X-23
Encyclopedia
X-23 is a fiction
al comic book superheroine appearing in books published by Marvel Comics
, in particular those featuring the X-Men
. X-23 is a female clone
of Wolverine
.
animated television series before being brought into comics. X-23 first appears in episode #41 (season 3, episode 11) of the program (titled "X-23").
Her comic debut was in 2004
in the series NYX, where her history and past were never divulged but her abilities were showcased. In X-23, her first miniseries, her origin was fully explained. She became part of the X-Men supporting cast in Uncanny X-Men
#450.
X-23 was created by Craig Kyle
. He and Christopher Yost were the writers of the two episodes of X-Men: Evolution in which X-23 appears ("X-23" and "Target X"). Kyle and Yost also scripted X-23: Innocence Lost, a six issue miniseries that details the character's origin, as well as X-23: Target X, a six issue miniseries that covers the character's experiences between her origin story and her appearance in NYX. They continued to write X-23 into their runs on New X-Men
and X-Force
as a member of the teams.
X-23 received an ongoing comic book series in 2010, written by Marjorie Liu
.
On November 15, 2011, Marvel announced that the X-23 comic series will be canceled at issue #20.
experiment that bonded adamantium to the skeleton of Wolverine
. The project is taken in a new direction: Doctor Martin Sutter recruits renowned mutant geneticist Doctor Sarah Kinney to develop a clone of Wolverine.
Since the only genetic sample from Weapon X is damaged, Kinney is unable to salvage the Y
chromosome
. Kinney proposes the creation of a female genetic twin; her request is denied. Sutter's protégé Doctor Zander Rice, whom he has raised after Rice's father was killed by the original Weapon X, is opposed to the idea. After 22 failed attempts at reconstituting the DNA using a duplicate X chromosome, the 23rd sample yields a viable sample to combine with an embryo. Although Kinney is allowed to proceed, Rice exacts revenge for her insubordination by forcing her to act as the surrogate mother of the specimen. For nine months, Kinney's every move is monitored; finally, she gives birth to "X-23".
After seven years, Rice subjects X-23 to radiation poisoning in order to activate her mutant gene. He extracts her claws, coats them with adamantium, and reinserts them back into her hands and feet - a procedure performed without affording the child any anesthetic. Rice creates a "trigger scent" that drives X-23 into a murderous rage when she detects it. X-23 is then trained to be a hired assassin, ordered to kill "anyone...everyone...for a price."
Kinney's niece Megan is abducted by a serial killer; she smuggles X-23 out of the facility to rescue her. X-23 tracks the abductor to his apartment, kills him, and frees Megan. Kinney is fired when she returns and is escorted off the base. Shortly thereafter, Rice assigns X-23 to eliminate Sutter and his family; he orders her to keep it secret. However, X-23 reveals to Sarah that Rice is responsible for the murders. Before Kinney leaves, Rice reveals a chamber containing the incubation pods for subjects X-24 through X-50.
Kinney drafts a letter to her daughter, assigning her a final mission: destroy the pods and kill Rice. X-23 succeeds and meets her mother, and they prepare to flee. However, prior to his death, Rice exposed Kinney to the trigger scent; X-23 goes into a murderous frenzy and kills her mother. As she lies dying, Kinney tells X-23 that her name is Laura and that she loves her, and hands her the letter and pictures of Charles Xavier
, Wolverine, and the Xavier Institute
.
agents, X-23 awakens bound and gagged in the company of Captain America
and Matt Murdock
, who proceed to interrogate her about her past. X-23 describes how she traveled to San Francisco and tracked down Megan and Debbie (her mother's sister). Introducing herself as Sarah's daughter, she moves in with them. Although Megan experiences vivid nightmares of her abduction, her family believes these to be utter fantasies. X-23 informs Megan that the man in her nightmares was indeed real and that she killed him.
Debbie's boyfriend turns out to be an agent for the Facility who has been instructed to manipulate X-23 into killing Megan and Debbie using the trigger scent. However, the agent fumbles the assignment and is killed by X-23. Facility agents storm the house, led by the woman who served as X-23's handler, Kimura
(Kimura abused X-23 in the facility and punished her even if the missions went according to plan).
X-23 manages to get Megan and Debbie to safety by handcuffing Kimura to a radiator and then triggering an explosion in the house, buying some time. After X-23 and Megan part, X-23 decides to confront the man who made her creation possible - Wolverine.
X-23 tracks Wolverine to Xavier's mansion and engages him in a battle, defeating him via tactics and maneuverability. However, she does not kill him. Instead, she tells him why she came. Wolverine reveals that he is aware of X-23's ordeal, having received a detailed letter from her mother. The talk is interrupted when Captain America comes to arrest Laura.
Despite the mayhem in her past, Matt Murdock accepts X-23's innocence. Captain America wants X-23 to atone for the murders she has committed. However, he ultimately frees X-23 in order to avoid S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exploitation of her as their own weapon.
, a young mutant with the ability to freeze time when in danger, and Tatiana Caban, a mutant who can take on the physical attributes of whoever and whatever she comes into contact with via their blood, X-23 starts to come to her senses. Although she runs away from Zebra Daddy, he tracks her down. With the aid of her newfound friends (and the mutant named Bobby Soul), Zebra Daddy and his thugs are defeated: X-23 kills him to save the lives of her friends.
X-23 takes a job as a waitress at the mutant-themed "Wannabee's" nightclub in the Mutant Town
district of New York. She defends Jade Parisi, daughter of mob boss Don Parisi, against some thugs who berate her for having a mutant boyfriend. X-23 kills some of the thugs and helps Jade escape and go into hiding. The deaths inadvertently implicate Wolverine, prompting his teammates to investigate. X-23 attacks Wolverine on sight, but he eventually calms her down, and she leads the X-Men to Parisi's daughter. After aiding the X-Men against Parisi's mutant enforcer Geech, X-23 flees the scene. This encounter is later revealed to be partially arranged between X-23 and Wolverine in order for her to encounter and ally with the X-Men without revealing her past.
She later returns to help the X-Men save victims of a car accident, after which she is enrolled at the Xavier Institute
and assigned a room with Rachel Summers
and Kitty Pryde
. X-23 behaves protectively towards Wolverine, observing him on the mansion's security monitors and even attacking his teammate Bishop
after he floors Wolverine during a training session.
During one of her sessions at the mansion's monitors, an anomalous energy spike prompts X-23 to investigate. She encounters Spider-Man
at the source of the signal; mistaking him for an enemy, she attacks him. The pair ultimately team up to save the young mutant Paul Patterson from an alternate reality version of Iron Man
known as Iron Maniac. The arrival of Captain America and the super-spy Black Widow help turn the tide, with Spider-Man and X-23 destroying Iron Maniac's equipment using their own version of the classic Fastball Special
.
X-23 secretly follows Wolverine on his investigation of strange activity in the Canadian Rockies
. Ambushed by the Hauk'ka, evolved Saurians from the Savage Land
, X-23 manages to escape and alert the X-Men. Traveling to the Savage Land, X-23 and the X-Men team-up with the Savage Land's lord Ka-Zar
and his allies, the Savage Land Mutates
, to prevent the Hauk'ka from destroying human civilization by exerting control over the weather-manipulating X-Man, Storm.
to become Captain Universe. She quickly learns that A.I.M.
is seeking the Uni-Power in hopes of using it against their enemies. She agrees to help the Uni-Power, and travels with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent called the Scorpion to a secret A.I.M. hideout. There, they discover information on the Uni-Power that is being transferred to another facility. The Scorpion attempts to copy the information, but is stopped by X-23. The Scorpion is then ordered to take her in to custody, but covers for her instead and allows X-23 to escape. At the close of the issue, the Uni-Power bids farewell to X-23, and parts ways with her.
After the events of House of M
and Decimation
, X-23 was one of the few mutants to retain her powers. X-23, having previously left the institute off-panel, returns to the X-Mansion at Wolverine's insistence. Laura is assigned a room with fellow mutant student Sooraya Qadir
. She begins to develop an attraction towards Julian Keller, aka Hellion
, protecting him while participating in holographic combat simulations created for members of the student body by David Alleyne, formerly a mutant codenamed Prodigy.
After Jay Guthrie
appears bloodied and beaten on the doorstep of the institute, Emma Frost
has the powered students compete in a free-for-all brawl, with those deemed to be the best performers assigned to a new team of trainee X-Men
. Despite Frost's attempts to omit her, X-23 is among those students who excel during the exercise, and also receives unexpected aid from Hellion, whom Frost has instructed to take out X-23 from the battle first. She is placed on the team with Mercury, Dust
, Hellion
, Elixir
, Rockslide
, and team leader Surge
by Cyclops, who defeats Frost's attempts to keep her off the team by pulling rank.
As the depowered students and staff are leaving the school, their bus is bombed by anti-mutant religious zealot Reverend William Stryker
. X-23 overhears Dust talking to Icarus
, who had fled the Mansion. Dust intends to meet Jay, but Laura warns her that it's a trap, and takes Dust's place. Donning Dust's burqa, X-23 is shot upon arriving at Stryker's compound. Laura returns to the Mansion and singlehandedly kills three Purifiers who have incapacitated Surge, Hellion, and Emma Frost.
When Surge receives a distress call from Forge
, X-23 accompanies the New X-Men. Although the team disables the Nimrod unit, X-23 is grievously wounded and is unable to heal herself. In order to save X-23, Hellion convinces Emma Frost to unlock his telekinetic potential, increasing his powers (and thus, his speed) to a level thought impossible by a O.N.E. sentinel guard. This allows them to fly back to the mansion in time for Laura to be healed by Elixir.
and her minions, who in turn capture Cessily. After Laura returns to the school, she and Hellion go off to locate the Facility's whereabouts. X-23 interrogates a man at gun point, and upon securing the information, shoots him in the head. Hellion informs her that killing will no longer be a part of their interrogation technique.
X-23 and Hellion
infiltrate the Facility and after an encounter with Kimura, the two soon find Cessily in liquid form, barely able to compose herself. They are attacked by Predator X, who has absorbed Cessily's liquid mercury skin; X-23 and Hellion decide to fall back, but are pursued by the Predators. The group is once again ambushed, only to be rescued by the Astonishing X-Men
and New X-Men
. The two teams turn the tables on the attackers, and defeat the remaining facility troops. During the shuffle, the remaining Predator escapes.
Sometime later, Emma Frost finds Kimura trying to assassinate X-23, and confronts her, erasing the one happy moment in Kimura's life from her memory, and psychically suggesting that Kimura's assignment now is to hunt down the remaining members of the Facility and kill them.
, the demon lord Belasco
brings the students to Limbo. X-23 is one of the students that are trapped there; she is seen trying to fight off her restraints. Her enhanced sight enables her to see the Institute and she tells Trance
to use her astral projection powers to go to the Institute. She tells Elixir that Belasco plans to kill David
, Dust, and Mercury. Afterwards, she urges Mercury and Dust to fight Belasco. The demon lord is not impressed by her attacks, and, as he declares her soul not worth taking, reduces X-23 to nothing but bones and adamantium claws with an energy blast. He later uses his magic to resurrect her, but then proceeds to torture X-23, claiming he will kill and resurrect as many of the students as he desires until Magik is brought to him. She is then revived by Elixir and at David's instructions, frees the Stepford Cuckoos
before slowing Belasco's stride.
. With several other students, she pins him down, but is knocked away when he regains his strength. Attacking him a second time, she manages to blind him with the claw in her foot. However, the Hulk recovers, grabs X-23, and hurls her into the mansion, stating in what may have been a grimly sarcastic manner that he hopes she heals like Wolverine.
to cut off his other arm so it would grow back stronger. After Anole tells them no, she is later seen being interviewed by Surge about what happened to Prodigy in Limbo.
