Jean Grey’s New MCU Powers Explained (& How They Differ to the Comics)

Jean Grey has finally made her MCU debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but this iteration of the character makes some major changes to her comic book counterpart. Jean Grey is one of the most powerful and iconic X-Men across comics, movies, and TV, so it makes sense for her to be the first one to have an MCU iteration introduced. However, this will be many fans’ first introduction to the character, meaning that many are wondering how accurate Sadie Sink’s character is to the comics.

For the first half of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Spidey is forced to deal with a body-hopping threat that he can’t see, one who seems intent on taking on the Department of Damage Control. Eventually, with the help of MJ and Yelena Belova, Peter discovers that this psychic threat is none other than a young Jean Grey. The DODC previously kidnapped Jean’s sister Sara, causing her to try to tear the organization apart in order to find her. Jean is already one of the most powerful foes that Peter has taken on, yet she is only a fraction as powerful as she is in the comics.

Jean Grey’s Powers Are Much More Limited In Spider-Man: Brand New Day Than In The Comics

Jean Grey’s mutant powers seem relatively fresh in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with her only being taught how to use them by her sister Sara in a flashback set immediately before her kidnapping by the DODC. This is a far cry from the iterations of Jean that fans are typically acquainted with, as she is known for often being one of the most powerful telepaths in the universe. Jean’s telepathy allows her to control other people, search their memories, feel their emotions, and even communicate with animals and other non-human species. On top of that, she can use telekinesis to move objects, people, and herself, giving her the ability to fly. In the comics, Jean is an Omega-Level telekinetic, with her displaying feats of strength far greater than any other mutant.

Comparatively, Brand New Day‘s Jean has far weaker psychic powers. Throughout the majority of the film, Jean’s only power is possession, and even that has some major limits. As Spider-Man deduces, Jean is only able to jump to humans who are within 33 feet of her. However, she can then chain by jumping to another human within 33 feet of that target, allowing her to travel seemingly infinite distances.

Jean can also see memories while she is inside of her targets, allowing her to not only take control of others, but also impersonate them. She shows this talent by pretending to be MJ at one point in the film, torturing Peter by tricking him into thinking that MJ remembers him. Even with just these powers, Jean is able to accomplish a lot. However, this is far from the upper limit of what she can do.

Jean Grey Gets A Major Power-Up At The End Of The Film, Setting Up Her X-Men Story

Eventually, Jean is kidnapped by the DODC, with William Metzger imprisoning her and running experiments on her body-hopping abilities. During one of these experiments, Jean makes a shocking discovery: the DODC killed Sara. Typically, the X-Gene is activated at moments of extreme emotional distress, but this reveal seems to trigger a second mutation in Jean. Jean telekinetically crushes her cage and much of the room around her, and creates a bubble that freezes miles of New York surrounding the building. She also possesses several members of the Hand ninja clan at once, battling Spider-Man in one room as she simultaneously holds multiple shards of glass up to Metzger’s neck in another.

This moment proves that Jean is now able to actively control multiple humans at a time, and a limit isn’t given to this power. Plus, she can move objects with her mind and create a kinetic force capable of destroying a building. Jean’s mind-reading abilities are also buffed, with her now able to read Peter’s mind after not being able to previously. Later in the film, Jean is able to use her possessive powers to keep Peter alive while in a coma from a bullet wound, another new power that manifested after her discovery.

All of these new and increased abilities bring Jean much closer to her power level in the comics, setting Jean up to join the MCU’s X-Men. An MCU X-Men movie from Jake Schreier is in development, and this likely is where Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey will appear next. Her newly fleshed-out moveset will increase her ability to be a superhero, giving her the powers she needs to grow into the Jean that we all know and love.

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