shown to be nervous and ultimately brings all of them back to the real world.

Phoenix Man resurrects the Subterraneans as zombies, who immobilize Brave Giant. He slips a Monster Cell through a crack in Brave Giant's armor, calling it medicine for the disease known as humanity. The Monster Cell attempts to force its way into Child Emperor's mouth, but he spits it out, retorting that being a hero comes from the inside. He instructs Saitama to secure Waganma before unleashing Brave Giant's power with Gigavolt Smash, wiping out the Subterraneans at the cost of self-destructing. Phoenix Man mocks Child Emperor destroying his ultimate weapon in such a desperate move, but then begins hysterically laughing and writhing around. Child Emperor reveals that he tossed Tickle-Tickle Bug #3 into Phoenix Man's suit during the blast, stating that he'll soon suffocate from laughter. Phoenix Man comes close to death again, this time resurrecting as the weak and tiny Monster Chick Man before fleeing.

Later on, after the destruction of the Monster Association, Phoenix Man managed to survive the destruction of the base and attempted to regain his full power. However, despite spending time regathering his strength, he only grew larger and little more, forcing him to find a job in human society.

Child Emperor manages to find him, where, taking a break from his job as a school crossing guard, the two talk in a restaurant. Explaining his situation, and pacifying Child Emperor he's no threat, Phoenix Man admits he's enjoying his current job. Still on guard, Child Emperor restrains himself and simply admits that Phoenix Man had been right about the dark side of the Hero Association. As such, he demanded Phoenix Man explain how he knew and where he got such intel.