From the moment they were both placed on the X-men, Scott Summers and Jean Grey immediately fell in love with each other. Their romance was slow to start due to Scott believing he could never have a relationship with Jean due to his powers and Jean believing that Scott was too busy with leading the X-men to be with her. However the two were soon drawn to each other and after they shared their first kiss they would become one of Marvels premier couples.

As Cyclops and Marvel Girl the two did leave the X-men for a brief time after they believed Xavier to be dead. Scott pursued a career in radio presenting while Jean decided to become a swimsuit model. The two did eventually return to the fold and continued their relationship, much to the delight of the readers at the time.

When the second genesis of the X-men were formed Jean and the other old team members decided to leave to pursue normal lives for a while. Jean was saddened when Scott decided to stay and lead the X-men and for a while it looked like their relationship might have ended. Jean gradually became more involved with the X-men once more and after her transformation into the Phoenix she decided to become a full time member. On one mission when the team faced Magneto Jean and Scott believed each other to be dead but despite their strong love for each other Scott revealed to Storm that he didn’t feel any emotion concerning the supposed death of his lover.

Scott and Jean were reunited and their relationship started to develop more with Jean establishing a psychic link between them. When Jean became the Black Queen, Scott was determined to free her from Mastermind’s control even going as far to try and defeat him on the Astral Plane. Jean soon snapped out of Masterminds control but his tampering soon led her to turn into the Dark Phoenix.

Jean Grey’s personality slipped into dormancy and the Phoenix took full control of her. The Dark Phoenix battled the X-men and defeated them. She then travelled into space and devoured an entire planet before returning to earth again where Professor Xavier discovered the psychic barriers placed in her mind had been destroyed by Masterminds doing. He replaced them and Jean appeared to be back to normal and without the power of the Phoenix. Scott held her in his arms and proposed to her. She accepted but before the couple had the time to celebrate they were teleported to Shi’ar space where Jean was to be executed for her gruesome deeds as the Dark Phoenix.

Jean took on the mantle of Marvel Girl once more and the X-men were teleported to the moon where they faced off against the galactic warriors, The Imperial Guard. The Guard quickly took out all the members of the X-men except for Scott and Jean who were confessing their love for each other and saying goodbye if the worst came to the worst and Jean was to be executed. The two star struck lovers gave it all against the Guard but when all appeared to be lost Jean transformed into the Phoenix again! Realising that she had to be stopped the X-men tried to defeat her. Jean herself too realised that she had to be stopped and before exchanging a sorrowful goodbye to Scott she committed suicide on the moon.

However death was not enough to defeat Jean Grey and years later she awoke from a cocoon placed at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. Scott and Jean were reunited but this time it appeared that Jean and the Phoenix had always been two separate entities with the Phoenix stealing Jeans identity and life within the X-men for many months. Scott at the time was married to Jean Grey’s clone Madelyne Pryor and decided to keep this secret from Jean as she had lost her telepathic powers after her return. Jean eventually put the pieces together and discovered the secret for herself.

Hurt, Jean believed Scott had taken advantage of the situation and it looked like there was no chance of the couple getting back together. After X-factor defeated Apocalypse and used his base as their own Scott and Jean made love to each other for the first time since Jeans rise from the depths. The two decided to reunite and overcame many challenges to their relationship like Madelyne Pryor who had since made a deal with the demon N’astirh becoming the malicious Goblin Queen. Madelyne Pryor at the time was also revealed to be Jean Grey’s biological clone and this created some problems for herself and Scott. Madelyne’s agenda was to sacrifice her son and other babies so she could open a gateway from Limbo into Earth and she and her demonic forces could rule the world. Madelyne and her servants were defeated and Scotts child was saved in the process. Jean and Scott looked after baby Nathan until he had to be sent to the future in order to be saved from the terminal condition known as the techno organic virus.

Eventually Scott and Jean returned to the X-men where Scott appeared to be greatly attracted to the Asian telepath Psylocke. Psylocke seduced Cyclops and after Jean found out about this she confronted Psylocke. The two women eventually sorted out their differences and Jean forgave Scott. Jean also proposed to Scott and the pair got married with Professor Xavier and the X-men attending the service.

