Jean Grey was an average teenager until her telekinetic and telepathic abilities manifested themselves. Now, thoughts are louder to her than voices, and she can lift weights with her mind.

After Professor Charles Xavier discovered Jean's abilities, he approached her with a proposition: attend his Institute for Gifted Children in Westchester County, New York, to learn to control her abilities--and help him stop the coming war between humans and mutants.

Jean was the second student the professor enrolled in his school, after Scott Summers. Because Scott and Jean have been at the institute the longest, they have greater experience with their powers and more training than the other X-Men.