Phoenix (Jean Grey)

[Eric J. Moreels]

Phoenix IV
created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Real Name: Jean Grey-Summers
Known Aliases: Redd Dayspring, Marvel Girl I
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September 1963)
Death: New X-Men #150 (February 2004)
Known Relatives: John Grey (father, deceased), Elaine Grey (mother, deceased), Sara Grey (sister, deceased), Gailyn Bailey (neice, deceased), Joey Bailey (nephew, deceased), Paul Bailey (brother-in-law), Scott Summers (Cyclops III, husband), Christopher Summers (Corsair, father-in-law, deceased), Katherine Anne Summers (mother-in-law, deceased), Alexander Summers (Havok I, brother-in-law), Gabriel Summers (Vulcan, brother-in-law), Philip Summers (grandfather-in-law), Deborah Summers (grandmother-in-law), Nathan Christopher Summers (Cable, stepson), Stryfe (clone stepson, deceased), Rachel Grey (Marvel Girl III, alternate timeline daughter)
Group Affiliation: X-Men
Former Group Affiliation: The Twelve, X-Men Gold Team, X-Factor I, Clan Rebellion
Not to be confused with: Phoenix Force, Phoenix III (Rachel Grey)

Jean Grey is the younger daughter of John Grey, a history professor at Bard College in New York State, and his wife Elaine. When Jean was ten years old her best friend Annie Richardson was killed by an automobile. Jean's outpouring of emotion as she held her dying friend activated her latent telepathic powers, causing her to experience Annie's own emotions as she died. Traumatized by this experience and unable to control her newly awakened powers, the young Jean became severely withdrawn and depressed.

When she was eleven, Jean's parents took her to meet Professor Charles Xavier, who realized she was a mutant and treated her for several years. Xavier erected psychic shields in Jean's mind to prevent her from using her telepathic powers until she had become sufficiently mature to control them, and he taught her how to use her emerging telekinetic abilities. Finally, when Jean was in her middle teens, she joined the X-Men, a group of other young mutants whom Xavier was training in the use of their powers, and assumed the code-name Marvel Girl.

Jean soon fell in love with her fellow student, Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops, but for years they were each too shy to express their feelings for each other.

Xavier finally removed the psychic shields from Jean's mind when he was faced with the threat of the alien Z'nox. Since then, she has proved highly adept at using her telepathic powers.

Jean left the X-Men shortly after Xavier recruited a second team of students, but continued her romantic relationship with Scott. Shortly afterwards, Jean and other X-Men were abducted by Stephen Lang's Sentinels to Lang's orbiting space station. After defeating Lang, the X-Men had to escape back to Earth in a space shuttle through a lethal solar radiation storm. The pilot's cabin lacked sufficient shielding against radiation, but Jean insisted on piloting the craft herself. While she was dying from radiation poisoning, the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force appeared to Jean. The Phoenix Force created a body for itself that was identical to Jean's, duplicated her memories and personality, and absorbed a portion of her consciousness. It then guided the X-Men's shuttle to a crash landing in Jamaica Bay off New York City. The Phoenix Force cast the real Jean into suspended animation within a strange cocoon that rested on the bottom of Jamaica Bay while slowly healing her.

Under the name Phoenix, the cosmic being joined the X-Men, who believed it was the real Jean. Months later, the X-Men's longtime foe Mastermind began mentally manipulating Phoenix's mind, ultimately brainwashing her into becoming the Black Queen of the sinister Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. In the process he inadvertently caused Phoenix to turn insane, becoming Dark Phoenix, a danger to the entire cosmos. Ultimately, the portion of Jean's consciousness within Phoenix resurfaced and caused Phoenix to commit suicide rather than wreak further destruction. Upon the death of the Phoenix Force's physical body, the portion of Jean's consciousness it had absorbed returned to Earth and ultimately was reabsorbed by Jean.

Eventually the Avengers found Jean's cocoon in Jamaica Bay and turned it over to the Fantastic Four for study. The real Jean Grey then released herself from the pod, fully healed. Jean emerged without her telepathy, but her telekinesis was more powerful.

While Jean was believed dead, Scott met a beautiful pilot named Madelyne Pryor who bore a striking resemblance to Jean Grey. They married and had child, Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. When Scott heard Jean was found alive, he left his wife. Jean Grey was reunited with Scott and the other original members of the X-Men, and together they founded a new team, the original X-Factor.

The villain Mister Sinister had kidnapped Madelyne and her infant child. Madelyne had been created from Jean Grey's DNA by Mister Sinister. He believed a child of Jean Grey and Scott Summers would be a genetically superior mutant possessed of great power.

