Marvel has explained why the X-Men's Jean Grey has retired both her Marvel Girl codename and costume. In 2019, Marvel Comics brought superstar comic book writer Jonathan Hickman on board to relaunch the X-Men. His approach was a remarkable success, reinvigorating the franchise by gathering every mutant together on the living island of Krakoa. This was a bold new era for the X-Men - except, surprisingly, for Jean Grey.

The X-Men's Omega-level mutant returned to her classic "Marvel Girl" outfit, a sleek green costume with a miniskirt that felt as though it was the height of fashion in the 1960s - but was rather at odds with modern styles. The fashion choice was particularly odd given the X-Men started treating costumes as simple changes of clothes, switching between them at a moment's notice. Readers were bewildered, with many pointing out Jean was supposed to be a fashion student, so it seemed strange for her to regress by decades.

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In an interview with AIPT, X-Men Senior Editor Jordan D. White addressed the recent decision to have Jean abandon the "Marvel Girl" codename and costume once again. As he notes, Jean is something of an anomaly among comic book superheroes, in that she's one of a few who never had a name or identity that sticks. She started out as Marvel Girl, became Phoenix, and for decades after that she simply went by her real name (with the comics themselves lampshading this on occasion; when Cyclops and Jean Grey told the X-Men they had an announcement to make, Jubilee suggested Jean had chosen a codename rather than guessed they'd gotten engaged at last). Marvel was trying to show her as having rejected the Phoenix, and so they gave her the old codename and costume, signifying a fresh start. The message doesn't really seem to have gotten across in the comics themselves, prompting the change in direction.

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Marvel's probably wise to have Jean abandon her codenames and simply go by her real name. It serves as a nice counterpoint to the rest of the X-Men, where codenames are treated as "mutant names." Jean transcends such formalities; she defines herself, she knows who she is, and she is secure in her identity. She does not need to be Marvel Girl, and she does not need to be bound to the Phoenix Force. This is a much more positive message, showing that Jean has grown beyond the Phoenix.

Unfortunately, as powerful as this idea may be, writers will likely never be able to resist returning to the relationship between Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. Hickman may have intended to give Jean a fresh start, but Jean's connection to the Phoenix will again be put under the microscope in the AXE: Judgment Day event, specifically in October's AXE: X-Men #1. It seems the X-Men's Jean Grey doesn't get to be over the Phoenix Force just yet after all.

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Source: AIPT