Lilandra in the MC2

 

I am thoroughly enjoying the X-Men ’97 animated series on Disney + which acts as a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series. Inspired by recent episodes, today’s post will be about Professor Charles Xavier’s long-time lover, Lilandra Neramani, the Majestrix of the Shi’ar Empire. This is Lilandra in the MC2.

 

First appearing in X-Men #97 as an unidentified mental projection, Lilandra’s dynastic surname of Neramani and royal status as a Princess is revealed in X-Men #103 with her first name revealed in her first full appearance in X-Men #105.

Princess Lilandra Neramani is coronated in X-Men #125, officially becoming Majestrix of the Shi’ar Empire. Her lover Professor Charles Xavier accompanies her during this time and is referred to as her ‘consort,’ which may or may not be an official title. Are they married? Well, that’s unclear as there is no on-panel confirmation nor ceremony but perhaps Shi’ar culture considers the role of consort as equivalent to a marriage. In the real world, a consort is generally the spouse of a monarch. Lilandra’s profile in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #7 lists her marital status as ‘Inapplicable. Charles Xavier is her consort’. Back in the first volume of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8, Xavier’s profile lists his marital status as ‘single’ but notes that he and Lilandra forged a telepathic bond and ‘later became romantically involved and engaged to marry’. In The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10, Charles is again listed as ‘single’ and Lilandra is not among the list of his known relatives.

 

Regardless, the couple often spend significant time apart due to their sperate responsibilities and eventually ended their relationship in X-Men Unlimited #5. I bring this up because various sources online cite New X-Men #133 as the point that their marriage is annulled by the Shi’ar Empire. So, ironically the first time they are ever explicitly referred to as being married is when it is ended. The Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 2: X-Men from 2003 refers to Xavier as Lilandra’s ‘husband’ during the time after the Dark Phoenix Saga. Conversely, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004 profile for Xavier refers to his marital status as ‘single, former consort to Princess-Majestrix Lilandra Neramani of the Shi’ar Empire’.  But these sources are all obviously past the point of divergence for the MC2 so let’s move on!

 

In the MC2, we witness Galactus’ latest herald Dominas the Wavemaster arrive in the area of space ruled by the Shi’ar Empire, effortlessly going through all their defensive satellites on his way to the Imperial Throneworld of Shi’ar.  Dominas is confronted by the Shi’ar Imperial Guard led by Gladiator as he gives the population it’s only warning to evacuate or die (Last Planet Standing #1).

 

With Galactus’ arrival, Lilandra is advised to flee upon her personal starship alongside the High Council. The Majestrix blames herself for not having enough ships to evacuate the entire planet nor foreseeing this eventuality. Despite the Imperial Guard’s efforts, Galactus activates his elemental converter, draining every precious quanta of biochemical and kinetic energy from the Throneworld, bleeding the planet dry in moments. Lilandra Neramani watches on helplessly while her planet is destroyed (Last Planet Standing #1).

 

While that’s the only appearance we have for Lilandra in the MC2, at the conclusion of the Last Planet Standing series the threat of Galactus is ended for good when Galactus and the Silver Surfer merge into a new being and reverse the destruction caused by Galactus. This newly birthed being uses a new form of energy- The Power Essential -to repair the damage wreaked during his former self’s plot. So, it’s possible -though again, not stated- that Lilandra’s Throneworld was restored afterwards at some point (Last Planet Standing #5).

 

Until I figure out if I should have included Lilandra and the Shi’ar Royal Family on Xavier’s Family Tree, I remain

 

frogoat

Jubilee in the MC2

 

I’ve been rewatching X-Men: The Animated Series in preparation for the revival and continuation series X-Men ’97 and with that in mind, I thought now was the perfect opportunity to cover both shows’ protagonist and audience surrogate as she appears in the MC2. This is Jubilee in the MC2.

 

In the Main Marvel Universe Jubilee made her debut in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #244. Her first name, Jubilation, was apparently revealed in the pages of X-Men Annual #13 with her surname, Lee, first given in X-Men Annual #14. As for her first appearance in the MC2, Jubilee showed up in a brief cameo within What If #105 alongside other members of the Avengers including the Vision, Jolt, J2, Speedball and Thunderstrike.

 

Jumping back in time ever so slightly, A-Next #1 delivers the new Avengers team’s origin which involved Kevin Masterson transformation into the new Thunderstrike as a result of the machination of Loki. During this adventure, we learn Jubilee is too busy leading the X-People to join the team as a full-time member but notes she should reach out to J2.

 

After a tease of this in the final panels of J2 #1, we see this play out in the next issue where a visiting Zane Yama aka J2 fights to liberate the mind-controlled X-People including team leader Jubilee from the thrall of the villainous villainess Enthralla (J2 #2).

 

Jubilee is called upon by Mainframe to evaluate the Avengers newest recruits, American Dream, Freebooter, Bluestreak and Crimson Curse. Unfortunately, this all comes as a shocking surprise to the other members of the team (A-Next #4).

