As X-Men enters a new era in Marvel Comics, the franchise is officially upgrading an iconic hero’s power level, paying off decades of hints that they may be one of the most powerful mutants in existence. The change comes as mutants once again find themselves a hated and feared minority among the world’s human population, in a look ahead at the ‘From the Ashes’ era, which will begin this July.

In Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men #1, fans get a look ahead at the ‘From the Ashes’ era, as Gail Simone and David Marquez tell a story from the perspective of Jubilee. Jubilee reveals that the X-Men are in disarray, and that she doesn’t wear their symbol anymore. She quickly comes across some bigots harassing a mutant server in a roadside diner, drawing them away and wrecking their car with a gigantic show of power. The narrative then cuts to new villain Doctor Corina Ellis and her psychic helper Phillip (aka Scurvy), who are watching Jubilee’s confrontation. Phillip notes, “We may need to update the files on Jubilee’s power set, I should think.” It seems that Jubilee’s ‘fireworks’ are now more powerful and more focused than ever before.

While Jubilee has produced larger versions of her usual ‘fireworks’ before, here she does so effortlessly, and the narrative makes it clear that fans should see this show of power as a significant upgrade. It makes sense that Marvel would choose now to increase Jubilee’s power level, as she’ll be a major figure in Simone and Marquez’s upcoming Uncanny X-Men series.

X-Men’s Jubilee Is Done Holding Back

Uncanny X-Men Is Setting Up a Major Power Evolution

This July, Marvel will relaunch its entire X-Men line, beginning the ‘From the Ashes’ era. X-Men, Uncanny X-Men and Exceptional X-Men will act as the line’s flagship titles, as new teams led by Cyclops, Rogue and Emma Frost focus on different elements of protecting mutantkind. The titles announced so far are:

Jubilee will be on the Uncanny X-Men roster, joining Rogue, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Gambit. The group’s mission will be to reconnect mutantkind, as “bonds among the mutant community seem to be slipping away.” To this end, the issue shows Jubilee introducing a new symbol into X-Men lore known as the Midnight M. This covert symbol allows mutants to recognize each other and ask for help, showing just how they’ve fallen. In the previous era of X-Men comics, mutants had their own nation where everyone was welcome, from the greatest heroes to the most despicable villains. In ‘From the Ashes,’ they’ve been reduced to an ostracized group forced to hide among humans. Hopefully, Jubilee’s new power upgrade will help reconnect mutants and protect them from harm.

X-Men Has Been Foreshadowing Jubilee’s Potential for Years

Alternate Realities Have Turned Jubilee into a City-Killer

Jubilee’s powers are often known as ‘fireworks,’ but X-Men has long teased they have greater potential. Jubilee’s body can create ‘energy plasmoids’ – explosions of energy which emit colorful sparks. At their smallest, they’re useful as distractions or a way to obscure an enemy’s vision, while at their largest they pack enough of a punch to cause serious damage in a small radius. It’s a theme in X-Men comics that Jubilee is often underestimated and has yet to unlock her true potential. This was made official in 1994’s X-Men #36 (Fabian Nicieza and Andy Kubert), where the mutant Synch tapped into Jubilee’s powers and caused a gigantic explosion, confirming she has the ability to destroy matter on a subatomic level.

Jubilee showcased this power in the recent X-Terminators #5 (Leah Williams and Carlos Gómez) when she found herself on the Collector’s ship. Not having to worry about bystanders, Jubilee unleashed what she called her atom bomb, exploding with enough force to utterly destroy the gigantic ship. The attack emitted so much light that Jubilee’s skeleton was visible through her skin, and the blast shredded everything around her, including her own hair and clothes. Because of these very specific side-effects, it’s clear this isn’t the same power Jubilee taps into in Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men #1. It’s likely that pushing her limits in X-Terminators opened up a new level of control, as evidenced by the very precise ‘X’ attack she carries out in the more recent issue.

However, even this is just scratching the surface of what Jubilee can theoretically do. In 2000’s Millennial Visions: X-Men #1, Tom Derenick’s story ‘By the Maker’ imagines a future where the Shi’ar invade Earth. Various X-Men are forced to access their maximum power levels, with Jubilee being described as having “enough explosive power to level cities.” This power level would likely put Jubilee among X-Men’s ultimate class of mutant power, and it may be that Uncanny X-Men has plans to upgrade her abilities to Omega level.

Jubilee Has Come a LONG Way Since Her 1989 Introduction

From Vampire to Mother to Mutantkind’s Last Hope

Jubilee started life as a teenager who needed rescuing by the X-Men, becoming the latest in the long line of young heroes mentored by Wolverine. However, since then she’s grown immensely as a character. A veteran of Generation X, X-Corps, the New Warriors, the X-Terminators and Excalibur, Jubilee has worked tirelessly to protect mutants and find happiness and meaning among her found family. Tragically turned into a vampire by Xarus, son of Dracula, Jubilee later adopted her son Shogo, becoming a parent even as she was afflicted with vampiric weaknesses such as an inability to survive direct sunlight (thankfully, she was eventually transformed back into a human by the powers of the Phoenix.)

Jubilee survived both tragedies and triumphs as an X-Men member, and it’s been a long time since she held the ‘kid sister’ role she started out in. Now at the forefront of a new age of X-Men comics, it’s the perfect time to step up her powers, especially as this Free Comic Book Day issue introduces mutantkind’s new status quo through her eyes. Unhoused and hunted when the X-Men first found her, it’s a perfect development in her story for Jubilee to now be at the forefront of identifying and saving those mutants who find themselves under attack by humanity.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.