5 Marvel Resurrections Done Right And 5 That Sucked

4. Jean Grey

Jean Grey might have one of the most controversial deaths in the history of Marvel€™s editorial department. During the iconic Chris Claremont/John Byrne run on Uncanny X-Men, Jean is consumed by the cosmic power of the €œDark Phoenix€ force. At one point, the Phoenix force is so hungry for energy, she destroys an entire planet, killing billions. She eventually regains control of her body, but finds herself battling with the Phoenix again and commits suicide to save her teammates and the universe from the deadly cosmic force. Reportedly, Claremont never wanted to kill off Jean, but was forced to develop some kind of severe punishment for her after Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter was outraged by the fact that the long-time heroine had fictitiously killed an entire planet of people. After running through various scenarios that didn€™t meet Shooter€™s satisfaction, Claremont killed Jean off. The muddy circumstances around her death ultimately impacted her revival six years later in Fantastic Four #286. At that time, Marvel was looking to capitalize on the rampant success of its X-books and had developed a new series, X-Factor, which would feature the original lineup of the Uncanny X-Men. Marvel editorial had to come up with a way to revive Jean that would satisfy Shooter. Reportedly, Kurt Busiek, before he became a renowned comic book writer himself, pitched to Marvel an idea of Jean being enclosed in a cocoon on the bottom of the Jamaica Bay in New York. As for Jean€™s suicide, it was explained that it was really the Phoenix force impersonating her during the storyline. Busiek€™s idea was adapted. As convoluted as it sounded, Jean€™s return was made worse by the fact that she just kind of appears in Fantastic Four and then in X-Factor. The gravitas of her Shakespearean-like demise was cheapened. Jean would later be killed off again during Grant Morrison€™s run on New X-Men, though she is currently a member of the time-traveling All-New X-Men.