Laura Kinney is back. Okay, specifically she's back in her own solo series. Following the end of "X-23" in 2012, this genetically engineered clone of Wolverine has appeared in a string of team series from "Avengers Arena" to "All-New X-Men" and "Wolverines." These appearances have kept Laura Kinney in the forefront but not really in the spotlight. With "All-New Wolverine," a new ongoing series from writer Tom Taylor and artist David Lopez, Kinney is once again ready to kill it as a lead.

RELATED: Taylor Discusses Unsheathing X-23's Claws in "All-New Wolverine"

This week in X-POSITION, "All-New Wolverine" writer Tom Taylor joins us and answers all of your questions about everything from Laura Kinney's shift from X-23 to Wolverine to her place in the larger Marvel Universe and a potential team-up with another Marvel hero.

CBR News: Welcome to X-POSITION, Tom! Let's kick things off with a question from healed1337 about your upcoming "All-New Wolverine" run.

What drew you to writing this series in the first place?


After my run on "[Superior] Iron Man," [editor] Mark Paniccia and I were talking about a few different books -- but when this one came up, we didn't have to talk anymore. I've always been a Wolverine fan, and the idea of someone else taking on the mantle was challenging and very appealing. While there were a few candidates, Laura Kinney was the only choice for me. Everyone at Marvel feels the same way, and it's great seeing her come to life via David Lopez's art.

Next up, Bdez90 wants to know more about Laura's codename change.

I've spent some time online defending this new Wolverine because I like the new direction. Most people have a gripe about X-23 being Wolverine instead of her own persona. What do you think the mantle of Wolverine means and why is it a good fit for Laura instead of her taking on a unique persona?

Characters are bigger than costumes. This is Laura's own persona. This book is about Laura. She hasn't become Logan, she's still very much herself. The first arc is very personally about Laura. This will become obvious by the third last page of our oversized opening issue. I can't wait for people to see what David Lopez, David Navarott and Nathan Fairbarn have done. Her becoming Wolverine is about her not wanting to forget her father but she hasn't forgotten everything else she is. She's Laura Kinney, she's X-23 and she's Wolverine.

As the new Wolverine, Ambaryerno wonders if that means Laura's profile within the Marvel Universe will rise.

Laura will be having her first-ever encounter with the Taskmaster early on, which should be incredibly interesting especially when one considers Laura's brief friendship with his (possible) daughter, Finesse. The announced team-up with Dr. Strange also caught many of her fans by surprise, as Stephen is not someone one would ordinarily see Laura working with. Would you say this is the beginning of Laura playing a larger role in the Marvel Universe, and especially the wider world's reaction to her taking on Logan's mantle, given how much he meant to people beyond the X-Men?

Of course, everyone loves Logan's X-Men stories, and his solo stories, but some of my favorite Logan stories were his team-ups outside the X-books. Wolverine with Spider-Man or Captain America or Hulk is always worth reading. Logan could step into any other book. We want Laura to be able to do the same. We definitely want her having an influence across the larger Marvel Universe.

If I'm being honest, half the reason I wanted to bring her into the wider Marvel Universe might be because I started thinking about a Squirrel Girl/Wolverine team-up as soon as I got the gig.

PREVIEW: X-23 Takes Over in "All-New Wolverine" #1

Laura has an extensive history in her own right, and Max wants to know how those will factor into your run.

Glad you're on the book, Tom! I loved your run on "Injustice" and Laura is my second favorite Marvel character. I was mainly curious about her supporting cast in this series. I've seen Angel in the previews but I was wondering if her ties to the Avengers Academy kids were going to come up in the series. I love seeing past series being referenced in current stories. Can't wait to buy the book!

There will certainly be references to her past and I would like to pick up on some of the dangling threads at some stage, especially from her early adventures. But, if we're talking about "Avengers Arena," I think the other guy writing Laura over on "All-New X-Men," Dennis Hopeless, would definitely be the guy most qualified to do that. But our main priority is accessibility. We want anyone not familiar with Laura to get familiar very quickly. To this, we're dropping everyone into a unique adventure from page one, which doesn't rely on knowing too much about Laura's past. We won't be explaining much. In fact, if we've done our job right, all of our readers will be just as lost.

Laura also has a history with a certain Ragin' Cajun, as Lawrence points out.

One interaction I'm really hoping for is between Laura and Gambit. He played a big role in her last series as a sort of mentor/ big brother, and really supported her through some dark times. I love the relationship those two built up and am wondering if Gambit will make an appearance in future issues and if that relationship has evolved or changed with Laura's new hero status?

That relationship was definitely important and I think we'll want to see him for sure. But, to some extent, Laura has moved past those dark times. See my next answer for more on this.

A Brett that is not me wants to know how Laura's Wolverine will compare with Logan's.

I am very excited about your run on "All-New Wolvy" as you have always written kick-a$$ action types (such as Boba Fett, Batman and Kaiko Nekton) extremely well! Given Laura's background as an assassin, are we going to see a more calculating Wolverine than the berserker we are used to seeing with Logan?

Cheers for the "The Deep" nod. Kaiko Nekton does kick ass.

What Laura has come through, and how she's come through it, is one of the things that make her such a fantastic character. Logan was used and abused. His ferocity and rage was always just under the surface. He was always ready to snap whereas Laura has come through some horrific stuff but hasn't succumbed to it or let it define her. She is in no way a victim. She's more in control than Logan and, yes, she's more calculating. In a way, it makes her even more formidable to anyone standing in her way.

There's another former Wolverine that fans, specifically MakubeX, want to see in the series.

Since taking up the mantle, Laura, will we see how Daken feels about it? Will Laura and Daken have another team up and work together again? Forgive me, I am a hopeless Daken fan.

Yeah. I think we'll have to see Daken at some stage. I'm a Daken fan too.

A new threat faces mutants in the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe, and MarvelMaster616 is curious as to how it will affect Laura.

What part, if any, will her story play in the ongoing crisis with mutants and the Terrigen Mists?

That's more of a question for the rest of the X-Teams but Laura will definitely have a part to play.

And to close out this week, jowawill wants to know a bit about the tone of "All-New Wolverine."

Stories focusing on any Wolverine, whether Logan, Daken or Laura in her various X-23 titles, have often taken a fairly dark tone. You've stated that you intend for the tone of this story to be comparatively lighter, but do you have any plans to go darker down the line?

The X-[editorial] team as a whole want to see Laura step into the superhero role a bit more and for her stories to be a bit lighter. That said, she's still Wolverine and it's going to be a bit of a balancing act. Our story is certainly not fluffy. There's definitely a body count. There's definitely some nastiness. We're talking about a woman with claws that pop out of her hands and feet -- she's not exactly going to be helping out at a petting zoo.

Thanks to Tom Taylor for taking on this week's questions!

Next week, "Extraordinary X-Men" writer Jeff Lemire returns to X-POSITION to answer your questions! Have a question for Jeff? Go ahead and send 'em in via e-mail with the subject line "X-Position". But get 'em in quickly, because the deadline's Friday. Make it happen!