Jean Grey is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She has used the code names Marvel Girl and Phoenix during her career, and is a member of the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, she first appeared in X-Men #1 (1963).

Grey is a mutant born with the abilities of telepathy and telekinesis.

History

As a teenager, she began attending Professor Charles Xavier's "school for gifted youngsters" and joined the X-Men under the name of Marvel Girl. During her tenure there, she fell in love with Cyclops.

Following a mission in space, Grey attempted to pilot a shuttle back to Earth during one of the worst solar storms in history. The shuttle was unshielded and Grey would have died were it not for the intervention of the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix force. Though at the time it was believed (and the storyline meant it to be) that the Phoenix imbued Jean with vast cosmic powers, this was later retconned that she was actually placed into a coma in a cocoon in Jamaica Bay and the Phoenix adopted her identity as a heroine.

Phoenix believed herself to be Grey, and she and Cyclops continued their relationship, until Phoenix lost control of her powers, and eventually committed suicide. The lengthy story of the decline and fall of Phoenix, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, is regarded as one of the best comics stories of the 1970s.

Grey's survival was revealed when the original X-Men formed X-Factor, which she joined when she emerged from her coma. Cyclops, in the meantime, had married her double (later revealed as her clone), Madelyne Pryor. Pryor joined her creator, Mr. Sinister, as the villainous Goblin Queen, and herself died sometime after the founding of X-Factor.

As a result, Cyclops and Grey were able to resume their relationship, and eventually married.

Movies & Television

Marvel Girl was a character in the mid-1990s X-Men animated series, and guest starred on at least one episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends in the early 1980s.

In the X-Men film and its sequel X2, Grey was portrayed by Famke Janssen.

Vital Statistics