Jean Grey is a character in X-Men.
Jean Grey-Summers ( born Jean Elaine Grey ) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby , the character first appeared in The X-Men # 1 ( September 1963 ) . Jean Grey experienced a transformation into the Phoenix in the X-Men storyline `` The Dark Phoenix Saga '' . In 2006 , IGN rated Jean Grey 6th on their list of top 25 X-Men from the past forty years , and in 2011 , IGN ranked her 13th in the `` Top 100 Comic Book Heroes '' .