Later, the students of the Xavier Institute are trying to find out which one of them is the youngest mutant on the planet. During the meeting, Surge kisses Hellion, which upsets X-23 and she runs away. Mercury finds her in the girl’s restroom, having cut herself and trashed the restroom in a fit of rage. She wonders what is happening and doesn't understand what she is feeling. Mercury hugs her and tries to reassure her that she isn’t alone anymore. In the end, she is seen lying on the floor laughing and relaxing with Mercury and Dust.
decide to launch a preemptive strike against the Purifiers
. While spying on the Purifiers, X-23 manages to impress Armor
with her senses. They are ambushed by the Reavers, whose leader, Lady Deathstrike
mortally wounds Hellion and after a brief fight, Pixie manages to teleport the team out and are spread between Washington and the Institute.
After Iceman
picks up the New X-Men, the mansion is attacked by Sentinels. He and X-23 take them out. Cyclops
, realizing he has to up the stakes and get the child no matter what, decides it is time to assemble the X-Force which features her, Wolverine, Wolfsbane
, Caliban
, Warpath
, and Hepzibah
.
While in pursuit of Cable
and the mutant newborn, X-Force
battles Lady Deathstrike and her new Reavers
. Wolverine sets X-23 against Deathstrike, who wants revenge for her nearly killing Hellion, and seemingly kills her after crippling her cybernetic systems and her healing factor. Later, she traveled with X-Force to Eagle Plaza in Dallas and then to Muir Island
, the Marauders
' new base. During the heavy battle between the X-Men and the Marauders, X-23 saves Wolverine's life, killing Scrambler
just before he scrambled Wolverine's healing factor.
decides to form a black ops incarnation of X-Force
that would be able to use any means necessary, including lethal force, to preemptively deal with the threats that would be too dangerous or unsavory for the X-Men to handle normally. X-23 is the first member to join the team as she is drafted by Cyclops due to her inherent tracking skills as well as assassination training. Wolverine is later approached to lead the team, and although he accepts, he becomes angry and disappointed to find out that Cyclops had drafted Laura without consulting him first, and that Laura had agreed to join an operation that would expose her to the same types of brutality and ruthlessness that he had been trying to remove her from in the first place.
Wolverine asks her to reconsider taking part in the operation, since he feels that she does not understand what she is giving up and stating that if she continues down this path she will not be Laura anymore, but X-23 once again. When Laura does not step down, Wolverine concedes "Fine. Your life."
The team's first mission has them investigating the theft of Bastion's
cyborg head from a S.H.I.E.L.D.
base. However, the mission is a failure and Matthew Risman
, the leader of the Purifiers, escapes from what is left of the building ruthlessly blown up by X-23, holding Wolfsbane as his hostage.
When X-Force regroups later, Wolverine admonishes Laura for being so reckless with the lives of her teammates and for letting Rahne get kidnapped. Laura remorselessly replies to both accusations by coldly remarking "they survived" and "saving Wolfsbane was not my mission." When X-Force retrieves Elixir so that he can heal Wolfsbane, Laura is seen approaching Wolverine outside. Laura remarks that Rahne should have known better. Her comment made Wolverine angry and he admonishes her, telling her that Rahne is the person they should die for. This confuses Laura, and she is seen alone in the forest, mutilating herself with her claws. She then catches the scent of Elixir and Angel's blood respectively, and runs off to help them. She reaches the room just in time to see Wolfsbane standing above Warren with his wings in her jaws. Laura prepares to attack Wolfsbane, but remembers what Wolverine said to her earlier about Wolfsbane being the one they should die for, and instead allows Wolfsbane to slash her open.
X-23 stays by Elixir's side as they both watch Wolverine and Warpath attack Angel -who has turned into his archangel form- and witness Archangel wound Wolverine. Laura is then wounded by Archangel.
After the group manages to defeat (or rather delay) Bastion's evil plans, the X-Men attempt to understand what has happened to Wolfsbane and Angel, and also decide what to do with Elixir, who unfortunately knows too much about X-Force. X-23 believes the easiest thing to do would be to kill Josh, but she knows that would not be allowed. Instead, she goes behind everyone's back and contacts the Stepford Cuckoos, who are loyal to Cyclops and would keep X-Force's existence a secret. X-23 and Josh request that the Three-in-One erase Josh's memories of X-Force, thus allowing him to return home without being a risk to the team.
Around this time, a S.H.I.E.L.D. member known as Agent Morales begins looking into X-23's past when she comes across images of the Purifier massacre.
When the team is joined by Domino
, X-23 also doesn't trust her, even having her claws out when Domino is in the same room with her.
When Vanisher comes to Angel's mansion, demanding to know what they have done to him, X-23 confronts him with the rest of the team. When Archangel says that clones "aren't real", X-23 doesn't appear to care. She takes part in retrieving the Legacy Virus that Vanisher left behind. X-23 also attacks the Marauders' clones that attack them, killing them with very little hesitation. X-23 then tells Elixir not to "hold back" against the Marauders' clones. When X-23 tries to kill herself due to becoming infected with the Legacy Virus, Elixir stops her and gets rid of the Legacy Virus.
. X-23 was roomed with Armor
and Pixie. Laura left behind a towel covered with blood, which the latter brought to Emma Frost
. Frost stated that it wasn't Laura's blood and later brought this matter to the Cabal
.
In Cable #15, X-23 is finally reunited with Kiden Nixon
, who herself makes her first appearance outside the NYX series. Sadly this future version of Kiden is hooked up to several machines and is used as a generator in order to create a temporal anomaly that disrupts time travel technology, essentially trapping X-Force (which is lethal for them if they don't return within 33.5 hours), Cable and Hope
in this era. While X-23 agonizes over killing Kiden or not (Kiden herself asks for death) the matter is taken out of her hands when Domino shoots and kills her.
X-23, Domino, and Proudstar are dispatched back in order to save Boom Boom
, however both Domino and Proudstar fall ill due to the time travel. Feeling grateful for saving her friend and ending her suffering, X-23 disables the time travel devices on the other two and goes back in time in order to save Boom Boom herself.
before she could kill Boom Boom out of spite for X-Force not killing her. X-23 then collapses in exhaustion. H.A.M.M.E.R. agents then storm the building, giving medical care, while they take X-23 in for questioning. However it turns out the agents take her back to the Facility (for whom they are actually employed, as they are not really H.A.M.M.E.R. agents), much to the surprise of Agent Morales. There Laura is reunited with Kimura, who saws off her left arm. Agent Morales arrives and helps Laura to escape. Kimura is trapped under a blast door while Laura and Agent Morales find themselves in a room containing large tanks filled with the Trigger Scent. While inside the room, Laura cuts the claws out of her severed arm and gives them to Morales for safekeeping. She lights a Molotov cocktail of sorts which sets the sprinkler system off. The Facility soldiers finish cutting through to Laura just as Kimura realizes the sprinklers are spraying the Trigger Scent everywhere. X-23 goes feral and kills all the soldiers in her way. She gets to the Facility head's office just as the sprinklers start spraying water, washing away the scent. Kimura manages to club Laura from behind and then kills the Facility head, planning on framing Laura for it. Agent Morales arrives and sets Kimura on fire to distract her while she and Laura make her escape. Morales reveals she rigged the place to explode and they get out in time. The rest of X-Force arrives and takes Laura and her severed claws home, leading into the events of Necrosha.
It was revealed that she will be the subject of a one-shot comic called X-23, which deals with her reuniting with her friends from the NYX series.
In the fall-out of the Second Coming, Wolverine cuts X-23 from the team, citing she's been following orders all her life, from the Facility, Weapon Plus and the X-Men. He tells her it's time she made her own choices and follow her own path.
Shortly after her dismissal from X-Force, X-23 tracks a former Weapon X scientist named Detlef Metzger to a restaurant. After tying up and gagging a waitress and stealing her uniform, X-23 infiltrates the diner with the intention of capturing the man before he can perform experiments using a vial of Wolverine's blood. Before she can make her move, a group of US soldiers arrive and escape with Metzger. As the soldiers drive off, X-23 notices that Daken
had been in the same restaurant, and had been watching her.
A flashback opening the second chapter of "The Killing Dream" shows Wolverine and X-23 at a theme park. While they are preparing for the roller coaster to launch, Wolverine states he's adopting her as his daughter. When brought back to the present, the fire was implied to be started by the devil possessing Wolverine. He meets X-23 in the hospital and seemingly "kills" Hellion before diving into her mind. He tries to convince her to join him as his queen in Hell. X-23 finds her inner "light" and banishes him from her mind. She awakes to find that there is blood everywhere but she and Hellion are fine. She also notices a symbol on her hand (Marjorie Liu promises that the symbol will be a long mystery). The X-Men are perplexed about her situation and want her to stay so that they can "fix" her, but Gambit
convinces them otherwise. X-23 silently visits Hellion's room (unaware that he knows she's there) before she leaves Utopia.
Wolverine arrives at X-23 and Gambit's hotel room, with Jubilee
as company, which X-23 nearly attacks her because of the scent of a vampire on her. Wolverine and X-23 converse on top of the hotel roof about her mental state and gives her advice about filling her heart with better memories. Gambit questions Wolverine about why he never treated X-23 with the same compassion as Jubilee. Wolverine admits that he didn't make the right decisions with X-23 and is going to make attempts to rectify it for both X-23 and Jubilee.
X-23 and Jubilee are walking on the streets of Paris, and are harassed by a group of men. Jubilee manages to get the group to leave them alone. X-23 then slits her own neck, thereby arousing Jubilee's vampire instincts and attempts to gorge her fangs into her. Jubilee tastes X-23 blood with her tongue and witnesses the violent visions of X-23's memories. This causes Jubilee to fight her temptation and overcome the blood lust.
Jubilee questions X-23 if her offering her blood was a twisted joke and attempts to hit her in anger, but the punch is stopped due to X-23's reflexes. Jubilee explains that despite being a predator, she wants to keep the remaining shards of her humanity intact. She decided to leave Utopia because the people she once considered friends are now afraid of her, to the point of wanting to kill her. X-23 empathizes with her because she was born and raised to be a killer, and murder is the only way she knows she's alive. X-23 left because she couldn't just become someone new that easily, especially with the others watching and judging. Jubilee questions why X-23 offered her blood, and her reply was to see if Jubilee would give in to her predatory impulses, but there was a hidden agenda in her answer.
Gambit receives a call from a Paris criminal underworld contact about an arms auction in Paris that is selling a trigger scent. Later in the night, X-23, Gambit, Jubilee, and Wolverine infiltrate the weapons auction. They are unable to find the woman in charge of the auction. X-23 picks up a scent and runs towards an elevator, and shuts it before Jubilee can get in. A mysterious voice that X-23 recognizes and is a person on her kill list is speaking to her via intercom. The voice says to her that the scent has been upgraded and now anyone can be affected by it, but X-23 rages are special. X-23 becomes affected by the scent as the elevator arrives at a subway. Before X-23 starts a killing spree on the civilians, Jubilee crashes in on an attempt to subdue her, but to no avail as X-23 attempts to kill her. Jubilee pushes X-23 onto the train tracks just as a subway car is coming towards both of them at full speed.
Jubilee at the last seconds leaps and tackles X-23 from the speeding train. X-23's leg was ran over, but she bends in back in position and attempts to continue her assault on Jubilee. Gambit and Wolverine intervene to calm X-23's rage. Wolverine takes the full impact of her blows stating that he is not going to give up on her. Gambit manages to get X-23 to remember who really cares about her. X-23's rage disappears and she apologizes to the group.
.
