Quote Originally Posted by Endsong View Post
This was a wonderful read and I agree so much.

Thanks, MarvelMaster616.



This wasn't because of the Phoenix or the storyline of the Phoenix, it was in spite of it and everything that came after it. It was a direct response to everything that came before it. Outside of Angel, because all he had were wings, when the X-Men were initially created she was portrayed as the weakest team member. Cyclops' girlfriend. And that's where the 90's cartoon picked it up from.

All throughout the 70's, 80's and a lot of the 90's Jean's characterization was about her reclaiming who she was as a person and deliberately not wanting to be that damsel in distress. That was literally the point of Grant Morrison's new x-men, even if it led to editorial demanding she stay dead.

It definitely wasn't because of the Phoenix that she played the girlfriend and damsel roles.
Huh? I said that the writers started writing her in a way that she became her own character and the focus of the team, therefore in a way she became bigger than Cyclops (The leader of the xmen) so her being paired with him was somewhat of an "equal terms" couple where neither got swallowed by the other's storyline. Which is a bit of a stretch, as Cyclops' manpain started because of Jean, and has been his thing since then.