What Religion is Jean Grey?
Jean Grey is probably an Episcopalian. Her late brother was even an Episcopalian clergyman.
Jean Grey is a mutant who was one of the founding members of the X-Men, the most popular Marvel Comics superhero team. The character of Jean Grey was introduced in X-Men issue #1, published in 1963. The character was created by Jewish comic book writer Stan Lee and Jewish comic book artist Jack Kirby. Jean Grey originally went by the superhero codename “Marvel Girl.” She later adopted the codename “Phoenix,” after the Phoenix Force which endowed her with great power, but also caused her many problems. More than most of the other X-Men, Jean Grey has been known simply by her given birth name.
Jean Grey has always been portrayed as having come from an upper-middle class Protestant background. She was a student of Professor Charles Xavier’s even before he founded the X-Men, and her family seems to have known the Professor prior to that time. Although Scott Summers (a.k.a, Cyclops, Grey’s longtime boyfriend, who would eventually become her husband) became known as the “first X-Man,” it was actually Jean Grey who was Xavier’s first student. Jean Grey was with the X-Men from the time the team was formed.
Given the way Jean Grey has been portrayed throughout the years, with her somewhat patrician and religiously low-key New England family background, the character has come to be widely regarded as an Episcopalian, although it is not clear whether this denominational identification is “canonical” (i.e., officially established within the Marvel Universe continuity).
Jean Grey was shown praying with a Christian cross in one Classic X-Men backup story. When Jean Grey married long-time boyfriend Scott Summers, it was in a Protestant Christian ceremony held outdoors.
Jean Grey has dead on multiple occasions, and the various scenes depicting her funerals and gravestones appear to be Episcopalian more than anything else.
Issue #1 of the Marvel Comics miniseries Marvel 1602 (November 2003, published 13 August 2003) establishes the Grey family as English Protestant during the 1600s (i.e., Anglican), with its depiction of John Grey (the analogue or ancestor of Jean Grey in the series) and references to Lady Jane Grey, the Protestant granddaughter of Henry VII.
Jean Grey has always been portrayed as somebody with a strong moral background. Indeed, many of the pivotal stories about the character involve the inner battle between Jean Grey’s innate virtuous character and the evil or amoral influence of the Phoenix Force which came to inhabit her body. Jean Grey has even willingly sacrificed her life so that she would no longer pose a danger to others. In the famous “Dark Phoenix” storyline, Jean Grey is said to have sacrificed her own life so that the world could be saved. A number of writers have described interesting parallels between these events and the New Testament account of the Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. These stories are not exact parallels, however, because Jean Grey’s character, under the influence of the Phoenix, had a dual nature and evil/destructive component which is not present in the New Testament account of Jesus.
Despite ample evidence of Jean Grey’s strong moral character, compassion for others, and probably religious education, she has rarely been portrayed as particularly religious. Only rarely has her character been seen in comic books going to a church for worship or contemplation. Jean Grey was shown with a cross praying a cross in a Classic X-Men backup story.
Portions of this reprinted from Adherents
Comments
Leave a Reply