This article contains spoilers for Cable #1.
Marvel’s X-Men comics have revealed Dazzler can beat Jubilee. Comic book readers have always loved to imagine who would win in superhero slugfests; can Supergirl beat Power Girl, is Doctor Strange able to defeat Doctor Doom, and what would happen if Daredevil went head-to-head with Batman? It didn’t take long for writers to spot the story potential, and by now hero-on-hero fights have become something of a tradition.
Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men relaunch has seen the entire mutant race gather on the living island of Krakoa. Despite the relatively new setting, it looks as though the X-Men comics are still finding plenty of opportunities for superhero fights. This week’s Cable #1 reveals the mutants have established a training dojo, where they can train in one-on-one combat. The comic itself features Kid Cable tussling with Wolverine and reveals a number of previous fights – including Dazzler and Jubilee.
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This has always been one of the most popular versus matches for X-Men fans. Both mutants are energy manipulators with spectacular, light-based powersets and both love to put on fantastic light shows. Of course, the parallels only go so far; Dazzler is a disco queen who converts sound to light, while Jubilee generates superheated matter. Still, the fight must have been stunning, and according to Cable #1 Dazzler successfully defeated Jubilee.
There’s a sense in which the outcome of this fight was never in doubt. According to 1994’s “Phalanx Covenant” event, Jubilee actually has the potential to split the atom; her most powerful firework would be a nuclear explosion. When Jubilee began to realize just what she could do, she pulled back on her experimentation, afraid of what would happen if she truly cut loose. Jubilee is growing increasingly confident with her powers, but she’s making up for years of restraint.
In contrast, Dazzler has been using her powers quite openly for a long time. She started out as a pop star who used her abilities to create stunning special effects as part of her concerts and didn’t even realize she was a mutant until she was offered a chance to join the X-Men. Ironically, her power would allow her to weaponize the sounds that accompany Jubilee’s fireworks; the more Jubilee fought her, the more powerful Dazzler would become. While this a fun detail, it’s a little disappointing to see Marvel take a “tell, not show” approach to a hotly-anticipated superhero fight. Hopefully, Marvel will choose to show more of these dojo fights.
Cable #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
