What Is Jubilee's Fight Song In 'X-Men '97' Season 2 & Where You've Heard It Before
The X-Men: The Animated Series (1992) revival, X-Men ‘97 (2024), recently premiered its second season on Disney+. Much like the first season, it continues to draw viewers in with its vibrant animation and nostalgic Saturday-morning cartoon vibe. X-Men ‘97 Season 2 also stirred up the ‘90s nostalgia early on with a well-placed needle drop.
Season 2, Episode 2, “A Force to be Reckoned With,” gives Jubilee (Holly Chou) her chance to shine. The youngest X-Men member shows her passion and grit as she leads a daring rescue of mutants imprisoned by X-Factor. The only thing that makes the fight scene more epic is the song playing over it. Use our guide to find out what Jubilee’s fight song is in “A Force to be Reckoned With” and where you’ve heard it before.
Jubilee’s Fight Song, Explained
When Jubilee leads her prison break in X-Men ’97 Season 2, Episode 2, she selects a fiery song to go with it. Through her headphones, as she kicks butt, she listens to “Volcano Girls” by the ’90s rock band Veruca Salt. It’s a song that actually came out in 1997 and that a teenager like Jubilee absolutely would have listened to at the time.
The classic ’90s song is an energetic feminist anthem that reflects passion, defiance, and frustration all at once. Its catchy refrain, “Go, I don’t wanna go / I don’t wanna go / I don’t wanna go / I don’t wanna go,” captures the defiant nature of Jubilee’s fight. At the same time, it doesn’t create any illusions that what she’s doing is easy. Much of the song is about the frustration that comes with feeling like you’ve given everything you’ve got and can’t give anymore. It goes on to say, “Now and then we fail, and we admit defeat / We’re falling off / We are watered down and fully grown / Leave me / Lying here / Cause I don’t wanna go.”
In Jubilee’s context, “Volcano Girls” captures teenage angst and female rage. It captures the burnout and frustration that come with trying to find acceptance, but also the defiance in refusing to quit. X-Men ’97’s inclusion of “Volcano Girls” is a nice nod to the music at the time and fits Jubilee’s aesthetic exceptionally well.
Where Else You’ve Heard ‘Volcano Girls’
X-Men ‘97 is far from the only TV show or movie to incorporate “Volcano Girls.” At the time of its release, “Volcano Girls” topped the music charts, peaking at #8 on the US Billboard. Additionally, it stood the test of time, cropping up in both ‘90s and contemporary TV and film. One of its earliest appearances was in the dark teen comedy Jawbreaker (1999). It was the perfect, edgy teenage angst anthem to open the film, in which three popular high school girls must cover up the accidental death of their friend in a kidnapping prank gone wrong. The song remains a “bad girl” anthem in Bad Girls Club (2006), playing at the end of Season 1 as a farewell to the first batch of contestants.
“Volcano Girls” also plays in Beauty and the Beast (2012), Season 2, Episode 21, “Operation Fake Date,” as Cat (Kristin Kreuk) devises a daring plan to take down Gabe (Sendhil Ramamurthy). The ‘90s classic most frequently plays during fight scenes involving female characters or contestants, making it well-suited for reality TV shows and soap operas. In Dynasty (2017) Season 3, Episode 10, “What Sorrows Are You Drowning?,” “Volcano Girls” plays during an epic catfight between Cristal (Daniella Alonso) and Alexis (Elaine Hendrix). Similarly, the song serves as the backdrop for a female Hall Brawl on the reality show The Challenge (1998), Season 35, Episode 15, “Crash into Me.”
More recently, “Volcano Girls” played in Twisted Metal (2023) Season 2, Episode 2, “DOLF4C3,” during an epic race scene. Essentially, wherever there are bad girls, defiance, and reckless abandon, “Volcano Girls” is certain to be there.
Does ‘X-Men ‘97’ Feature Any Other ‘90s Songs?
Despite taking place in the ‘90s, X-Men ‘97 hasn’t featured many ‘90s songs, opting for a subtler approach to its setting and relying mostly on an original score by The Newton Brothers. Aside from “Volcano Girls,” X-Men ‘97 has featured only two pre-existing classic songs. In Season 1, Episode 5, “Remember It,” the anti-fascist anthem “Happy Nation” by Ace Base plays as Magneto (Matthew Waterson) and Rogue (Lenore Zann) share a dance on the mutant nation of Genosha.
X-Men ‘97 also includes a ‘50s nod with “The Purple People Eater” in Season 1. In Season 1, Episode 7, “Bright Eyes,” the 1958 Sheb Wooley song plays as Bastion’s (Theo James) villain theme. It’s a cheeky song that, while not as laced with deeper meaning as “Volcano Girls” and “Happy Nation,” is a fitting one for Bastion to utilize to mess with his victims. The conservative use of classic songs leaves us curious to see what further carefully placed bangers will crop up in X-Men ‘97.
