The Jean Grey Problem

Jean Grey founding member of the X-men, the most well known Avatar for the Phoenix force. Surely theres no major problem with her character or characterisation within Marvel Comics. Well if you think that you might be wrong. Come and join me in a look at the characters history that shows why this character is nothing but problematic in this current age and even represented of as less of a strong independent woman than her contemporaries.

The Early Years

What better place to start deconstructing a Characters history than right at the beginning with how she was introduced. Well then “How was Jean Grey introduced” was she blasting the bad-guys with her immense powers, nope. Was she reading Tolstoy and drinking a cup of Tea, no. Was she in the Danger Room showing off her powers, no that was how the boys where introduced (Cyclops, Iceman, Angel and Beast). No Jean Grey was introduced by Professor Xavier ending a training session to introduce the team to their new team mate. How did the X-men respond to their only female team mate, well by running up to her and complimenting her in different ways, and not on anything other than her look. This barrage of sexist compliments the most bizarre to my modern eyes being “a Real Living Doll”. Like she was an object, literally objectifying here. How did Jean who we’ve been lead to believe on many occasions is the most powerful X-man, well she giggled. No confronting the team, no saying “Hey I may be new but I’m your equal”, or using her Telekinesis to push the creeps away. Hell hiding behind Xavier from this onslaught of teenage boy hormones would’ve been better, at least then she wouldn’t be blindly accepting her role as the teams eye-candy or token woman.

Thats the thing with Jean Grey in this era she comes off as an after thought a lot of time, the Boys have a clear personality trait. I say trait because 1960’s comics didn’t have the deep characterisations we’d expect now, in fact Stan Lee wrote from the idea of “Sum up any character in 15 words or less or they’re a bad character” and this included powers and relationships. Jean got the short end of the stick as “The Only Girl” is 3 words when “The Leader” is 2 and “Goof-balll” is just one. Her Relationship with Scott Summers also narrows her role in the series further leading the pair to be the least interesting of the 5.

But the real reason for the relationship between Scott in Jean is well Symbolic, Symbolic of what? Well think about the original X-men are more of a tribe than other super teams, and Cyclops is the leader therefore he’s the one most likely to have the girl as the tribe would’ve decided he’s the most important or more Neanderthal-like “He Leader, He get sex”. 

Now lets compare the treatment of Jean Grey’s character to one of her contemporaries. Just to prove this is more Jean’s problem than comics in general, so who shall we choose, Wonder Woman-not enough in common. No for this her best comparison is Sue Storm/The Invisible Girl, and not just because Jean Grey went by the code-name “Marvel Girl”. No because they’re both the sole female member of a super-team without a series of solo adventures in another book as well as being the Girlfriend of the leader. So why is Sue Storm different, I could just “because she is” but that would be lazy. No Sue is an important part of the team, in fact she is the most important, purely because she stops Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm from killing each other. She’s also the glue in another way that being the girlfriend and research assistant (so she’s already being praised for her intelligence) and the older sister and carer to the Human Torch. She has a flimsier connection to Ben Grimm but compared to Jean who is just treated as an object of lust to the rest of the team, even Xavier in X-men 4 has a soliloquy about how he’s secretly in love with Jean but can never do anything about it because she’s 15 and he’s in his mid 40’s. Sure in Reed and Sue their is an age difference but Sue is 27 and Reed was in his mid thirties (the grey hair was caused by him seeing war atrocities), but she also wasn’t objectified by the rest of the team nor was everyone she came into contact with madly in love with her, that honour belongs exclusively to Mr Fantastic and Namor. Dr Doom never tried to break up their relationship and The Thing only ever said things like “she’s too good for you stretch” when he was mad at Mr Fantastic. 

