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If you’re a fan of Marvel Comics, you surely know who the X-Men are. And if you know who the X-Men are, then you surely know about Jean Grey, if only by name. Arguably the most prominent member of the team that isn’t named Wolverine, Jean is one of the team’s founding members, debuting in the Silver Age of Comics as Marvel Girl before eventually adopting her civilian name as her superhero persona.
Being one of the most popular comic book characters means Jean is never far away from the conversation. However, as with many other figures from the medium, her history is long, complicated, and often bats—t crazy, to the point where even many hardcore comic book fans have trouble keeping up. This list will offer ten key details about Jean Grey’s comic book journey, for no particular reason other than a desire to honor one of Marvel Comics’ most important and powerful female characters.
Jean Is an Omega-Level Mutant
Let’s start with something simple and mostly well-known by both fans and casuals: Jean Grey is an Omega-Level mutant, meaning she has almost limitless potential. In the comics, the term is used for those mutants whose powers reach “an undefinable upper limit of that power’s specific classification.” In other words, it’s mutants whose powers can not be surpassed.
It’s important to note that the Omega classification only applies to one power. In Jean’s case, she’s an Omega-level telepath, but not a telekinetic. There can also be multiple Omega-level mutants for one power. For example, Jean, Charles Xavier, and Kid Omega are all Omega-level telepaths.
Jean Has a Clone
If you’re a fan of X-Men ’97, you might already know who Madelyne Pryor is. For the uninitiated, let’s begin. Following Jean’s death, the villain Mr. Sinister creates a clone of Jean Grey named Madelyne Pryor with the intention of marrying her to Scott and producing a powerful mutant child. Because Scott is apparently clueless to the fact that this woman looks exactly like his presumably death former love, he marries Madelyne and indeed has a son with her, Nathan, AKA Cable.
Once Jean returns to life, Scott goes back to her, and Madelyne descends into madness, becoming the Goblin Queen. She plays a key role in the demonic invasion of Earth during the Inferno storyline before ultimately committing suicide in an attempt to take down Jean. If any of this made you feel bad for Maddie, then congratulations, you’re probably in the right. Few Marvel characters have ever been so mistreated, honestly.
Chris Claremont Changed Jean for the Better
Debuting in the Silver Age of Comics, Jean was introduced as something of a damsel in distress. Her powers had a clear ceiling, causing her to faint in exhaustion. It was up to the other five male X-Men to save the day and, often, Jean. If you’re wondering how that looked, take a look at the ’90s animated show, which also made Jean useless, constantly falling, screaming, or getting shot at while everyone else around her did the heavy lifting.
Then came Chris Claremont, one of the most legendary X-Men writers who completely rehauling the team in the ’70s. It was he who took Jean and completely evolved her character, turning her from the weakest member of the X-Men to the strongest. Claremont created many of the best-known aspects of Jean’s characterization, including the Phoenix Saga (more on that later). He did a lot for the X-Men overall, but his part in Jean’s story is perhaps more notable.
Jean Is a Professional Model
Most superheroes have secret identities and try to lead normal, civilian lives. The X-Men are usually depicted as either students or teachers at Xavier’s school, but Jean actually had a brief stint as a professional model. When the X-Men disband following an FBI order, Scott and Jean get regular jobs to make ends meet in New York City (fun fact: Scott becomes a radio news broadcaster).
The side hustle doesn’t last, and it’s not long before Jean and Scott are back in the X-Men. Still, it’s always fun when superheroes try to lead normal lives, only to realize they either can’t or don’t want to. Because Jean has always been portrayed as something of a role model, she naturally excels as a model. Maybe, in an alternate timeline, she’s gracing the cover of Vogue instead of constantly dying.
Jean Has Died Many, Many Times
And speaking of deaths, Jean has had a lot of them. Comic book characters usually die, but Jean has done so more than the average hero. Jean’s first major death happened in Uncanny X-Men #100, succumbing to radiation while sacrificing herself to save her fellow X-Men. It’s here that the Phoenix Force enters the chat, duplicating her body while preserving the original in a cocoon at the bottom of a lake.
