Jubilation Lee always puts her life on the line for those in need, but for family, she’ll do anything. When the cousin she never knew is in sudden need of help, Jubilee tracks him down to save him. But Jubilee may find that her familial bonds aren’t as strong as she’d hoped. What secrets does her cousin hold? And what dangerous mutant power does he wield? Jubilee: Deadly Reunion #1 is written by Gene Luen Yang, drawn by Michael YG, colored by Yen Nitro and lettered by Joe Caramagna.
Adam Reck: It’s no secret one of my favorite X-Men is Jubilee. And while she’s currently on the Nawlins roster, she hasn’t gotten much page time in over 25 issues, so it is nice to see the character get a spotlight in this Marvel’s Voices one-shot in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Big Jubilee fan, Austin?
Austin Gorton: I am, though honestly, your affection for her has increased mine over the years. But as someone who started reading comics regularly in 1992 and got to watch her transition from “ward of the X-Men” to “experienced student” in Generation X in real time, Jubilee has long been a touchstone character for me. She is definitely my “Kitty Pryde,” so to speak.
Adam: I’ll admit to originally balking at the solicit for this book — “For family? She’ll do anything!” — given Jubilee’s son Shogo has been left behind in Otherworld and I feel like Gail Simone has referenced it once, maybe? But I’m glad I kept an open mind, because there’s good, meaningful stuff in here.
What’s in a name?
Adam: The biggest reveal this one-shot has to offer is that Jubilation Lee has a Chinese first name. The second is who delivers that info — her cousin, Agent Decibel (great codename, no notes). Upon returning from a very un-Nawlins-like mission to fight Skrulls in space, Jubilee discovers said cousin in her bedroom. She’s suspicious of his identity until he awakens a memory by saying Jubilee’s original name aloud. “Ga-Hei!” This is kind of a big deal!
Austin: It is, but I want to derail us for a moment. Not only is “fighting Skrulls in space” not really something the Louisiana X-Men do, I’m nearly certain they’re in the X-Mansion. Like, the caption states “Haven House,” but the surroundings are drawn much more like the traditional X-Mansion appearance than Haven House, which doesn’t really have wide corridors and sweeping staircases. I’m pretty sure there’s even a picture of Xavier on the wall going up the stairs! Clearly, some wires got crossed there.
But anyway, yes, Jubilee having a Chinese first name IS a big deal! She is a character who has always been largely disconnected from her heritage, while also being one of those “Otto Octavius” types whose given name is strongly suggestive of their superhero name. Finding out “Jubilation” is as much an affectation as “Jubilee” kinda squares both those circles.
Adam: The idea that Jubilee has a cousin stems from a deep cut: Robert Kirkman and Derec Donovan’s 2004 Jubilee miniseries that introduced Jubilee’s cybernetic assassin Aunt Hope. Aunt Hope appeared as recently as 2023’s Marvel’s Voices: X-Men in a story by Greg Pak and Daniel Bayliss, but Agent Decibel (real name Eason Cheung) is Aunt Hope’s son, making him Jubilee’s cousin. Problem is, Aunt Hope has gone missing, and Eason wants Jubilee’s help in finding her.
Austin: This is the kind of deep cutting I can appreciate (I know I read that 2004 miniseries but had totally forgotten Aunt Hope). Yang also smartly establishes that Jubilee doesn’t really remember her cousin either (having been very young when they hung out together previously) AND writes in an estrangement of sorts between Hope and her son, making this a case of Jubilee being as in the dark about Eason’s existence as the readers (versus one of those annoying, “oh, I’ve just never mentioned this person before” kind of retcons).
Culture clash
Adam: One of the core aspects of Jubilee’s character that endeared her to readers from the start was her status as a Chinese American figuring out what parts of her Chinese identity she wanted to hold on to while embracing American pop culture. So I absolutely loved this middle part of the story where Jubilee is forced to confront her culture and realize she’s been away from it for too long.
