Future adolescence Rachel Anne Summers comes from an alternate future Earth known as Earth-811, as seen in the "
Days of Future Past" storyline from
The Uncanny X-Men #141–142. In this reality, the assassination of Senator
Robert Kelly provoked the
ratification of the
Mutant Registration Act, leading to a
dystopian future where the mutant-hunting
Sentinel robots rule North America. Rachel was abducted by operatives working for
Ahab, who used drugs and
hypnotherapy to turn Rachel into the mutant-hunting "
Hound". She fulfilled her duties, but her
psychic powers linked her to her victims; fueling her grief and despair until she attacked Ahab and scarred him. In return, he sent her to the mutant
concentration camps. There, she befriended the surviving mutant rebels, including
Wolverine,
Magneto,
Colossus,
Storm,
Kate Pryde, and her lover, the adult
Franklin Richards. Rachel managed to send Kate's consciousness into the past to her younger self to prevent the assassination, but it did not change their time. Rachel sent her astral form into the past to find out why and discovered she had sent Kate into an
alternate past. On the way back, she encountered the disembodied
Phoenix Force and it followed her to her present. Rachel passed out from the strain of
astral projection and the Phoenix Force revealed itself to Kate, who asked it to give Rachel a fresh start. When Kate spoke the words "Dark Phoenix," the Phoenix Force ripped Rachel from her timeline and sent her body back to the alternate past to which she had sent Kate's consciousness. This was a past where she learned Jean Grey was dead and that her father was married to someone else. Rachel experienced additional heartache and displacement trauma when she discovered that her father's new wife,
Madelyne Pryor, was pregnant with a son (
Nathan Summers), because in her timeline she was the first-born child of Scott Summers.
X-Men Rachel had a brief membership in the X-Men before finding a
Shi'ar holoempathic crystal at her grandparents' home. The crystal was imprinted with a portion of Rachel's mother's essence inside it as a tribute to the family shortly after Jean Grey's death. After Rachel took a vow to remember her mother with the uniform and name of Phoenix, the
Phoenix Force fully bonded with her. She was granted access to its power on a cosmic magnitude, albeit in a much more limited fashion than the Dark Phoenix. Soon after, the grudge which she had begun with
Selene boiled over when Rachel secretly invaded the
Hellfire Club. She did this with the intention of taking vengeance on Selene for the murders she had committed, particularly that of nightclub owner Nicholas Damiano, who had previously taken Rachel into his home after Selene had attacked her. Selene proved to be no match for Rachel's newly increased powers, but just as she was about to finish Selene, Wolverine arrived and was forced to stab Rachel in the chest. Critically injured, Rachel was lured into
Spiral's "Body Shoppe."
Excalibur . Months later, while recuperating from injuries on
Muir Island,
Shadowcat and
Nightcrawler both had the same dream, where they were actors and helped Rachel, who was trapped there, escape. Shortly thereafter, Rachel escaped from the alternate reality of
Mojoworld. Rachel has once been cited having a flashback to her time there where she is held in chains and tortured. The three former X-Men were joined by
Captain Britain and
Meggan and founded the British superhero team
Excalibur. While part of the team, she discovered that this universe's version of her mother, Jean Grey, was alive. She attempted to bond with Jean, but Jean, upon discovering Rachel was the present host for the Phoenix, rejected any contact with her. Jean still resented the Phoenix Force for stealing a portion of her life. She also rejected Rachel because she felt that Rachel's existence was a constant reminder of the dystopian future she feared could still come to pass. Eventually, however, Jean moved past those feelings and formally welcomed Rachel into her life.
Askani Rachel remained with Excalibur until an incident caused Captain Britain to be lost in the timestream. She exchanged places with the time-lost Captain Britain and emerged two thousand years in the future, in a world conquered by
Apocalypse and crushed under his iron fist. She gathered together a group of rebels and founded the
Askani. She trained one of her followers to
travel back in time and bring her "brother" Nathan forward in time when he was infected with a
techno-organic virus. The Askani
cloned Nathan in case he was not able to survive the virus. Apocalypse's followers attacked the Askani and took the clone (who would later become the
supervillain Stryfe), leaving Rachel critically injured. Hooked up to life support, she drew the minds of Scott and Jean into the future, as "Slym" and "Redd", to raise Nathan and tutor him in the use of his powers. Rachel finally died ten years later and sent Scott and Jean back to their original bodies seconds after they had left. After Nathan, now known as
Cable, had finally defeated Apocalypse, he went into the timeline to retrieve Rachel. There, he discovered a Rachel
sans Phoenix Force. With the premature death of Apocalypse, the Askani timeline had been diverged from the mainstream Marvel Universe,
Earth-616. As a result, she had been flung into the far future, yet subjectively a short time after she had been lost in the timestream, as the slave of a creature called "Gaunt", who had used her to lead Cable there for a "battle of the ages". Cable defeated Gaunt in the battle and Rachel, now free, was able to use her residual Phoenix Force to return them both to the present. She then decided to take a break from superheroics and enrolled in college after she made Cable promise he would not tell anyone she was back. Despite her efforts to live a normal life, however, she was kidnapped by the telepath
Elias Bogan and subsequently rescued by the X-Men.
