SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for X-23 #3, from Mariko Tamaki, Juann Cabal, Nolan Woodard and Cory Petit, on sale now.
Ever since the debut of her new series in July of this year, Laura Kinney has reclaimed her title as X-23, the designation assigned to her as one of a number of clones of the X-Man Wolverine. There has been some debate about why she gave up being the All-New Wolverine, with the most cynical reason fans have come up with being that, now the original Wolverine is back, the title has simply been given back to him.
But while there may be some truth in that, it simply doesn't work as an in-continuity explanation since Laura doesn't yet know her father has risen from the dead. In this week’s X-23 #3, however, we find out directly from Laura herself why she’s gone back to her original title.
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Much like DC Comics anti-hero Harley Quinn, X-23 actually began life in an animated television series, years before appearing in the comic books. In the case of Laura, it was in X-Men: Evolution, a show that ran for four seasons from 2000-2003 which saw the X-Men reimagined as teenagers in high school. Pitched by creator Craig Kyle as “Pinocchio for Marvel Comics, she’s a samurai sword trying to become a real little girl,” it was obvious from the start that X-23 was destined to be a killing machine.
It wasn’t until 2015 that Laura ditched the X-23 designation in favor of becoming the All-New Wolverine. Late in 2014, Charles Soule and Steve McNiven brought us the Death of Wolverine event, in which -- you guessed it -- Logan met his end, and was encased in molten Adamantium. What followed were numerous miniseries that explored not only the aftermath of his death, but who should continue his legacy.
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Following the Secret Wars event, it was announced that Laura Kinney would be taking on the gift and curse of becoming the All-New Wolverine, and it was a perfect fit. Written by Tom Taylor and with art by David Lopez, Laura donned a costume similar in style to Logan's classic yellow and blue outfit and fought the good fight under the title of her “father” for 35 issues. She even picked up a sidekick in the form of her younger “sister” Gabrielle, one of the last of the Wolverine clones, who eventually adopted the superhero name Honey Badger.
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Laura’s adventures were relaunched in July of this year under her original title, X-23, written by Mariko Tamaki, with art by Juann Cabal. In the Hunt for Wolverine miniseries Adamantium Agenda, Laura discovered that part of her original genetic makeup is formed from Sarah Kinney, the scientist who created her. This not only meant that Laura is technically Sarah’s daughter, it changed Laura’s mission to track down those who still have her DNA and would continue to clone more of her.
In X-23 #3, it’s revealed that Sarah Kinney’s genetic research has taken on a twisted new dimension, moving from the cloning that she’d previously undertaken into grafting psyches onto existing cloned life-forms. This personality transferral has put her in the sights of the Stepford Cuckoos, clones of Emma Frost who want Dr. Kinney to transfer the consciousness of their dying sister into a new body. Dr. Kinney discovered that X-23 and her clones provide the perfect host bodies for these psyche transplants, leading to Honey Badger being kidnapped with the intent of erasing her mind and replacing it with the dying Cuckoo's.
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What follows is a confrontation between Laura and Dr. Kinney, in which Laura makes it very clear exactly why she’s reclaimed the title of X-23. As she grabs Sarah's face, she tells her that she has taken an oath to ensure what she has experienced never happens to anyone else. What's more, by going by the known designation of X-23, those responsible for the atrocities committed upon her and her sisters would know exactly who it was who brought them to their end.
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It’s a fascinating piece of the complex puzzle that is Laura Kinney. While it makes a lot of sense in the real world for there to be only one Wolverine book on the stands, it was difficult for a lot of fans of the All-New Wolverine series to accept why Laura -- whose legacy and destiny seemed to lead her to become Wolverine -- would so easily give that birthright up. Now, thanks to Tamiki, we get a valid and poignant reason for the return of X-23.