On their honeymoon Scott and Jean were sent into the future to look after and protect Nathan from various threats. After this ordeal the two soon made an early retirement away from the X-men but were drawn back into the team after they required their help. In another battle against Apocalypse Scott apparently perished and Jean was left to cope with his death on her own. It was revealed that Scott had in fact not perished and had merged with Apocalypse. Jean thought she still felt Scotts presence within Apocalypse but Professor Xavier said he didn’t feel anything remotely close to Scotts being in the monster. Jean outraged at the X-men and Xavier for dragging them back into the team instead of letting them enjoy a normal life left the X-men.

She eventually returned and she and Cable (her stepson from the future) discovered that Cyclops was alive but was trapped under Apocalypses influence. Jean using her telepathic powers separated the two beings and Cable defeated Apocalypse. Cyclops was finally freed from the ancient beings control.

Scott and Jean did in fact stay with the X-men but grew apart due to Scott’s encounter with Apocalypse and Jean’s re-emerging Phoenix powers. Scott even refused to sleep with Jean and decided to receive some marriage counselling with the sultry Emma Frost. The two soon began a psychic affair with Jean soon finding out about it. Jean tore through Emma’s mind and both embarrassed and tormented her for seducing her husband. Scott took a temporary leave of absence from the X-men as he needed time to think about his life and process his love for Jean and Emma. Scott returned to the X-men when Magneto who was in fact a clone called Xorn attacked the X-men from within their ranks. Jean was killed in combat by Xorn and she died in the arms of Scott again. She told Scott to live and to not mourn her death for long. The two lovers embraced each other for the first time since his psychic tryst with Emma Frost and Jean soon died again.

Scott surprisingly moved onto his relationship with Emma very quickly after Jeans death, much to the disagreement of the other X-men members. Nevertheless Jean is always in his heart and he still thinks about her from time to time much to the dismay of Emma.

Scott and Jean were one of Marvels main couples for a long time and it remains to be seen if they will reunite once more when Jean returns.

She looked back at her grave, an echo of her former self. She was home… but why didn’t it feel like home? Wait… the mansion, it was gone, but that would mean that they were dead! No, she refused to believe it. It wasn’t their time yet. She ran towards the ruins of the mansion surprised by her own energy. She couldn’t see any bodies and she couldn’t pick up any thoughts… her eyes were filled with tears. She knew they were alive but where… Then she remembered, Cerebra! If her calculations were correct then the subasement should still be under all the debris. She cleared her thoughts and used her telekinesis to clear a path to the subasement. She saw a faint light underneath her and climbed her way down. Oh God… it was awful. So many memories were flooding through her head. Sinister, the Marauders and a baby… what was this? How could he? She travelled down the underground tunnels, every step revealed more memories. The place was filled with psychic residue everywhere. Moments later, she discovered Cerebra… it was still intact!

“He has to be somewhere,” she said. Placing the helmet on her head she started to see lights flashing in her mind. There was more! What happened to them? Suddenly she felt him. How could she forget what he felt like…San Francisco. It was so far away but nothing would stop her now! After all she faced death didn’t she?

Jean looked back at the mansion before it was time for her departure to San Francisco. She suddenly realised she was still in the clothes that she was buried in. She waved her hand in the air and her green Phoenix costume replaced her tattered dress. She took a deep breath and levitated herself into the air…flying, she missed it. It was a time where she felt completely free and at one with nature. Then before she realised it she was flying above the sleepy little town that was Salem Center. Hours passed and Jean was getting tired of looking at her reflection in the murky waters that surrounded her in every direction. She looked like herself but she felt so empty inside…she was missing something. In the dead night Jean saw lights flickering in the distance. It was San Francisco. Jean laughed, she could feel her friends thoughts. Scott and Emma and… Emma. Scott loved her now but he still loved… No, she had to be happy for him, it was her idea after all and she’d have to live with it for the rest of her life. Graymalkin Industries was right in front of her but Jean didn’t want to go in but she had to and all these negative feelings were… This was her new home and she knew these people like her own family…even better maybe. It was time…time for her to return to the fold.

