Scott and Jean’s relationship is tied into almost every stage of his early history, but it changes a lot from the original school days. There’s the shy attraction, the difficult…

Scott and Jean’s relationship is tied into almost every stage of his early history, but it changes a lot from the original school days. There’s the shy attraction, the difficulty admitting what they feel, and then the years of shared danger that make them understand each other in ways other people don’t. The Phoenix stories put that relationship under pressure neither of them could have prepared for. From Scott’s position in those issues, the woman he loves has survived something terrible and come back with power on a scale he can barely understand. He’s trying to stay close to her while the situation keeps moving further outside anything the X-Men can control. When the Dark Phoenix story ends, he believes Jean is dead. The later explanation about the Phoenix and the cocoon changes what physically happened, but it doesn’t change what Scott lived through at the time. He saw the loss. He grieved it. He left the team afterward because he couldn’t just carry on as though another mission would make it manageable. His departure also creates room for Storm to grow as leader. The X-Men continue without him, which matters when he comes back. He has history with the team, but the people in it have had their own experiences while he was away. He can return to the school without returning to exactly the place he left.