's genetic material. Consequently, her mutant powers are similar to his. Like Wolverine, X-23's primary mutant ability is an accelerated healing factor that allows her to regenerate damaged or destroyed tissues with far greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Injuries such as gunshot wounds, slashes, and puncture wounds completely heal within a matter of minutes. Her healing factor is developed to such a degree that she can reattach severed limbs. She has also been shown to be able to regrow limbs; for example, she regrew her arm in time after Kimura had severed it from her body. She severs her own hand to escape the restraints placed on her by Kimura
. The effects of her accelerated healing powers extend to her body's immune system
, rendering her immune to disease and infection. She is also immune to most drugs and toxins, although she can be affected by certain drugs if given sufficient dosage.
X-23's mutant healing factor heightened her physical senses, strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes to superhuman levels. Like Wolverine, X-23 possesses retractable claws sheathed within her forearms. She releases the claws through the tissue of her knuckles, leaving small wounds which are healed by her healing factor. Unlike Wolverine, however, X-23 has only two claws that emerge from her fists. She possesses a single, retractable claw housed within each foot. These claws are actually made of bone and were forcefully extracted by Zander Rice, sharpened, coated with adamantium, and reinserted into her body. Also unlike Wolverine, X-23 escaped before the procedure to fuse her entire skeleton with adamantium could be performed. Since the claws are laced with adamantium, they are virtually unbreakable and are capable of cutting almost any substance. The four known exceptions are adamantium itself, Kimura's skin, the alloy of Captain America's shield
, and Thor's hammer Mjolnir.
. She also engages in self-injury, cutting herself with her own claws; this is something she has done since a very young age. X-23 is a highly trained and skilled combatant; she is able to kill dozens of heavily armed opponents during a single encounter.
X-23's mother, Dr. Sarah Kinney, did her best to ensure the child retained some semblance of humanity, but her efforts appeared to be in vain. X-23 rarely spoke, or expressed much interest in her mother, who was forced to reject any emotional advance the girl might make, such as laying her head in her mother's lap, because of the Facility. Despite the upbringing X-23 received, she has always shown signs of humanity. In one particular mission when X-23 was assigned to assassinate Martin Sutter and his family, she killed Sutter and his wife without hesitation, but she spared their young son, Henry.
X-23 seemed to have taken up a better disposition since joining the New X-Men. She became a student at the Xavier Institute, found friends in Dust and Mercury, and developed apparent romantic feelings towards Hellion. Being a central part of a team helped her adjust to the world. However, she still retains the cold, no-nonsense attitude that was evident in the Mercury Falling arc which, along with the Children of X-Men arc, showed that Laura also has trouble comprehending and expressing the many new emotions she has been experiencing for the very first time.
picture and a picture of Megan, which X-23 wears throughout the New X-Men run.
During the events of NYX, X-23 befriends a number of mutant runaways. By the first time she comes to live at the Xavier Institute
, she has regressed to sullen silence and snarls, which are a ploy to keep people away for their own safety. She has developed bonds with roommates Kitty Pryde
and Rachel Summers
, and has formed a solid bond with Psylocke
, due to their mutual love of battle.
X-23 has found common ground with the cosmic being known as Captain Universe
who, like X-23, has been hunted relentlessly by terrorists who wish to use his power for their own selfish ends. Although their meeting was brief, the two formed an intimate and intricate bond that is common amongst most Uni-Power recipients.
When she returns to the school, X-23 is met with much apprehension from headmistress Emma Frost
. Emma does, however, come to appreciate her as a valuable member of the New X-Men team. The other students become more receptive of her, especially following her major role in countering Stryker's attack. Subsequently, she bonds with her teammates; she and Sooraya
develop a mutual respect for each other. She is also good friends with Mercury, whom she saved on two different occasions. Cessily is one of the first people to instantly show respect to her and she treats her with kindness, especially chiding Santo for calling her clone and says firmly her name is Laura. She also ran after Laura after Nori kissed Julian and she hugged her tightly. Laura was even willing to sacrifice her life to protect her and Julian.
The first time Laura and Julian meet each other, Julian is harsh to her, mostly because his ex-girlfriend Sophia stopped talking to him because of an underhanded remark he made about depowered individuals being useless. Hellion takes out his pent up frustration out on her while Laura, completely silent, takes an instant fascination to him. This is shown when in the Danger Cave, Julian gets attacked by dinosaurs and she constantly saves him. However, he treats her like a dog and tells her to shoo. When Hellion gets injured while checking the bus that exploded, he subsequently appears at the funeral where Laura is shown to be watching him walk by.
During the New X-Men's battle with Nimrod
in Texas, Laura helped Surge and Mercury deliver the finishing blow by jumping directly on the android and slicing open its armor. Though the attack is successful, Laura ends up taking the full brunt of Nimrod's energy attacks which incinerated her body past the limits of her healing abilities. With the team crippled and seriously wounded, Julian compels Emma to unlock the mental block that controls his powers so that he can fly X-23 back to the mansion at hypersonic speeds. Hellion manages to bring Laura to the mansion in the nick of time, but the strain of his uncontrolled powers and the previous battle causes him to pass out and fall asleep for a few days. Laura stood over Julian for a long time, just watching him but when he said "Sophia" in his sleep, she was visibly upset and left the room. She even watches over him when he does his training with Beast, causing Emma Frost to reveal that she had been following Hellion around. Cessily eventually overhears and asks about her liking Julian, but Laura merely responds "I do not wish to talk about this," smiling a little.
When Cessily is captured, Laura gets ready to go after her, until Hellion walks in and demands to go with her. She refuses, mostly out of concern for his safety, but he forces her to take him by flying them both. This caused her to blush a little. When she kills a man in front of him, he freaks out and tells her to stop killing. This upsets her greatly. Also twice in this arc, Julian is referred to as "your boyfriend."
During the Quest for Magik, Nori and Julian end up having a talk about what happened, and Hellion states that X-23 is seriously "messed up."
In the Children of X-Men arc, Surge
unexpectedly kisses Julian
in front of the whole school to upset Prodigy
enough so he'd leave the institute. When Laura sees this, she simply unsheathes her claws and appears to storm off. Cessily later finds a bloodied Laura sitting against the wall of a bathroom she had just completely demolished. Laura tells her that she doesn't understand all these emotions she has been feeling and is afraid she might hurt someone. Meanwhile, Julian admits to Dust that he's confused about romance and "he can't stop thinking about a girl that literally scares him."
In the Messiah Complex event, Julian is seriously wounded by Lady Deathstrike
. When Laura fights and apparently kills Deathstrike later, she says that Deathstrike was "dead the moment she touched Julian Keller."
During X-Force Wolverine regrets giving out the names of the captives, noting that among them is Julian at which he notes: "I could smell it on her. Her whole body lit up when I said Keller's name." She also says before passing out "Have..to get..to Julian."
Also, during Second Coming when Julian is critically injured, she can be seen visiting him with sadness in her face before going on X-Force's assumed suicide mission.
When Laura met the X-Kids after Second Coming, Surge was relentlessly bullying her about her involvement in X-Force. Hellion states that he was happy to see her, as it was different when she wasn't getting him in trouble. He was going to say something when out of the blue, Laura says that she had missed him. This shocks Julian, who says that she has never said that to him before. "You know I am not good with words."
After Hellverine reveals himself to Laura, she attacks him but Julian walks in at the same time, thinking Laura has gone crazy and restrains her with TK. She tells him he's making a mistake but he says he's doing this because she's his best friend. When Hellverine stabs Hellion, Laura offers her soul in exchange for reviving Hellion.
In hell, Hellverine taunts her, saying that they're all scared of her, and "are they still worth it?" He points out Julian, whom she knows to herself that he is worth saving. This turns out to be all in her mind but it visibly has an effect on her and causes her to want to leave the X-Men. Before she leaves, she tries to say goodbye to Hellion but thinking he is asleep, she just stares at him and walks away. Unknown to her, he was never asleep.
Laura has also developed a somewhat antagonistic relationship with Jubilee
. This seems to stem from the latter's amicable relationship with Wolverine, who both girls see as a father figure. While meeting up in Paris with both girls in tow, Gambit tells Wolverine not to pretend that "it doesn't make it hard for her when she sees the difference in how [he] treat Jubilee."
series of books, X-23 is an adult, and a prominent member of the X-Men and the X.S.E.
X-23, M
, and Iceman
are sent to Hong Kong
to locate and capture the renegade X.S.E. member, Sage
. However, Sage uses her considerable espionage skills to ambush X-23, attaching a mysterious collar to her neck that temporarily overwhelms X-23. Sage removes the collar and attempts to flee just as Iceman arrives and freezes her in ice, allowing the group to safely take her into custody.
X-23, Marvel Girl
, M, and Wolverine are sent by Cyclops
to locate the whereabouts of Mister Sinister
, Gambit
, and the missing Summers and LeBeau children. The group finds Sinister's hidden base but are immediately immobilized by an attack from the Ladies Mastermind. The team members live out fantasy existences until Wolverine breaks them free of the mind control. Charging deeper into the base, the group fights against Sinister's marauders
to save the children. Later, X-23 and the X-Men travel to Shi'ar
space, and a massive battle ensues. She is one of the very few X-Men who survive and is seen attending to Kitty Pryde's speech at the end of the story (see X-Men: The End
).
In this reality, it is shown that she is in love with Fantomex, and it is revealed during an illusion caused by the Ladies Mastermind, that her dream is for them to be with married as a normal suburban couple with a daughter.
, a version of X-23 was revealed to exist in the Age of Apocalypse
, going by the name Kirika. She was found in one of Mister Sinister
's labs after it was liberated by Magneto
. At the end of the miniseries, it was revealed that she was the daughter of Weapon X (Wolverine) and Mariko Yashida
. Unlike her Earth-616
counterpart, she has three claws on her hands; the metal was grafted on by Magneto, and he did so on her request.
's Marvel Team-Up
(vol. 3), featuring a group of C-list heroes dubbed "The League of Losers". A group of heroes including X-23, Darkhawk
, Dagger
, Araña
, Gravity
, Sleepwalker
, Speedball, and Terror
(although Araña dies along the way) go to the future to prevent the villain Chronok from stealing Reed Richards
' time machine; Chronok came to the present after already having killed all of Marvel's major heroes.
It's revealed Chronok is from the same time period as Kirkman's Mutant 2099
; the group stays with him and his mentor Reed Richards to wait for Chronok, and during this time X-23 sparks a relationship with Gravity. They defeat Chronok, but at the end of the story, Richards reveals they cannot go back to their present, due to time travel and alternate timelines. The group decides to stay in the future, satisfied with the impact they made, however unnoticed. Mutant 2099 suggests reforming the Avengers
or the "Fantastic Nine".
Due to the Marvel Universe's method for resolving time travel paradoxes, this story occurred in an alternate universe.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al comic book superheroine appearing in books published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, in particular those featuring the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. X-23 is a female clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
.
Publication history
X-23 was created for the X-Men: EvolutionX-Men: Evolution
X-Men: Evolution is an American animated television series about the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. In this incarnation many of the characters are teenagers rather than adults...
animated television series before being brought into comics. X-23 first appears in episode #41 (season 3, episode 11) of the program (titled "X-23").
Her comic debut was in 2004
2004 in comics
-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
in the series NYX, where her history and past were never divulged but her abilities were showcased. In X-23, her first miniseries, her origin was fully explained. She became part of the X-Men supporting cast in Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
#450.
X-23 was created by Craig Kyle
Craig Kyle
Craig Kyle is an American writer for Marvel Comics. He has also produced several of Marvel's Direct to DVD animated films and co-produced Thor.-Biography:...
. He and Christopher Yost were the writers of the two episodes of X-Men: Evolution in which X-23 appears ("X-23" and "Target X"). Kyle and Yost also scripted X-23: Innocence Lost, a six issue miniseries that details the character's origin, as well as X-23: Target X, a six issue miniseries that covers the character's experiences between her origin story and her appearance in NYX. They continued to write X-23 into their runs on New X-Men
New X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
and X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
as a member of the teams.