Minister Sinister ordered the Marauders to kill Madelyne, having fulfilled the purpose of her creation. Madelyne went insane and attempted to kill Jean, but Madelyne died instead.

Later, after a clash with the Shadow King on Muir Island, Jean and the other members of X-Factor rejoined the X-Men.

Jean was then believed to have been killed by Sentinels during their attack on the Hellions, but she survived by transferring her consciousness into the comatose body of the telepathic mutant, Emma Frost.

Some years later, Scott finally married the real Jean Grey. During their honeymoon, however, their spirits were transported two millennia into an alternate future and were placed in new bodies by the Askani cult. Their leader, Rachel Summers, the daughter of the Scott and Jean of an alternate reality, had also served in the X-Men under the name Phoenix. As Slym and Redd, Scott and Jean spent years in that future time, raising Scott's son Nathan, who had earlier been brought to the future. Eventually Scott and Jean returned to their own time and bodies, leaving Nathan in the future to become the heroic warrior Cable. In Rachel's honor, Jean adopted the code-name Phoenix when she returned to the X-Men.

After Professor X disbanded the X-Men to ferret out a Skrull imposter, Phoenix and Cyclops formed a new team of X-Men to aid the Mannites against the newest of Apocalypse's Horseman named Death.

When Magneto took control of the mutant nation state Genosha, he had Professor Xavier imprisoned. Jean formed an ad-hoc team of X-men and set out to rescue her captured teammates.

Later, Jean assumed the position of Acting Headmistress of the Xavier Institute following the public "outing" of the X-Men as mutants by Xavier's sister Cassandra Nova, who had switched bodies with Charles. As Xavier, Nova left Earth under the premise of forging closer relations with the Shi'ar Empire, leaving Jean in charge.

During her brief tenure as Acting Headmistress, Jean almost single-handedly repelled an attack on the School from John Sublime's U-Men, manifesting a Phoenix raptor in the process. This has led to some concern amongst her fellow X-Men as to the possible return of Dark Phoenix.

Jean was instrumental in engineering the defeat of Cassandra Nova, who had fooled the Imperial Guard into attacking the X-Men. Jean took Xavier's consciousness into her own mind, then used the X-Men's mutant detecting computer Cerebra to place a piece of Xavier's psyche in the mind of every mutant on Earth. When Nova went to use Cerebra to wipe out every mutant with a single mental blow, she unwittingly relinked Xavier's psyche and Charles managed to force her out.

Jean Grey and X-men battled the Xorn/Magneto imposter who had infiltrated the X-Men. The imposter then mortally wounded Jean by inducing a electro-magnetic pulse that massively shocked her nervous system. Jean died in Scott's arms telling him to "live".

Though her physical body died, her psychic essence resided in the "White Hot Room".

Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 115 lbs
Eyes: green
Hair: red

Powers and Abilities: telepathy, telekinesis
Jean is an extremely powerful telepath, second only to Xavier in terms of level of power. She shares a psionic rapport with her husband Scott which keeps them in constant contact. Jean is also a powerful telekinetic, able to levitate herself, other living beings, and objects.

