Phoenix Real Name:  Jean Grey-Summers
Height:  5'6"
Weight: 110 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Red
Mutant Powers:  Telepathy (enabling her to read minds, project her thoughts into others' minds, and stun the minds of others with "mental bolts"), telekinesis (enabling her to levitate herself, other living beings, and objects)
First Appearance:  X-Men (Vol 1) #1
History:  When Jean was only ten years old, her best friend was killed after being hit by a car.  Jean's emotional anguish as she held her dying friend caused the activation of her mutant powers, causing her to experience her friend's emotions as she died.  Traumatized by this and unable to control her new powers, Jean became withdrawn and depressed.
  Jean's parents took her to see Professor Xavier, who realized she was a mutant and treated her for several years.  He erected psychic shields to prevent her from accessing her telepathy until she was mature enough to control it, and taught her how to use her burgeoning telekinetic powers.  When Jean was in her teens, she joined the X-Men, taking the name Marvel Girl.
    Here she fell in love with her team-mate Scott Summers (Cyclops), but they were too shy to express their feelings for each other.
    Xavier removed the psychic shields from Jean's mind when she was faced with the alien threat of Z'nox.  She has proven highly capable of using her telepathic powers.
    Jean left the X-Men shortly after Professor X recruited a new team, although she continued her relationship with Cyclops.  Soon afterwards, Jean and the X-Men were abducted by Stephen Lang's Sentinels and taken to an orbiting space station.  After defeating Lang the X-Men had to return to Earth in a space shuttle through a lethal solar radiation storm.  The ship's cabin lacked sufficient protection from the radiation, but Jean insisted in piloting the ship herself.  A cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force appeared to her as she died of radiation poisoning.  The Phoenix Force created a body for itself that was identical to Jean's, duplicated her memories and personality, and absorbed a portion of her consciousness.  It then guided the ship to crash land in Jamaica Bay near New York City.  The Phoenix Force also cast the real Jean into suspended animation within a strange pod that rested on the bottom of the bay while slowly healing her.
    The cosmic being took the name Phoenix and joined the X-Men, who believed it was the real Jean. Later, the X-Men's foe Mastermind began mentally manipulating her, eventually brainwashing Phoenix into becoming the Black Queen of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club.  While doing this he caused Phoenix to go insane, becoming the Dark Phoenix, and becoming a threat to the entire universe.  Luckily the portion of Jean's consciousness that it had absorbed surfaced and forced Phoenix to commit suicide rather than cause any more damage.  After the death of Phoenix's body, the portion of Jean's consciousness returned to Earth where it was reabsorbed by Jean.
    The Avengers eventually found the pod and gave it to Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four to study.  Jean Grey then emerged from the pod fully healed, whereupon she was reunited with the original X-Men and they formed X-Factor.  After Professor X returned from space, Jean and the rest of X-Factor rejoined the X-Men.
    Some years later, Jean and Scott were married.  During their honeymoon, their spirits were transported 2000 years into the future, where they were placed in bodies by the Askani cult. Their leader, Rachel Summers had also served in the X-Men under the name Phoenix.  As Slym and Redd they spent years raising the son of Scott and Madelyne Prior, who had been transported to the future earlier.  Scott and Jean were eventually returned to their own time and bodies, leaving Nathan to become a heroic warrior in the future.
    Jean adopted the name Phoenix when she returned to the X-Men in honour of Rachel.  Jean and Scott remained X-Men until after Operation:  Zero Tolerance, when they went to Alaska to allow Scott to recover from the wounds he had sustained.  However they returned to the X-Men when faced by a threat to the Mannites.  She has recently had alterations to her powers, making her a more powerful telepath, and losing her telekinesis.