“Part Five”
Writers: Craig Kyle and Chris Yost
Artists: Mike Choi and Sonia Oback
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Next month I will look back at X-23: Target X as a whole and review the arc and the final issue of a series that really has the potential to be an ongoing. The reason I decided to review this issue is simple: it offers something different and pivotal to the character development of Wolverine’s illegitimate daughter. I have loved this series; most everything involving X-23 is pretty good mostly because of the fact that her creator is writing every book in which her character is developed. Probably the best way to write any character is to let their creator have free reign. When Chris Claremont got his hands on X-23 and put her in the old Fang costume and made her a bit more feral, I expressed my discontent to Craig Kyle and let him know how ridiculous she looked. But when he got his hands back on his character, everything changed. I mention that just as an example of how different creators can have entirely different visions of a character.
Anyway, as this series builds to a conclusion, X-23 comes face to face with the woman who was designed to be her opposite. Kimura was created and designed to be X-23’s commanding officer; she was given abilities that would prevent X-23 from killing her. These powers include super-strength and indestructible skin, not to mention a warped sense of reality. One of the things I really like about X-23, particularly in this series, is the way Kyle and Yost highlight the two different sides of X-23’s personality. On one hand, there is the uncontrollable feral rage of Wolverine; this side of her, we learn in this series, is triggered by a certain smell. But on the other hand, there is a compassionate young teenager with a dark past trying to move on and find her place in the world.
These two sides of her personality have both been the focal point of this series, but also the fact that she has found a surrogate family is also a key point. The relationship with her new family is highlighted in this issue as Kimura has raided their home in search of X-23 and plans to execute Megan and Debbie, the surrogate sister and mother, respectively, in X-23’s life. This issue is a bit more unique than others because Kyle and Yost really show off just how far on the edge they will go. This issue is violent, and it’s a bit disturbing, but it is definitely a well-told dramatic tale full of action and a bit of suspense.
Being her better, Kimura snaps X-23’s neck and handcuffs her to watch as she plans on killing Debbie and Megan right in front of X-23. There is a definite character change that takes place in that moment as Kimura pushes her fingers into Megan’s chest going Mola Ram on her heart. The two sides of X-23’s DNA come together in this moment, and she shows the compassionate side of her mother as well as the compassionate side of Wolverine. So maybe I’ll get some flak for talking about the ol’s Canucklehead’s softer side, but is it not true that Wolverine will go to any length to save those he cares about? He’ll even risk life and limb for Cyclops, whether Ultimate or mainstream version. That is where one of the most pivotal points of this series comes into play. Sure we’ve seen plenty of stories where the government creates monsters or weapons that end up being free thinking individuals, such as Wolverine. But these stories rarely get old and always resonate especially with moments like the one that appears in this issue.
To save Megan, X-23 does indeed risk a limb in order to break out of the handcuffs. While it’s okay because she’s got Wolverine’s healing abilities, it still shows that she will go to any lengths to protect those she cares about. It is really a defining moment for X-23, and Captain America and Daredevil, interrogating her throughout this series, even seemed shocked that X-23 would go to such lengths. It makes sense; she’s got her mother’s compassion and her father’s animal instinct. X-23 is also a weapon and comes up with a clever plan to allow for Megan and Debbie to escape, all the while incapacitating Kimura for a short time. This issue ends with X-23 going to confront the man whose killer DNA she possesses. While this installment of the series arguably serves merely as a device to get X-23 to confront Wolverine, it was a pretty good device. I’m very excited for the conclusion of this series which will explain how X-23 became an X-Man.
I’m also looking forward to the next issue because I have really enjoyed the artwork through the duration of this series. It’s clean, it’s crisp and it’s very realistic. And while my only major complaint has been the fact that Steve Rogers looks like a teenager, in this issue he finally looks a few years older than he did in previous issues. Choi and Oback do a fantastic job capturing the level of action and the level of violence that Kyle and Yost intended.
I think with Craig Kyle and Chris Yost at the helm, X-23 could manage her own monthly title. And if that did happen, they could keep it going until Kyle and Yost have decided to retire from said title. Kyle has launched his creation into mainstream popularity, and I hope no one else except he and Yost touches X-23.
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