Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Jean Grey and the Jean Grey comics are a great story. I have followed the Young Jean Grey story since her first arrival in the future and have enjoyed the recent ongoing series. Her book is a wild ride across the world, where she is dealing with a renewed threat of the Phoenix Force’s imminent return. I did struggle with this a bit because a couple years back in the AVX crossover story Hope Summers eviscerated the Phoenix Force… I guess since energy cannot be destroyed ergo the Phoenix cannot be ended either. The big reveal, **SPOILER** Jean Grey-Summers starts semi haunting/helping her younger self. Shortly after the big reveal, we find out about the upcoming story Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Jean Grey. When I first heard about the comic I wasn’t shocked, but I was somewhat disappointed because Jean Grey-Summers had been dead for the better part of 15 years. Her death happened in New X-Men 150 where Xorn/Magneto killed her by giving her a massive electromagnetic stroke. While sad as her death was Grant Morrison had taken Scott and Jean on a very painful journey, that now ended in her death, but with her death, she set Scott free to live. So being content with Jean Grey-Summer being dead I found myself completely infatuated with the brilliant, out of time character Brian Michael Bendis, Cullen Bunn and Dennis Hopeless had created in the young Jean Grey.
As I read through the last 4 issues of Jean Grey I found there might be something there to get excited about. Dennis Hopeless continued to weave an exciting tale of how young Jean was going to defeat the coming Phoenix force. Throughout the series, she connected with previous Phoenix hosts and even the only person who defeated the Phoenix, Hope Summers, the first new Mutant after the No More Mutants storyline and the adopted daughter of Cable. With the help of hope and the other Marvel universe telepaths and Phoenix hosts, she prepares to fight. Unfortunately, with all of her help wiped out, it results in her paying the ultimate price. I found the young Jean’s Death abrupt and unexpected. She was tougher and more rugged than the other Jean Grey incarnations and yet it seemed with the looming five weekly issues Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Jean Grey mini-series I guess I should have expected it.
It is really nice when my expectations are wrong. Matthew Rosenberg, Indie Comic writer, recent MCU addition, and writer of the upcoming 6 issue New Mutants mini-series, weaves an iconic filled respectful tale in Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Jean Grey. Initially, I believed this series was going to be used to replace the younger Jean Grey with the return of her older self to the current 616 universe and be the typical trope where no X-Man ever stays dead. What follows is anything, but typical much like the return of Charles Xavier as the Mutant called X recently in Astonishing X-Men storyline. It is an elegant script reuniting the X-Men with one of its founding members. I was entranced on how Matthew Rosenberg and Lenil Francis Yu captured all the nuances of the history Jean Grey and the X-Men.
I highly recommend reading it understanding it is not just the return of one of the most powerful mutants to the MCU, but also the laying to rest of the Phoenix force in a way that shows that both Jean Greys have no need for it or its power. Issue 11 of Jean Grey is the culmination of the Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Jean Grey and ends with the resurrection of young Jean after the battle the Phoenix force in the White Hot Room. Her battle is more of showing the Phoenix she does not need it because she does not crave anything it has to offer. It is this readers opinion this story coincides with her older selves rejection with the Phoenix as well, but both stories imply that the Phoenix has completed its work in both the women.
If you are looking for more Jean Grey, the young Jean Grey can be found in X-Men Blue Poison X crossover with Venom and X-Men Red for the adult Jean Grey.
Ever the Fan Boy,
Travis