Casual comic book fans may not realize it, but the X-Men‘s Jean Grey has been dead for over a decade in the Marvel Universe. Jean was killed off at the tail end of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run in 2003, which seemed to be a thematic tie-in to X-Men 2. For the last few years, Jean’s past self has been trapped in the present, and that’s the version currently starring in her own ongoing series. Now, the original Jean Grey is finally getting a comeback, and she may owe it to the next X-Men movie!
Marvel has officially announced Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey, by writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Leinil Francis Yu. In 2005, Jean was briefly resurrected in the Phoenix: Endsong miniseries, where she evolved into the White Phoenix of the Crown. But judging from the first cover image by Yu, it certainly looks like she’s going back to her Dark Phoenix look.
Unlike the last time she came back from the great beyond, many of Jean’s friends and family are now dead themselves. Wolverine, Cyclops, and Professor Xavier have all been killed off within the last few years, although Old Man Logan and Teen Cyclops are filling those respective voids. The Phoenix Resurrection teaser is also missing two key characters who should and probably will appear: Rachel Grey, Jean’s daughter from an alternate timeline, and Teen Jean. In fact, the ghost or spirit of the real Jean has recently been appearing within the pages of the Jean Grey ongoing series to help her past self prepare for the return of the Phoenix. That can’t be a coincidence.
The real Jean’s resurrection is almost certainly happening because she’ll once again play a large role in the next X-Men movie, X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Jean has actually been dead in the comics for longer than she was after her first demise in The Dark Phoenix Saga back in 1980. There are two big questions now: Does the Marvel Universe have room for two Jeans? And is Jean’s adult self is truly back for good? We’ll learn more when Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey #1 is released on Wednesday, December 27.
Are you excited about Jean’s return from the grave? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Marvel Comics