From there, Jean would keep on dying and resurrecting. She dies after the Phoenix Force corrupts her. She then dies after taking a bullet from a Magneto clone. She also vanishes after a certain Mad Titan snaps his fingers and perishes at the hands of Sentinels during an attack on the ORCHIS station. Most recently, she died at the 2023 Hellfire Gala, when ORCHIS launched a devastating mutant attack. At this point, it’s become a recurring joke that Jean Grey dies, but you have to admire her ability to keep coming back, especially because she’s resurrected herself through sheer force of will at least once.
Jean Was Snapped by Thanos
Speaking of the Mad Titan himself, yes, Thanos did snap Jean Grey out of existence in the 1991 event Infinity Gauntlet. If you’ve seen Avengers: Infinity War (and considering you’re reading this article, I’m going to go on a limb and say you have), then you’re familiar with the gist of it. In the comics, Thanos means to impress his long love, Mistress Death, and thus uses the Infinity Gauntlet to both secure power and impress her.
Jean is among the Mad Titan’s many casualties, although the characters don’t exactly die here; rather, they’re wiped out. Similar to the MCU, Thanos’ actions are reversed, so Jean comes back alongside all those who vanished. Jean plays absolutely no role in the storyline, and we only know she disappeared because of her face in a poster of those missing. However, it’s a cool easter egg for MCU fans.
Jean Is Strong Enough to Defeat Galactus
In the Marvel Universe, few characters are stronger than Galactus. The World Eater is a powerful cosmic entity, often described as the “physical, metamorphosed embodiment of a cosmos.” He eats planets to sustain his life force and possesses powers beyond most humans’ comprehension. Although he’s usually represented as a villain of the Fantastic Four, Galactus has fought many other Marvel heroes.
In one memorable instance, Jean used Galactus’ own force against him, constructing a giant fist (lol) that knocked Galactus on his back and scared him enough to not only leave her alone but also spare the star he was planning to consume. The fact that Jean could single-handedly defeat Galactus by using his own force against him proves just how resourceful and capable she is. When ascending to higher planes of existence, such as the White Phoenix of the Crown, Jean is also objectively more powerful than Galactus, so there’s that.
Jean Can Reshape Reality
Jean has many powers, especially when bonded with the Phoenix Force. She infamously consumed a star once, and has shown abilities that transcend even the normal understanding of mutation. On one memorable occasion, Jean literally reshaped reality to create an alternate timeline for Moira MacTaggert, one of the X-Men’s longest-running allies.
After Moira was retconned into being a mutant with reincarnation abilities, and because no one stays fully good in the world of comics, she became evil and an accomplice of the multiversal AI villain Enigma. She is eventually redeemed, though, and Jean creates an alternate timeline where Moira doesn’t have her mutation. We’re talking about manipulation on a molecular level here — Scarlet Witch who?
Xavier Had a Creepy Crush on Jean
Charles Xavier is creepy — there’s really no way around it. The man is a sanctimonious creep with an alarming lack of respect for other people’s physical and mental boundaries. Xavier has crossed so many lines throughout his comic book history that they might as well be dots to him. Arguably, one of his worst hours came with the reveal that this fully grown man harbored a crush on his teenage student.
As previously mentioned, Jean was the only female member of the original X-Men, and at some point, each of her male teammates expressed a romantic interest in her, including Xavier (again, it was the ’60s). However, Xavier was his teacher, and that makes it far more problematic. During an infamous storyline, Onslaught, the entity created through the mix of Xavier and Magneto’s consciousnesses, showed Jean a glimpse into Xavier’s romantic feelings for her. It’s weird, unnecessary, and casts a very ugly shadow over what once was a rather wholesome mentor-mentee dynamic.
Jean and the Phoenix Force
Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force are as inseparable as Wallace and Gromit. Their connection has been retconned multiple times, beginning with Jean being a mere host of the Phoenix to her becoming its cosmic counterpart and physical manifestation. Now, it’s commonly accepted that Jean is the Phoenix’s one true host, even if they can revert to being separate if the storyline demands it.
When fully bonded, Jean adopts the White Phoenix of the Crown persona, becoming a being with power over creation itself. We’re talking about literal gods here — the White Hot Room, the Phoenix’s home dimension, literally exists outside of the multiverse. Jean and the Phoenix Force are two of the most fascinating and complicated beings in the entire Marvel Universe, and while their bond keeps changing, one thing remains certain: they are far more powerful than you could ever imagine,
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David Caballero
Almontather Rassoul
