Why Jean Grey Is So Important to the Future of the MCU
We break down the character's history, both in the comics and on screen, and where she could take the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the Multiverse Saga.
[Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day follow below.]
Breaking a few box office records, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is not just a huge superhero flick, but a genuine movie-going phenomenon. It is also bringing people back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe who may have lapsed in the last few years. Some of them may have sat down at an opening weekend screening and heard an audible gasp as the name of Sadie Sink’s mystery character appeared on screen. Both Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures took pains over the last year or so to maintain the revelation, even if internet theorists felt confident they knew who she was, and for the Marvel faithful, the moment Peter Parker (Tom Holland) lays eyes on the truth has more impact in our world than in his.
Well, for now, at least.
We’ll admit after so many years of speculation and memes, it still feels like playing coy with Sink’s onscreen identity is the correct thing to do, so this is the last chance to turn back if you don’t know the secret.
Sink plays Jean Elaine Grey.
Those not so well-versed in Marvel lore may have been left wondering why everyone around them were so taken by a seemingly unremarkable identity. But let’s dig into this new addition to the MCU, her place in Marvel’s other histories, and why she may actually be a crucial addition to Marvel’s ongoing story in the years to come.
Who’s Beneath the Hood?
To those coming into Brand New Day cold, Jean Grey is a formidable opponent for Holland’s Spider-Man. She can take control of a person and remotely induce them to crash cars, break into a high security lock-up, and fight Spidey. This power is so strong, she can even command the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). She also presents some telepathic gifts as she can generally read the minds of the people she controls. And, at one crucial moment, she exhibits the telekinetic ability to move objects with her thoughts.
Beyond the powerset, we also have the beginnings of a history. At some point in her early adolescence, she began to exhibit these telepathic traits alongside her sister, Sara (Olivia Booth-Ford). The pair eventually ran away from home for a variety of reasons — up to and including their abilities — but Sara’s mind-control powers were already on the radar of the United States Department of Damage Control. The agency ultimately abducted Sara, setting Jean on a mission of extraction and then revenge.
But she had to meet Spider-Man.
Talked down from vengeance after learning the DODC pushed Sara to her death, Jean ultimately aids Peter as he nears death. In her last moments in the film, Jean is seen on a bus seemingly headed for upstate New York.
And though the movie explicitly tells audiences that Spider-Man will return, so will Jean. Sink has said as much, and many expect her back quickly. But why?
In the short term, she is a powerful person who could become a great hero in a soon-to-occur event of Multiversal proportions or even a recurring antagonist, as seen in Brand New Day. She will also be a key element of Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men feature: a true reboot of the concept after its years at 20th Century Fox. Indeed, we speculated on what Marvel might do when they finally got a hold of the characters even as Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Studios was still up in the air six years ago. Now it’s real, with Sink’s Jean as the first character from the team to make a proper debut in the MCU. That is the reason for the gasp heard in theaters all over the world. After nearly 20 years of Marvel’s ongoing narrative universe and 25 years of X-Men movies from a rival studio, the characters are finally joining the shared world of Captain America and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
But as Jean’s history in comics reveals, she could be something more as the MCU enters its next phase.
Marvel Girl – Jean Grey in the Comics
Back in the comics, Jean first debuted in 1963’s The X-Men #1 alongside a class of Mutants at Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, which included Scott Summers aka Cyclops; Hank McCoy, alias The Beast; “Iceman” Bobby Drake; and Warren Worthington III, codename: Angel. Her first days at the private academy in Westchester, New York also included her first confrontation with Magneto and what was known then as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Alongside Xavier’s “X-Men,” Jean would adopt the codename Marvel Girl, learn better mastery of her telekinetic and telepathic abilities, and defend a world that both fears and hates Mutants such as herself. She also grew up along the way and started a long relationship with Scott.
In our reality, the initial run of X-Men, retroactively retitled The Uncanny X-Men, was not a big hit and was effectively canceled in 1970, although it continued on by reprinting earlier adventures. When new writers and artists revived the concept in 1975, it finally became a hit and a crucial part of Marvel’s character portfolio, Jean naturally among them — although she dropped the Marvel Girl moniker.
In 1976, Jean would suffer the first of several deaths, which resolved when she bonded with a cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force. It increased her abilities to dizzying strengths, but she remained loyal to her friends and Xavier’s cause. Subsequent writers would indicate the Phoenix just convinced itself it was Jean. No matter who was presenting as the telepath, she took on a green-yellow-black costume and adopted a new hero persona: the Phoenix.
This paradigm remained in tact for several years, but the Phoenix Force eventually came under the influence of a malicious Mutant, becoming Dark Phoenix and heading out into space to cause a lot of destruction.
It didn’t go well, and Jean perished again.
Sometime later, Scott met and married a woman named Madelyne Pryor, who was actually a clone of Jean — long story — and the two would eventually welcome a son, Nathan, into the world. Another set of long stories would see Madelyne’s real nature unmasked and Nathan sent into the distant future, where he eventually became the man called Cable (the character played by Josh Brolin in Deadpool 2).
