The most popular X-Men character is James "Logan" Howlett, or as the majority of fans know him, Wolverine. The character has been a prominent figure in comics and cinema since 1974, appearing in every iteration of an X-Men animated series. He even headlined his own series called Wolverine and the X-Men. Hugh Jackman eventually had the privilege of playing the comic book staple in 2000's X-Men alongside Patrick Stewart and Halle Berry. He appeared in every mainstream X-Men film, with his last outing as Wolverine in 2017's Logan, where they introduced a suitable replacement for him: X-23 a.k.a. Laura.
Played by Dafne Keen in Logan, X-23 is literally a female version of Logan. Hugh Jackman's final film as Wolverine (at least until Ryan Reynolds announced Deadpool and Wolverine) saw Logan and a 97-year-old Professor Xavier live on the edge of civilization in a world where no new mutants had been born for over 25 years. That is until Laura lands on their doorstep along with a mutant-hating organization hot on her trail. Just who is X-23 and how does her origins in Logan differ from her comic book origins?
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X-23's Origins
While it's usually a safe bet to assume that a comic book character on the big screen originated in the funny books, that's not the case for Laura Kinney. X-23's first appearance was in the animated series of X-Men: Evolution, where the heroes were primarily teenagers and the only adults were Wolverine, Professor Xavier, and Storm. X-23 made a strong impression on audiences, so much so that the comic book publisher brought her over to the comics by Joe Quesada in his NYX miniseries.
Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost created X-23 for X-Men: Evolution as a clone of Wolverine, with the intention of creating a version of Wolverine for the younger generation. She only appeared in two episodes of the series until a year later, when she had her comic book debut in issue #3 of NYX. Her background remained the same, being a clone of Wolverine, but Quesada tweaked her introduction. Instead of being found in a lab, she was living on the streets of New York City as a mute prostitute who would cut herself with her claws in an attempt to relieve stress.
Her popularity only rose from there and fans saw her everywhere, much like her predecessor. After NYX, she received her own miniseries that went in-depth with her background and how she ended up in New York City. After that, fans found her in prominent roles in the pages of New X-Men, X-Force, Uncanny X-Men, and her own series X-23: Target X. Give her a live-action appearance was the natural progression of her popularity, much like Batman's Harley Quinn.
X-23 in Logan, Explained
Laura's appearance in Logan was slightly different than her original debut in both X-Men: Evolution and the comics, as they presented her as an older teenager. Logan, on the other hand, presents Laura as an 11-year-old, and it never uses her surname, Kinney. Unlike Logan, she only has two claws that protrude from her knuckles, but she has a third in her feet that makes for more interesting fights. In the comics, Laura's adamantium only covers her claws, allowing her to be more nimble and athletic than Logan. However, the 2017 film implies that the adamantium covers her entire skeleton, just like Logan's.
In the film, mutants are a dying breed, and even Logan is knocking on death's door, with his healing factor gradually diminishing with each passing day. However, the organization managed a project that created clones of mutants in an attempt to create loyal weapons. One of these clones was Laura, an 11-year-old girl who was on the run with a nurse, Gabriela Lopez. Gabriela approached Logan, pleading with him to escort them to a sanctuary near the Canadian border called Eden. Unfortunately, an agent from Alkali-Transigen kills Gabriela, forcing Logan to protect Laura and escort her to Eden.
Logan not only learned that Alkali-Transigen was behind the mutant eradication (along with the telepathic seizures Xavier suffered from), he discovered that Laura was a clone of his. She exhibits the same healing factor and primal instincts he had along with claws, making her the real deal. Alkali-Transigen considered Laura, their 23rd attempt at cloning a mutant, a failure and scheduled her for execution once they successfully created X-24, a loyal and perfect clone of Logan.
By the end of the film, Logan killed X-24 with Laura's help, but it cost him his life. While there were hopes for Keen's Laura to appear in future X-Men films, Disney's purchase of FOX put a delay on that. However, with the Deadpool and Wolverine story focusing on the TVA and universe-jumping, it's possible she appears there with the possibility of a future MCU appearance.
X-23 Should be the Wolverine of the MCU
If X-23 is brought into the MCU, it's best to let her take the reins as the one and only Wolverine. Hugh Jackman had a great send-off in Logan and Deadpool and Wolverine look to be giving him a happier ending, but it's going to be tough for fans to get behind a new Logan. Laura makes the most sense. Not only do fans love the character, but Dafne Keen played her brilliantly, and the comics had Laura take up the mantle of Wolverine already.
If the studio gives Laura several outings with the Wolverine moniker before introducing a new Logan to the MCU, it would make for a fresh experience with the X-Men. Until X-Men: First Class, every X-Men movie heavily focused on Logan and his backstory. Just as DC fans welcomed Harley Quinn on the big screen, MCU fans will do the same.
MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a sprawling movie and television franchise that weaves together individual stories of superheroes including Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and many more. The first film in the franchise, Iron Man, was released in 2008. The MCU has garnered critical praise and financial success, earning billions at the box office and becoming a cultural phenomenon.
- First Film
- Iron Man
- Latest Film
- Marvels
- Cast
- Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Evans , Chris Hemsworth , Scarlett Johansson , Mark Ruffalo , Jeremy Renner , Chadwick Boseman , Zoe Saldana , Chris Pratt , Tom Hiddleston , Iman Vellani
- TV Show(s)
- WandaVision , The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , Loki , Ms. Marvel , She-Hulk
- Character(s)
- Iron Man , Captain America , Thor , Hulk , Black Widow , Hawkeye
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