X-23 received an ongoing comic book series in 2010, written by Marjorie Liu
Marjorie Liu
Marjorie M. Liu is a New York Times best-selling author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels and comic books. Her novels include the 2005 paranormal romance Tiger Eye. Her comics work includes a number Marvel Comics series related to the X-Men and Wolverine, including NYX, X-23 and Dark...
.
On November 15, 2011, Marvel announced that the X-23 comic series will be canceled at issue #20.
X-23: Innocence Lost
A top-secret program is tasked to replicate the original Weapon XWeapon X
Weapon X is a fictional clandestine government genetic research facility project in the Marvel Universe conducted by the Canadian Government's Department K, which turns willing and unwilling beings into living weapons. The project often captures mutants and experiments on them to enhance their...
experiment that bonded adamantium to the skeleton of Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
. The project is taken in a new direction: Doctor Martin Sutter recruits renowned mutant geneticist Doctor Sarah Kinney to develop a clone of Wolverine.
Since the only genetic sample from Weapon X is damaged, Kinney is unable to salvage the Y
Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in most mammals, including humans. In mammals, it contains the gene SRY, which triggers testis development if present. The human Y chromosome is composed of about 60 million base pairs...
chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
. Kinney proposes the creation of a female genetic twin; her request is denied. Sutter's protégé Doctor Zander Rice, whom he has raised after Rice's father was killed by the original Weapon X, is opposed to the idea. After 22 failed attempts at reconstituting the DNA using a duplicate X chromosome, the 23rd sample yields a viable sample to combine with an embryo. Although Kinney is allowed to proceed, Rice exacts revenge for her insubordination by forcing her to act as the surrogate mother of the specimen. For nine months, Kinney's every move is monitored; finally, she gives birth to "X-23".
Kinney's niece Megan is abducted by a serial killer; she smuggles X-23 out of the facility to rescue her. X-23 tracks the abductor to his apartment, kills him, and frees Megan. Kinney is fired when she returns and is escorted off the base. Shortly thereafter, Rice assigns X-23 to eliminate Sutter and his family; he orders her to keep it secret. However, X-23 reveals to Sarah that Rice is responsible for the murders. Before Kinney leaves, Rice reveals a chamber containing the incubation pods for subjects X-24 through X-50.
Kinney drafts a letter to her daughter, assigning her a final mission: destroy the pods and kill Rice. X-23 succeeds and meets her mother, and they prepare to flee. However, prior to his death, Rice exposed Kinney to the trigger scent; X-23 goes into a murderous frenzy and kills her mother. As she lies dying, Kinney tells X-23 that her name is Laura and that she loves her, and hands her the letter and pictures of Charles Xavier
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
, Wolverine, and the Xavier Institute
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
.
X-23: Target X
After being arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D.S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
agents, X-23 awakens bound and gagged in the company of Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
and Matt Murdock
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
, who proceed to interrogate her about her past. X-23 describes how she traveled to San Francisco and tracked down Megan and Debbie (her mother's sister). Introducing herself as Sarah's daughter, she moves in with them. Although Megan experiences vivid nightmares of her abduction, her family believes these to be utter fantasies. X-23 informs Megan that the man in her nightmares was indeed real and that she killed him.
Debbie's boyfriend turns out to be an agent for the Facility who has been instructed to manipulate X-23 into killing Megan and Debbie using the trigger scent. However, the agent fumbles the assignment and is killed by X-23. Facility agents storm the house, led by the woman who served as X-23's handler, Kimura
Kimura (comics)
Kimura is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. She first appeared in New X-Men #31 as the handler of X-23. She is X-23's greatest foe to date, someone she was never able to defeat.-Origin:...
(Kimura abused X-23 in the facility and punished her even if the missions went according to plan).
X-23 manages to get Megan and Debbie to safety by handcuffing Kimura to a radiator and then triggering an explosion in the house, buying some time. After X-23 and Megan part, X-23 decides to confront the man who made her creation possible - Wolverine.
X-23 tracks Wolverine to Xavier's mansion and engages him in a battle, defeating him via tactics and maneuverability. However, she does not kill him. Instead, she tells him why she came. Wolverine reveals that he is aware of X-23's ordeal, having received a detailed letter from her mother. The talk is interrupted when Captain America comes to arrest Laura.
Despite the mayhem in her past, Matt Murdock accepts X-23's innocence. Captain America wants X-23 to atone for the murders she has committed. However, he ultimately frees X-23 in order to avoid S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exploitation of her as their own weapon.
NYX
X-23 surfaces in New York City and is taken in by a pimp named Zebra Daddy; she works as a prostitute who specializes in cutting masochistic patrons. X-23 continues to cut herself with her own claws, is mostly mute, and proves unable to free herself from the grip of Zebra Daddy. Upon meeting Kiden NixonKiden Nixon
Kiden Nixon is a fictional character, a mutant in the limited Marvel Comics series NYX.-NYX:Living with her loving parents and three brothers in the fictional X-District of New York City, Kiden's life changed forever as a young girl when her police officer father was gunned down in front of her...
, a young mutant with the ability to freeze time when in danger, and Tatiana Caban, a mutant who can take on the physical attributes of whoever and whatever she comes into contact with via their blood, X-23 starts to come to her senses. Although she runs away from Zebra Daddy, he tracks her down. With the aid of her newfound friends (and the mutant named Bobby Soul), Zebra Daddy and his thugs are defeated: X-23 kills him to save the lives of her friends.
X-Men
District X
District X, also known as Mutant Town or the Middle East Side, is a fictional location in Marvel Comics. It is a neighborhood in New York City, first seen during Grant Morrison's run on the series New X-Men in New X-Men #127, which was primarily populated by mutants...
district of New York. She defends Jade Parisi, daughter of mob boss Don Parisi, against some thugs who berate her for having a mutant boyfriend. X-23 kills some of the thugs and helps Jade escape and go into hiding. The deaths inadvertently implicate Wolverine, prompting his teammates to investigate. X-23 attacks Wolverine on sight, but he eventually calms her down, and she leads the X-Men to Parisi's daughter. After aiding the X-Men against Parisi's mutant enforcer Geech, X-23 flees the scene. This encounter is later revealed to be partially arranged between X-23 and Wolverine in order for her to encounter and ally with the X-Men without revealing her past.
She later returns to help the X-Men save victims of a car accident, after which she is enrolled at the Xavier Institute
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
and assigned a room with Rachel Summers
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
and Kitty Pryde
Kitty Pryde
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 and was created by writer-artist John Byrne....
. X-23 behaves protectively towards Wolverine, observing him on the mansion's security monitors and even attacking his teammate Bishop
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
after he floors Wolverine during a training session.
During one of her sessions at the mansion's monitors, an anomalous energy spike prompts X-23 to investigate. She encounters Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
at the source of the signal; mistaking him for an enemy, she attacks him. The pair ultimately team up to save the young mutant Paul Patterson from an alternate reality version of Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
known as Iron Maniac. The arrival of Captain America and the super-spy Black Widow help turn the tide, with Spider-Man and X-23 destroying Iron Maniac's equipment using their own version of the classic Fastball Special
Fastball special
The Fastball Special is a popular tag-team move in superhero fiction. In a Fastball Special, a hero with superhuman strength literally throws a willing partner toward a target. The maneuver first appeared in the Marvel Comics series Uncanny X-Men #100, when Wolverine had Colossus hurl him in a...
.
X-23 secretly follows Wolverine on his investigation of strange activity in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
. Ambushed by the Hauk'ka, evolved Saurians from the Savage Land
Savage Land
The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land within the fictional Marvel Comics Universe. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in X-Men #10...
, X-23 manages to escape and alert the X-Men. Traveling to the Savage Land, X-23 and the X-Men team-up with the Savage Land's lord Ka-Zar
Ka-Zar
Ka-Zar is the name of two jungle-dwelling comics fictional characters published in the United States. The first appeared in pulp magazines of the 1930s, and was adapted for his second iteration, as a comic book character for Timely Comics, the 1930s and 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics...
and his allies, the Savage Land Mutates
Savage Land Mutates
The Savage Land Mutates are a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain group based in the Savage Land, a hidden Antarctic environment of dinosaurs and primitive people in the Marvel Universe.-Fictional team biography:...
, to prevent the Hauk'ka from destroying human civilization by exerting control over the weather-manipulating X-Man, Storm.
Captain Universe
X-23 is empowered by the cosmic Uni-PowerCaptain Universe
Captain Universe is a disembodied superhero in Marvel Comics' universe who was created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, and first appeared in Micronauts vol. 1 #8. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity...
to become Captain Universe. She quickly learns that A.I.M.
Advanced Idea Mechanics
A.I.M. is a fictional terrorist organization in the . The organization first appeared in Strange Tales #146 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-Publication history:...
is seeking the Uni-Power in hopes of using it against their enemies. She agrees to help the Uni-Power, and travels with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent called the Scorpion to a secret A.I.M. hideout. There, they discover information on the Uni-Power that is being transferred to another facility. The Scorpion attempts to copy the information, but is stopped by X-23. The Scorpion is then ordered to take her in to custody, but covers for her instead and allows X-23 to escape. At the close of the issue, the Uni-Power bids farewell to X-23, and parts ways with her.
Decimation
House of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
and Decimation
Decimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
, X-23 was one of the few mutants to retain her powers. X-23, having previously left the institute off-panel, returns to the X-Mansion at Wolverine's insistence. Laura is assigned a room with fellow mutant student Sooraya Qadir
Dust (comics)
Dust , is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She was created by author Grant Morrison and artist Ethan Van Sciver in New X-Men #133 , although her character was not fully developed until the New X-Men: Academy X series written by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis...
. She begins to develop an attraction towards Julian Keller, aka Hellion
Hellion
Hellion is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute before its closing and is a member of the X-Men's training squad. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #2.-New Mutants, vol...
, protecting him while participating in holographic combat simulations created for members of the student body by David Alleyne, formerly a mutant codenamed Prodigy.
After Jay Guthrie
Icarus (comics)
Icarus , is a fictional character, a mutant superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute and a member of the New Mutants training squad....
appears bloodied and beaten on the doorstep of the institute, Emma Frost
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
has the powered students compete in a free-for-all brawl, with those deemed to be the best performers assigned to a new team of trainee X-Men
New X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
. Despite Frost's attempts to omit her, X-23 is among those students who excel during the exercise, and also receives unexpected aid from Hellion, whom Frost has instructed to take out X-23 from the battle first. She is placed on the team with Mercury, Dust
Dust (comics)
Dust , is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She was created by author Grant Morrison and artist Ethan Van Sciver in New X-Men #133 , although her character was not fully developed until the New X-Men: Academy X series written by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis...
, Hellion
Hellion
Hellion is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute before its closing and is a member of the X-Men's training squad. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #2.-New Mutants, vol...
, Elixir
Elixir (comics)
Elixir , is a fictional character, a mutant in the and a student at the Xavier Institute. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #5, and he is one of only a few students to retain his powers in the wake of House of M....
, Rockslide
Rockslide (comics)
Rockslide is a fictional character, a mutant superhero and member of the X-Men in the . He is a student in the Xavier Institute and a member of the former Hellions squad therein. After M-Day, he was one of only 27 students to retain his powers. He is best friends with Julian Keller and is...
, and team leader Surge
Surge (comics)
Surge is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe, one of the student body in the Xavier Institute, and a member of the former New Mutants squad therein. She maintained her powers post M-Day and was the leader of the New X-Men. She first appeared in New Mutants, vol...
by Cyclops, who defeats Frost's attempts to keep her off the team by pulling rank.
As the depowered students and staff are leaving the school, their bus is bombed by anti-mutant religious zealot Reverend William Stryker
William Stryker
Col. William "Bill" Stryker, M.D. is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Brent Anderson, he first appeared in the 1982 graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills.Rev...
