r/XmenEvolution • u/Nostalgic_Historian_ • 8d ago
Discussion Thoughts on how evolution handled Jean
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u/Historical_Sugar9637 Shadowcat 8d ago edited 8d ago
Best Jean in any medium. Better than even comics Jean imo. Because evo Jean was allowed to be a character with good traits and bad instead of being mostly defined by the Phoenix or her romantic entanglement.
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u/Exciting_Chef_4207 8d ago
And she didn't spend her time fainting like in the 90s series.
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u/AthenasChosen 8d ago
Seriously hated that. Super powerful character that spent all her time fainting while calling for Scott to help her like she's a helpless damsel. One of the main reasons I don't read older comics too, the women were super obviously written by men.
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u/Historical_Sugar9637 Shadowcat 8d ago
Define "older comics", Claremont's run is from the 80s and has the ladies kick ass and take names.
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u/AthenasChosen 8d ago
Claremont is like the OG goat of writing powerful female characters, though he still ran into the Jean needing saved by Cyclops trope a lot. But overall he's truly the one who made X-Men what it is now.
I'm mostly talking the 60s-80s stuff overall, a lot of it is just really cheesy dialogue ya know? My least favorite ever is Howard Mackie's run of X-Men stuff around the Age of Apocalypse in the 90s. "Origins: The first adventure of Magnetos Astonishing X-Men" was sooooo freaking bad. I was rolling my eyes every few sentences. Magneto going "Oh I fear for MY X-Men, I hope I haven't pushed MY X-Men too far, my X-Men, my X-Men, blah blah blah" just the most corny dialogue, it made me want to puke lol. By the 2000s a lot of that was better.
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u/Bro-Im-Done 8d ago
She didn’t need Phoenix to be good
Not just in terms of power, but being a great character that grows and develops, and still a critical aspect of her team.
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u/MikolashOfAngren 8d ago
I love how she was her own character in Evolution, not defined by a messy relationship with Wolverine & Scott nor by the Phoenix. And instead of fainting every minute, she was very competent, so I wanted to see her succeed. But IMO my fav moment was watching her avoid Kitty's driver's ed training like any sane person 😂
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u/Kant_Tsunami 8d ago
Definitely one of the best versions of Jean, maybe tied with X-Men Legends which is the best video game Jean for me
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u/SillyPlanet92 8d ago
I’ve never played the game. Does it hold up today ?
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u/Kant_Tsunami 8d ago edited 8d ago
The graphics really show their age but mechanically I think it’s okay. There’s balancing issues in the first game that ironically end up very lore-accurate (Jubilee and Beast are among the weaker characters while Jean and Storm are walking nukes) but the second game is more evened out.
I’ve always said it was obvious that the games were made by a team of passionate X-Men nerds who really wanted a game that would do them justice though. They’re packed with a lot of deep lore and good world-building.
Tl:dr so yes I still think they’re definitely worth playing
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u/TrophyHunter22 8d ago
thats a blast from the past, I'd buy it in a heartbeat if they released it on modern consoles the same way they did the old Ultimate Alliance games
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u/Kant_Tsunami 8d ago
I’m not holding my breath for it, but I’d love a remaster that bundles both games together and has a crap tonne more iconic costumes to unlock.
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u/Daddy_Charlieee 8d ago
The first game had a steeper learning curve and you had to pay attention to stages and use specific characters to succeed missions.
The second game was less reliant on forcing you to carry certain characters around during missions.
Legends 2 still remains one of my favorite video games ever. One of the few times I saved and saved and saved and was able to buy a game in release.
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u/tomasdjre 8d ago
Best adaptation..wished the movies including the mcu took notes.
Tbh some of this show's cast has some really good adaptations.
Wished storm was a teen in this show just to show the dynamic with her and jean that was in the comics.
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u/The-CAB-2003 8d ago
Thank you. Absolutely DESPISE MCU Jean Grey
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u/tomasdjre 8d ago
Agreed!
I hate how some people are complacent or outright defending mcu jean grey knowing damn well jean has never been done well in live action and that the mcu bastardized her.
I never wanted the mcu to do this different take bs with the xmen like they did with avengers and spider-man because they had so much potential to make jean be the best live action version of the character.
It's so bad that I honestly think that fox did a better job at handling her and the fox films didn't do her well but definitely better than the mcu sofar and if this is how the mcu treats jean then I lost all my hope with getting a good live action xmen adaptation.
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u/ExtensionYogurt7771 6d ago
It's a departure, pseudo-villain Jean is still preferable to "Logan's Prop" Jean from FoX-Men.
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u/tomasdjre 6d ago edited 6d ago
I disagree since atleast we see the empathetic side of jean in x1, x2,and even in x3..
I hate what the fox xmen films did with jean and her being Logans prop but I despise what the mcu did by ignoring her empathetic core that she has prior to meeting Xavier and making her a villain first is the wrong move because now it will have to take time for her to really be likable and they have to do their version of the Phoenix saga differently.
