While we’re sure that many of you enjoyed reading Laura Kinney’s adventures as the All-New Wolverine, it stands to reason that a chunk of the fanbase will forever view her simply as X-23. Knowing this – and possibly having something to do with her onscreen counterpart being well received in Logan – Marvel recently rolled out a new solo series spotlighting the cult favorite.
Speaking of which, in a move somewhat similar to that of Bucky Barnes handing back the Captain America mantle to Steve Rogers, there naturally has to be a reason why Laura isn’t calling herself Wolverine anymore. In reality, it probably has much to do with Logan’s return from the dead and his reclaiming of the limelight, but that’s not going to suffice in a fictional world.
Thanks to writer Mariko Tamaki, X-23 #3 provided just the answer we needed. In short, our heroine has embraced the moniker she loathes to no end so that those who’ve wronged her and her loved ones know just who’s come back for revenge.
In fact, here’s what Laura had to say to a geneticist she interrogated following the kidnapping of Honey Badger:
“I took an oath to make sure nothing like what my sisters and I went through happens again. I took a name I hate…so you know your end, the end of this work, came at the hands of your creation.”
So, as Ms. Kinney tries to prevent the Cuckoos from imprinting Esme’s psyche into Gabby’s body, we can’t forget how X-23 continues to be in the news. As you may have heard, it was also recently revealed that she is, in fact, not a clone, though that was disclosed in a different series. But with her father now once again tearing up the 616, we applaud the House of Ideas for not allowing this character to fall by the wayside.
X-23 #3 is now available in comic shops.