The Phoenix has become a key part of the Marvel Universe in the decades since it debuted as part of the X-Men comics. The Phoenix Force is one of the many timeless forces in the universe, symbolizing life and rebirth. The Phoenix's history has been fleshed out over the years, stretching back to eons ago when it first came to Earth and its later interactions with the Shi'ar Empire. The Phoenix Force has a history with aliens and the Avengers of the year, one million BC, but it's most closely associated with one member of the X-Men - Jean Grey.

Jean Grey was the first woman to join the X-Men and was Xavier's student before he even founded the team. Jean and the Phoenix have become inextricably linked, even though the character has spent decades without its powers. Marvel is rebooting their X-Men line with From The Ashes and Jean Grey as Phoenix is getting her own ongoing series, Phoenix. Many fans have wished for this for ages, as Jean's history with the Phoenix has defined her as a character.

Jean Grey's Return To The X-Men Brought The Phoenix Into Her Life

Jean Grey first appeared in X-Men (Vol. 1) #1 and was the team's only female member. These early issues would establish her relationship with Cyclops and her bond with her fellow team members. Her place in the team's early years made Jean Grey the patron saint of the X-Men, but the problem was that the early X-Men comics of the Silver Age weren't nearly as popular as any of Marvel's other books. X-Men (Vol. 1) #66 was the last new issue of X-Men until issue #94, with Giant-Size X-Men #1 introducing an all-new X-Men roster led by Cyclops. Jean would rejoin the book's cast with issue #97, joining the X-Men into a battle with the Sentinels in X-Men (Vol. 1) #98.

The X-Men ended up going into Earth's orbit to destroy the Sentinels' new satellite base, which would lead to the events of issue #100, where Jean volunteers to pilot the shuttle carrying the X-Men back to Earth's surface, sacrificing herself so all her friends could survive. However, this wouldn't be the case as the Phoenix Force came and Jean was reborn. This moment has been retconned to death, as it was later revealed that Jean wasn't possessed by the Phoenix but was replaced by it. The Phoenix created a perfect copy of Jean's body and left the real body in a cocoon in Jamaica Bay.

Jean's first major story as Phoenix came a few issues after gaining the power of the Phoenix and would start a plot thread with the Phoenix that would become central to its existence - the Phoenix Force's relationship to the Shi'ar Empire. X-Men (Vol. 1) #105-108 would take the X-Men into space to battle the Shi'ar Emperor D'Ken, who decided to use the M'Kraan Crystal to try and rewrite reality. Phoenix would play a key role in the battle against D'Ken and the Imperial Guard, deposing D'Ken so Lilandra could become Empress. After this, Jean's time as the Phoenix would see her growing in power and helping the X-Men in their battles against foes like Arcade, Magneto, and Sauron. This would all culminate in the best-known Phoenix story, The Dark Phoenix Saga, which ran through Uncanny X-Men #129-138. The Hellfire Club got their hands on Jean and the X-Men, with Mastermind using his mind control powers on Jean. This would awaken the Dark Phoenix inside of her, leading the X-Men to battle the rogue cosmic being, who would flee Earth and devour a star, killing billions.

The X-Men helped Jean regain control, but the return of the Shi'ar would lead to her trial for killing an entire star system. The X-Men entered a trial by combat with the Imperial Guard, which saw them get trounced, and Jean ended her own life rather than allow her friends to suffer or let the Phoenix come back. The Dark Phoenix Saga is the most beloved story of Chris Claremont's early X-Men run, and it would be the last time anyone would see Jean for years. The Phoenix would return to the X-Men books in the form of Rachel Summers, the daughter of Jean Grey and Cyclops from the Days Of Future Past timeline. However, Jean's time with the Phoenix would be over for several years.

Jean's Return Would See The Phoenix Teased Many Times

Jean Grey would stay dead from 1980's Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #137 to 1985's Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #286. In those five years, the Jean Grey clone Madelyne Pryor was introduced and married Cyclops. Rachel Summers had been with the X-Men as Phoenix, and Jean Grey as Phoenix had become something of a cautionary tale. Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #286 saw the FF find Jean in the cocoon in Jamaica Bay, leading to the retcon that established that Jean was never Dark Phoenix. Jean's return would see her rejoin the original five X-Men in X-Factor (Vol. 1).