Jean approached the front door with caution and opened it gently. It was embedded with darkness inside. Everyone was asleep. Suddenly she saw a woman standing in front of her…or a girl.

“W-Who are you?” asked the girl.

Jean couldn’t see the girls face in the darkness and instead of talking she chose to scan her mind via her telepathic powers.

“You’re in my mind, aren’t you?” shouted the girl. “Ms. Frost!”

Upstairs Emma Frost awoke from her sleep and rushed downstairs to the aid of the mysterious girl.

“Pixie!” she said “What is the matter girl!”

Emma stopped and looked at Jean. She froze. It was her. Why now? Why did she have to come back.

“Jean…” she muttered. “Why, why now?!”

Jean opened her mouth but before she could say anything Scott was standing on the staircase.

“Jean!” he exclaimed.

“Scott…” she mumbled.

Emma’s skin turned into a liquidated diamond. In her diamond form she was protected from her emotions and all the hurt that was about to follow.

Scott hugged Jean but she pulled away from him very quickly.

“No, Scott…” said Jean. “Don’t make this any harder than it already is…”

“Jean – I…” stuttered Scott.

“Oh your’re welcome to her Scott!” shouted Emma. “I don’t need you to hold me back anymore!”

Scott glanced at Emma. He was torn between the two women. He always loved Jean but now his loyalties were with Emma.

“Emma, you’re the woman I love.” he said.

“Really?” barked Emma. “And how long will that last? Until the next bloody redhead catches your eyes?”

“Emma…Scott loves you, he wouldn’t leave you.” said Jean.

“Yes, until you manipulate his mind Grey!” said Emma.

There was such anger in her voice. She meant every word. You can’t fool a telepath.

“Emma! Jean would never do that!” said Scott.

“Ha, quick to her defense aren’t we Scott dear!” laughed Emma. “God knows, she has the power, and she’s abused it before!”

“Wake up, Emma!” said Jean abruptly. “He’s with you now! He loves you!”

Emma snickered at Jean.

“Every time I look at him all I can feel is his love for you!” said Emma. “I’ve tried to ignore it but so help me I can’t! Scott only has room for one woman in his heart and that will always be you, Grey!”

Scott looked at Jean.

“Emma. I will always love Jean. I married her and we raised a child in the future but why can’t you understand that you are the one that I love now!” said Scott. “Look into my mind and into my heart.”

Emma placed her hands on Scott’s head. Jean looked at them. Her head said that Scott deserves to be with Emma but her heart said otherwise.

Emma looked into Scott’s eyes.

“Y – You do love me…” sobbed Emma.

“I will always love you, Emma” said Scott.

“I told you, Emma. Scott loves you now.” said Jean. “But I do realise that I can’t stay here at the moment. I have to adjust to things. Work a few things out in my head.”

Scott turned to Jean.

“Jean, no matter what happens you are always welcome here.” said Scott. “You will always be a part of this family and you will always be in my heart.”

“Thank you, Scott” said Jean quietly.

Scott hugged Jean. They both knew that they couldn’t be together but they did know that they would always be friends.

“Goodbye, Emma, and take care of Scott. He’s a good man. I hope that you can find the love that we once shared all those years ago.” Jean whispered to Emma.

“I will, Jean. Goodbye…” replied Emma.

Jean Grey was surrounded by the warmth of the Phoenix and was enveloped by the huge firebird. She flew off into the sky. Jean felt upset but in her heart she felt that she did the right thing by bringing Scott and Emma together again. She would one day return to her family but in the meantime she wanted to find a new life. One that could make her happy.

by Conor McKenna

Ink has barely dried on Dark Phoenix

Fully healed Dark Phoenix tattoo

source: nicole_writes

I met Jean when her telepathic powers first emerged. She had just lost her childhood friend and felt her slipping away in her own mind. Jean was so utterly depressed that she refused to go outside, instead finding shelter in her own room. I helped her to suppress her telepathic powers and we both decided to work on her telekinetic abilities.

Jean eventually went on to join my X-men and even got used to using her once more available telepathic powers. She spent a while with the X-men and soon became known as the Phoenix. Whilst on a mission to space she bonded with an entity known as the Phoenix Force but this power would soon consume her and turn her into Dark Phoenix, one of the X-men’s most fiercest foes. Jean eventually chose to commit suicide on the moon, choosing her humanity over godhood.

