Jean Grey is one of the most important members of the X-Men and has been for a long time. She was the first woman on the team, was Xavier’s most trusted student, and the most powerful member of the team at times. However, when people think of Jean Grey, they think of one thing — the Phoenix Force. This godlike power changed Jean Grey in the late ’70s and has since played a big role in who she is as a character. Jean and the Phoenix were meshed into one being by readers and creators, with many of her stories even years later revolving around it. Right now, she’s once again the host of the Phoenix and it’s led the character to some places that don’t feel right for her anymore.
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Jean Grey as the Phoenix can be a lot of fun, but there are multiple drawbacks to it. “The Dark Phoenix Saga” is the X-Men’s best story, and did a great job of keeping Jean Grey valid, something that wasn’t always easy with superheroines at Marvel. However, it’s started to feel like a lodestone around her neck, and has actually damaged the concept of the X-Men in a lot of ways. Jean needs to be separated from the Phoenix Force forever, because the longer she has it, the worse things are going to get.
The Phoenix Force Has Robbed Readers of a Fan-Favorite
Marvel has teased giving Jean Grey the Phoenix back since the ’90s. In 1997, she put back on the gold and green costume and started using the name again. It wouldn’t be until the modern X-Men classic New X-Men that Jean would finally become the Phoenix again, proving that she could control the power before being killed by Xorn masquerading as Magneto. She stayed dead for close to 20 years, coming back in Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey, the Phoenix playing a big role in her return. However, it wouldn’t be until the Krakoa Era’s end that Jean would finally become the Phoenix again.
Since Krakoa’s end in 2024, readers have seen Jean Grey in Phoenix, using her power to save people all over the cosmos. However, one of the problems with Phoenix is that it took her away from the characters that fans wanted to see Jean as Phoenix interact with. One of the most interesting parts about Jean with the Phoenix was seeing how the people affected by her actions of Dark Phoenix reacted and we’re not getting that. I don’t have a problem with Jean Grey controlling this power; the problem is that we’re not getting this plot line in a way that makes the book appeal to fans.
However, the real problem with the Phoenix Force is that it makes Jean “too powerful”. Now, powerful characters are fine; Superman makes sense, as does Thor or Storm. The problem with Jean as the Phoenix comes from the X-Men’s mission. Right now, Jean Grey has the power to solve all of the mutant race’s problem. She can defeat any enemy, destroy every Sentinel factory on the planet, change the minds of leaders. She could break open the mutant prison Graymalkin. Most fans believe this is why Phoenix takes place in space; you can’t have someone like her on Earth, because than fans ask why she isn’t solving problems.
The thing is, though, that we are still asking those questions. Jean Grey has been fighting for mutantkind forever, so why did she just leave her friends in the lurch? None of it makes sense, and that’s just part of the reason that Jean doesn’t need the power. The Phoenix Force doesn’t allow Jean to grow as a character. Wouldn’t it be more interesting for her to wrestle with the morals of being a god in a place where there are problems that she can solve? Marvel never wants to ask the real questions, so Jean as the Phoenix will always be something of a waste of time. If we’re not going to get interesting new story options, then it’s just nostalgia bait, which is the biggest problem with the X-Men in particular and Marvel in general.
Jean Grey Doesn’t Need the Phoenix Force Anymore
Many fans were excited at the end of the Krakoa Era when Jean Grey returned with the Phoenix Force, and even more excited when she got her own series. However, Jean with the Phoenix Force this go around has showed the weakness of it as a concept. Cosmic adventures with Jean Grey have a lot of potential, but it’s just not working for a lot of fans. Jean has grown into a character that doesn’t need the Phoenix Force anymore to make her interesting, and it feels like the power is doing the opposite; it’s making her less of an interesting character.
There are only so many places Marvel is willing to take Jean Grey as the Phoenix, and we’ve reached the limit. We don’t need another Dark Phoenix story, and having her out there as a cosmic avenger when her people have problems doesn’t feel right for the character. Creators did a lot to make Jean Grey an interesting character without the Phoenix Force, but the Phoenix is just a nostalgia cheat. It’s about time to get back to focusing on Jean again, and to say good-bye to the Phoenix Force.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