. X-23 overhears Dust talking to Icarus
Icarus (comics)
Icarus , is a fictional character, a mutant superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute and a member of the New Mutants training squad....
, who had fled the Mansion. Dust intends to meet Jay, but Laura warns her that it's a trap, and takes Dust's place. Donning Dust's burqa, X-23 is shot upon arriving at Stryker's compound. Laura returns to the Mansion and singlehandedly kills three Purifiers who have incapacitated Surge, Hellion, and Emma Frost.
When Surge receives a distress call from Forge
Forge (comics)
Forge is a fictional character in the , a superhero associated with The X-Men.A mutant with an unsurpassed brilliance in technology, Forge has had a lengthy career as a government weapons contractor. He shared a romantic relationship with Storm, and a brief affair with Mystique which led him to...
, X-23 accompanies the New X-Men. Although the team disables the Nimrod unit, X-23 is grievously wounded and is unable to heal herself. In order to save X-23, Hellion convinces Emma Frost to unlock his telekinetic potential, increasing his powers (and thus, his speed) to a level thought impossible by a O.N.E. sentinel guard. This allows them to fly back to the mansion in time for Laura to be healed by Elixir.
Mercury Falling
While Laura is bonding over coffee with Cessily, the cafe is attacked by KimuraKimura (comics)
Kimura is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. She first appeared in New X-Men #31 as the handler of X-23. She is X-23's greatest foe to date, someone she was never able to defeat.-Origin:...
and her minions, who in turn capture Cessily. After Laura returns to the school, she and Hellion go off to locate the Facility's whereabouts. X-23 interrogates a man at gun point, and upon securing the information, shoots him in the head. Hellion informs her that killing will no longer be a part of their interrogation technique.
X-23 and Hellion
Hellion
Hellion is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute before its closing and is a member of the X-Men's training squad. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #2.-New Mutants, vol...
infiltrate the Facility and after an encounter with Kimura, the two soon find Cessily in liquid form, barely able to compose herself. They are attacked by Predator X, who has absorbed Cessily's liquid mercury skin; X-23 and Hellion decide to fall back, but are pursued by the Predators. The group is once again ambushed, only to be rescued by the Astonishing X-Men
Astonishing X-Men
Astonishing X-Men is the name of three X-Men comic book series from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were limited series. The ongoing series began in 2004, with its first run written by Joss Whedon and art by John Cassaday. It was then written by Warren Ellis with art by Phil Jimenez. Daniel...
and New X-Men
New X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
. The two teams turn the tables on the attackers, and defeat the remaining facility troops. During the shuffle, the remaining Predator escapes.
Sometime later, Emma Frost finds Kimura trying to assassinate X-23, and confronts her, erasing the one happy moment in Kimura's life from her memory, and psychically suggesting that Kimura's assignment now is to hunt down the remaining members of the Facility and kill them.
Quest for Magik
Searching for MagikMagik (comics)
Magik is a Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men. She is the younger sister of the Russian X-Man Colossus.-Publication history:...
, the demon lord Belasco
Belasco
Belasco is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character's first appearance was in Ka-Zar the Savage #11; he was created by Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson.-Fictional character biography:...
brings the students to Limbo. X-23 is one of the students that are trapped there; she is seen trying to fight off her restraints. Her enhanced sight enables her to see the Institute and she tells Trance
Trance (comics)
Trance is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by the Marvel Comics. A mutant, Hope attended the Xavier Institute before its closing. She retained her powers after M-Day and is a member of the X-Men's training squad....
to use her astral projection powers to go to the Institute. She tells Elixir that Belasco plans to kill David
Prodigy (David Alleyne)
Prodigy is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books. Prodigy is a former mutant, one of the student body of the Xavier Institute, and a member of the New X-Men squad...
, Dust, and Mercury. Afterwards, she urges Mercury and Dust to fight Belasco. The demon lord is not impressed by her attacks, and, as he declares her soul not worth taking, reduces X-23 to nothing but bones and adamantium claws with an energy blast. He later uses his magic to resurrect her, but then proceeds to torture X-23, claiming he will kill and resurrect as many of the students as he desires until Magik is brought to him. She is then revived by Elixir and at David's instructions, frees the Stepford Cuckoos
Stepford Cuckoos
The Stepford Cuckoos are a set of fictional mutant psychically linked quintuplets . They are students at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics...
before slowing Belasco's stride.
World War Hulk
X-23 goes up against the HulkHulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
. With several other students, she pins him down, but is knocked away when he regains his strength. Attacking him a second time, she manages to blind him with the claw in her foot. However, the Hulk recovers, grabs X-23, and hurls her into the mansion, stating in what may have been a grimly sarcastic manner that he hopes she heals like Wolverine.
Children of X-Men
X-23 and Rockslide were trying to convince AnoleAnole (comics)
Anole is a fictional mutant superhero in the Marvel Universe. He was created by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis and first appeared in issue #2 of New Mutants vol. 2 . A student at the Xavier Institute and junior member of the X-Men, Anole is one of the few openly gay characters in the Marvel...
to cut off his other arm so it would grow back stronger. After Anole tells them no, she is later seen being interviewed by Surge about what happened to Prodigy in Limbo.
Later, the students of the Xavier Institute are trying to find out which one of them is the youngest mutant on the planet. During the meeting, Surge kisses Hellion, which upsets X-23 and she runs away. Mercury finds her in the girl’s restroom, having cut herself and trashed the restroom in a fit of rage. She wonders what is happening and doesn't understand what she is feeling. Mercury hugs her and tries to reassure her that she isn’t alone anymore. In the end, she is seen lying on the floor laughing and relaxing with Mercury and Dust.
Messiah Complex
Some of the New X-MenNew X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
decide to launch a preemptive strike against the Purifiers
Purifiers
The Purifiers, also known as the Stryker Crusade, are a fictional paramilitary/terrorist organization in the Marvel Comics universe and enemies of the X-Men...
. While spying on the Purifiers, X-23 manages to impress Armor
Armor (comics)
Armor is a fictional character who exists in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. She is a mutant Japanese teenager who is enrolled at the Xavier Institute who retains her powers after the events of Decimation. She first appeared in Astonishing X-Men, vol...
with her senses. They are ambushed by the Reavers, whose leader, Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike , occasionally spelled "Deathstryke", is a Marvel Comics supervillain, a foe of the X-Men, especially Wolverine.Her father Lord Dark Wind created the adamantium-bonding process that was forced on Wolverine...
mortally wounds Hellion and after a brief fight, Pixie manages to teleport the team out and are spread between Washington and the Institute.
After Iceman
Iceman (comics)
Iceman is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men vol. 1 #1, ....
picks up the New X-Men, the mansion is attacked by Sentinels. He and X-23 take them out. Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
, realizing he has to up the stakes and get the child no matter what, decides it is time to assemble the X-Force which features her, Wolverine, Wolfsbane
Wolfsbane (comics)
Wolfsbane is a Marvel Comics superheroine, associated with the X-Men.A Scottish mutant, Wolfsbane possesses the ability to transform into a wolf or into a transitional state somewhere between human and wolf...
, Caliban
Caliban (comics)
Caliban is a mutant character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:Caliban's first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #148 , written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Dave Cockrum.-Fictional character biography:...
, Warpath
Warpath (comics)
James Proudstar, previously known as the second Thunderbird but also known as Warpath, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men....
, and Hepzibah
Hepzibah (comics)
Hepzibah is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She is a member of the intergalactic enforcers known as the Starjammers and currently a member of the Uncanny X-Men. She first appeared in X-Men #107 and was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.-Origin:Hepzibah was born on...
.
While in pursuit of Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
and the mutant newborn, X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
battles Lady Deathstrike and her new Reavers
Reavers (comics)
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe the Reavers are a team of criminal cyborgs. The most significant team of Reavers were dedicated to the destruction of the mutant X-Men, and a number of them especially wanted to take revenge on one particular X-Man, Wolverine. The name was originally used by...
. Wolverine sets X-23 against Deathstrike, who wants revenge for her nearly killing Hellion, and seemingly kills her after crippling her cybernetic systems and her healing factor. Later, she traveled with X-Force to Eagle Plaza in Dallas and then to Muir Island
Muir Island
Muir Island is a small, fictional island off the northern coast of Scotland in the Marvel Comics universe. It plays a prominent role in the X-Men comics and its related series.-History:...
, the Marauders
Marauders (comics)
The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr., the team first appear in Uncanny X-Men #210 The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by...
' new base. During the heavy battle between the X-Men and the Marauders, X-23 saves Wolverine's life, killing Scrambler
Scrambler (comics)
Scrambler is a fictional mutant character in the Marvel Comics Universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #210 and was created by Chris Claremont, John Romita Jr and Dan Green.-Fictional character biography:...
just before he scrambled Wolverine's healing factor.
X-Force
After the events of Messiah Complex, CyclopsCyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
decides to form a black ops incarnation of X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
that would be able to use any means necessary, including lethal force, to preemptively deal with the threats that would be too dangerous or unsavory for the X-Men to handle normally. X-23 is the first member to join the team as she is drafted by Cyclops due to her inherent tracking skills as well as assassination training. Wolverine is later approached to lead the team, and although he accepts, he becomes angry and disappointed to find out that Cyclops had drafted Laura without consulting him first, and that Laura had agreed to join an operation that would expose her to the same types of brutality and ruthlessness that he had been trying to remove her from in the first place.
Wolverine asks her to reconsider taking part in the operation, since he feels that she does not understand what she is giving up and stating that if she continues down this path she will not be Laura anymore, but X-23 once again. When Laura does not step down, Wolverine concedes "Fine. Your life."
The team's first mission has them investigating the theft of Bastion's
Bastion (comics)
Bastion is a supervillain that appears in the fictional Marvel Universe. The character was created by Scott Lobdell and Pascual Ferry and first made a cameo appearance in X-Men #52 . His first full appearance was Uncanny X-Men #333...
cyborg head from a S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
base. However, the mission is a failure and Matthew Risman
Matthew Risman
Matthew Risman is a fictional character, in the Marvel Universe and a deadly enemy of mutants including the X-Men.-History:A trained sniper, Matthew Risman was in the middle of a hit when he suddenly received a call telling him to return to his home...
, the leader of the Purifiers, escapes from what is left of the building ruthlessly blown up by X-23, holding Wolfsbane as his hostage.
When X-Force regroups later, Wolverine admonishes Laura for being so reckless with the lives of her teammates and for letting Rahne get kidnapped. Laura remorselessly replies to both accusations by coldly remarking "they survived" and "saving Wolfsbane was not my mission." When X-Force retrieves Elixir so that he can heal Wolfsbane, Laura is seen approaching Wolverine outside. Laura remarks that Rahne should have known better. Her comment made Wolverine angry and he admonishes her, telling her that Rahne is the person they should die for. This confuses Laura, and she is seen alone in the forest, mutilating herself with her claws. She then catches the scent of Elixir and Angel's blood respectively, and runs off to help them. She reaches the room just in time to see Wolfsbane standing above Warren with his wings in her jaws. Laura prepares to attack Wolfsbane, but remembers what Wolverine said to her earlier about Wolfsbane being the one they should die for, and instead allows Wolfsbane to slash her open.
X-23 stays by Elixir's side as they both watch Wolverine and Warpath attack Angel -who has turned into his archangel form- and witness Archangel wound Wolverine. Laura is then wounded by Archangel.
After the group manages to defeat (or rather delay) Bastion's evil plans, the X-Men attempt to understand what has happened to Wolfsbane and Angel, and also decide what to do with Elixir, who unfortunately knows too much about X-Force. X-23 believes the easiest thing to do would be to kill Josh, but she knows that would not be allowed. Instead, she goes behind everyone's back and contacts the Stepford Cuckoos, who are loyal to Cyclops and would keep X-Force's existence a secret. X-23 and Josh request that the Three-in-One erase Josh's memories of X-Force, thus allowing him to return home without being a risk to the team.