The Phoenix was always in the background at this point, but Jean would have no contact with the actual cosmic force for years to come. Inferno would see her tap into the Phoenix Force residue that was a part of Madelyne Pryor, gaining the entity's memories. Still, it wouldn't be until the mid-'90s X-Men comics that the return of the Phoenix Force would truly start getting teased. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #353-359 had Jean and Cyclops move away from the X-Men to Alaska, where Jean decided to don the green and gold Phoenix costume and start going by the Phoenix codename again. This brought the other original X-Men to Alaska, where they all feared the return of the Phoenix Force to their lives.

This didn't happen in the 1990s, despite Jean going by Phoenix until 2001. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #375 did have a return of the Dark Phoenix, but it was only part of a psychic scenario created by Jean and Xavier to determine if any X-Men were traitors to the team. This issue would lead into The Twelve, the last major '90s X-Men story, where the X-Men would battle Apocalypse and Cyclops would merge with the ancient mutant to defeat him.

Writer Chris Claremont would return to the X-Men in 2000, and Jean's powers would change. Her telekinesis was traded to Psylocke, and her telepathy became more powerful. She started wearing a new costume but still went by the Phoenix codename. She started manifesting psychic Phoenix raptors when she used her telepathy, except they were often formed of her normal pink psychic energy instead of the fiery energy that had become the hallmark of the Phoenix Force. Claremont teased the return of the Phoenix Force during this run, but plans would change and Claremont would be off the book before he could finish out this plot line. However, those teases would soon come to fruition under the aegis of another writer - Grant Morrison.

Rebirth, Death, And Rebirth

Grant Morrison taking over X-Men (Vol. 2) was a huge changing of the guard. The book would be rechristened as New X-Men and become the highlight of the early-'00s X-Men books. Morrison took multiple tried and true X-Men concepts and did their best to find new ways to use them. The Phoenix Force would become a part of this. New X-Men would begin with Jean's powers reaching new levels, but the true extent of her powers wouldn't become clear until "Germ-Free Generation," a story that ran through New X-Men (Vol. 1) #118-120. "Germ-Free Generation" pitted the X-Men against John Sublime, a billion-year-old bacteriological consciousness, and the U-Men, a group of humans who grafted mutant parts to themselves to gain powers.

While Cyclops and Emma Frost dealt with Sublime, and Wolverine was out protecting new mutant recruit Angel Salvadore, Jean was left protecting the X-Mansion from the U-Men. Jean manifested the Phoenix fire raptor in this battle, using her telepathy and telekinesis at levels she hadn't in ages. The return of Cassandra Nova would see the Phoenix put on the back burner, but New X-Men (Vol. 1) #128-131 would see Xavier speak to the Phoenix in Jean's mind as the two went on a mission to stop Weapon XII with the help of Fantomex.

The next manifestation of the Phoenix would lead to the endgame of Morrison's run. New X-Men (Vol. 1) #139-141 showed the confrontation between Jean Grey and Emma Frost over her psychic affair with Cyclops. During a psychic battle between the two telepaths, Jean used the Phoenix Force to break down Emma's shields and torture her with the deaths of all of her former students. Jean would take a backseat for the next few issues, as Wolverine, Cyclops, and Fantomex teamed up for "Assault On Weapon Plus," but "Planet X" from New X-Men (Vol. 1) #146-150 would see the full-fledged return of the Phoenix.

Jean and Wolverine were thrown into the sun on Asteroid M where he mercy killed Jean, which allowed her to be reborn as the Phoenix. The Phoenix was integral in defeating Xorn, disguised as Magneto, but Xorn killed her. New X-Men (Vol. 1) #151-154 took place a hundred and fifty years in the future when Jean's resurrection as the Phoenix led to an apocalyptic battle between the remaining X-Men and the Great Beast, who was John Sublime possessing Beast. Jean was forced to cauterize the entire timeline and ascended to the White Hot Room of the Phoenix, where she reached back into the past and changed Cyclops's mind about leaving the X-Men, stopping the terrible future she was in from ever happening.

Jean Grey died in 2004 and would stay dead until 2017. During that time, the Phoenix would return several times, sometimes in the hands of the Stepford Cuckoos or Quentin Quire. The Phoenix Force would play an integral role in the rebirth of the mutant race in Avengers Vs. X-Men. The original five X-Men from the past were brought into the present and young Jean Grey learned about her destiny with the Phoenix Force, but it never appeared. Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Of Jean Grey lived up to its title, as the Phoenix brought Jean back to life. However, instead of embracing the power of the Phoenix, Jean rejected it. She rejoined the X-Men, starring in X-Men Red (Vol. 1) and Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 5) before the Krakoa Era came along and redefined what the X-Men meant.

The Phoenix In The Krakoa Era