Years later she would return to the world and form X-factor with the rest of the original X-men members. However she soon returned to the X-men along with her lover Scott Summers. I remember clearly the day she got married to him. She was so happy…we were all happy.

Jean remained pure of the Phoenix Force for several years until it slowly manifested within her, effectively restoring her lost telekinetic powers which she had exchanged with the psychic mutant Psylocke many months previous to this. When Magneto resurfaced Jean was killed in combat and even the Phoenix Force couldn’t bring her back from death this time.

Jean did return once more but she now resides in the White Hot Room, as she described it, collecting the missing pieces of the Phoenix Force.

Jean was like a daughter to me and I miss her very dearly. Sometimes I look at pictures of her and think what could have happened if we – um… sorry, anyway I hope that she will one day return to us and grace our lives with happiness once more.

Charles Francis Xavier

The fight sees Emma Frost using her telepathic powers and newly discovered diamond form to defeat Wolverine and Cyclops. Jean Grey stumbles across the battle and is surprised when she sees the White Queen towering over her husband and her long time friend. Jean refuses to use a mental probe, instead she is eager to challenge Emma Frost to a long awaited confrontation. Emma does a quick mental probe of the situation and try’s to persuade Jean into not battling her. Jean ignores her and gives her a taste of her awesome mental powers in the form of a devastating mind blast! Emma Frost is injured by the might of the mind blast and staggers backwards. The fight progresses and each woman receives the upper hand at various stages of the battle. Jean suddenly receives a boost of power with a little help from the Phoenix Force and mind blasts Emma into oblivion. Emma cannot go on any longer and falls to the ground before the might of the Phoenix. The winner of the battle is Jean Grey!

How was that fellow Jean Grey fans? Did it quench your thirst for a Jean/Emma fight or do you still want more? I’ll inform you of other Jean/Emma fights I find but until then, we’ll be hoping for another confrontation between these two mental maidens in the near future!

Click the image below to enlarge.

For some laughs you can see what it would like if Phoenix and the White Queen went after each other WWF style! Here’s a hint, Phoenix wins.

In June 2005 Jean Grey was resurrected in a story called Phoenix Endsong which saw her being resurrected by the Phoenix Force once more. The Phoenix Force used Jean to take on a life of its own and buried Jean within the ice in the North Pole. The malevolent entity possessed Emma Frost and attacked the X-men. Suddenly Jean Grey rose from her icy grave and her and the Phoenix became one. She became the White Phoenix of the Crown and went to the White Hot Room to collect the missing pieces of the Phoenix Force.

Since then it looks like 2010 will be the year of the Phoenix. In 2009 Rachel Grey lost her connection to the Echo of the Phoenix Force (a less powerful form of the Phoenix Force) and muttered the words, “please…not now…mom”.

On the island of Utopia the Stepford Cuckoos lost the fragments of the Phoenix Force which they had imprisoned in their diamond hearts during the Phoenix Warsong event. They are currently in a coma.

These two events suggest that Jean Grey is calling back all the fragments of the Phoenix Force in preparation for her next resurrection.

Emma Frost recently encountered a woman who resembled Jean Grey in her mind when she was attacked by Regan Wyngarde a.k.a. Lady Mastermind of the Sisterhood of Mutants. The woman freed Emma from Wyngarde’s psychic trap and disappeared.

Since the events of the Messiah Complex a girl with red hair and green eyes was born and was named the Mutant Messiah. She was taken to the future by her adoptive father Cable and is now a teenager who bares an uncanny resemblance to Jean Grey. The so called Mutant Messiah has also displayed twin phoenix raptors in her eyes.

All this evidence points to Jean Grey’s resurrection and with Second Coming (the return of the Mutant Messiah to the present) arriving in March, you have to admit that this title may be more than meets the eyes.

Conor McKenna

Hi everyone! I’m the new writer at Jean-Grey.com. I’ll be writing about Jean Grey a lot now.