Rachel Grey She decided to rejoin the X-Men, taking the name "Marvel Girl" to honor her mother (
who had recently died yet again) and wearing a costume her mother had designed but never worn: a variation on Jean's first green costume. She also changed her last name to "Grey", possibly to express disapproval at her father's betrayal of Jean, as well as his continuing relationship with
Emma Frost; though she and Emma made a truce of sorts during one of the team's missions in
Hong Kong. Rachel and
Nightcrawler began to have an attraction towards each other, kissing at one point, but nothing came of it as Nightcrawler also had an attraction to Storm at the time, who was in somewhat of a romantic "friendship" with Wolverine. Her stint with this team also included a visit to the
Savage Land. In the storyline "World's End", which was heavily criticized by readers, Rachel was subjected to the mind-control of a tribe of advanced dinosaur people, the Hauk'ka, causing her to believe she belonged to their species. Afterward, she subconsciously used her telekinesis to change her own genome in their image. This was eventually reverted. After
House of M and
Decimation, where most of the world's mutants lost their powers, the government had
Sentinels instituted at the
X-Mansion to protect the mutants in case any enemies used this low point to attack. Though their intentions were good this time, it reminded Rachel too much of the previous timeline when Sentinels herded mutants into concentration camps. Rachel had a short stint with newly re-formed Excalibur, reminiscent of the former team, shortly after the
House of M events. She assisted the team in battling
Shadow-X and the
Shadow King (in the guise of
Professor X).
End of Greys Rachel spent some time with her grandparents, bonding with her grandfather. At a family reunion with all her relatives, a commando unit under the order of the
Shi'ar attacked the party, killing everyone in an effort to wipe out the Grey genome. The commando unit was unable to kill Rachel; instead, one member was able to graft a "deathmark" on her back that would allow them to find her wherever she went. It is assumed that the only remaining member of the Grey family now left on Earth besides Rachel is Cable. Afterward, at the graves of the Grey family, Rachel vowed a terrible vengeance on the Shi'ar and was quoted as saying, "I'm not my mom. I'm not the Phoenix. I'm my own woman. And by the time I'm done... they'll wish I
was the Phoenix." The Death Commandos later tracked Rachel to the psychiatry office of Dr. Maureen Lyszinski. Rachel, with the help of
Psylocke, Nightcrawler,
Bishop, and
Cannonball, saved the doctor and took down the Death Commandos. She decided to imprison them, instead of killing them, by telling them, "I mean to find destiny in a way that brings us both [Jean Grey] honor." She is also sometimes referenced as "Starchilde" in this series.
Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire After Rachel was kidnapped, along with Cyclops, by her paternal uncle
Vulcan, he freed
Darwin from inside him. Later,
Professor X recruited Rachel, along with
Havok, Nightcrawler,
Warpath, Darwin, and
Polaris, for a space mission to stop Vulcan from laying waste to the
Shi'ar empire. Xavier, who recently was stripped of his powers, recruited Rachel to serve as his telepathic "eyes and ears" during their mission. Aware of Rachel's vendetta against the Shi'ar, Xavier agreed to use their trip into space to find out who in the Shi'ar empire gave the order to wipe out all members of the Grey family, and he warned Rachel that they will deal with the people responsible for her recent losses Xavier's way. While in space, the team was attacked by
Korvus, a Shi'ar warrior sent to kill Rachel. Korvus' ancestor, Rook'shir, was a previous host of the Phoenix Force, and a small portion of the Phoenix's power was left behind in his sword, the Blade of the Phoenix. With this power, Korvus made short work of the other X-Men, but when Rachel blocked the sword, their minds were involuntarily linked. Through this link, Rachel learned that Korvus' family was also murdered by the Shi'ar government because of their connection to the Phoenix. The remaining echo of the Phoenix power from the sword was then transferred to Rachel. Rachel claimed that rather than having taken the power, the power chose to go to her, saying, "The Phoenix knows me, remember? It likes me." When this happened, Rachel's normally gold energy aura turned blue, the same color as the Blade of the Phoenix. She then telekinetically disabled an explosive implant that the Shi'ar chancellor was using to force Korvus' obedience. Due to Rachel's connection to Korvus through the sword, she discovers the Phoenix Force formerly in the blade is just an echo, a "blue shadow", of the Force. The shadow of the Phoenix begins influencing Rachel's behavior, causing her to design a new darker uniform and begin a romance with Korvus. She soon breaks off the relationship after she realizes their bond is only because of the residual Phoenix Force. Leading up to the fight with Vulcan, Rachel is shown using her powers to kill the guards who stand in her way. Havok warns her not to, but Rachel tells him that they deserve to die after what they did to her family. When it comes to the big fight, Rachel shows just how powerful she is by protecting Korvus from one of Vulcan's blasts. Rachel is one of the X-Men stranded in Shi'ar space when their ship is sent back to Earth. After the death of her other grandfather, Corsair, at the hands of Vulcan, she, along with Havok, Polaris, Korvus, Ch'od, and Raza, become the new
Starjammers. They elect to remain in Shi'ar space and restore
Lilandra to the throne or die trying. As her uncle states, "If they fail, he has no doubt that Vulcan will head for Earth."
Starjammers During the conflict, the Starjammers find another threat in the form of the Scy'ar Tal (translates as "Death to the Shi'ar"). Rachel makes contact with the eldest Scy'ar Tal and discovers their true origin. The Scy'ar Tal were originally called the M'Kraan. Early in their history, the Shi`ar attacked them, killing a great number of their people and making the rest flee for their lives. Eventually, the Shi'ar settled on their planet, took the M'Kraan Crystal as their own, and passed down the legend of the M'Kraan Crystal as a sacred gift from their deities,
Sharra and
K'ythri. The M'Kraan then changed their name to Scy'ar Tal and devoted their culture and society to the destruction of the Shi'ar Empire. With their first attack, they destroyed Feather's Edge by transporting a star to obliterate it. After which, Vulcan made contact with the Starjammers to call a temporary ceasefire. During the ceasefire, Rachel comes into contact with the Death Commandos again and attempts to kill them to avenge the deaths of her relatives; however, she is deterred by Polaris. In the end, all the Starjammers are captured by the Shi'ar except Rachel, Korvus, and Lilandra.
X-Men: Kingbreaker and War of Kings Rachel and the Starjammers play a large role in the sequel to the
Emperor Vulcan miniseries called
X-Men: Kingbreaker. She is also seen prominently in the "
War of Kings" storyline, which features Vulcan, the
Inhumans,
Nova, and the
Guardians of the Galaxy. While with the Starjammers, in battle with Vulcan's new guard, the fragment of the "blue" Phoenix within her and Korvus' blade mysteriously leaves them. After the Phoenix echo leaves Rachel, she says "please... not now.... Mom." From this frame onward, the "hound" markings reappear on Rachel's face. In agreement with the Inhumans, the Starjammers and the Guardians of the Galaxy assault a Shi'ar vessel to free Lilandra, hoping to end the conflict while restoring her to the throne. Even without her Phoenix powers, Rachel is powerful enough to entrap Gladiator in an illusion to keep him distracted from battle. Their gambit pays off and the group is able to free Lilandra. Rachel is next seen as Lilandra's bodyguard along with the rest of the Starjammers. On the home planet of the Shi'ar, Lilandra assumes her throne, but while making a ceremonial gesture is killed by the murderer known as Razor, who possesses the
Darkhawk armor. The only person who perceives this is Rachel, since Razor is shielded from the perceptions of others. After Lilandra is assassinated, Rachel fights alongside the Starjammers against the Shi'ar Guard and Araki, who has summoned the same Shi'ar commandos that killed Rachel's family and branded her with the Shi'ar death mark. Rachel uses her powers to implode Black Cloak's head, saying, "He was the one... He killed my family," though killing him does not make her feel happier. Gladiator finishes the job by killing Araki himself. Rachel, along with the rest of the Starjammers, regroup later on and mourn the Shi'ar, as they doubt that they will recover from this war.
Realm of Kings It is known through
Ch'od, and apparently due to the incident where she and Korvus both lost the connection to the Phoenix Force, that Rachel and Korvus, along with
Havok and
Polaris, have departed for Earth.
