X-Men '92 Turns Jubilee Into The Ultimate Mutant Warrior
Warning: This article contains spoilers for X-Men '92: House of XCII #1.
The X-Men '92: House of XCII miniseries has transformed Jubilee into the ultimate mutant. In 2019, comic book writer Jonathan Hickman relaunched the X-Men comics with a bold new vision that united the entire mutant race on the living island of Krakoa. It proved to be a wise decision, reinvigorating a tired franchise and launching a whole new direction that continues to this day.
Marvel Comics has now launched X-Men '92: House of XCII, a miniseries that transposes the concepts of the Hickman era upon the classic animated series. Written by Steve Foxe and illustrated by Salva Espin, the miniseries offers a fascinating glimpse of the world as it could have been; and, while the story is so very familiar, it's thrilling to see older iterations of the X-Men playing similar roles. But Jubilee's part in the story will come as a major surprise to X-Men fans.
Jonathan Hickman's X-Men relaunch revealed classic mutant ally Moira MacTaggert is secretly a mutant who possesses the power of reincarnation; every time she dies, she resets to the moment of her birth but retains all the memories of her previous lifetime. In a shocking twist, X-Men '92: House of XCII #1 transposes these powers upon Jubilee, giving her a new manipulative edge that will take the story in a very different direction. She's already been forced to fake her own death to secure the future of Krakoa, for unknown reasons.
It's a delightful twist, and it means Jubilee will undoubtedly be at the heart of X-Men: House of XCII. But this won't be the Jubilee fans know and love; it will be Jubilee with a twist, with an enhanced power-set meaning she has experienced multiple lives and can guide the X-Men into the future. Presumably Jubilee has lived nine previous lives - but she's not as badly emotionally scarred as Moira, suggesting these may not have been quite so dystopian. Unfortunately the issue suggests Jubilee's plans are already going wrong, because she and her co-conspirators Professor X and Magneto have underestimated Wolverine's super-senses; he picks up Jubilee's scent on Krakoa, and realizes something's going on. Wolverine was always the X-Man closest to Jubilee, and he's taken her death hard, meaning the revelation she's actually alive will cause serious friction.
The modern X-Men comics have turned Moira MacTaggert into an antagonist, but it's hard to imagine Jubilee walking down the same path. Rather, this one dramatic change will unlock a totally different story, one that deviates dramatically from Hickman's House of X. It really does make this one of the most exciting X-Men books in years, allowing Foxe the room to tell a story that feels original rather than simply serving as a pure homage.