I first saw Jean Grey in the first X-men movie and the animated series X-men Evolution, so I’ve been a Jean fan for nearly ten years. My first Jean Grey comic was from the New X-men series and it was a story called Murder at the Mansion. I sympathised with Jean when she found out that her husband Scott Summers, was having a telepathic affair with Emma Frost, the White Queen. When I saw Jean Grey’s awesome powers in one of the splash pages I was crying out for more. I went to my local comic book shop the next day and bought the first volume of the X-men. I read it within the next seventy two hours and loved it.

I felt that Jean Grey was a symbol of power back in the sixties, where many women were usually oppressed. Especially in the comics where the Invisible Girl was getting barely any action in the Fantastic Four and Wasp’s role in the Avengers comics was getting as small as her size. Over the years Jean has established herself as an essential member of the X-men and a loving and compassionate character who would do anything for her husband and her friends.

Now Jean Grey fans, as we know, Jean Grey has been dead for nearly six years now and the purpose of Jean-Grey.com is to keep her memory alive! If you want to see me writing about anything you can post it on the website (or email us at admin@jean-grey.com) and we would also love to hear your opinions of the character. As her dedicated fans it is our job to keep Jean Grey’s memory alive in the world as it is today.

Conor McKenna

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is based around the story of the Civil War comics event that took place in 2006-2007. The game itself is similar to its predecessor with the added feature of a new attack known as a fusion, which sees two heroes combining their powers to defeat an opposing enemy or threat to them.

In July 2009 Jean Grey fans were happy to hear that she was indeed playable in this installation of the series. The game developers said in an interview that they had always planned to include Jean in the game and that she was one of the characters who was favoured by a lot of the game developers.

In the game Jean possesses both her telepathic and telekinetic powers and even has access to some Phoenix powers such as resurrection. Her default outfit in the game is her Phoenix outfit and her alternate outfit is her X-men First Class costume. She is unlocked by collecting five pieces of the M’Krann Crystal throughout the course of the game. She has special conversations with her son, Cable and the Young Avenger, Patriot. In the game Jean is listed as being a crowd control character.

Overall Jean Grey really lives up to her name in this game and she is a valuable asset to any team in the game. Her telepathic and telekinetic powers are very powerful and her Phoenix powers are kept at a certain level, so fans can experience her as a superhero rather than a goddess. She has excellent fusions with other characters such as Cyclops (only playable on the PS2 and Wii platforms) and Storm. Jean Grey is really all the fans expected and more in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.

Conor McKenna

Collects The Uncanny X-Men issues 129-137. Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Penciller: John Byrne, Inker: Terry Austin, Colourists: Bob Sharen and Glynis Wein, Letterist: Tom Orzechowski. Published by Marvel Comics in 1979-80.

In a perfect world, I’d be able to make this review more timely by telling people that if they were intrigued by how the Dark Phoenix story played out in X-Men: The Last Stand, then they should consider checking out the original story as written over 25 years ago in the comics. Unfortunately, that movie had nothing to do with The Dark Phoenix Saga as it was originally presented. In fact, it had little to do with Dark Phoenix at all (other than resurrecting Jean Grey, having her block Cyclops’ blasts in a scene, do battle with the X-Men in her old house, and her ultimate fate), and instead gave us a “Super Jean Grey” sub-plot, and called her Phoenix. Which leaves the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the best interpretation of this story to appear outside the comics.

Instead, I guess you could check this out to see why so many fans were so bothered by the movie and what they keep going on about with this Dark Phoenix stuff. Or, you could just check out because it is the greatest X-Men story of all-time. The Dark Phoenix Saga isn’t just AN X-Men story, it is THE X-Men story, and if the producers of the movie couldn’t do it justice, then they should have just left it alone. I know some defenders will say that comic book fans are too hard to please, that elements of this story would be too hard to portray in a movie. I agree that the space elements of the story would need to be left out; I’d even allow for the movie to replace the Hellfire Club with Magneto’s Brotherhood for expediency’s sake (although a Jason Wyngarde/Mastermind-type character is a necessary edition to the story). Many changes were made to God Loves, Man Kills to adapt it for X2, but they worked. Because the makers of that film respected the story. Every comic book movie that’s not named Sin City has made significant changes from the books, and comic book fans have accepted many of them because they got the feel of the characters and story right.