Around this time, a S.H.I.E.L.D. member known as Agent Morales begins looking into X-23's past when she comes across images of the Purifier massacre.
When the team is joined by Domino
Domino (comics)
Domino is a Marvel Comics character, best known as a member of the X-Men offshoot X-Force. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/co-writer Rob Liefeld, she first fully appeared in X-Force, vol...
, X-23 also doesn't trust her, even having her claws out when Domino is in the same room with her.
When Vanisher comes to Angel's mansion, demanding to know what they have done to him, X-23 confronts him with the rest of the team. When Archangel says that clones "aren't real", X-23 doesn't appear to care. She takes part in retrieving the Legacy Virus that Vanisher left behind. X-23 also attacks the Marauders' clones that attack them, killing them with very little hesitation. X-23 then tells Elixir not to "hold back" against the Marauders' clones. When X-23 tries to kill herself due to becoming infected with the Legacy Virus, Elixir stops her and gets rid of the Legacy Virus.
Messiah War
X-23 later moves with the X-Men to San Francisco, where they are accepted as heroes by the mayor, having rejected the Fifty State InitiativeFifty State Initiative
The Fifty State Initiative, often referred to as simply The Initiative, is a fictional governmental plan that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to The Avengers...
. X-23 was roomed with Armor
Armor (comics)
Armor is a fictional character who exists in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. She is a mutant Japanese teenager who is enrolled at the Xavier Institute who retains her powers after the events of Decimation. She first appeared in Astonishing X-Men, vol...
and Pixie. Laura left behind a towel covered with blood, which the latter brought to Emma Frost
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
. Frost stated that it wasn't Laura's blood and later brought this matter to the Cabal
Cabal (comics)
The Cabal is a comic book secret society of supervillains and antiheroes in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. The group was formed in the Dark Reign storyline very shortly after the Secret Invasion event.- History :...
.
In Cable #15, X-23 is finally reunited with Kiden Nixon
Kiden Nixon
Kiden Nixon is a fictional character, a mutant in the limited Marvel Comics series NYX.-NYX:Living with her loving parents and three brothers in the fictional X-District of New York City, Kiden's life changed forever as a young girl when her police officer father was gunned down in front of her...
, who herself makes her first appearance outside the NYX series. Sadly this future version of Kiden is hooked up to several machines and is used as a generator in order to create a temporal anomaly that disrupts time travel technology, essentially trapping X-Force (which is lethal for them if they don't return within 33.5 hours), Cable and Hope
Hope Summers (comics)
Hope Summers is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Men #205 in 2007 , and was created by writers Mike Carey and artist Chris Bachalo during the "X-Men: Messiah Complex" event...
in this era. While X-23 agonizes over killing Kiden or not (Kiden herself asks for death) the matter is taken out of her hands when Domino shoots and kills her.
X-23, Domino, and Proudstar are dispatched back in order to save Boom Boom
Tabitha Smith
Tabitha Smith is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom, the character first appeared in Secret Wars II #5 . She later appeared as a member of the X-Force and, more recently, as a member of Nextwave...
, however both Domino and Proudstar fall ill due to the time travel. Feeling grateful for saving her friend and ending her suffering, X-23 disables the time travel devices on the other two and goes back in time in order to save Boom Boom herself.
Not forgotten
She arrives just in time to stop the Leper QueenLeper Queen
The Leper Queen is a fictional villain of the Marvel Universe. She's the leader of the Sapien League, an extremist anti-mutant organization similar to the Friends of Humanity.-The Mutant Daughter:...
before she could kill Boom Boom out of spite for X-Force not killing her. X-23 then collapses in exhaustion. H.A.M.M.E.R. agents then storm the building, giving medical care, while they take X-23 in for questioning. However it turns out the agents take her back to the Facility (for whom they are actually employed, as they are not really H.A.M.M.E.R. agents), much to the surprise of Agent Morales. There Laura is reunited with Kimura, who saws off her left arm. Agent Morales arrives and helps Laura to escape. Kimura is trapped under a blast door while Laura and Agent Morales find themselves in a room containing large tanks filled with the Trigger Scent. While inside the room, Laura cuts the claws out of her severed arm and gives them to Morales for safekeeping. She lights a Molotov cocktail of sorts which sets the sprinkler system off. The Facility soldiers finish cutting through to Laura just as Kimura realizes the sprinklers are spraying the Trigger Scent everywhere. X-23 goes feral and kills all the soldiers in her way. She gets to the Facility head's office just as the sprinklers start spraying water, washing away the scent. Kimura manages to club Laura from behind and then kills the Facility head, planning on framing Laura for it. Agent Morales arrives and sets Kimura on fire to distract her while she and Laura make her escape. Morales reveals she rigged the place to explode and they get out in time. The rest of X-Force arrives and takes Laura and her severed claws home, leading into the events of Necrosha.
It was revealed that she will be the subject of a one-shot comic called X-23, which deals with her reuniting with her friends from the NYX series.
Second Coming
X-23 is shown to be part of Cyclops' "Alpha Roster" in the course of Second Coming event arc. Laura, along with the most of X-Force, accompany Cable and Cypher to the future in an attempt to shut down the Nimrod invasion. Following Cypher successfully over-riding the programming, Laura attempts to return through the temporal portal, only to sustain horrific injuries. The portal prevents any organic matter travelling through it. This leads Cable to sacrifice himself, allowing his techno-organic virus to overwhelm him, forcing the portal open and making it possible for the team to return to Utopia.In the fall-out of the Second Coming, Wolverine cuts X-23 from the team, citing she's been following orders all her life, from the Facility, Weapon Plus and the X-Men. He tells her it's time she made her own choices and follow her own path.
Shortly after her dismissal from X-Force, X-23 tracks a former Weapon X scientist named Detlef Metzger to a restaurant. After tying up and gagging a waitress and stealing her uniform, X-23 infiltrates the diner with the intention of capturing the man before he can perform experiments using a vial of Wolverine's blood. Before she can make her move, a group of US soldiers arrive and escape with Metzger. As the soldiers drive off, X-23 notices that Daken
Daken
Akihiro, also codename as Daken is a fictional comic book supervillain appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Daken is the mutant son of Wolverine and his deceased wife Itsu...
had been in the same restaurant, and had been watching her.
The Killing Dream
X-23 begins having apocalyptic nightmares involving a demonic Wolverine asking her to be his "right hand in hell." Due to this, she sleeps outside as not to cause any alarm among her roommates. However, this causes the rift between her and her former teammates, who are now wary of her due to her having been a part of X-Force. The only ones who side with her are Dust and Hellion, the latter of whom she tells that she has missed causing Hellion to be pleasantly surprised as the two share a brief moment. However, Surge's antagonizing of Laura forces Cyclops to intervene. He then tells her to visit a halfway house in San Francisco for former mutants who are trying to live normal lives, however, as she steps into the building, she suddenly experiences a vision similar to her dreams with the building on fire and her surrounded by dismembered corpses.A flashback opening the second chapter of "The Killing Dream" shows Wolverine and X-23 at a theme park. While they are preparing for the roller coaster to launch, Wolverine states he's adopting her as his daughter. When brought back to the present, the fire was implied to be started by the devil possessing Wolverine. He meets X-23 in the hospital and seemingly "kills" Hellion before diving into her mind. He tries to convince her to join him as his queen in Hell. X-23 finds her inner "light" and banishes him from her mind. She awakes to find that there is blood everywhere but she and Hellion are fine. She also notices a symbol on her hand (Marjorie Liu promises that the symbol will be a long mystery). The X-Men are perplexed about her situation and want her to stay so that they can "fix" her, but Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
convinces them otherwise. X-23 silently visits Hellion's room (unaware that he knows she's there) before she leaves Utopia.
Songs Of The Orphan Child
X-23 begins her journey towards self discovery.Collision
X-23 and Gambit arrive in Madripoor in pursuit of Malcolm Concord, a man that wants to revive the Weapon X program that created Wolverine.Touching Darkness
X-23 and Gambit travel to Paris after the events of Collision, in pursuit of the person that has bought the Trigger Scent that sends her into a berserk rage, and the genetic DNA of X-23 and Daken. Gambit has discovered that X-23 still causes bodily harm to herself. His paternal instincts causes him to call Wolverine to Paris to help console X-23.Wolverine arrives at X-23 and Gambit's hotel room, with Jubilee
Jubilee (comics)
Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine associated with the X-Men.A mutant, Jubilee had the superhuman power to generate "fireworks" of explosive plasma. A teenage "mall rat," she was the X-Men's youngest member in the early 1990s, often playing sidekick to...
as company, which X-23 nearly attacks her because of the scent of a vampire on her. Wolverine and X-23 converse on top of the hotel roof about her mental state and gives her advice about filling her heart with better memories. Gambit questions Wolverine about why he never treated X-23 with the same compassion as Jubilee. Wolverine admits that he didn't make the right decisions with X-23 and is going to make attempts to rectify it for both X-23 and Jubilee.
X-23 and Jubilee are walking on the streets of Paris, and are harassed by a group of men. Jubilee manages to get the group to leave them alone. X-23 then slits her own neck, thereby arousing Jubilee's vampire instincts and attempts to gorge her fangs into her. Jubilee tastes X-23 blood with her tongue and witnesses the violent visions of X-23's memories. This causes Jubilee to fight her temptation and overcome the blood lust.
Jubilee questions X-23 if her offering her blood was a twisted joke and attempts to hit her in anger, but the punch is stopped due to X-23's reflexes. Jubilee explains that despite being a predator, she wants to keep the remaining shards of her humanity intact. She decided to leave Utopia because the people she once considered friends are now afraid of her, to the point of wanting to kill her. X-23 empathizes with her because she was born and raised to be a killer, and murder is the only way she knows she's alive. X-23 left because she couldn't just become someone new that easily, especially with the others watching and judging. Jubilee questions why X-23 offered her blood, and her reply was to see if Jubilee would give in to her predatory impulses, but there was a hidden agenda in her answer.
Gambit receives a call from a Paris criminal underworld contact about an arms auction in Paris that is selling a trigger scent. Later in the night, X-23, Gambit, Jubilee, and Wolverine infiltrate the weapons auction. They are unable to find the woman in charge of the auction. X-23 picks up a scent and runs towards an elevator, and shuts it before Jubilee can get in. A mysterious voice that X-23 recognizes and is a person on her kill list is speaking to her via intercom. The voice says to her that the scent has been upgraded and now anyone can be affected by it, but X-23 rages are special. X-23 becomes affected by the scent as the elevator arrives at a subway. Before X-23 starts a killing spree on the civilians, Jubilee crashes in on an attempt to subdue her, but to no avail as X-23 attempts to kill her. Jubilee pushes X-23 onto the train tracks just as a subway car is coming towards both of them at full speed.
Jubilee at the last seconds leaps and tackles X-23 from the speeding train. X-23's leg was ran over, but she bends in back in position and attempts to continue her assault on Jubilee. Gambit and Wolverine intervene to calm X-23's rage. Wolverine takes the full impact of her blows stating that he is not going to give up on her. Gambit manages to get X-23 to remember who really cares about her. X-23's rage disappears and she apologizes to the group.
