Marvel Comics' X-Men character Jean Grey has the epitome of a complicated comic book character history. First created in 1963 by Marvel Comics super creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Jean Grey's story has more twists than a roller coaster. Here's an attempt to straighten it all out.
Jean Grey: Origin
Where Jean came from and how she got to the X-Men is the easy part. Born in New York, Jean Grey first manifested her telepathic powers at the age of 10 after seeing her best friend hit by a car. A traumatized Jean, who had literally felt the pain of her dying friend, was brought to Professor Charles Xavier by her parents, desperate to figure out what was wrong with her. Also a super telepath, Professor X saw Jean's potential right away and recruited her to his school for training.
Professor X 'blocks' Jean Grey's Full Powers
After fully realizing Jean Grey's massive potential as a telekinetic telepath, Professor X installed mental blocks on her, leaving Jean only capable of telekinesis for her first days on the first X-Men team as Marvel Girl (X-Men #1, 1963). Professor X took specific interest in Jean Grey's development, cultivating a strong father-daughter type relationship between them.
Jean Grey as Phoenix: Deaths and Clones Aplenty
After a few years of battling evil on the X-Men as Marvel Girl, things get complicated for Jean Grey's story. In Uncanny X-Men #101 (1976) Jean Grey experiences her first of many deaths when she is killed while piloting a spaceship. She is resurrected in the next issue.
It is later explained that this is when the mysterious Phoenix Force first bonded to Jean and inhabited a clone of her body, and that the Phoenix hid the original Jean in a cocoon under a harbor. For 4 years following Jean Grey's first "death," her Phoenix clone fights with the X-Men in the original Jean's place. Also during this period, a mysterious second clone of Jean Grey appears, calling herself Madelyne Pryor. All this time no one realizes the real Jean Grey is gone. Confused yet?
Jean Grey's 2nd "Death" as Dark Phoenix
In 1980, Phoenix Jean Grey had a series of traumatizing events and became "Dark Phoenix" in what became the epic Dark Phoenix Saga (one of the best X-Men graphic novels, in many's opinion). Dark Phoenix-Jean Grey carries out horrific acts of violence and eventually commits suicide rather than face the shame. During all this, Scott Summers grows increasingly closer to Jean Grey-Clone Madelyne Pryor, eventually marrying her and raising a son in an alternate future time line. Their son, Nate Summers, later becomes Cable and rejoins the main universe and time line as X-Man.
Real Jean Grey Returns, Saved by Fantastic 4
5 years after the Phoenix clone committed suicide and 10 years after being put in a cocoon by the Phoenix clone, the real, original Jean Grey triumphantly returns in 1986 after being rescued from the cocoon by the Fantastic 4 in Fantastic 4 #286. Jean Grey, rejoined the X-men with many of her powers enhanced as a result of her interaction with the Phoenix entity. Scott Summers (Cyclops) divorced Madelyne Pryor and gets together with Jean once she returns.
Jean Grey is able to overcome the Professor's X's mental blocks and fully manifests her omega level status of telekinetic and telepathic powers. Despite the suicide of her Phoenix clone, the Phoenix Force is alive and well in the universe and occasionally manifests in Jean to wreak further havoc. According to Marvel's database, Jean Grey is able to:
- Read and control minds
- Initiate astral travel
- Mentally stun opponents with pure psionic force
- Levitate and manipulate objects
- Generate force fields
- Fly
Hellfire Club Kills Jean Grey
Jean Grey managed to stay alive and unscathed until 1991, when, in Uncanny X-Men #281 she was struck down by sentinels in a Hellfire Club attack. It turns out she was able to transfer her mind, thoughts and memories to fellow telepath Emma Frost, who later resurrected Jean Grey once again.
During the 1990s, Marvel Comics story lines became increasingly flashy and complicated as writers attempted to create new story lines that remained continuous within the 5-decade empire of characters. When current editor-in-chief Joe Quesada took over in 2000, he placed a moratorium on resurrecting dead characters.
Will the Phoenix Rise Again?
Jean Grey has stayed mostly dead during Quesada's tenure at Marvel Comics. As she is bonded with the Phoenix force, named for a mythical bird that rises from its own ashes to live again, it is inevitable that Jean Grey will continue her cycle of death and rebirth. In New X-Men #148 (Oct 2003), Wolverine stabbed Jean Grey to activate her Phoenix persona (to save them from certain death). The move 'killed' Jean Grey again, yet she has returned several times in the Marvel Universe in her full-fledged Phoenix persona.
Ex-husband Scott Summers has moved on and is currently dating Emma Frost. For the past several years, the Phoenix Jean Grey is hiding out, awaiting another triumphant return. She stayed mostly absent from recent Marvel events such as the Civil War and World War Hulk, though a possible clone has resurfaced during the recent Secret Invasion.
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