AXE: X-Men #1 throws Jean Grey into the fire - literally

In the ongoing war between the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Eternals, no one is safe from judgment - not even Jean Grey. Newsarama can reveal a preview from AXE: X-Men #1, written by event architect Kieron Gillen, drawn by Francesco Mobili, colored by Frank Martin, and lettered by Clayton Cowles, seen below.

AXE: X-Men #1 cover (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Marvel teases AXE: X-Men #1 as "the second story-critical" one-shot, following September 28's AXE: Avengers#1, in the AXE: Judgment Day event which has been in progress since July. Now that the Progenitor has made its call about whether Earth deserves to survive, it's determined to destroy the planet - but a select group of heroes is trying to trigger its self-destruct mechanism from the inside.

In the preview below, Jean literally walks into the fire to help her teammates complete the mission, to her own detriment. According to the solicit text from Marvel, she spends the issue trying to "justify her existence" as worlds are burning. Perhaps holding open a mini sun is her way of redeeming herself after her own judgment, which calls back to the time Jean destroyed an entire galaxy as the Dark Phoenix.

She also gets hit with a brutal psychic attack, which suggests someone or something knows where she is and what she's doing. Because of the attack, Jean struggles to maintain her power output, forcing her teammates to move significantly faster to get through the sun in one piece. And the cliffhanger makes it seem as if not everyone will make it to the other side, Jean included.

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AXE: Judgment Day - X-Men #1 will be available October 5.

In the meantime, check out this list of the best X-Men stories.

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Samantha Puc (she/they) is an editor at Newsarama and an avid comics fan. Their writing has been featured on Refinery29, Bitch Media, them., The Beat, The Mary Sue, and elsewhere. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction at The New School.