With Phoenix Resurrection still two months away and plenty of discussions about it popping up in multiple threads, I think it's worth starting a new thread to streamline the process. A lot of anxious X-men fans are excited about this event, myself included. We've been waiting a
long time for adult Jean Grey to return. The wait is almost over. We've had only a few clues here and there as to how the story will unfold, but it has already been heavily implied that Jean will play a major part in the X-men moving forward. It's just a matter of how she'll get there.
To start things off, I want to focus on one particular element that was teased in
the recent January 2018 solicits. In it, there was this little tidbit:
It has many implications. Does this mean that adult Jean Grey has been alive for a while now and living in seclusion with no memory of who she is? If so, when did it happen? Was it after she died in Planet X? Was it after Avengers vs. X-men? Was it after Secret Wars?
It also implies that this mind-wiped Jean is living some sort of fantasy life, sort of like what we saw in the Pleasant Hill arc with the Avengers. She might have a family. She might even have kids. She might have a whole host of friends who don't know who she is. It wouldn't be the first time she's been deceived into a false life. Mastermind did that to her way back in the original Phoenix Saga. It still raises the question as to who is behind it and what this will mean for Jean moving forward.
It could be that Mastermind is back and he warped Jean's mind into thinking they have a life together and the Phoenix is there to break it.
It could be that someone conjured an ideal life for Jean where she's married to someone like Scott, Logan (whose return might be tied to the event), or even Mastermind himself if he or someone like him is involved. We've seen that teased before in other stories, only to have it shattered.
It could be that Jean isn't married to anyone, but has a peaceful, happy life on her own in a community where she's loved, respected, and doesn't have to be a hero.
Whatever the case, the Phoenix Force is sure to shatter it in a very painful way. I remember at the NYCC X-men panel that I sat in on that Matthew Rosenberg said that there would be tears in reading Phoenix Resurrection. There's almost always an element of tragedy associated with the Phoenix. Perhaps the big tragedy here is that she'll have to sacrifice whatever life, family, or friends she had in that ideal fantasy to return to the real world. That would be perfectly in line with Jean Grey's many other sacrifices in the past.
Again, these are all speculations. We won't know for sure until the issue comes out or if more teasers are released. But until then, let's open the floor up to all sorts of crazy speculations. I have my theories. I doubt any of them are right, but I'm sure everyone has others as well.