A new preview for Jean Grey #1, the solo series starring the X-Men's iconic Omega-level telepath, reveals that the history of the time-displaced original five X-Men, last seen in 2018's Extermination #5, is much more important than fans think. In a surprisingly popular move, 2012 saw the original X-Men team brought forward in time to the present in order to shock Cyclops out of what his allies saw as a dark spiral into villainy. The five had their own adventures in the 'future' before eventually returning to their own time, psychically erasing their foreknowledge of the years to come... or so it seemed.
The beloved Jean Grey was recently murdered by Moira X as part of Orchis' assault on Krakoa at this year's Hellfire Gala, surviving in astral form for a short time before her death. A new preview, exclusively shared by legendary X-Men writer Louise Simonson and artists Bernard Chang and Marcelo Maiolo - shows the powerful mutant reflecting on her death, and a key moment in her history, when the original five X-Men finally returned to their own time.
The preview for Jean Grey #1 adds a lot of extra context to the teen X-Men's return to the past seen in Extermination #1, with teen Jean seemingly convincing the rest of the young X-Men not to erase their future memories. Rather, Jean argues for preserving their memories of their time in the future, and even hiding them from Xavier, so they can change their destiny.
Teen Jean Originally Chose To Wipe The Time-Displaced X-Men's Memories
All of the teen X-Men grew tremendously during their time in the future, but perhaps none more than Jean Grey, who fully came into her power, accepted her future death in the Dark Phoenix Saga, and even stopped the Phoenix Force from killing her in the present. In Extermination #5, the teen Jean Grey used her considerable psychic skills to fully suppress the memories of the time-displaced X-Men, closing the time loop and giving the memories they gained in the future to their older counterparts. After this story's ending, many fans thought it would be the last they would see of the original time-displaced X-Men, but Looper's preview for Jean Grey #1 shatters that belief, bringing these teen X-Men back, and potentially continuing their story in an important and dangerous way. Marvel has revealed that Jean Grey will see Jean traveling back through her past to relive her most traumatic moments, so that she can learn and grow and return to the present even stronger.
Jean Grey Can Change Her Past To Save The X-Men's Future
There is a chance that the dying Jean Grey, now in astral form in the Phoenix Force's nexus of realities known as the White Hot Room, is manipulating the events of her past to try and forge a new future. It is clear that the Phoenix Force, and Jean's connection to the Phoenix, is a key part of the hero's journey in Jean Grey, and allowing teen Jean to keep her knowledge of the events of the Dark Phoenix Saga may be the key to changing her relationship to the Phoenix and returning to save mutantkind from extinction. Jean spent her last moments alive plotting to bring down the mutant-hunting Orchis group, but it seems that was only the beginning of her planning for a better tomorrow.
Many fans thought they would never see the teenage time-displaced original X-Men ever again, but it is becoming clear that Jean Grey's journey through the past may hinge on her ability to her future and change her present - a major win for fans who loved the 'new' original five and were sad to see them go.
Jean Grey #1 from Marvel Comics debuts August 23.
Source: Liam McGuire, Looper
