Jean Grey is a central figure in the X-Men and a hugely important character in Marvel Universe history. However, she’s also incredibly complex. Her story has been marked by multiple deaths, resurrections, and revisions, making it hard to follow even for long-time readers like myself, after 35 years of reading her adventures. It’s something you notice with superhero comics: themes and characters often reappear across different universes. I believe DC Comics has a character very similar to Jean Grey.
As a long-time comic fan, I’ve always found Donna Troy’s story fascinating – and incredibly strange. It turns out her whole existence is basically a fix for a continuity error! Originally, Wonder Girl wasn’t her own person, but a version of Superboy connected to Wonder Woman. When the Teen Titans were first being put together, someone just added Wonder Girl to the team without really thinking through her backstory. So, Donna’s whole character was created after the fact to make things work. Since then, she’s been through so many different origin stories, with writer after writer trying to define who she really is. Thinking back to around the time of Infinite Crisis – about twenty years ago now – it struck me how many parallels there were between Donna and Jean Grey. They’ve got a lot more in common than you might think!
Infinite Crisis Redefined Donna Troy Yet Again
The Infinite Crisis event was exceptionally well-crafted, and a standout part of it was the four-issue series DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy. Written by Phil Jimenez, widely considered the definitive Donna Troy writer, with art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, this series is a true DC classic. It brought Donna Troy back to life after her death in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day, reimagining her origin story – establishing her as a daughter of the original Titans, the gods who predated the Greeks – and setting the stage for her role in Infinite Crisis. At the time, Donna Troy had already been replaced within the DC Universe, making her return a surprising and welcome development.
By 2005, Donna Troy hadn’t been a major character for quite some time, as her most popular period was in the early 1980s. The storyline Crisis on Infinite Earths drastically changed the DC Universe, particularly Wonder Woman’s history. This meant Donna’s established backstory – being Wonder Woman’s adopted sister – was removed and replaced with a new origin connected to the Titans of Myth. DC released a collection called New Teen Titans: Who Is Donna Troy? which included key stories detailing both her original and revised backgrounds, before and after Crisis. Reading it made me realize how similar Donna and Jean Grey were. In fact, even going back to the early days of comics, Donna and Jean had a lot in common.
It’s easy to forget that the Teen Titans and the X-Men were rivals back in the 1960s. Both comic series were aimed at teenage readers. Donna Troy initially filled a similar role to Jean Grey, until the introduction of Lilith Clay, a telepath who wasn’t as prominent. Troy remained a central female character until the New Teen Titans era, when the two teams competed again. Jean Grey’s comeback in the mid-1980s foreshadowed a change to Donna’s backstory, and similarly, Jean’s death in “The Dark Phoenix Saga” hinted at what would eventually happen to Troy in the early 2000s.
Donna and Jean have remarkably similar life stories. Over the years, their histories have been repeatedly altered to serve the needs of writers. Both were leaders within their respective teen superhero teams, rising to prominent positions. Their deaths deeply affected those around them, and each time they returned, it significantly changed their worlds and what was possible. While seemingly different, they share many subtle similarities, revealing a shared role: the crucial, yet often rewritten, superheroine whose life is constantly reshaped to fit evolving storylines.
Jean Grey and Donna Troy Are Sisters Separated by Universes
Both Donna Troy and Jean Grey rose to prominence within passionate fan communities surrounding their respective teams. Over the years, their stories have been revised and rewritten multiple times, often with new versions replacing older ones, leading to constantly evolving character arcs. Dedicated creators have consistently tried to refine their narratives – for example, Phil Jimenez frequently writes compelling stories to address any inconsistencies in Donna Troy’s history. Both characters have experienced periods of high importance followed by long absences, only to return to the spotlight in impactful ways.
Look, Jean Grey is a huge star, and with her upcoming MCU debut, that’s only going to grow. But if you’re a Jean fan, trust me, you’ll find a lot to love in Donna Troy too. Both characters are wonderfully complex – it’s funny, actually, when one is going through a rough patch, the other often feels more straightforward. Right now, Donna’s the easier read; I’m still trying to fully grasp what’s going on with Jean and the Phoenix. But that push and pull, that mirroring of each other’s struggles, is what makes them so compelling. They’ve always felt connected, almost like sisters, more so than most pairings you see across the DC and Marvel universes.
https://comicbook.com/comics/list/10-dc-series-you-should-read-in-2026/embed/#
Read More
- Darkwood Trunk Location in Hytale
- How To Watch A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Online And Stream The Game Of Thrones Spinoff From Anywhere
- Ashes of Creation Rogue Guide for Beginners
- Best Controller Settings for ARC Raiders
- Hytale: Upgrade All Workbenches to Max Level, Materials Guide
- Olympian Katie Ledecky Details Her Gold Medal-Winning Training Regimen
- RHOBH’s Jennifer Tilly Reacts to Sutton Stracke “Snapping” at Her
- Daredevil Is Entering a New Era With a Chilling New Villain (And We Have A First Look) (Exclusive)
- So Long, Anthem: EA’s Biggest Flop Says Goodbye
- Arc Raiders Guide – All Workbenches And How To Upgrade Them
2026-01-19 16:11