Kevin Smith and geek culture go hand in hand. The writer/director has been throwing in references to popular superhero, sci-fi and other genre properties in his movies stretching back to the Death Star contractor conversation in Clerks. In more recent years, his most famous creations, stoner heterosexual lifemates Jay and Silent Bob, have also been getting time to shine in comics. But now they’ve reached a new high (pun intended), as these foul-mouthed characters are crossing over with the world of Marvel, and I already know a callback to one of Smith’s movies I want to see in this story.
Written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli, the one-shot Jay and Silent Bob: Jays of Future Past arrives to comic book shops this June. With the title playing on Uncanny X-Men’s “Days of Future Past” storyline from 1981, this comic book issue will see the pot-smoking protagonists making a quick visit to the Marvel universe, only for Doctor Doom to quickly decree that they die. As a result, the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and other heroes, as described in the official synopsis, “must team up on a joint mission to save the dimwitted duo from a lethal case of super hero overload!” Here’s the cover for the issue from Marco Checchetto.
Kevin Smith also mentions in the announcement that ever since 1995’s Mallrats included “the very first reference to Wolverine in cinema history” and a cameo from Stan Lee long before he was frequently popping up in Marvel movies, he’s been wanting Jay and Silent Bob to meet the Marvel heroes. That Wolverine moment is precisely what I want called back to in Jay and Silent Bob: Jays of Future Past. For those who don’t know or need a refresher, Wolverine comes up when Jay and Brodie are talking about destroying the Truth or Date stage, with Brodie also referring to the character as Weapon X and Jay pretending to unsheathe Wolverine’s adamantium claws.
Wolverine is on the cover of this one-shot, so chances are he’ll come face to face with Jay and Silent Bob. Since Jay and Silent Bob: Jays of Future Past is described as a “multiverse-shattering one-shot,” then that means they’ll be well aware of these superheroes since they’re fictional characters in their universe. So when Jay meets Wolverine, I want him to get excited that mimic him busting out his claws, much to Logan’s annoyance.
I also look forward to seeing just how far this one-shot handles the NSFW nature of these characters. It’s one thing for Jay to curse up a storm in an R-rated movie, but how much of his dialogue will have to be censored for this story? Will we see him and Silent Bob try to sell weed to the heroes protecting them? Will Jay obnoxiously try to hit on She-Hulk or one of the other heroines? I’m just hoping that this comic book gets a mature rating so that Jay and Silent Bob aren’t watered down too much.
This will be the second time Jay and Silent Bob have crossed over with a beloved comic book property, as Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob was released last year. I look forward to seeing what kind of kooky adventure Kevin Smith has concocted for his creations and the Marvel superheroes. Smith also still intends to make the movie Jay and Silent Bob: Store Wars, telling Collider last month that he and his team are “in the casting stages right now.”
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