Warning: SPOILERS for Excalibur #6
It's time for comic book fans to stop underestimating the X-Men's Jubilee. Created by legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri back in 1989, Jubilation Lee became the face of the X-Men in the '90s. She was the main viewpoint character in the first episode of the beloved X-Men: The Animated Series, used to introduce the X-Men to viewers.
In spite of her popularity, though, Jubilee is generally underestimated by X-Men readers. The main problem is that Jubilee's powers just don't appear particularly impressive at first glance; she can generate pyrotechnic effects that are called "fireworks." As a result, Jubilee appears on pretty much every list online of superheroes with useless powers. The irony is, of course, that this is hardly fair; in Claremont's X-Men run, Jubilee's fireworks were literally powerful enough to destroy entire buildings if she lost her temper. That's been forgotten because of Jubilee's portrayal in the aforementioned X-Men: The Animated Series, where her powers were scaled down significantly.
Tini Howard's Excalibur is finally beginning to remind X-Men readers just how powerful Jubilee really is. Howard is treating Jubilee's fireworks like pretty much any other explosive ranged attack; Excalibur #6 features a superb scene in which she uses her powers to strafe an army of Otherworldly soldiers. It may not be as effective as dragonfire, but the scale of the explosions is still pretty cool. The "Boom Boom Boom" is a rather amusing touch, reminiscent of Katy Perry's song "Firework."
In-universe, Jubilee has seldom used her powers to dazzle even brighter than the Moon. According to 1994's Phalanx Covenant event, the reason is that she became scared of her own potential; according to Emma Frost, she generates her fireworks by superheating matter, and has the potential to split the atom. In other words, Jubilee's most powerful firework would actually be a nuclear explosion. When Jubilee began to realize just what she was capable of, she pulled back on experimenting with her powers, scared of what havoc she could cause if she truly cut loose.
Sadly, Jubilee was one of the mutants who was depowered by the Scarlet Witch in the so-called Decimation. She only recently regained her mutant abilities courtesy of Quentin Quire and the Phoenix Force, and since then has been pretty much sidelined in the comics. Howard's current Excalibur run is the first one to feature Jubilee in a prominent role since she got her fireworks back, and it's exciting to see her attempt to do Jubilee justice at last. Hopefully this moment in Excalibur is a hint of things to come, as Jubilee stops treating her reacquired abilities as something to be afraid of, and shows readers just what she's really worth.
Excalibur #6 is on sale now in comic book stores.
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