Summary
- The latest issue of X-Men: Hellfire Gala reveals the brutal murder of Jubilee and other mutants, bringing new significance to Shogo’s use of Sentinel tech as Sentinel-X, Jubilee’s adopted son.
- The meaning of Shogo’s encounters with his mother and his utilization of Sentinel tech is drastically altered by Jubilee’s current fate, raising questions about his use of the Sentinel name.
- The future of Shogo as Sentinel-X and his potential role as the X-Men’s own Iron Man remains uncertain, as the Earth-616 timeline and the mysteries of Earth-13729 continue to evolve in the X-Men’s ongoing story.
Warning – Contains SPOILERS for X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1
Throughout the history of the X-Men, the metallic monstrosities known as the Sentinels have threatened to the prosperity of Marvel’s mutants. This same dark history has made the identity of Sentinel-X – a future version of the fan-favorite Jubilee’s adopted son, Shogo Lee – so interesting, as the X-Men’s adopted human son-in-law uses the tech of his family’s oppressors to fight for them, akin to a mutant-friendly Iron Man.
In X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 – written by Gerry Duggan, with art by Kris Anka, Russell Dauterman, Matteo Lolli and Carlos Villa – readers witness Jubilee and countless other mutants brutally murdered by anti-mutant organization Orchis, led by the Sentinel Nimrod. While Sentinel-X was always somewhat of a questionable character concept, the new revelation about his mother’s death calls for further examination.
Shogo’s Sentinel Identity Was Barely Explored
Shogo, as Sentinel-X, first appeared alongside Earth-13729’s X-Men, during the “Battle of the Atom” crossover event – written by Brian Michael Bendis – having traveled to the past to help defeat his timeline’s version of the Brotherhood of Mutants. During his visit, he gave hope to his young mother, reassuring her that she does a great job raising him, at a time when she was self-conscious about screwing up their future. It was made clear how proud Jubilee was of the man her son became. Jubilee’s current fate in the pages of X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 drastically changes the meaning of their encounter, and of Shogo’s use of Sentinel tech.
The X-Men’s Personal Iron Man May Never Exist
Of course, there is Marvel’s multiverse to contend with: in “Battle of the Atom” a future Jubilee, now calling herself Wolverine, travels from the future alongside her son Sentinel-X. It seems as though Earth-13729 did not experience the “Mutant Massacre” depicted in X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1, or otherwise Jubilee survived it, or perhaps was resurrected subsequently, adding to her more hard-edged nature. It seems likely the Earth-616 Jubilee will return before long – but in any case, it opens up a new set of questions that future appearances of Shogo as Sentinel-X may have to contend with. It’s worth asking why Shogo would feel comfortable using the Sentinel name at all.
Aside from its color scheme, Shogo’s Sentinel-X armor is more reminiscent of a suit designed by Iron Man than the iconic Sentinels, but with the Earth-13729 timeline still largely a mystery, something drastic must have happened to make the Sentinel name seem like a good idea. Like any continuous story, the timeline of the X-Men is always in flux, so may never know the true motivations behind the Sentinel-X codename. And with Shogo’s more recent adventures in Otherworld and his new dragon-form, it’s also highly possible that Sentinel-X may never come to fruition in the Earth-616 timeline. Either way, it doesn’t seem like Marvel Comics’ mutant Iron Man will be debuting in the X-Men’s present anytime soon.
X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.