Phoenix Force

Starting with Uncanny X-men 102 a big change was made with Jean Grey, she stopped wearing a dress, a short dress with knee-high high-heeled boots. Now if think about this costume critically for her being a Superhero who has to fight Supervillains, in her dress she can’t kick, in her boots she can’t jump. Sure she has immense Telekinetic and Telepathic powers but if you slap a power inhibitor on her (a concept that definitely exists in Marvel Comics) she can’t do anything in a fight (and Fighting Evil is what Superheroes are supposed to do).

Ok, there was another change to Jean Grey made in Uncanny X-men, that being the Phoenix Force (what this section is named after). But even with that is this an improvement on her earlier sexist past? She’s been made the most powerful member of the Superteam you would think she’d be a stronger character more confident with her power-level boost. Well no, having god-like powers comes at a cost, that cost being you have to be side-lined so that weaker Villains can pose a threat to the X-men. A lazy answer to this was Jean kept leaving the team, but the example I’m going to site is Uncanny X-men 114 where Jean uses the Phoenix force to save her and Beast. Now you can look at that as “cool Jean saved Beast” but as soon as she’s used her powers she faints and needs to be saved by Beast making Jean both Deus Ex Machina and Damsel in Distress.

After that issue of Uncanny X-men Jean, Beast and Professor X all left the team, Beast left to return to active duty in The Avengers. But with this departure Jean and Xavier would not return to Superhero duties till the famous Dark Phoenix Saga. Now why did the Dark Phoenix saga happen, one often sited idea was Jim Shooter believed the decline in sales of the Avengers was because “it had too many women on the team” rather than the fact that the Avengers had no consistent creative team or line-up alternating 7 story characters out of about 20 different characters (which happened to contain 4 possible women, Wasp, Ms Marvel, Scarlet Witch or Black Widow). So as a negotiation to add a new female X-man they had to kill one. But which one do they kill? The African Queen who gets her face in the left hand corner in the cover, who never faints from the exhaustion of using her powers once or the problematic all powerful character who they have to keep writing out. 

So for Kitty Pryde and Dazzler to have a chance they crafted a narrative about Jean Grey as a last Hoorah, and like all things Jean Grey related there is an under current of sexism. Now John Byrne and Chris Claremont aren’t sexist, their treatment of every other female character can prove this. In the Phoenix saga Kitty Pryde age 13 1/2 is introduced as a Straight A Honours student, aspiring Gymnast and even makes fast friends with second in command of the X-men Storm. Not to mention the fact that with minimal coaching from Cyclops she manages to be instrumental in a plan to save the X-men captured by The Hellfire Club (these X-men being Storm, Colossus, Wolverine and Professor X). Dazzler also helps in this plan but she doesn’t decide to remain on the team (although Jim Shooter would take a shine to her and give her a solo series).

Meanwhile, Jean Grey is having her every thought and aspect of her personality subjugated by Jason Wyngarde or put simply “psychic-rape”. How could such a powerful telepath like Jean Grey be over-powered by a member of the Hellfire Club? The Answer is actually quite simple, Professor X left the team. Does this sound like a stronger female hero needing a man at her side at all times to protect her from her enemies?

Of course under this psychic rape by a Supervillain Jean’s personality became more like what he wanted her to be, instead of the nice sweet Jean Grey readers had come to know. This Jean was able to cold-bloodedly kill enemies of the X-men and more disturbingly for a comic codes authority era comic she would kiss a man who wasn’t her boyfriend (this being former team-mate Angel). This all before revealing she has chosen her Rapist over her friends and becoming the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. Of course the story doesn’t end there, Cyclops has to have a duel over his woman (you know like she was a stolen lamp) against Jason Wyngarde who turns out to have secretly been Mastermind (one of the many members of the Brotherhood of evil Mutants from the Lee/Kirby era of X-men everybody has forgotten about). After Cyclops loses the duel against Mastermind, Jean goes from toying with concept of the Madonna Whore complex (the idea that women are either good and saintly pure or are dirty creatures intended for sex) to full blown Supervillain by killing her rapist and then flying into space and destroying a peaceful solar system.

