Rethinking Jean Grey

What the 2000 Xmen Films Got Wrong About Women

Jean Grey was my favorite comic book character in my favorite comic book series.

Here are five things the films got wrong.

1. Jean the Cheater

Jean Grey in the 2000 film is characterized by her indecision and compulsion to cheat on her boorish, boring fiancee with new-douchebag-on-the-block Logan. While the winnowing-down of Scott and the bolstering of Logan’s storylines make that choice somewhat comprehensible, all of this is nonsense added for drama.

In the original comic series, Jean is in love. With Scott, her fiancee and then husband. They share a telepathic bond. They are always-and-forever.

In the film, Jean is drawn to Logan out of compassion for his pain. This is a phenomenon men imagine women experience: being drawn to the bad boy out of over-investment in his trauma. Sometimes men perceive this gesture of “womanly” compassion to be a natural element of being a woman. Sure enough, this does happen. When it happens, however, it is called codependence. It is not an act of natural feminine grace. It is, rather, an ingrained response that has been conditioned into women, who are taught to express generosity and compassion towards aggressive men in pain.