Fictional character biography edit

Jean's mutant powers of telepathy and telekinesis first manifest when her best friend is hit by a car and killed. Jean mentally links with her friend and nearly dies as well.[1] The event leaves her comatose, and she is brought back to consciousness when her parents seek the help of powerful mutant telepath, Charles Xavier.[2] Xavier blocks her telepathy until she is old enough to be able to control it, leaving her with access only to her telekinetic powers.[1] Xavier later recruits her as a teenager to be part of his X-Men team as Marvel Girl, the team's sole female member.[3] After several missions with the X-Men, Xavier removes Jean's mental blocks and she is able to use and control her telepathic powers.[1] She begins a relationship with with fellow teammate Cyclops (Scott Summers), which persists as her main romantic relationship, though she also develops a mutual secret attraction to later addition to the team, Wolverine.[4]

During an emergency mission in space, the X-Men find their shuttle damaged. Jean pilots the shuttle back to Earth, but is exposed to fatal levels of radiation. In an attempt to save her fellow X-Men by piloting their damaged shuttle back to earth, Jean is exposed to fatal levels of radiation.[5] Dying, but determined to save Cyclops and her friends, Jean calls out for help and is answered by the cosmic entity, the Phoenix Force.[6] The Phoenix Force, the sum of all life in the universe,[7] is moved by Jean's dedication and love and takes the form of a duplicate body to house Jean's psyche.[6] In that instant, the Phoenix Force is overwhelmed and believes itself to be Jean Grey and places Jean's dying body in a healing cocoon.[8] The ship crashes in the Jamaica bay, with the other X-Men unharmed.[9] The Phoenix Force, as Jean Grey, emerges in a new green and gold costume and adopts the new codename Phoenix, with immense cosmic powers.[10] Meanwhile, the cocoon containing the real Jean Grey sinks to the bottom of the bay, unnoticed. Phoenix continues her life as Jean Grey with the other X-Men, joining them on missions and saving the universe. During the "The Dark Phoenix Saga", Phoenix becomes overwhelmed and corrupted by her first taste of evil and transforms into a force of total destruction, called "Dark Phoenix", consuming a star, inadvertently killing the inhabitants of the star's solar system, and jeopardizing the entire universe.[11] However, Jean's personality manages to take control and Phoenix commits suicide to ensure the universe's safety.[11] "The Dark Phoenix Saga" (including the earlier "Phoenix Saga") would become one of the most well-known and heavily referenced stories in mainstream American superhero comics, widely considered a classic.[12]

Upon its suicide by way of a disintegration ray, the Phoenix Force disperses and locates the still-healing Jean at the bottom of the Jamaica bay.[13] In trying to bond with her, Jean senses its memories of death and destruction and rejects it, causing it to bond with and animate a lifeless clone of Jean Grey created by the villain Mister Sinister.[13] Sinister created the clone to mate with Cylcops to create genetically superior mutants. Named "Madelyne Pryor", the unaware clone meets Cyclops in a situation engineered by Sinister and the two fall in love, marry, and have a child, Nathan Christopher Summers. Meanwhile, the cocoon is discovered and retrieved by the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.[6] Jean emerges, with no memory of the actions of the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix.[6] The Avengers and Fantastic Four tell her of what happened and that she was believed dead until now.[6] She is reunited with the original X-Men, and convinces them to form the new superhero team X-Factor.[14] Jean learns that Cyclops has moved on with Madelyn, who is angered over his decision to lead X-Factor and neglect his family.[14] Though Jean encourages Cyclops to return to Madelyne, he finds their house abandoned and assumes that Madelyne has left him and taken their son;[15] Cyclops devotes himself to X-Factor and he and Jean continue their relationship.[16]

Madelyne eventually resurfaces with powers awakened by a demonic pact, calling herself the "Goblyn Queen".[17] Learning of her true identity and purpose as a clone drives her completely insane and she plans to sacrifice Nathan Christopher to achieve greater power, which will unleash Hell on Earth.[13] While attempting to stop her, Jean is reunited with the other X-Men, who are happy to learn that she is alive, particularly Wolverine, reminding Jean of her unaddressed feelings for him. Jean and Madelyne confront each other, and Madelyne attempts to kill them both. Jean manages to survive only by absorbing the remnant of the Phoenix Force housed within Madelyne, giving her both Madelyne's memories and the Phoenix's memories from "The Dark Phoenix Saga".[18]