Appearances:
Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix (1994) #1-4
Alias (2001) #28
Amazing Adventures (1979) #11-12, 15
Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #282
Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) #1
Archangel (1996) #1
Astonishing X-Men (1999) #1-3
Astonishing X-Men (2004) #22
Avengers (1963) #3, 53, 60, 110-111, 263, 368-369
Avengers West Coast (1985) #101
Avengers West Coast Annual (1986) #4
Bizarre Adventures (1981) #27
Cable (1993) #6-8, 16-17, 20-21, 29, 31, 43, 50, 74, 76, 84, 92
Cable / Machine Man '98
Captain America (1959) #172-175
Classic X-Men (1986) #1-3, 6, 8, 27, 42
Cyclops (2001) #1
Damage Control (1991) #4
DC Versus Marvel / Marvel versus DC (1996) #1
DC / Marvel: All Access (1996) #3-4
Doctor Strange, Sorceror Supreme (1988) #46-47
Excalibur (1988) #8, 52, 71, 96, 100
Excalibur: XX Crossing (1991) #1
Fallen Angels (1987) #3
Fantastic Four (1961) #28, 36, 286, 312, 367-370
Fantastic Four (1996) #7
Fantastic Four Annual (1963) #3, 22
Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine! (2001) #3-4
Further Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix (1996) #1-4
Gambit (1999) #8
Ghost Rider (1990) #9
Giant-Size X-Men (1975) #1
Incredible Hulk (1968) #172, 336-337, 455
Infinity Crusade (1993) #1-3, 6
Infinity War (1992) #1-6
Iron Man Annual (1970) #8
Journey Into Mystery (1952) #513
Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989) #41
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #15, 89
Marvel Holiday Special 1996
Marvel Team-Up (1972) #4, 23
Marvel Valentine Special (1997) #1
Marvel: Heroes & Legends (1996) #1
Marvels (1994) #2
Mephisto vs... (1987) #2-3
Mutant Misadventures of Cloak & Dagger (1988) #1-2
Mystique (2003) #1
New Mutants (1983) #5, 51, 61, 76, 88, 95-97
New Mutants (1983) Annual #7
New Mutants (2003) #7
New Warriors (1990) #27
New X-Men (1991) #114-133, 135, 138-141, 146, 148-150, 152-154
New X-Men Annual 2001
Onslaught: Marvel (1996)
Onslaught: X-Men (1996)
Power Pack (1984) #27, 35
Quasar (1989) #38-40
Sabretooth Special (1996) #1
Sensational Spider-Man (1996) #10
She-Hulk (2005) #14
Silver Surfer (1987) #123
Sleepwalker (1991) #18
Spider-Man Team-Up (1995) #1
Starblast (1994) #1
Storm (1996) #1-2, 4
Strange Tales (1951) #120, 156
Strange Tales (1987) #18
Stryfe's Strike File (1993)
Sub-Mariner (1968) #14
Tales of Suspense (1959) #49
The Order (2007) #5
Thor (1952) #374, 464
Thor Annual (1965) #14
Thor Corps (1993) #3
Thunderbolts (1997) #33, 55, 57
Timeslip: The Coming of the Avengers (1998) #1
Uncanny X-Men (1963) #210, 232, 242-243, 261-264, 270, 272-274, 280-296, 298-300, 302-304, 306-309, 316, 318, 320-322, 325, 328, 331-336, 338-340, 342, 350-359, 368, 375-388, 392-394, 407, 411, 421, 423-426, 466
Uncanny X-Men (1997) #-1
Uncanny X-Men '97
Uncanny X-Men Annual (1970) #14, 16-18,
Untold Tales of Spider-Man (1995) #21
Untold Tales of Spider-Man '97
Warlock and the Infinity Watch (1992) #8
Web of Spider-Man (1985) #105-106
Wolverine (1988) #49-51, 63, 65, 75, 85, 91, 97-98, 101, 115-118, 125-126, 145
Wonder Man (1991) #13-14
X-Factor (1986) #1-54, 56-70, 84, 86
X-Factor (2002) #1
X-Factor Annual (1986) #1-6
X-Factor Special: Prisoner of Love (1990) #1
X-Force (1991) #16-18, 55
X-Man (1995) #25, 46, 53-55
X-Men (1963) #1-46, 48-66, 94, 97-101, 138
X-Men (1991) #1-3, 5, 8, 14-16, 19-21, 24-26, 28-30, 35, 38-43, 46-48, 50-51, 53-57, 59-66, 70-71, 88, 92, 94-98, 104, 108, 112-113
X-Men '95
X-Men '96
X-Men '97
X-Men Annual (1992) #2
X-Men: Clan Destine (1996) #1
X-Men: Deadly Genesis (2006) #4
X-Men: First Class (2006) #1-8
X-Men: First Class (2007) #1-9
X-Men: First Class Special (2007)#1
X-Men Forever (2001) #1-6
X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong (2005) #1-5
X-Men: Phoenix - Warsong (2006) #1-5
X-Men: Prime (1995) #1
X-Men Spotlight on... Starjammers (1990) #2
X-Men: The Hidden Years (1999) #1-22
X-Men: The Search For Cyclops (2000) #1-4
X-Men: The Wedding Album (1994) #1
X-Men Unlimited (1993) #6-8, 13, 15, 25-28, 31, 35
X-Terminators (1988) #1
X-Treme X-Men (2001) #9, 18-19, 23

Profiles:
Marvel Encyclopedia #1, 2 (X-Men)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983) #9, 14
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Book of the Dead 2004
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition (1985) #8
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition (1990) #26
X-Men: Books of Askani #1
X-Men: Messiah Complex - Mutant Files (2007)

Out of Continuity Appearances:
Spider-Man and Power Pack (2007) #3
What If? X-Men Deadly Genesis (2007) #1
X-Men / Dr. Doom '98
Youngblood / X-Force (1996) #1