During this time, Jean returned again (yet another long story) — becoming a key member of the X-Men lineup most people recognize from the 1990s Fox animated series — but would eventually bond with the Phoenix Force and die again (only to repeat the cycle at least one more time). In current Marvel comics, she fights alongside the X-Men. Also, the school is now named in her honor.
So, clearly, she has a very rich comic book history which, in turn, made her one of Marvel most important and powerful heroes.
She’s So Familiar – Jean Grey on Screen
Details of Jean’s life may strike some distant memories of those who don’t follow Marvel closely, but watched various things named X-Men. The earliest of these is likely the 1990s animated series, which took its cues from the then-current comic book lineup (and their costumes) and saw Jean using her abilities to fullest. She eventually bonded with the Phoenix Force and reenacted much of that comic book tale. Madelyne Pryor also eventually appeared on the series and, as of the recent X-Men ’97 series, has been revealed not to be Jean.
The character also appeared in various Marvel cartoons going back to 1966, but never as consistently as her time on X-Men.
But the earliest memories one might have of Jean may not be the clearest. Instead, we look to 20th Century Fox’s 2000-2024 X-Men film series for the most likely place audiences will recall her. In the initial three films, she was portrayed by Famke Janssen as a graduate of Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart) school and a current teacher, although her mutant nature is unknown to the wide world as the first film begins. A strong telepath and telekinetic, she is part of the X-Men field team alongside Scott (James Marsden) and Storm (Halle Berry). She is also in a relationship with Scott, but quickly develops an interest in a mysterious mutant known only as Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
The events of X2 would seemingly leave Jean dead under a lake, but the incident put her in contact with the Phoenix Force, which would lead to her becoming one of the threats the X-Men faced in X-Men: The Last Stand. It ended with Jean — you guessed it — dying. Scott also died upon meeting the Phoenix in The Last Stand, but somehow got better by the time of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Jean also makes a cameo in that film.
It has to be said: continuity within the X-Men film series becomes difficult to track after The Last Stand.
And after Days of Future Past changed some elements of its reality’s history, Jean would reappear in the 1980s-set X-Men: Apocalypse, played there by Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner. She would return again in the last Fox X-Men film, Dark Phoenix, in which she bonded with the Phoenix Force and seemingly dies — it all depends on how you read her transformation into a phoenix-like entity.
Then, in some distant future, a wandering Wolverine would continue to dream about her, as seen in 2013’s The Wolverine – although she once again appeared as Janssen.
So, both in film and comics, she also has a storied history, although it constantly contains two elements: her death and the Phoenix Force. Which may be a clue to her place in the MCU.
The Phoenix Saga – Jean Grey’s Future?
Although it is unclear if Marvel Studios will continue to use the notion of sagas or phases after the release of 2028’s Avengers: Secret Wars, it hasn’t stopped MCU aficionados — including us — from speculating on where things might go next and whether or not the Avengers will reassemble to stop another Big Bad in 2036. Over the years, we suggested characters like Galactus (Ralph Ineson as of The Fantastic Four: First Steps) and even Doom long before Robert Downey Jr. agreed to become the ultimate threat of the Multiverse Saga. In more recent times, we even joked about Damage Control becoming the recurring menace for the heroes.
But ever since that shot of Jean on the bus flickered across our eyes, a thought took root: What if we’ve been looking in the wrong place all along, and Jean is the next reality-threatening menace the heroes must band together to stop?
One thing we haven’t mentioned is the title of Jean’s defining tale: The Dark Phoenix Saga.
It is an irresistible story to dramatize with a lot of screen potential. It is no surprise the ‘90s animated series and two feature films would attempt to adapt it. But as many on the internet have opined, the power of The Dark Phoenix Saga is its length. Told over years of comics by writer Chris Claremont and collaborators like John Byrne, it slowly built to a devastating emotional crescendo. And, as it happens, Marvel’s cinematic saga storytelling emulates that serialized approach, just on the immense scale of a $500 million production.
Like the two sagas before it, Jean’s place in such a story would not become readily apparent until she seemingly dies in, say, X-Men 2 or helping Spider-Man in his next big-screen solo adventure. And unlike Thanos (Brolin again) or Doom, Jean is a character casual audiences now care about, thanks to her Brand New Day introduction and Sink’s performance. Thanos required five years of anticipation, while Doom needed a very familiar face to create the sort of hype Jean can create now, even before The Multiverse Saga resolves in Secret Wars.
Or, perhaps, her story will be confined to the upcoming series of X-Men films from Marvel Studios. Either way, though, she is a key character in the future of the MCU and one who may become its greatest hero or most tragic villain. Some also believe she will be among the young heroes who answer the call in Secret Wars. Time, of course, will tell.
Or, maybe Cable will tell it, but that would definitely be a long story.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in theaters.