This phase is of the story is known as the Dark Phoenix where Jean is shown as irrational, while male Supervillains (and even Emma Frost) are shown as being the master of all things with a great plan, Jean as a villain is just destructive force. The next issue of X-men is standard superhero affair with the Heroes vs Villain storyline with Jean turning good again at the end, and the story that follows it mostly an excuse for the X-men to fight stand-ins for DC’s Justice League. Well until the end when Jean blows her self up realising she can’t control the destructive force of the Phoenix, interestingly John Byrne and Chris Claremont pitched an alternative ending (it even got to the pencils and inks stage) but this ending was deemed less dramatic with her simply being depowered and living with the Shi’Ar. 

Post Dark Phoenix-Resurrection

After the Dark Phoenix saga Jean Grey is dead, you might be thinking what impact could she have on the series as a corpse. Well for one thing Jim Shooter’s less women in comics has been proven wrong which allowed Chris Claremont to add more Female characters to the series like Mystique and Rogue who first appeared in Ms Marvel’s solo book. The X-men had more female heroes who could kick an man’s ass and they fought more female villains as cunning and cruel as they where beautiful.

Not only did Jean’s death affect the series by the creation of more female characters but the character of Wolverine was altered with her absence, he changed form being the angry creep hanging around Jean who was jealous of Cyclops. He became more caring, he was protective of his younger team mates, his back-story was explored more (other than the concept of Alpha Flight). We learned more about him, we found out he was actually a samurai and had his own strict moral code and only killed when it was necessary and even if he used his claws on an enemy it was a mark of respect. Without these changes I don’t think Wolverine would’ve become one of the most popular Superheroes.

But even in this age of Jean Grey-less X-men she still managed to crop up occasionally, like Uncanny X-men 153 or Kitty’s Fairy Tail. This X-men story is a reimagining of the Dark Phoenix saga but as a children’s fairy tail, with Kitty and Colossus as Adventurous pirates, Wolverine as a cantankerous troll under a bridge but a heart of gold, Nightcrawler as a comic relief character, Storm as a Magic Genie, Cyclops as a Noble Prince, Xavier as a Wizard and Jean as a Princess. Now Kitty is the narrator of the story and notice she doesn’t give herself the passive role she puts herself front and centre in a role reflecting her adventurous personality while Jean is put in a role fitting her more passive personality (even if she does play the double role of Villain).

Another notable Jean Grey influence on the series while she’s deceased is “Days of Future Past”. However its the most indirect way she could be involved, it almost serves as proof that she’ll come back being that in the future X-men line up is Rachel Summers. Jean has never given birth to a daughter how could this be. It’s a Mystery that could almost be solved by the existence of Maddeline Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey that Scott Summers instantly fell in love with. The 2 lived happily in Alaska and she even gave birth to Cyclops son Nathan (who would grow up to become Cable). This is until Jean’s resurrection in Avengers 263 and Fantastic Four 286 (the latter written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne just like Phoenix saga). With Jean Grey’s Resurrection we found out that the Jean Grey we read about in Uncanny X-men from 102- 137 was in fact not Jean but a copy made of her by the Phoenix force that wanted to explore what it was like to be human. So the character growth that could’ve come from her most notable storyline was thrown away, to keep Jean as the Saintly pure 2-Dimensional character she was before.

Post Resurrection

So with Jean Grey revived specifically so Bob Layton could write a series about the reformed original X-men called X-Factor, you’d think he would make Jean the Focus. Well no this is Jean Grey in fact the most interesting thing related to Jean Grey in the series is Cyclops left his wife and their infant son. Understandably Maddy became a Supervillain called Goblin Queen and sought revenge on her Husband. This also means now twice in Marvel Comics has Jean Grey but importantly also not Jean Grey has turned evil.