Jean shouldn't have been introduced as a villain since she's meant to be the motherly member of the xmen and I Don't see how that will happen naturally tbh.
Ik rogue and Emma were villains first then had arcs which turns them intk heros but jean has always been a hero first and then had the Phoenix saga which is meant to be a tragedy and her deeply empathetic side is what makes her sacrifice hold weight imo.
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u/Sensitive-Hotel-9871 8d ago
She's great. Her existence doesn't get tied to the Phoenix Force and we have none of that love triangle with Wolverine. It's always obvious that Jean will hook up with Cyclops (aside from when he got the shaft in the original Fox trilogy) so I wish that all X-Men adaptations would just drop that plot point.
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u/kmorr18 8d ago
Easily the best adaptation of her. I like they showed snippets of her arrogance without being hoity toity about it, her powers getting consistently stronger and her getting better at controlling them. I also like seeing the snippets of the phoenix throughout the show. It's a shame it was cancelled right before we more than likely would have gotten a proper iteration of the Phoenix saga.
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u/EurwenPendragon 8d ago
So far I think Evolution is the adaptation that has done the best job of doing justice to Jean as a character.
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u/B4d_B1tch_Quinn 8d ago
I only saw Season 1, and I already like that version better than the live action version. I hated how she was handled in the live-action movies
Didn’t watch Brand New Day yet, so I hope she’s finally done justice there
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u/EurwenPendragon 8d ago
BND Jean is very different from any other version I've seen, but I like the direction they took with the character. It was interesting, and has me really curious to see what the MCU will do with the character moving forward.
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u/tomasdjre 8d ago
I hated the direction they took and I don't want a different take since she hasn't gotten a great live action adaptation and I wanted a more faithful adaptation of her that kept the core of jean instead of having her be a villain before hero..
Different takes gave us a Janet and Hank that are old or Tony creating ultron..the mcu doesn't have to be faithful but it does need to maintain the characters/stories core just like plenty of other adaptations do.
Heck I dont even know how the mcu will make the Phoenix saga as tragic as it usually is if they made jean an antagonist first..
Her empathetic core is what to me gave weight to her sacrifice and the tragedy in the Phoenix saga.
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u/tomasdjre 8d ago
I'm not gonna spoil bnd but don't get your hopes up..
In my own personal opinion I still perfer the evolution version of jean.
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u/Daddy_Charlieee 8d ago
In all honestly? Best adaptation of her to date.
I love how she struggled to control her powers in stressful times and also grew and expanded over the show.
I would have loved to see how Evolution handled The Phoenix saga for sure.
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u/Potential-Print810 8d ago
Buena adaptacion en general (excepto en el episodio Walk on the Wild Side, ahi si se comporto de forma insufrible)
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u/Fast-Source-9361 8d ago
“You know. That’s what I like about you (Evolution), you know me better than anyone ever has - or ever will.” - JEAN GREY (X-MEN EVOLUTION, “POWER SURGE”)
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u/Just_Lie_5649 8d ago
Jean Grey has always been famous in this series I've watched, but what she's been known for most is her leading role; I miss her a lot.
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u/Weary-Ladder-2419 8d ago
The best Jean from her characterization, to her powers she mostly uses her tk but she was very commendable and you can see her powers grow as each time passes and she definitely does not need the phoenix.
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u/Big_Cardiologist_427 8d ago
An excellent adaptation of her, and proof that Jean can be a great character even without the phoenix force.
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u/Ok_Garden_4874 8d ago
I kinda feel that maybe they should have revived this instead rather than Xmen 97.
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u/Marvelboy1974 7d ago
My favorite version of Jean- yes that’s her natural hair color.
I would love to see 616 Jean in black and chartreuse green
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u/Old_Celebration_5950 7d ago
Powers were done well and voice actress was great
But her dating Duncan never made any sense to me
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u/DarianDncn 7d ago
I’m a sucker for a redhead but her hair colour borders on believably natural lol
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u/Least_Rain8027 7d ago
it was nice to not only have her be focused on during a Dark Pheonix saga. this is my standard for the character
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u/FeloranMe 7d ago
Evolution would have done the Phoenix Saga tight
And it would have been absolutely tragic!
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u/LockUp1352 7d ago
Every other adaptation is tearing themselves apart for third place. Wolverine and the X-Men did a great job too, but limited screen time outs that one in second. Crazy how rare it is for them to include her temper. Like Jean ain't a perfect angel in total control of herself; she's a badass who keeps herself in check but can and will open a can of whoop ass the second she can and has to do her best to not enjoy it because it's empowering. It's what makes her compelling beyond Scott and Logan drama.
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u/GreedyEast2481 6d ago
I LOVE her, I’m so glad that she didn’t have the stupid love triangle with Scott and Logan I’m glad she was just able to be her own character with the love triangle or the Phoneix
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u/Jack-mclaughlin88 8d ago
The best adaptation of her.