Austin: The whole “can’t speak the native language well” bit is somewhat tropey but effective. And one of the things I really appreciate in this stretch is that while Yang is interrogating Jubilee’s relationship with her Chinese identity, he’s not sacrificing her experience as a superhero in the process. She’s out of her element in terms of engaging with that culture but still manages to stand toe to toe with her superpowered government agent cousin in the course of their investigation. It helps ensure she’s still the star of her own one-shot while also giving her an arc across the issue.
Adam: This is a good opportunity to talk about the artwork here. Michael YG’s expressive linework is squarely in the Pepe Larraz stylebook, but it’s Yen Nitro’s painterly coloring that takes the look of the book to a different level, using YG’s lines as a guide to add texture, light and form. Together they’re a fantastic pair and make this book look better than a random one-shot usually might at Marvel in 2026. I hope we see more of them.
Austin: It is VERY Larraz-coded, but there are definitely worse house styles out there to emulate, and it is nice to see this get a more accomplished artistic team. YG also does some effective work with the action sequences, pivoting POVs throughout a fight without losing narrative coherence. I would not at all mind seeing them on an X-book in the future.
A bad case of the Phalanx
Adam: It turns out that Aunt Hope has been abducted by one of our greatest current threats: AI, though this being the Marvel Universe, it’s explicitly AIM-engineered, Phalanx-infected AI. Nasty combo. I had to remind myself of the difference between the Phalanx and the Technarchy, something I probably should know off the top of my X-addled brain but always am confused by.
Austin: Love this. Both tapping into an antagonist from Jubilee’s past and doing that thing where the outlandish comic book threat parallels a real-world concern is just smart writing. If it had just been AIM, it would have felt random, but including the Phalanx — villains who played a key role in Jubilee’s character development — helps this feel like a Jubilee story, while still including the hapless AIM prevents the threat of the Phalanx from being too diminished.
Adam: What the Phalanx tap into is Jubilee’s fear of being alone and being estranged from family and her culture, and — OK, this is where I was really like, as a parent, “no Shogo? No? Seriously?” but it does allow Decibel to bring up the concept of Ren (“connection to others, human and humane”) so that Jubilee can have an awesome two-page spread of fireworks attack and saving the day.
Austin: Great spread, but yeah, the complete absence of Shogo acknowledgment rankles. I get it, giving superhero characters little kids is tough. But that’s what happened to Jubilee, and while she doesn’t have to be bringing up Shogo in EVERY story, when you’ve got a plot that is tapping directly into questions of family and isolation, you need to at least ACKNOWLEDGE that this character has a son.
Adam: I enjoyed this. Like I said earlier, I’d love to see YG and Nitro on more X-stuff, and Agent Decibel is a fun new character. Will we ever see him and Aunt Hope again? Or will they disappear like Jubilee’s kid? For now, they get to walk off into the sunset as one happy family.
Austin: Hopefully, it takes less than 20+ years for this little corner of Jubilee’s world to make a return appearance.
X-traneous Thoughts
- Hard to tell exactly what’s on Jubilee’s bedroom walls, but there is a prominent guitar and posters of Spider-Man and her buddy Wolverine.
- Giving Eason sound-based powers alongside Jubilee’s light-based powers is clever.
- Shang-Chi reminds kids to “Stay in School” from a large billboard in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Gene Luen Yang’s most prominent Marvel work has been his volumes of Shang-Chi from 2020-23.
- Reading the interview where Yang talks to Angelique Roche about stapling his own comics to get his work out there made me smile.
- If you’ve never read Yang’s award-winning American Born Chinese, check it out!
- [Grote’s note] And Dragon Hoops!
Buy Jubilee: Deadly Reunion #1 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Adam Reck is the cartoonist behind Bish & Jubez as well as the co-host of Battle Of The Atom. Follow him @adamreck.bsky.social.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him @austingorton.bsky.social.
