DARK PHOENIX
Real Name: Jean Grey
Height: 5'6
Weight: 110 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Red
Group Affiliation: X-Men
Powers: Telepathy, Telekinesis, Cosmic
First Appearence: X-Men #101 1976
Died: X-Men #137 1980

A cosmic being, the original Phoenix was never truly Jean Grey. It began when the X-Men were swept off into space, returning to earth in a spaceship that was burning up and disintegrating as it hit the earths atmosphere. Jean Grey (then Marvel Girl) made the ultimate sacrifice when she sent the rest of the X-Men to the radiation shielding compartment, flying the ship on her own with only her telekinesis to shield her. It was not enough. The ship crashed into Jamaica Bay on Earth scattering the X-Men and leaving Jean nowhere to be found. She resurfaced moments later as Phoenix, her costume changed and her powers much stronger. The rest of the team believed her love for Scott and latent power had resurrected her from the dead, and so it seemed. In truth, as the dying ship had descended toward the Earth, Jeans telekinetic shield had begun to give way before the radiation. In her moments of dying, she cried out for help. It came in the form of the cosmic entity called the Phoenix. It offered to save her in exchange for a chance at human life. Jean agreed and the Phoenix took a small portion of Jeans consciousness, becoming Jean in effect, while it stored the true Jean away in a cocoon to heal. The duplicate was so perfect, with that bit of Jean Grey's persona added, that even the Phoenix itself believed it was really Jean Grey.

As time passed, the X-Men became more and more fearful for the creature they believed was Jean. It seemed that with her increased, now near-infinite powers she was like unto a God. The power had begun to consume Jean, her mortal vessel unable to contain such a cosmic force and keep it under control. The villain Mastermind began to toy with her mind as well, making the unstability that much worse. Eventually, she lost control completely, becoming Dark Phoenix, an evil version of the true Jean. With the power came with an appetite to match. Her cosmic power needed fuel, and one night she crept from the mansion and flew out into space, consuming a sun to feed her power. Unfortunately, the system the sun supported was inhabited, and the creatures living in it were consumed in the supernova she created. None of the X-Men were aware of what had occurred, and Jean, for her part was battling the darker side of herself, switching back and forth between personas. While the X-Men were unaware of her crime, the denizens of space were not, and the Shi'ar came calling, demanding that the price for the innocent lives she had claimed was her own life in exchange. The X-Men resisted as a whole, and during the ensuing battle Jean lost control of herself once again. In the end, she regained her true self, and sacrificed herself to save the universe from a power she could not control, vaporizing herself with an alien weapon. Or so it seemed.

In truth, in the instant the Phoenix had sacrificed its vessel to save the universe, it tried to return to Jean Grey the portion of herself it had taken from her. But that portion was now soiled with the blood of the lives the Phoenix had taken, and Jean Grey rejected it. Having nowhere else to go, the Phoenix found the clone of Jean Grey, depositing the portion it held of her into the lifeless body and returning to space. This clone was to be Madelyne Pryor, wife of Cyclops.

Meanwhile, the X-Men thought Jean dead for many years, until the Avengers made an amazing discovery at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. They had found a cocoon which they were unable to penetrate, and called Reed Richards of the Fantastic 4 to research it. Inside, Richards found a woman, perfectly preserved, and looking for all the world like Jean Grey. He in turn, called Cyclops, now married to Madelyne Pryor, who left immediately to discover whether or not it was, in fact, Jean. It was indeed. And with her second resurrection, a new team was born. X-Factor brought together the original members of the X-Men once again, and Jean kept her original name of Marvel Girl.

Jean eventually had to face Madelyne in combat when Sinister began his evil plans and set loose the small portion of the Phoenix power Madelyne still held. She defeated Madelyne, and Madelyne chose death rather than to live in the same world as Jean. She tried to take Jean with her, and would have succeeded had not the Phoenix power offered her again that portion of herself it had taken. Accepting it, Jean became whole again and Madelyne passed from the world.

For a long time Jean shunned the very thought of the Phoenix, but eventually came to accept its memories and actions as part of her. She took up the name of Phoenix again, and even more recently has donned the original green and gold costume of the Phoenix before she became tainted with power. What this can portend, who knows? Does Jean still hold a portion of the Phoenix power within her? Only time will tell....


Updated March 2, 1998

Dark Phoenix has had guests since March 19, 1998




This history was written by Onyx, please do not use without permission. Stats copied from Marvel Comics.