Preview (comics)

Preview (Jessica Vale) is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Before being depowered, she had the ability of short-term precognition, usually minutes in advance. She is the sister of fellow Xavier Institute for Higher Learning student Sarah Vale (codename Network). Preview first appeared in New X-Men: Academy X #12 (June, 2005).

Fictional character biography

Paragons squad

Preview is a member of the Paragons training squad at the Xavier Institute, where she is voted the "biggest drama queen". Preview proves to be difficult to the Paragons because she chooses not to participate in some activities because she knows their outcomes, such as the Paragons' failure in a school-wide competition. She shows displeasure at the lack of surprise in everyday life due to the nature of her powers.

Depowered

Preview is one of scores of mutants who lose their powers after the events of the House of M.

It is suggested in New X-Men, vol. 2 #32 that Preview is alive following William Stryker's attack on a bus of depowered students. In this issue, a memorial is held at the school for the departed, and while Jessie's sister Sarah is mentioned as one of the deceased, Jessie is not, and an unnamed girl with a similar appearance to Jessie is seen at the service. In addition, writers Chris Yost and Craig Kyle confirmed that she was not one of the students on the bus at the time of the explosion.

Powers and abilities

Before being depowered, Preview had the mutant power of precognition - she could view the immediate future in short bursts of flashes ("visions"), but only up to a few minutes before the events actually occur.^[1] This influenced her to take a fatalistic approach to things, such as standing by the sidelines during a group training exercise because a vision showed her that her squad would be unable to break the school record. In trying to coach her out of her fatalism, her squad adviser, Rahne Sinclaire, stated that Jessica's visions of the future may not always be set in stone.^[2] While not explored, Jessie could've been able to utilize her powers to foresee an opponent's attack and be able to dodge it in time. Furthermore, had she kept her powers after M-Day, Preview's powers may have developed so far, that she could potentially see the future on the same level as someone like Destiny when she becomes an adult. Jessie may also have some knowledge of hand-to-hand combat from the Institute.

References