I said "even if it is by her own hand" to imply that she would sacrifice herself. I for one would feel cheated if Jean suddenly gained control of her powers by the end. The whole idea of Jean evolving to Phoenix was that there was the constant struggle of being seduced to the darkside of becoming intoxicated by her powers. For her to just say, "Hey, it's okay, guys, I'm all good now" just kind of blows to me.

When Jean killed herself on the moon, The Watcher said something to the effect of "Jean Grey could have lived to become a god, but chose to die a human." I thought that made her sacrifice much more noble, heroic. That is what makes Jean Grey such an amazing characte; love, honor, sacrifice.

In terms of good storytelling, I find it more profound where we are shown that actions have consequences and that even superheroes are not exempt.