Jean Grey is an Omega-level mutant with vast empathic, telepathic and telekinetic abilities, being intimately associated with the Phoenix, an immensely powerful cosmic entity.[29] Her psychic powers were traumatically awakened during childhood when she witnessed her best friend's death. For years, Jean Grey was mentored by mutant specialist Professor Charles Xavier, a telepath himself.[30] When he started a school for mutants to prepare his students to carry on his dream of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans, Jean Grey was enrolled as Marvel Girl, becoming the last of his first class of original X-Men, a group that fights for a world that hates and fears mutants.[2] Over time, Jean Grey has become Xavier's most trusted pupils, constantly acting as his right hand and close friend.[31]

During a mission in space, Jean Grey sacrificed herself to save her teammates,[32] resulting in her ascension as the all-powerful Phoenix after she experienced death.[33] Corrupted by the power and the Hellfire Club, she became the Dark Phoenix and caused immeasurable destruction, including the genocide of the D'Bari people.[3] Jean Grey's conscience led the Phoenix to sacrifice herself to prevent further destruction.[34] Jean Grey's connection to the Phoenix, a force of annihilation and rebirth, inflicted a number of deaths[35][15] and resurrections.[36][37] Upon one of her returns, Jean Grey parted ways with the Phoenix and took the direction of a parallel X-Men team.[38] On the mutant-exclusive nation of Krakoa, she played a role[12] in the governing body known as the Quiet Council,[39] as well as part of the intelligence sector X-Force[40] and in the revival of the X-Men as a super hero team.[41]

After being murdered at the hands of the agents of Orchis,[23] Jean Grey has risen again as Phoenix due to Xavier's machinations. Now wielding unimaginable powers once again,[42] Phoenix has taken to the cosmos and, on a universal scale, she defends those in need. Travelling across planets and galaxies, she explores the potential of her god-level capacities, despite that distancing herself from her loved ones on Earth.[43]

Jean Grey’s story is tragically similar to many mutants on earth. A normal childhood, loving parents, siblings and friends to play with, and then her powers awaken. In this instance, she was merely 10 years old and playing with her best friend, who was hit by a car. The stress of this accident awakened the latent telepathic powers supplied by her X-Gene, which caused Jean’s mind to link with her dying friend. The stress of this event caused Jean to essentially shut down, unable to control her powers and terrified of what she had become. Luckily, her parents called in Charles Xavier, who took her in under his wing, like a telepathic protégé of sorts. Xavier then blocked off her telepathic abilities temporarily until she matured enough to handle them, as he trained her to use her abilities telekinetically instead. Eventually her parents enlisted Jean into a small private school Xavier was running, and her life would never be the same.

Jean is an original X-Man, she showed up in the very first Uncanny X Men #1 and was a part of the original five-man team, alongside her future hubby Scott Summers. The team's resident mind-over-matter member, she quickly hit her stride and was a key player in their early adventures. Years passed, and eventually Xavier removed the psionic barriers he placed in her mind, Jean began dating Cyclops, graduated from the academy, and generally found life to be working out for her. But as always, all of this changed, when Jean and other mutants were captured by Steven Lang, the creator of the Sentinels, and imprisoned on his space station. A successful rescue was staged, but as the X-Men began their trip back to Earth, a solar flare assaulted the ship with cosmic rays. As the cockpit was unguarded from this radiation, someone had to make the sacrifice to pilot the ship safely back down to Earth. While her telekinetic abilities were able to protect her for some time, eventually the cosmic radiation became too great, and Jean began to die.

Except... she didn't. Because as she began to telepathically call for help, for anyone to come save her, Jean’s prayers were answered by the Phoenix. A cosmic entity representing life and rebirth in the Marvel omniverse. The Phoenix offered Jean a chance to live, one she gladly took, and the ship ultimately crashed safely in Jamaica Bay. And the X-Men and Marvel universe would never be the same again.

The Phoenix Force is the embodiment of all life and psionic energy in the Marvel multiverse, representing the idea of ‘rebirth’ and ‘resurrection’. During a spacefaring mission, the X-Men found themselves exposed to it, and it took up residence inside Jean, using her as a host. Acting like a symbiote of sorts at first, it drastically increased Jean’s power to cosmic levels, but slowly corrupted her and drove her mad.

This culminated when Jean/The Phoenix Force, now simply together as Phoenix, destroyed an entire star - one that had a civilized planet orbiting it. Realizing what she had done, Jean heroically sacrificed herself, pleading with her team to kill her before she could cause any more harm.

...except that wasn’t really Jean. It was the Phoenix Force pretending to be her. And then the real Jean came back and merged with the Force again. Comics, man. Fortunately, after extended time together and several convoluted plotlines, the inverse of the first time happened. Jean’s bubbly attitude actually rubbed off on the Phoenix Force, making it more... well, not quite docile, but cooperative perhaps. It was a lot less interested in destroying planets at least, and it and Jean bonded once more as a genuine force for good with Jean in control of both of their full powers. And while the Phoenix has hopped between a few different hosts, Jean Grey always has and always will rise from the ashes to become the Phoenix.