 

When Cyclops stops by to test the Uncanny X-People, they are aided by J2 who, Jubilee notes, helped the team improve their previous time, increasing by a single second for a total of five measly seconds (J2 #7).

 

Next, Jubilee leads her X-People against Rina Logan aka Wild Thing in an initiation trial for probationary membership on the team.  Rina rejects this offer, declaring that she was only taking the test as favour for her father, Wolverine (J2 #11).

 

In Wild Thing #3 we learn that Mr Woodhill, the social studies teacher at Upper Saddle River High was involved in a crash ten years prior, spending a year in the hospital as a result. While there Woodhill was transformed into a Sleeper Sentinel, including suppression implants to ensure he remained unaware he was a cyborg. Jubilee explains that the X-Men had years ago attempted to find all the Sleeper Sentinels but some -such as Mr Woodhill- had gone undetected. Using a program devised by Dr McCoy and Forge, the Sleeper Sentinels would have their Sentinel activation nullified, allowing them to continue believing they were ordinary humans (Wild Thing #3).

 

In Spider-Girl #32, we catch a tantalising glimpse of the largely unseen interim Avengers team who attempted to fill the void left after many of the original Avengers perished on their final mission. Jubilee was a member of this line-up alongside Nova, the Steel Spider, Jolt and Speedball. I have to point out the subtle changes Jubilee makes to the costume she wears depending on which team she’s representing at any given time.

 

Jubilee and her X-People are not seen again until a large assembly of the MC2’s super heroes gather at Avengers Headquarters in preparation for battle with Seth the Serpent God of Death. Despite this, the assembled heroes end up trapped within an impenetrable barrier until Spider-Girl weakens Seth enough to free them. Notably, Jubilee is seen alongside former Avengers teammate Nova (Spider-Girl #58).

 

When May ‘Mayday’ Parker’s classmate is outed as a mutant to all of Midtown High, Nancy's locker is vandalised and graffitied with anti-mutant messages. At home, Nancy's parents argue over their daughter’s situation and Nancy's siblings are ostracised at school. Later while attempting to get some air, Nancy is accosted by several hooded figures (Spider-Girl #67).

 

The group attacking Nancy Lu are revealed to be fellow students from Midtown High. When The Buzz (aka JJ) and Spider-Girl intervene, Nancy reveals she's more afraid of hurting others due to a lack of control of her abilities than being hurt herself. After being approached by Jubilee, who Nancy had met previously when she attempted to recruit her to the X-People (events referenced in Spider-Girl #23), Nancy makes the decision to go with the X-People to better master her powers (Spider-Girl #67).

 

When various superheroes active and retired start disappearing, Stinger of the Avengers contacts Jubilee to ask if the X-People have any suspects. However, believing the attacks may be focused on mutants due to Wolverine and Cyclops’ abductions, Jubilee informers her they have decided to continue their investigations without outside assistance (Last Hero Standing #2).

 

Despite this, Jubilee still reports the return of Wolverine and Cyclops to Stinger shortly afterwards, even with the apparent disappearance of Wild Thing (Last Hero Standing #3).

 

The next time we see Jubilee is during the events of the Last Planet Standing mini-series when Galactus is finalizing his final solution which will ultimately destroy the entire universe. Jubilee is briefly seen along with her X-People among many other heroes (Last Hero Standing #4-#5).

 

Jubilee and the X-People again joins a large assembly of super heroes who show up to help Spider-Girl when she is captured by the Hobgoblin aka Roderick Kingsley (Amazing Spider-Girl #15).

 

Continuing the returning divide between the rest of humanity and mutants, with Magneta’s Sisterhood of Mutants attempting to recruit confused Midtown High student Sara Hingle, Jubilee and the X-People attempt to locate her and in the process cut out Spider-Girl (Amazing Spider-Girl #23).

 

Having been pushed into attacking the anti-mutant Humanity First organisation, Sara finds herself in battle with Jubilee’s entire X-People team. With Jubilee and the rest of her team side-lined, trainee member Nancy Lu aka Push faces Hingle (now calling herself Nucleus) alone until aided by Spider-Girl (Amazing Spider-Girl #24). After Magneta uses Nucleus as a human bomb, many of the X-People are taken to hospital with the rest ensuring the surviving Sara is taken to a secure facility (Amazing Spider-Girl #25).

 

Finally, Jubilee appears in flashback story set between the pages of A-Next #1 while the various heroes are celebrating on Asgard. Feeling humiliated in front of Loki, Tyrus the Terrible leads a group of trolls in ambushing Thunderstrike and J2 for a rematch. But after a brief battle, the trolls flee when confronted by Jubilee and the rest of the assembled soon-to-be Avengers  alongside Thor (Avengers Unlimited Infinity Comic #37).

 

That’s it for now, but with the last appearance it should be clear there’s always room for more appearances. I’ve often said I want a series to focus on the mutants of the MC2, particularly the X-People and a major reason is because I love seeing Jubilee as the leader of her own team. He started as the audience surrogate youthful character so this feels like she has reached her full potential.

 

Until I get to say ‘To me, my X-People’, I remain

 

frogoat