10 Comic Book Heroes Who Died Horrible Deaths
6. Jean Grey Kills Herself
In Uncanny X-Men #137's heart-shattering double-sized issue, "The Fate of the Phoenix", the X-Men, including Charles Xavier, were teleported aboard the Shi’ar flagship. Queen Lilandra demanded that the Phoenix must die because she had destroyed the entire D’Barian race and an imperial cruiser. Jean Grey didn’t remember doing these things, and so Xavier demanded a duel of honor be fought between the X-Men and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. The Kree and the Skrulls, who also had a vested interest in the death of the Phoenix, were there as observers.
The next morning, the combatants were teleported to the Blue Area of the Moon, an ancient Kree outpost with a breathable atmosphere, and the X-Men divided off to get the Guardsmen to chase them. Xavier's band of mutants were beaten by the far more powerful Guardsmen, with only Jean Grey and Cyclops remaining. Jean saw Cyke cut down, and that prompted the Phoenix to explode from her in a huge firebird. Lilandra ordered her fleet to destroy the moon, the Earth, and the whole galaxy to destroy Grey if necessary.
With the Guardsmen held frozen by her mind, Xavier ordered the X-Men to attack Jean. Colossus threw Wolverine at The Phoenix and that knocked her back to sanity. She ran down a hallway and unearthed an ancient Kree laser cannon. Telling the pursuing Scott Summers that she couldn’t hold the Phoenix at bay for much longer, Jean fired the cannon, screaming Scott's name as she vaporized herself.