Warning: contains spoilers Strange X-Men #5!!
Mutantkind has never been easy, and the X-Men are back to square one after the fall of Krakoa. Any relief from persecution and hardship over the years was short-lived. As Jubilee prepares to join her friends in yet another battle, she perfectly encapsulates the infinite, dark reality of mutantkind.: There is no room for fun when you are forced to be a soldier.
Strange X-Men #5by Gail Simone, David Marquez, Matthew Wilson and Clayton Cowles, resumes the X-Men’s battle against Sarah Gaunt and her followers. Jubilee arrives to help her friends and the young mutants newly under her wing, but she enters the scene not with strength but rather with a weary determination.
That’s the rallying cry of all mutants after Krakoa, as they try once again to overcome the odds that have been against them their entire lives. Jubilee admits that all she wants to do is dance, sing and be with her friends. Yet these small joys remain beyond the X-Men’s reach, perhaps more than ever, as their struggle is never-ending.
The X-Men can’t escape being soldiers, and this endless cycle seems desperate
Mysterious X-Men #5 – Written by Gail Simone; Art by David Márquez; Color by Matthew Wilson; Clayton Cowles lyrics
Jubilation Lee debuted as a self-proclaimed “mall rat” in Mysterious X-Men #244, using his energy plasmoids to entertain other mall-goers. It was a violation of juvenile rules, but it put a target on her back. She found a home among the X-Men, but that meant training to become just like those who saved her life. It’s a common story among young mutants. To survive, they look out for each other, and that means fighting. The Jubilee lament that none of them can have”rainbow in the sky“ it fully encompasses the mutant struggle, as there is no choice but to trade dancing for combat.
The destruction of Krakoa plunged Jubilee and his fellow X-Men back into their ceaseless war, continuing the cycle that traps the entire franchise and every mutant within it.
Krakoa was the height of mutant conquest. After lifetimes of being rejected, ostracized, and attacked by humanity, they created a world apart from themselves. While the mutant nation certainly had its drawbacks, it still gave anyone with the X Gene the chance to experience peace and security in a way that the human world did not offer. There were still battles to fight, but there was also time to be together, create and have fun. The destruction of Krakoa plunged Jubilee and his fellow X-Men back into their ceaseless war, continuing the cycle that traps the entire franchise and every mutant within it.
Each member of the X-Men desires a life they will never be able to achieve
The sad mutant heroes of “Loop” are trapped
Being born with the X Gene means being automatically trapped in a war for your own survival; That Krakoa could rise and fall with such devastating effect should be proof enough, but the very issue that Jubilee made her first appearance offers even more evidence. Before the team saves Jubilation, Allison Blaire, the heroic pop star Dazzler, questions where in the loop mutants actually get to live their lives. Decades later, the answer appears to be never. There’s always another mutant to save, and Jubilee and the X-Men They have no choice but to stage the rescue at their own expense.
Mysterious X-Men #5 is now available from Marvel Comics.