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X-Men 92: House of XCII #2 is written by Steve Foxe, illustrated by Salva Espin, colored by Israel Silva, and lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino. It’s published by Marvel Comics. After the shocking revelation of the debut issue, the origins of Krakoa are revealed, as well as their ties to Jubilee. The X-Men’s youngest member has a secondary mutation in addition to her energy-generating powers. Whenever she dies, she “resets” the timeline. This ability is finite, and Jubilee is desperate to make sure the mutant-hunting Sentinels don’t destroy Krakoa. However, her plans may end up in smoke due to the machinations of the anti-mutant organization Orchis, as well as Wolverine’s growing suspicion about the secrets of Krakoa.
I mentioned that one of the best features of House of XCII is how Foxe takes elements from the Krakoa era of X-Men and filters them through the prism of X-Men: The Animated Series, and that continues here, especially where Jubilee is concerned since she’s taken up Moira MacTaggert’s role as a founder of Krakoa in this story. Foxe’s script manages to display the gravity of Jubilee’s mission, while also retaining her teenage voice. Who else but a teenager would compare the process of reincarnation to playing a video game – especially Jubilee, who’s known for frequenting arcades? And there are other ’90s era twists on Krakoan teams, with Rogue leading a version of the Marauders and Cable training his own version of X-Force. Wolverine also provides a great contrast for the issue, as his rage over Jubilee’s supposed “death” and his unwillingness to play along with other Krakoan citizens – especially Sabretooth, for obvious reasons – provide a good source of conflict.
The mix and match elements of the series lets Espin and Silva go wild with their art. Espin has the chance to design different versions of Jubilee throughout her life, including a version that joins up with X-Men villain Stryfe and wears a version of his ridiculously pointy armor, as well as a nod to the time she was a vampire. One sequence even features a roster of X-Men that has a version of Krakoa decked out in X-Force armor and a teenage Apocalypse. Silva goes bold and bright with his colors, which fit the overall aesthetic of the ’90s. A sequence where the population of Krakoa bands together to fight a massive Tri-Sentinel feels like it could have been ripped right from The Animated Series.
Finally, Sabino continues to put a ’90’s-inspired spin on the data pages in the issue. One of those pages is mocked up to look like an advertisement for a mixtape, with said mixtape features pitch-perfect songs for each of the Inner Circle—the book’s version of the Quiet Council. Trust me when I say that the creators picked the right song for Magneto.
X-Men 92: House of XCII #2 continues to put its own animated spin on the Age of Krakoa, featuring plenty of surprises along the way. The next issue looks to adapt the events of X of Swords, and that should be fun, especially since it means we’ll probably see this creative team’s take on Arakko. If you love the current era of X-Men books or you’re counting down the days until the premiere of X-Men ’97, you definitely need to check this book out.
X-Men 92: House of XCII #2 is available wherever comics are sold.
X-Men 92: House of XCII #2
TL;DR
X-Men 92: House of XCII #2 continues to put its own animated spin on the Age of Krakoa, featuring plenty of surprises along the way. The next issue looks to adapt the events of X of Swords, and that should be fun, especially since it means we’ll probably see this creative team’s take on Arakko. If you love the current era of X-Men books or you’re counting down the days until the premiere of X-Men ’97, you definitely need to check this book out.
Born and raised in Texas, Collier “CJ” Jennings was introduced to geekdom at an early age by his father, who showed him Ultraman and Star Trek: The Next Generation. On his thirteenth birthday, he received a copy of Giant Size X-Men #1 and dove head first into the realm of pop culture, never looking back. His hobbies include: writing screenplays and essays, watching movies and television, card games/RPG’s, and cooking. He currently resides in Seattle.