Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, and a bunch of young mutants. Why is this so boring?
Creative Staff:
Writer: Christina Strain
Art: Amilcar Pinna
Color: Felipe Sobreiro
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
The Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach has opened its doors and is ready to foster the next generation of heroes and diplomats! But this time around, the X-Men recognize an unfortunate truth: not all mutants are created equal. Some mutants are not made to fight Sentinels or serve as ambassadors on behalf of their kind. Some mutants will just be lucky to survive another day in a world that hates and fears them. And who better to mentor mutantkind’s lovable losers than perpetual sidekick Jubilee? But will Jubilee and GENERATION X survive the experience??
Content: (warning, content sections may contain spoilers)
On the surface, the idea presented in Generation X actually sounds passable. A new group of young mutants being taught by Kitty Pryde and Jubilee, just as Xavier taught the original X-Men and the Uncanny X-Men. On premise alone, the idea isn’t terrible, but in execution, it just doesn’t seem to pull through. So Jubilee is one of the main players in the book. She’s both a vampire and a mother now. If you have not been following the various X-Men stuff through recent years, the book does nothing to explain any of that. The focus of the book is on the students at the Xavier Institute. The book introduces us to several students, namely Bling, Eye-Boy, Nature Girl, Morph, and Kid Omega. We get introduced to them, but learn next to nothing about them as characters in this book.
There are some fights here, like Bling going after Omega, but it’s all very short in length. There’s a plotline in here about a new mutant who was touring the school to see if they wanted to attend, but this series of stuff deals with that relatively fast. The purifiers that attack as the new kid sets out to leave come out of nowhere, and the book just never feels like it wanted the concept it has. The main plot of the new kid coming and attempting to leave comes rather quickly and there just isn’t enough time in here for all the angles to be explored.
In Summary:
This book really feel like the writers didn’t like their own story. Everything happens rather quickly, nothing gets explained at all, and there’s a general sense of rushing. Jubilee has been a vampire for a while now, but unless you’ve been reading X-books for years, the book makes no attempt to clear that OR her having a kid now up. Jubilee is also wearing the same exact outfit she wore as a teen when the X-Men found her. Did she just…never get a new outfit or something? The book’s biggest problem is the characters. We’re never given near enough time with anyone here, and the few bets we do get make most of our cast seem very unlikable, which is not a good thing for a book like this. The concept could have worked if done right, but everything feels like the writers went and said, “Let’s just get this over with quickly” and did their best to get through it.
No one in the book except for Jubilee get near enough development or characterization, and most of Jubilee’s characterization comes from the reader knowing what’s gone on with her. Not having time to showcase new characters and get the reader interested in them is not good for books like these, and this issue is a giant showcase for that problem. The most noticeable thing to happen in this book was Bling’s fight with Kid Omega, and even that didn’t pay off. It really didn’t. The book doesn’t pay off really, though the writer, Christina Strain, makes sure she damn well tried to make it coherent. The art is rather bad, and several panels come off just looking goofy or bad. This is a book I’d recommend skipping, even for an X-Men fan. There’s nothing of interest here except the two long standing characters. The tone is one of hurry, and boy does that hurt it. This is a book that makes a mighty effort, but just can’t cash in on the effort.
Grade: D
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: May 17, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
