Jean Grey – Character Spotlight

The mutant born superhero Jean Grey first appeared in X-men #1 (Sept 1963).  She was called Marvel girl and was the only female member of the X-men group at the time.

Jean Grey (aka Marvel Girl) was the youngest daughter of Professor John Grey of the History Department of Bard College in Annadale-on-Hudson, New York, and his wife Elaine Grey. Her power first manifested when she was ten years old.  Jean was playing with her best friend, Annie Richardson when Annie was killed by a car.  Annie’s dying emotions awakened Jean’s telepathic powers.  As a result Jean experienced her best friend’s emotions as she died.  This event made Jean withdrawn and depressed especially since she was unable to control her abilities.  As a result Jean isolated herself from other people to prevent herself from going insane.  With the aid of Professor Xavier, Jean learned to control her powers (which included telekinetic abilities).  When she was old enough, Xavier convinced her parents to enroll Jean in his newly formed school for gifted children.

Jean Grey has been a fan favorite over the years and an integral character in X-men.  During her stay in the group,  Jean Grey has died and been resurrected a few times, been cloned by Sinister, married and divorced with Scott Summers (aka Cyclops) become a cosmic entity (Phoenix) and was responsible for several different alternate future timelines….She is a founding member of the X-men and X-factor and was a member of the X-men’s Gold team.  In addition, she also served as a teacher at the rebuilt Xavier School for Gifted individuals.

Did you know that  in the All-New X-men, it is a younger version of Jean Grey that was relocated from the past to the present?