Let be known, that as far as comic books goes, I am a fair man. I judge the books, not the characters. So it feels like a head scratcher coming here and letting you all know that I really liked X-Men issue 4 from new Marvel Now line. It was actually a really good stand alone comic, especially considering it technically a filler issue from the first event in the first three issue and the Battle of the Atom issues that come after. It is especially weird as well because the stars of this issue are Wolverine and...Jubilee. That's right, I was impressed by "Goodbye Kitty" (Pete Holmes reference). But you know, it got me thinking, I don't think Jubilee was made properly. She was the cool kid of the 90's and in the grand scale of time and space that makes you the eat lunch by yourself kind of kid when compared with the other eras, she was given extremely silly powers and I am not entirely sure who she was being marketed to in general. Is there a scene for kids in yellow jackets and dish washing gloves? Not to mention Marvel permanently made her into a undead creature of the night, not sure if that was a "Twilight" move or not, but it does leave your brows in suspicious mode. And hell, you would think you would have heard some kind of backlash, lord knows what would happen if they decided to make Tony Stark into a vampire and have Steve Rogers as a werewolf, both fighting for the attention of an emotionless and soul deprived Black Widow. It practically sells itself. But one thing that a lot of Wolverine fans told me, they really liked the father/daughter (or big brother) kind of relationship these two had together. Moments of Jubilee learning from Wolverine, it was signs that he would eventually be a pretty good headmaster. And likewise Jubilee being a break for Logan from being a crotchety angry small man. It worked, hell it worked really well. The first X-Men movie really like that bonding they had and replaced Jubs with Rouge, because fuck you. But my point is, I get it and you know what, I think these two work really well together, especially considering most male and female comic book relationship eventually get forced into some kind of romantic situation, it's nice to see these two working together without the worry they will eventually be sucking each others face in the next issue. Save that for Stark and Banner. So let's crack this book open and see what works and also see what the other X-Men in this issue are up to, almost forgot to mention them in the first place.
The issue starts off with Jubilee and Wolverine spending some time on the beach in California, her old stomping grounds before the whole mutant and X-Men life took over, when having Bret Hart shades was a cool thing. We see she also has her adopted baby, Shogo, who was the main plot line of the first three issue in this series and who may or may not grow up to be really awesome, just saying. But the idea being here, while these two are catching up and looking back, seeing how much things have changed but also appreciating the things that haven't changed in all this time. And what will Shogo mean to her future. Then we see the X-Men team of Storm, Rachel Grey, Psylocke, Rogue and Kitty Pryde out in the skies trying to save a plane that's going down. I know it's a in between issue, but couldn't they have fought a hulked out version of Toad or something. But as you could probably guess, the really meat and heart of this issue is in the first plot, the sassy rescue team seems like it took up way too much time and space, at least in this issue. A really nice moment comes when Logan decides to purchases Jubilee's old house for her, so she and Shogo can have a safe place to live in and stay, you know in case things goes south and Wolverine dies in an extremely stupid fashion. It's moments like this that left me really enjoying the book, it was another great moment between this duo and it was really great to see it all play out.
The thing about this issue, I felt that after reading it that this was a book from back in the day, a book you find in the old bins and realize you've got a gem on your hands. It felt right, like the kind of book a Jubs/Wolvie book should feel like, and it's from a very recent series. And even the side story, while not the most creative situation still held up. And with Logan out of the picture (for now), you get to appreciate the more human side to him and see why he meant so much to the characters in this universe. A big thumbs up to Brain Wood on this issue. I highly recommend this title for all X-Men and Wolverine fans, a great book and great team as well, the ladies of X-Men really do kick ass, it was about time they had their own books. But if you happen to be a fan of hating Jubilee, I don't think this book will change your mind, then again probably nothing will. Maybe some published Avengers fan fiction.
Well there you have it, a new review just for you. Yes you. Thank you for taking the time for reading this, hope you enjoyed it. And be sure to leave a comment or question below as well, or even any book suggestions. I am all ears and eyes and all that other great stuff. Going to do my best to post one of these more frequently, so will see how I do, lord knows I've got a ton of books to read and go through, so yeah, plenty more comic book reviews to come. Until then, keep chasing the storm.
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