Writing: Scott Lobdell
Art: John Herbert
What Went Down: Big action opening, in media res. Jubilee is trying to pilot the damaged Blackbird while Wolverine fights both Sabretooth and Sauron on top of the plane. As Jubilee struggles to get the radio to work, she flashes back to the beginning of the story, which she narrates from here on out.
After recapping the premise of the story, we see Jubilee being bored by an aerodynamics textbook while Wolverine pilots the Blackbird to the Savage Land so that the pair can retrieve vibranium to power Cerebro. Jubilee is startled by a pterodactyl flying beside the plane. Later, Wolverine introduces Jubilee to Ka-Zar, lord of the Savage Land, and his pet Saber-toothed tiger Zabu. Initially she is terrified of the cat, but later they are seen bonding. While the Vibranium is being loaded, two shadowy figures sneak onboard, one of them distinctively Sauron shaped.
Jubilee convinces Wolverine to let her be the pilot on the way home. All goes well until an explosion occurs in the back of the plane. Right after the explosion, Sabertoth and Sauron reveal themselves, but refuse to take credit for the explosions. Wolverine lunges at Sauron while Jubilee blinds Sabretooth with her fireworks; in his stupor, Sabertooth knocks Wolverine and Saruon out the side door.
Down at the mansion, Cyclops and Bishop wonder what is going on. Wolverine digs his claws into the plane and tells Jubilee to fire the retro exhaust, slowing the plane and knocking the villains off. Jubilee manages to crash the plane into the hanger, and everyone survives. The mysterious shadowy character continues to watch the X-Men on the monitors, as Wolverine asks who is responsible for the attack.
How It Was: Some nice improvements from the first issue. Since the story doesn’t have to be set up, there is more time to explore the relationship between the characters and the action sequence, although there is still an entire page explaining the plot of the story. Even though it contradicts continuity, it’s nice to see Jubilee’s reaction to the Savage Land, and her desperation and fear during the fight come off really well. Because Jubilee is the narrator, some of the exposition doesn’t come off as forced as it did last issue. And the appearance of two villains is pretty cool, even if it doesn’t lead to anything special.
As for the negative, well we have Wolverine fighting two of his most vicious enemies, and he’s not allowed to use his claws on them. The opening spread looks really silly with Wolverine swinging an unclawed fist at his enemies while leaving his clawed fist behind his back. The fight itself is anticlimactic due to the bad guys being beaten by a flip of a switch, yet there are two or three good panels of Wolverine lunging at Sauron. Ka-Zar’s cameo also seems unnecessary and too brief. In general, it just feels like a waste to introduce this interesting setting with the Savage Land, and then have all of the action occur outside of it. Herbert draws a lush, gorgeous Savage Land, but once again it feels like a wasted opportunity since nothing happens there. While still too brief and full of too much exposition this issue does manage to have some interesting, if unoriginal, moments and portray Jubilee as a likable and relatable character.
C+
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