After X-Factor the original X-men rejoined the X-men team and then split into 2 teams each with their own comic book, And Shortly after this split Chris Claremont left Marvel Comics to work for Image Comics with X-men artist Jim Lee (who was artist on the series that did not feature Jean as a team member). From there X-men became a mess of holo-foil covers and Scott Lobdell writing shallow stories that are mostly forgotten about or are cringed at by fans, as well as more and more X-Teams which I think where; X-men, X-Force, X-Factor, X-Ray Spex and Generation X (the last one never having a guest appearance from Billy Idol).

The next beloved era of X-men comics (well beloved by some) was the Grant Morrison era. His X-men comic did in fact feature Jean Grey, as well as, Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, Emma Frost (reformed villain) and Professor Xavier. There is a marked improvement in Jean as hero in this era because at least once she did manage to help save the day by holding the entire mind of Professor Xavier in her brain, however this can also be looked at as a way of creatively side-lining her. The main storyline involving Jean of the 50 issue run actually has her playing a passive part. This storyline being about the failing marriage between her and Scott Summers, partially because in the mind of Grant Morrison (a man who spent the 90’s in sex dungeons and taking LSD) there is no greater sin than being un-kinky. This is very important as the way Emma Frost seduces a now bored Scott Summers does lean into fetishism including them turning the Dark Phoenix into some sort of kink by Emma Frost dressing up in a Red version of the spandex Phoenix uniform. 

But inevitably with Jean Grey she had to die, this time at the hands of Xorn the X-men’s new recruit/traitor/Nut job who thought he was Magneto. Xorn also met his end in this storyline by the Claws of Berserker rage Wolverine, pissed off because the woman he loved (because apparently everyone who meets Jean is in love with her) has been murdered by this wannabe Mutant Hitler.

Legacy

What kind of Legacy could Jean leave behind now she’s died for the second time? well weirdly she actually has more of an impact on storylines when deceased than when alive. Storylines like The Messiah Trilogy, Schism, Avengers vs X-men and all of Jason Aaron’s run of Wolverine and the X-men revolve around Wolverine or Cyclops thinking about Jean. Schism opens with Scott and Logan discussing how they never used to be friends because they where always fighting over Jean like she was a sexy lamp, and ends with Wolverine refusing to kill Scott because “it’s not what Jean would’ve wanted”. This then leads to Wolverine forming his own school named after Jean. Meanwhile the man who made-out with his new Girlfriend at her funeral (Scott Summers), illogically thinks a newly born mutant called Hope must be Jean Grey reincarnated because she has Red hair, even though thats all the 2 have in common as Hopes power was to heal the sick with a single touch and not telepathy. Cyclops believes this so much that he tries to lure the Phoenix force towards her, not realising the Phoenix force is malevolent force on its own that can sometimes be controlled by a strong mind. 

But the Storyline that I think illustrates what Jean Grey’s new role in the X-men is, the final arc from Grant Morrison’s run on X-men Here Comes Tomorrow. This storyline happens in a far flung possible future where Beast has turned evil and is trying to bring back Jean Grey/The Phoenix Force to keep his stranglehold on all the world. Wolverine of course objects to this and forms a new team of X-men who are all versions of secondary characters from Grant Morrison’s run on X-men and Sam the last Human with his Sentinel bodyguard. The conclusion of this storyline is most interesting as when the Phoenix egg hatches revealing an inversion of Jean Grey that is more Phoenix than her, she reads Wolverines mind (after he calls her Darling) and finds out about the woman she’s been cloned from and leaves time and space to send a message back in time to Cyclops to not break up the X-men. And thats exactly it, who saved the universe this time was not Jean Grey but the idea of Jean Grey and the idea of Jean Grey is more powerful than Jean herself. The Saintly pure Virginal Jean is an idea and Saints are dead for a reason because then they can’t do something after their great deed of Martyrdom to distract from this idea of them. Also the only reason to bring her back is because she’s never actually given birth to Rachel and a Virgin birth is even more impressive when you’re dead.