Generation X #87 Review

Writer: Christina Strain

Artist: Amilcar Pinna

Colorist: Felipe Sobreiro

Published by: Marvel Comics

With all good things there must come an end. And that is exactly what we get in this final issue of Generation X by the team of Strain and Pinna. After a little under a year since the relaunch of one of my favorite titles from the 1990s, it is a little bittersweet to see this title come to an end once more, especially after only three issues into the Marvel Legacy numbering initiative.

However, I find it is sometimes best not to dwell on what could have been, but to concentrate on the positives, and this issue give probably one of the best things back to the X-Men corner of the Marvel universe: a return of Jubilee as a mutant!!! For any 90s kid like myself who grew up with the brilliant X-Men cartoon, Jubilee was a part of your life whether you liked her or not. The last 15 or so years however have not been too kind to our favorite mallrat. First she loses her mutant powers because of House of M, then they turn her into a vampire (probably my least favorite X-Men storyline in the last 10 years). But now, now she is back to being Jubilation Lee with all her fireworky powers!

Now that I have taken a moment to rejoice, the issue itself is actually quite good beyond the return of Jubilee. For one, Emplate has always been a fascinating villain and having him takeover his sister M’s body to wreak havoc on the school is a good plot device. What is even better in my opinion is how Jubilee’s group of misfit X-students devise a way to take Emplate down. It’s quite brilliant and simplistic really when you think about it: they make use of their powers in a way that they know can counteract Emplate’s.

In the end, it’s sad to see this series end as it seems like there was definitely more story to tell with this new group of X-kids. I’m just hoping they don’t fall into obscurity as a lot of the other X-kids from the past.