Age of X While on the way back to Earth, Rachel attempted to contact Professor Xavier or Emma Frost with a message. However at that moment, Moira (a powerful alternate personality of the mutant
Legion) warped reality taking Rachel's mind with it creating the amnesic Revenant. Once reality was restored, Rachel's mind is separated from her body which according to her is "half a universe away". Because of Moira's actions, Rachel no longer remembers the message and her mind retains the form of her Age of X counterpart. Scott promised her that they would return her home.
Schism and Regenesis Rachel reappears in
Schism. Borrowing one of Legion's manifold powers,
Rogue teleports alongside
Gambit,
Magneto and
Frenzy to rescue their teammates on the other side of the galaxy. Once there, Rachel is retrieved from a band of pirates as Rogue becomes their new leader. The remaining X-Men discover they have arrived at a space station called Gul Damar which is in a state of upheaval due to the rebellion of insectoid creatures called Grad Nan Holt against their Shi'ar enslavers. They are also being pulled into an exploding sun and the entire civil war is revealed to be orchestrated by a powerful Grad Nan Holt telepath known as "Friendless." A number of battles with the creature proves unsuccessful for Rachel, but with the combined efforts of Rogue and the X-Men they are able to defeat him and return home via the wormhole that was created from the collapsing star. Rachel as part of a team of Wolverine's X-Men attempted to psychically battle
Exodus in an attempt to prevent the assassination of Cyclops. The team is eventually beaten and the X-Men are saved by
Generation Hope. Rachel is then invited to hold a position as senior staff member of the "Jean Grey School for Higher Learning," which was rebuilt from the Xavier Institute and has Wolverine as acting Headmaster and
Kitty Pryde as Headmistress.
Avengers vs. X-Men During the events of
AVX, when the X-Men on Utopia escape from the invading Avengers, Rachel contacts Cyclops to provide Hope's location. Afterwards, Rachel states that she knows the Phoenix Force better than anyone else on Earth and that she is living proof that it can be controlled. She also says that if the Phoenix has chosen her and that is the destiny that Hope wants, she will do everything in her power to help her. She and Iceman tell Wolverine at the school that they are going to help Cyclops in the battle. However, when Cyclops and Emma Frost begin to be corrupted by the Phoenix's power, she, like the other X-Men, decide to oppose their rule. Rachel then battled against Cyclops and helped both the Avengers and X-Men in the final battle.
Marvel NOW! and Inhuman war In 2013, Marvel revealed an all new all female series simply named
X-Men. Written by Brian Wood with art by
Olivier Coipel,
X-Men features Storm,
Jubilee, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey, and Psylocke. The X-Men are in pursuit of Arkea, who has attempted to revive the X-Men's long lost enemies. The X-Men are attacked by the newly formed Sisterhood and Rachel is telepathically locked down by
Madelyne Pryor. Storm strikes a deal for Rachel's freedom allowing Madelyne and Selene to walk free. In the
AXIS story arc, Storm sends the entire student body against Red Onslaught in an attempt to save Earth. Rachel is shown to be reverted to her hound form by
Doctor Doom and
Scarlet Witch's spell. Rachel is part of Storm's team of Amazing X-Men who attempts to stop the
Living Monolith from becoming the new
Juggernaut. Rachel Grey is distrusting of
Spider-Man's newly appointed position as Jean Grey School guidance counsellor. Using her telepathy she seeks to expose his secret identity only to lose that memory by being mind-wiped by
Martha Johansson. Rachel is shown as a teacher at the Jean Grey Institute in the battle against
Kenji Uedo.
ResurrXion When Kitty Pryde returns from space to lead the X-Men, Rachel joins her team in
X-Men Gold and adopts the new code name Prestige.
Dawn of X In the new status quo for mutants post
House of X and Powers of X, Professor X and Magneto invite all mutants to live on
Krakoa and welcome even former enemies into their fold. Rachel spends some time with her family on the Summer House, the new residence of the Summers Family, located on the Moon. Soon after X (Xavier) is killed by bioengineered human terrorists, Cyclops gathers Rachel and Kid Cable for a mission on the Atlantic Ocean regarding a piece of their new homeland of Krakoa. Later, she joins Polaris,
Daken,
Northstar, and former X-students
Eye-Boy and
Prodigy in a new initiative in Krakoa: they are to investigate any mutant death and prepare a report for
the Five as part of the Resurrection Protocols of Krakoa. Their first case involves the supposed death of Northstar's twin sister,
Aurora. ==Powers and abilities==