Chaos Theory
While having a dream of a mysterious symbol, Laura woke up in a cab as she and Gambit are in New York. The two later met with Cecilia Reyes, as Gambit was bleeding from his groin, and left him in Cecilia's care while Laura went in search for Alex Cimini for information. As she found him in a lab on a University Physics Department, she instead left him alone and left, while unknown to her a bright light appeared in the lab Alex is in. While walking on the street, Laura saw the same symbol from her dream in the sky and on a man as an earthquake appeared and the building near her collapsed. As Laura was helping an elderly woman from a few stores floor, Spider-Man appeared and help brought them down, but the two later saw the symbol appearing in the sky as both Laura and Spider-Man realise they have been dreaming the same symbol. After the two helped save civilians from the collapsed building, Laura and Spider-Man were approched by Reed Richards, Susan Storm and Ben Grimm. The Future Foundation then brought Laura back to the Baxter Building to run some tests and discovers her emitting energy signatures that is responsible for the earthquake. Later a device shows Reed and Valeria discovered that Laura, Spider-Man, and Sue are all emitting the same energy signature, which Spider-Man realises that the energy emitting from them is involved with the Uni-Power that changes them into Captain Universe. While discussing even further, Valeria activates the device and Laura, Spider-Man, and Sue are transported to an alien world and are confronted by monstrous warriors.Misadventures In Babysitting
X-23 babysits Reed and Susan's children Franklin and Valeria. She is trying decide what direction to take in her life. Hellion is expected to appear in this arc.Avengers Academy
Following Fear Itself, X-23 will appear as one of the students at the new Avengers AcademyAvengers Academy
Avengers Academy is a Marvel Comics comic book series that debuted in June 2010 as part of the "Heroic Age". The series is written by Christos Gage, with artwork by Mike McKone and tells the story of a group of young super-powered persons who were selected to join a training academy for the...
.
Powers and abilities
X-23 is a female clone created from WolverineWolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
's genetic material. Consequently, her mutant powers are similar to his. Like Wolverine, X-23's primary mutant ability is an accelerated healing factor that allows her to regenerate damaged or destroyed tissues with far greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Injuries such as gunshot wounds, slashes, and puncture wounds completely heal within a matter of minutes. Her healing factor is developed to such a degree that she can reattach severed limbs. She has also been shown to be able to regrow limbs; for example, she regrew her arm in time after Kimura had severed it from her body. She severs her own hand to escape the restraints placed on her by Kimura
Kimura (comics)
Kimura is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. She first appeared in New X-Men #31 as the handler of X-23. She is X-23's greatest foe to date, someone she was never able to defeat.-Origin:...
. The effects of her accelerated healing powers extend to her body's immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
, rendering her immune to disease and infection. She is also immune to most drugs and toxins, although she can be affected by certain drugs if given sufficient dosage.
X-23's mutant healing factor heightened her physical senses, strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes to superhuman levels. Like Wolverine, X-23 possesses retractable claws sheathed within her forearms. She releases the claws through the tissue of her knuckles, leaving small wounds which are healed by her healing factor. Unlike Wolverine, however, X-23 has only two claws that emerge from her fists. She possesses a single, retractable claw housed within each foot. These claws are actually made of bone and were forcefully extracted by Zander Rice, sharpened, coated with adamantium, and reinserted into her body. Also unlike Wolverine, X-23 escaped before the procedure to fuse her entire skeleton with adamantium could be performed. Since the claws are laced with adamantium, they are virtually unbreakable and are capable of cutting almost any substance. The four known exceptions are adamantium itself, Kimura's skin, the alloy of Captain America's shield
Captain America's shield
Captain America's shield is a fictional item, the primary defensive and offensive piece of equipment used by the Marvel Comics superhero Captain America; he is seldom seen without it. Over the years, Captain America has had the use of several different shields of varying composition and design...
, and Thor's hammer Mjolnir.
Special skills
Born and raised in captivity, X-23 has been trained to become a living weapon. She is highly trained in the use of long range weapons and explosives and is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, with intensive training in numerous armed and unarmed martial arts techniques. She has also been subjected to conditioning in which a specific "trigger scent" has been used to send her into a berserker rage, killing anything in sight; Emma Frost is unsure if this will ever be fully suppressed. She is also highly educated and so far has displayed that she is fluent in French and Japanese.Personality
Upon initially encountering her, X-23 might be mistaken for a typical young woman, calm and quiet. However, as her character evolved, she has become somewhat darker and more complex. X-23 is very taciturn, rarely uttering more than one sentence or two at a time. Because she grew up in a controlled environment, she speaks using perfect grammar, rarely using slangSlang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
. She also engages in self-injury, cutting herself with her own claws; this is something she has done since a very young age. X-23 is a highly trained and skilled combatant; she is able to kill dozens of heavily armed opponents during a single encounter.
X-23's mother, Dr. Sarah Kinney, did her best to ensure the child retained some semblance of humanity, but her efforts appeared to be in vain. X-23 rarely spoke, or expressed much interest in her mother, who was forced to reject any emotional advance the girl might make, such as laying her head in her mother's lap, because of the Facility. Despite the upbringing X-23 received, she has always shown signs of humanity. In one particular mission when X-23 was assigned to assassinate Martin Sutter and his family, she killed Sutter and his wife without hesitation, but she spared their young son, Henry.
X-23 seemed to have taken up a better disposition since joining the New X-Men. She became a student at the Xavier Institute, found friends in Dust and Mercury, and developed apparent romantic feelings towards Hellion. Being a central part of a team helped her adjust to the world. However, she still retains the cold, no-nonsense attitude that was evident in the Mercury Falling arc which, along with the Children of X-Men arc, showed that Laura also has trouble comprehending and expressing the many new emotions she has been experiencing for the very first time.
Relationships
In X-23: Target X, she had a close friendship with her cousin, Megan, and received a locket from her, containing her mother's passportPassport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
picture and a picture of Megan, which X-23 wears throughout the New X-Men run.
During the events of NYX, X-23 befriends a number of mutant runaways. By the first time she comes to live at the Xavier Institute
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
, she has regressed to sullen silence and snarls, which are a ploy to keep people away for their own safety. She has developed bonds with roommates Kitty Pryde
Kitty Pryde
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 and was created by writer-artist John Byrne....
and Rachel Summers
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
, and has formed a solid bond with Psylocke
Psylocke
Psylocke is a fictional character depicted in comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably those comics featuring the superhero team the X-Men. The character has also appeared in licensed adaptations. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, she first appeared in the UK...
, due to their mutual love of battle.
X-23 has found common ground with the cosmic being known as Captain Universe
Captain Universe
Captain Universe is a disembodied superhero in Marvel Comics' universe who was created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, and first appeared in Micronauts vol. 1 #8. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity...
who, like X-23, has been hunted relentlessly by terrorists who wish to use his power for their own selfish ends. Although their meeting was brief, the two formed an intimate and intricate bond that is common amongst most Uni-Power recipients.
When she returns to the school, X-23 is met with much apprehension from headmistress Emma Frost
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
. Emma does, however, come to appreciate her as a valuable member of the New X-Men team. The other students become more receptive of her, especially following her major role in countering Stryker's attack. Subsequently, she bonds with her teammates; she and Sooraya
Dust (comics)
Dust , is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She was created by author Grant Morrison and artist Ethan Van Sciver in New X-Men #133 , although her character was not fully developed until the New X-Men: Academy X series written by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis...
develop a mutual respect for each other. She is also good friends with Mercury, whom she saved on two different occasions. Cessily is one of the first people to instantly show respect to her and she treats her with kindness, especially chiding Santo for calling her clone and says firmly her name is Laura. She also ran after Laura after Nori kissed Julian and she hugged her tightly. Laura was even willing to sacrifice her life to protect her and Julian.
The first time Laura and Julian meet each other, Julian is harsh to her, mostly because his ex-girlfriend Sophia stopped talking to him because of an underhanded remark he made about depowered individuals being useless. Hellion takes out his pent up frustration out on her while Laura, completely silent, takes an instant fascination to him. This is shown when in the Danger Cave, Julian gets attacked by dinosaurs and she constantly saves him. However, he treats her like a dog and tells her to shoo. When Hellion gets injured while checking the bus that exploded, he subsequently appears at the funeral where Laura is shown to be watching him walk by.
During the New X-Men's battle with Nimrod
Nimrod (comics)
Nimrod is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #191 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr. Hailing from the "Days of Future Past" timeline, Nimrod is a powerful, virtually...
in Texas, Laura helped Surge and Mercury deliver the finishing blow by jumping directly on the android and slicing open its armor. Though the attack is successful, Laura ends up taking the full brunt of Nimrod's energy attacks which incinerated her body past the limits of her healing abilities. With the team crippled and seriously wounded, Julian compels Emma to unlock the mental block that controls his powers so that he can fly X-23 back to the mansion at hypersonic speeds. Hellion manages to bring Laura to the mansion in the nick of time, but the strain of his uncontrolled powers and the previous battle causes him to pass out and fall asleep for a few days. Laura stood over Julian for a long time, just watching him but when he said "Sophia" in his sleep, she was visibly upset and left the room. She even watches over him when he does his training with Beast, causing Emma Frost to reveal that she had been following Hellion around. Cessily eventually overhears and asks about her liking Julian, but Laura merely responds "I do not wish to talk about this," smiling a little.
When Cessily is captured, Laura gets ready to go after her, until Hellion walks in and demands to go with her. She refuses, mostly out of concern for his safety, but he forces her to take him by flying them both. This caused her to blush a little. When she kills a man in front of him, he freaks out and tells her to stop killing. This upsets her greatly. Also twice in this arc, Julian is referred to as "your boyfriend."
During the Quest for Magik, Nori and Julian end up having a talk about what happened, and Hellion states that X-23 is seriously "messed up."
In the Children of X-Men arc, Surge
Surge (comics)
Surge is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe, one of the student body in the Xavier Institute, and a member of the former New Mutants squad therein. She maintained her powers post M-Day and was the leader of the New X-Men. She first appeared in New Mutants, vol...
unexpectedly kisses Julian
Hellion
Hellion is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute before its closing and is a member of the X-Men's training squad. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #2.-New Mutants, vol...
in front of the whole school to upset Prodigy
Prodigy (David Alleyne)
Prodigy is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books. Prodigy is a former mutant, one of the student body of the Xavier Institute, and a member of the New X-Men squad...
enough so he'd leave the institute. When Laura sees this, she simply unsheathes her claws and appears to storm off. Cessily later finds a bloodied Laura sitting against the wall of a bathroom she had just completely demolished. Laura tells her that she doesn't understand all these emotions she has been feeling and is afraid she might hurt someone. Meanwhile, Julian admits to Dust that he's confused about romance and "he can't stop thinking about a girl that literally scares him."
In the Messiah Complex event, Julian is seriously wounded by Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike , occasionally spelled "Deathstryke", is a Marvel Comics supervillain, a foe of the X-Men, especially Wolverine.Her father Lord Dark Wind created the adamantium-bonding process that was forced on Wolverine...
. When Laura fights and apparently kills Deathstrike later, she says that Deathstrike was "dead the moment she touched Julian Keller."
During X-Force Wolverine regrets giving out the names of the captives, noting that among them is Julian at which he notes: "I could smell it on her. Her whole body lit up when I said Keller's name." She also says before passing out "Have..to get..to Julian."
Also, during Second Coming when Julian is critically injured, she can be seen visiting him with sadness in her face before going on X-Force's assumed suicide mission.
When Laura met the X-Kids after Second Coming, Surge was relentlessly bullying her about her involvement in X-Force. Hellion states that he was happy to see her, as it was different when she wasn't getting him in trouble. He was going to say something when out of the blue, Laura says that she had missed him. This shocks Julian, who says that she has never said that to him before. "You know I am not good with words."
After Hellverine reveals himself to Laura, she attacks him but Julian walks in at the same time, thinking Laura has gone crazy and restrains her with TK. She tells him he's making a mistake but he says he's doing this because she's his best friend. When Hellverine stabs Hellion, Laura offers her soul in exchange for reviving Hellion.
