Originally Posted by
Omega_DCD
I really don't get what their point is supposed to be. Brass tacks, nobody was "Omega" until they were described as such, and canonically, that didn't start to happen until 2001 in the X-Men Forever (and the same two that started it, are still considered Omega level mutants today, so there is a clear throughline connecting the new and the old definition).
And regardless, Jean has clearly always been on an upward development curve...not just retcons and prequel series. Of the O5 during the original run, she's the only one to gain an extra power, she's the only one that holds the rest of the team at bay, she clearly gets stronger and as noted, is even described as having infinite mental powers. That is not a post-year 2000 "modernization"...that happened in the late 60s...pre-Claremont, pre-Phoenix, pre-Highest/First Order, pre-Omega. On the contrary, those modernizations of Jean's early power levels fit because of the fact that seeds were planted back then to build off of...Jean is also shown being able to handle the same millions of churning thought patterns, in its original form, that Xavier has spent months preparing to gather and link, and with way less prep time.
As you've even noted, Jean has grown in every era. Even in the 70s before the Phoenix transformation, it's noted that Jean's TK is stronger than before, as she projects bolts of TK force strong enough to knock Sentinels off the roof. Her telepathy is stronger and more skilled as well, as she's able to isolate and instantly transfer Corbeau's knowledge of how to pilot the space shuttle. After becoming Phoenix, Moira says she and Charles always suspected she had that kind of potential.
As far as I'm concerned, Omegas(true Omegas...I still side-eye Vulcan and Exodus) are born Omegas, even if they aren't mega-powerful right out of the womb...just as mutants are born mutants, even if their mutation doesn't typically catalyze until puberty or a traumatic event.
So again, I don't see what pointing out that, for VERY OBVIOUS REASONS, Jean wasn't called an Omegal level mutant in issue #1 of X-Men in 1963, is supposed to accomplish.. She was clearly a character that was written to grow and develop.