The feel of The Dark Phoenix Saga is epic, a tale about the danger of power and its seductive nature, a story of love and loss, with drama and adventure of Shakespearean proportions. It continues to resonate with fans to this day, decades after its printing, even after most of the events of the story have since been undone by later events. It is widely regarded by fans as one of the best stories in the history of comics, but unlike other stories that rank highly (Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Maus), it didn’t have to reinvent comics to do it. This is superhero comics at their best, proving that you can still have all the fun battles and bright costumes without looking down on them as funny books.

For modern readers, it might be surprising to learn that when these issues were written, they weren’t written as a huge event. Chris Claremont and John Byrne created the greatest tale in the history of the book one issue at a time, without trying to create a company wide event crossover, without promoting big changes to the book, without bringing in an outside creator to generate buzz. The issues weren’t even titled or advertised as The Dark Phoenix Saga, which was a distinction given to these nine issues after the fact, when Marvel wisely chose to collect them in trade paperback form in 1984 (since reprinted in several different editions). Claremont and Byrne were merely interested in telling the best, most interesting, most entertaining stories they could for monthly readers of the book, something we don’t generally see anymore in today’s comic book climate.

The story features what I believe to be the greatest X-Men roster of all-time (Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, with Professor X supporting them, and Banshee recently departed and featured in a sub-plot), along with guest appearances by original X-Men Beast and Angel. The series features the first appearances of Kitty Pride, Dazzler, and the Hellfire Club (including Emma Frost). It follows the team from England to Westchester, to New York, Chicago, Denver, and back, from the far side of the universe to the dark side of the moon.

Primarily, it is a showcase for the character of Jean Grey, as her telepathic powers reach god-like levels (following the events of issues 101-108), and her grip over them grows more and more tenuous under the manipulations of the mysterious Jason Wyngarde (which had been teased for months). The pure sister-figure that was Marvel Girl is slowly chipped away, replaced with the malevolent force of nature known as Dark Phoenix, a being of seemingly unlimited power, who threatens all life in the universe in an attempt to quench her insatiable thirst for power. It is a classic example of the old adage “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, and the X-Men’s finest hour. The level of adventure is huge, as the team is forced to do battle with a being they have no hope to stop, and a dear friend and lover they all hold close to their hearts. It’s a formula many comics have since borrowed, with a former teammate and friend becoming the enemy, but never with the same effect and pathos as Claremont and Byrne captured here, or with as huge and shocking results.

Besides Phoenix’s plight, the book showcases each of its characters in their classic characterisations. Cyclops, the often stoic leader, is forced to battle with the love of his life, forcing him to choose between doing what he wants and what is right. Storm plays both den mother to Kitty Pride and sister to Phoenix, reaching out to Jean, unable to see her as the evil Dark Phoenix. Colossus is the torn artist, the youngest X-Man having to deal with the fallout of the previous story involving Proteus (not featured in this collection), and how a similar situation with Phoenix is forcing him into the same terrible choice. Nightcrawler provides comic relief, Kitty Pride is a breath of fresh air, and Professor Xavier is kind of a jerk (but ultimately proves that he’ll do anything for his students). Finally, Wolverine, the most popular X-Man of all-time, gets to shine in one of the best single issue stories in his history (#130), forced to take on the Hellfire Club on his own, at a time before he was featured in 20 comics every month.

If you’ve ever wanted to check out X-Men comics, but are too intimidated by their incredibly convoluted and seemingly limitless continuity, then this is the series to pick up. Presented by the greatest writer/artist duo in series history (Claremont-Byrne), featuring the team’s greatest line-up, in the most epic tale in the 43 years of X-Men history, the book features everything that makes the X-Men great. I not only consider it to be the best story in the history of the X-Men, but also the greatest story in the history of Marvel Comics, and the greatest superhero team story in the history of the medium.

5/5

Reprinted from http://andytehsaint.wordpress.com

photo credit: popculturegeek.com

Can there be a more perfect family? Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Wolverine (the black sheep obviously) phoenix and dark phoenix.

You have to love the commitment from a family willing to go all out like this.