While they both remain on X-Factor, Cyclops proposes to Jean and she meets her alternate future daughter Rachel Summers, but she rejects them both out of the feeling that they suggest that her life is predetermined.[19][20] When X-Factor unites with the X-Men, Jean joins the Gold Team, lead by her best friend Storm.[21] During this time, she no longer uses a codename, instead being referred to by her full name, Jean Grey. After some time, she makes up with Rachel and proposes to Cyclops and the two marry.[2][22] On their honeymoon, the couple is immediately psychically transported 2000 years into the future to raise Cyclops's son Nathan, who had been transported to the future as an infant in hopes of curing him of a deadly virus. Jean adopts the identity of "Redd" along with "Slym" (Cyclops) and raises Nathan Christopher for twelve years before they are sent back into their bodies on their wedding honeymoon. Jean learns that Rachel had transported them to the future to protect Nathan, and per her request adopts the codename "Phoenix" once again to establish it as a symbol of good after all the bad it had caused.[23] Meanwhile, her psychic and telekinetic abilities begin to grow and she begins using the iconic green and gold Phoenix costume again.[24]

Following Cyclops's possession by the mutant villain Apocalypse and disappearance in the conclusion of the crossover storyline "Apocalypse: The Twelve,"[25][26], Jean continues with the X-Men, but is distraught by Cyclops's disappearance. She later learns that she is an "Omega-level" mutant, a term used to describe mutants with unlimited potential.[27] Jean, with the help of Nathan Christopher (now going by the codename Cable), is able to locate and free Cyclops of his possession by Apocalypse.[28] The couple return to the X-Men as part of the Xavier Institute's teaching staff to a new generation of mutants.[29] While Jean finds she is slowly able to tap into the powers of the Phoenix Force once again, her marriage to Scott begins to fail.[29] Jean and Wolverine address their long-unspoken mutual attraction, deciding it is best not to act on their feelings, while Cyclops grows further alienated from Jean due to her growing powers and responsibilities and seeks consolation from Emma Frost to address his disillusionment and his experiences while possessed by Apocalypse.[29] These interactions lead to a "psychic affair" between Scott and Emma. Jean's discovery of the psychic affair results in a confrontation between her and Emma, though ultimately Jean realizes that her marriage to Scott has run its course.[29]

In a final confrontation with a traitor at the institute (the X-Men's teammate Xorn, posing as Magneto) Jean fully realizes and assumes the powers of the Phoenix under her complete control. However, she is killed in battle.[29] Jean dies telling Scott "to live." However, at her grave, Scott rejects Emma and her offer to run the school together. This creates a dystopian future where all life and natural evolution is under assault by the villainous intelligent bacteria Sublime. Jean is resurrected in this future timeline and becomes the fully realized White Phoenix of the Crown, using the abilities of the Phoenix Force to eliminate the dystopic future by reaching back in time and influencing Cyclops to accept Emma's offer to run the school together.[29] Jean then fully bonds with the Phoenix Force and ascends to a higher plane of existence called the "White Hot Room".[30] Though she has yet to fully return, the Phoenix Force continues to manifest itself, particularly through the red-haired, green-eyed "mutant messiah" Hope Summers,[31] and Jean briefly appears in a vision to Emma Frost from the White Hot Room, telling the X-Men to "prepare."[32]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference BA27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference UXM308 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Stan Lee (w), Jack Kirby (p), Paul Reinman (i). "X-Men" X-Men, vol. 1, no. 1 (September 1963). Marvel Comics.
  4. ^ Chris Claremont (w), John Bolton (p). "First Night" Classic X-Men, vol. 1, no. 1 (September 1986). Marvel Comics.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference DPT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference FF286 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Classic43 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference CLSX8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Chris Claremont (w), Dave Cockrum; John Byrne (p), Frank Chiaramonte (i). "Like A Phoenix, From The Ashes!" X-Men, vol. 1, no. 101 (October 1976). Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference UXM125 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference DPS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Deeley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference UNCXM241 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference XFT1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference XFT8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference XFT13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNCXM240 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference XFT38 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference XFT53 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference XFTANN5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNCXM281 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Scott Lobdell (w), Ken Lashley (p), Randy Elliott (i). "Hello, I Must Be Going" Excalibur, vol. 1, no. 75 (March 1994). Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference TAoC&P was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNCXM356 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Twelve was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference AGES was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference XMFRV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference XMSfC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference NWXMNOMN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference PHNXEND was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference XFC3-28 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference UXM510 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).