In hell, Hellverine taunts her, saying that they're all scared of her, and "are they still worth it?" He points out Julian, whom she knows to herself that he is worth saving. This turns out to be all in her mind but it visibly has an effect on her and causes her to want to leave the X-Men. Before she leaves, she tries to say goodbye to Hellion but thinking he is asleep, she just stares at him and walks away. Unknown to her, he was never asleep.
Laura has also developed a somewhat antagonistic relationship with Jubilee
Jubilee (comics)
Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine associated with the X-Men.A mutant, Jubilee had the superhuman power to generate "fireworks" of explosive plasma. A teenage "mall rat," she was the X-Men's youngest member in the early 1990s, often playing sidekick to...
. This seems to stem from the latter's amicable relationship with Wolverine, who both girls see as a father figure. While meeting up in Paris with both girls in tow, Gambit tells Wolverine not to pretend that "it doesn't make it hard for her when she sees the difference in how [he] treat Jubilee."
X-Men: The End
In the future presented in the X-Men: The EndX-Men: The End
X-Men: The End is a 2004-2006 trilogy of miniseries detailing the last days of the X-Men and their adventures in a noncanon future, part of their The End series...
series of books, X-23 is an adult, and a prominent member of the X-Men and the X.S.E.
X-Treme Sanctions Executive
The X-Treme Sanctions Executive is a fictional paramilitary police force charged with keeping the peace between mutants and humans. The team was first mentioned in X-Treme X-Men #40, when Storm presented her team with an offer to join a new, government-backed squad.-Creation:During the final issues...
X-23, M
M (comics)
M is a fictional comic book superheroine, a mutant who appears in the X-Men family of books published by Marvel Comics...
, and Iceman
Iceman (comics)
Iceman is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men vol. 1 #1, ....
are sent to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to locate and capture the renegade X.S.E. member, Sage
Sage (comics)
Sage, also known as Tessa, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She has most often been associated with the X-Men and the Hellfire Club, whom she spied upon for Professor Charles Xavier....
. However, Sage uses her considerable espionage skills to ambush X-23, attaching a mysterious collar to her neck that temporarily overwhelms X-23. Sage removes the collar and attempts to flee just as Iceman arrives and freezes her in ice, allowing the group to safely take her into custody.
X-23, Marvel Girl
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
, M, and Wolverine are sent by Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
to locate the whereabouts of Mister Sinister
Mister Sinister
Mister Sinister is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #221 and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri....
, Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
, and the missing Summers and LeBeau children. The group finds Sinister's hidden base but are immediately immobilized by an attack from the Ladies Mastermind. The team members live out fantasy existences until Wolverine breaks them free of the mind control. Charging deeper into the base, the group fights against Sinister's marauders
Marauders (comics)
The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr., the team first appear in Uncanny X-Men #210 The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by...
to save the children. Later, X-23 and the X-Men travel to Shi'ar
Shi'ar
The Shi'ar are a fictional species of aliens in the Marvel Comics universe. The Shi'ar Empire also called the Aerie, is a vast collection of alien species, cultures and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empires, and alongside them, is one of the three main alien empires...
space, and a massive battle ensues. She is one of the very few X-Men who survive and is seen attending to Kitty Pryde's speech at the end of the story (see X-Men: The End
X-Men: The End
X-Men: The End is a 2004-2006 trilogy of miniseries detailing the last days of the X-Men and their adventures in a noncanon future, part of their The End series...
).
In this reality, it is shown that she is in love with Fantomex, and it is revealed during an illusion caused by the Ladies Mastermind, that her dream is for them to be with married as a normal suburban couple with a daughter.
Age of Apocalypse
In the 2005 miniseries X-Men: Age of ApocalypseAge of Apocalypse (limited series)
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse is a Marvel Comics six-issue limited series which takes place a year after the last story in the X-Men: Age of Apocalypse one-shot, with Magneto's X-Men helping North America recover from Apocalypse's iron fist...
, a version of X-23 was revealed to exist in the Age of Apocalypse
Age of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
, going by the name Kirika. She was found in one of Mister Sinister
Mister Sinister
Mister Sinister is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #221 and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri....
's labs after it was liberated by Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
. At the end of the miniseries, it was revealed that she was the daughter of Weapon X (Wolverine) and Mariko Yashida
Mariko Yashida
is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #118 .-Fictional character biography:...
. Unlike her Earth-616
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
counterpart, she has three claws on her hands; the metal was grafted on by Magneto, and he did so on her request.
Marvel Team-Up: League of Losers
X-23 features in an arc of Robert KirkmanRobert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
's Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up is the name of several American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story...
(vol. 3), featuring a group of C-list heroes dubbed "The League of Losers". A group of heroes including X-23, Darkhawk
Darkhawk
Darkhawk is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in his own self-titled series, Darkhawk #1...
, Dagger
Cloak and Dagger (comics)
Cloak and Dagger are a fictional comic book superhero duo in the . They were created by writer William "Bill" Mantlo and designed by artist Edward Hannigan.-Publication history:...
, Araña
Anya Corazon
Anya Sofia Corazon is a fictional half Mexican and half Puerto Rican superheroine in the . She formerly went by the codename Araña, but is currently known as Spider-Girl.-Publication history:...
, Gravity
Gravity (comics)
Gravity is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in Gravity #1 and was created by Sean McKeever and Mike Norton.-Publication history:...
, Sleepwalker
Sleepwalker (comics)
Sleepwalker is a Marvel Comics character created by Bob Budiansky. He is named after his race, and is the star of a self-titled comic book which ran for 33 issues from June 1991 to February 1994, with one Holiday Special. All but two of the issues were written by Budiansky, with Tom Brevoort and...
, Speedball, and Terror
Terror Inc.
Terror Inc. was an American comic-book horror series from Marvel Comics starring the antihero Terror. Terror is an eternal entity that absorbs the talents of others through their dismembered limbs. He was created by writers Dan Chichester and Margaret Clark and artist Klaus Janson as the villain...
(although Araña dies along the way) go to the future to prevent the villain Chronok from stealing Reed Richards
Mister Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ....
' time machine; Chronok came to the present after already having killed all of Marvel's major heroes.
It's revealed Chronok is from the same time period as Kirkman's Mutant 2099
Mutant 2099
Mutant is a fictional character in the Marvel Knights 2099 universe, published by Marvel Comics, and created by Robert Kirkman.-Publication history:...
; the group stays with him and his mentor Reed Richards to wait for Chronok, and during this time X-23 sparks a relationship with Gravity. They defeat Chronok, but at the end of the story, Richards reveals they cannot go back to their present, due to time travel and alternate timelines. The group decides to stay in the future, satisfied with the impact they made, however unnoticed. Mutant 2099 suggests reforming the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
or the "Fantastic Nine".
Due to the Marvel Universe's method for resolving time travel paradoxes, this story occurred in an alternate universe.
Television
- X-23 first appeared in X-Men: EvolutionX-Men: EvolutionX-Men: Evolution is an American animated television series about the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. In this incarnation many of the characters are teenagers rather than adults...
episode number 41 (titled "X-23"), where she was voiced by Andrea LibmanAndrea LibmanAndrea Eva Libman is a Canadian actress, television writer, and singer, whose most popular on-screen appearances are on the Little Women movie, Andre and a guest-role on The X-Files...
in Episode "X23" and by Brittney Irvin in Episode "Target X". Wolverine discovered through S.H.I.E.L.D.S.H.I.E.L.D.S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
that Dr. Deborah Risman, working for HYDRAHYDRAHYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
, had created a female clone of him. The clone possessed two retractable claws in each hand (instead of three like Wolverine) and one similarly retractable claw in each foot (something Wolverine lacks). The clone was identified only by the codename X-23 - the first success after 22 failures. Denied the life of a normal child, X-23 was lonely and violent. She had almost no companions and had been under observation her entire life. She had to spend most of her time training to hone her skills. When she was 12, her entire skeleton was infused with adamantium.
Upon learning about her genetic origins and raiding a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility to get information about his whereabouts, X-23 angrily decided to get revenge on Wolverine, whom she held responsible for her creation. She invaded the X-Mansion and handily defeated the other X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
and New MutantsNew MutantsThe New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
inside. When Wolverine confronted her, he calmed her by pointing out that he knew what she was going through and that he is the closest thing to family she has, and instead of turning her over to S.H.I.E.L.D. like Nick FuryNick FuryColonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
wanted, he let her go.
Later, Wolverine would encounter X-23 again, on the run from Hydra's agents as well as S.H.I.E.L.D. She allowed herself and Wolverine to be captured, with the intention of using this as a way into Hydra's mobile HQ. She succeeded in destroying the craft, apparently perishing in the act, but Wolverine catches a scent, a hint to him that she was still alive. In the final episode of X-Men: Evolution, X-23 was briefly shown as a future member of the X-Men in a vision of Professor XProfessor XProfessor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
avier.
- X-23 appears in the Season 1 episode "Stolen Lives" of Wolverine and the X-Men. She wanted to fight Wolverine, but Professor Thornton tells her that she will fight Wolverine another time as they escape. She also appears in the Episodes 25-26 in the future as four cloned girls, fighting alongside Wolverine to help Professor X against the Sentinels. Wolverine apparently found them frozen in a Weapon X facility. While in "Stolen Lives", X-23 doesn't speak, in the later episodes she is voiced by Tara StrongTara StrongTara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
.
- X-23 was briefly mentioned in The Super Hero Squad ShowThe Super Hero Squad ShowThe Super Hero Squad Show is an American cartoon series by Marvel Animation. It is based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad action figure line from Hasbro, which portray the characters of the Marvel Universe in a cartoonish super-deformed-style...
episode, "Double Negation at the World's End!". She later made a non-speaking appearance in the episode "Too Many Wolverines!"
Film
- In Hulk vs. WolverineHulk VsHulk Vs is a 2009 direct-to-video animated film from Marvel Animation and Lionsgate, featuring the Incredible Hulk in two short film battles, one against Wolverine, the other against Thor. Both short films have been rated PG-13 by the MPAA. The animation was by Madhouse, and Kaare Andrews provided...
, X-23 appeared as a baby in cameo among hundreds of clones in the Weapon X research facility, who Deadpool wanted to kill for fun. This film is later linked to the television series Wolverine and the X-Men, through both a second battle between Wolverine and the Hulk which references this film, as well as the eventual appearance of X-23.
Video games
- X-23 appears in the Game Boy Advance version of X-Men: The Official GameX-Men: The Official GameX-Men: The Official Game is Activision's tie-in video game to the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand. The game covers the events of the films X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand, specifically following the characters of Wolverine, Iceman, and Nightcrawler...
as a boss. She appears in the Alkali Lake facility and runs into the X-Men in the same room in which Wolverine & Lady Deathstrike dueled in X2X2 (film)X2 is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series...
. This version of X-23 has no memory of her past and is there trying to remember who she is. She mistakes the X-Men's intentions of trying to help as trying to kidnap her. After she is defeated, Wolverine declares that X-23 will be fine on her own, and they part ways friendly. It is unknown if this version of X-23 has just her claws imbued with adamantium, or changed to have her entire skeleton laced similar to Lady Deathstrike.
- X-23 appears in the crossover fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two WorldsMarvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worldsis a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It features Capcom's own characters and characters from American comic book company Marvel Comics. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel vs...
and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It is an updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. After the events of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disrupted the development schedule for downloadable content for the original game, the additional content was made into a...
as a playable character. Tara Strong reprises her role.
Collected Edtions
- X-23: Target X (X-23: Target X #1-6)
- X-23: Innocence Lost (X-23 Vol. 1 #1-6)
- X-23 Vol. 1: The Killing Dream (X-23 Vol. 3 #1-7)
- X-23/ Daken: Collision (X-23 Vol. 3 #8-9, Daken: Dark Wolverine #8-9)
- X-23 Vol. 2: Chaos Theory (X-23 Vol. 3 #10-16)
External links
- X-23 at Marvel.com