Issue:
Mini-Series:
Writers: Craig Kyle, Chris Yost
Artists: Mike Choi, Sonia Oback
Publisher: Marvel Comics
I remember when X-23 first debuted on the X-Men: Evolution animated series a few years back. It was a bold idea, a teenage character that is essentially a clone of Wolverine. Like Harley Quinn and Firestar, X-23 became so popular that the character made the transition from cartoon to comics and has since become an integral part of the Marvel Universe. She was featured prominently in NYX, had a few run-ins with the X-Men during Chris Claremont’s run two years ago and is now for all intents and purposes the main character of New X-Men which is penned by her creator, Craig Kyle. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost haven’t kept X-23 locked to the pages of New X-Men and have been exploring her origin, an issue never touched on by Joe Quesada in NYX. There’s no one better to handle the job than the character’s creator, and this week brings the conclusion of the second X-23 mini-series exploring the character’s life before NYX.
I have really enjoyed this series, and I enjoyed it more than the first series, X-23: Innocence Lost. There’s a greater sense of humanity to X-23’s journey, greater emotion as she tries to discover her purpose and to bury the secrets of her past. X-23 has been forced to do this, but she knows it's wrong. She was created as a weapon, but rather than being the animal Wolverine should have been, X-23 managed to take a number of traits from her mother as well. Two of these character traits that she took from her late mother, whom she was forced to kill, are compassion and guilt, two emotions that can lead to the inevitable downfall of any other human or mutant.
X-23’s compassion overwhelms her purpose; she tries to do whatever she can to spare her relatives even in the midst of the attack last issue. She is fully aware of her purpose and tries to do whatever she can from carrying out her destiny: being a war machine. But her compassion is often overshadowed by the guilt she carries based upon her actions. Those who have read the series know that there is a certain scent that triggers X-23 to go feral. While feral, she has absolutely no control over her actions but bears the burden of what happens whenever she comes off her “high.” Kyle and Yost translate X-23’s guilt masterfully throughout the series both when being interrogated by Captain America and Daredevil and when she’s telling the story. After all, the girl has to bear the burden of killing her own mother.
X-23’s guilt is what drives this issue. She’s going through the phase of adolescence where she questions her existence and wants payback for being created. Obviously, what’s happening in this issue goes a bit deeper than that, but the undertones are there. X-23 decides to go after the one person who is truly responsible for the way she is, Wolverine. This issue really brings X-23’s origin full circle whether it conflicts with earlier stories or not. For me, both X-23: Innocence Lost and X-23: Target X have served as the definitive X-23 stories for future writers to work around simply because of the fact that this is what her creator intended. Not some crazy chick in Fang’s old costume.
I really like the inclusion of Wolverine in this issue sans the X-Men. I don’t go “ga-ga” over Wolverine. I like the ol’ Canucklehead, but I prefer the Summers family story (Havok, Cyclops, Cable, Phoenix, etc.). I do, however, have a love for X-23 and to see her go one-on-one with her father without the X-Men for back-up is worth the cover price. The artwork is fantastic and captures the fight and the violence, but it also shows how smart and calculating X-23 is. X-23 beats Wolverine. Not only is it done in a believable manner, but it raises X-23’s stock and proves that she has the potential to be one of the most influential X-Men since her father. Even after defeating Wolverine, she cannot bring herself to kill him because of her compassion and the guilt she feels. It’s an interesting twist and is also set-up very well by Kyle and Yost. The conclusion to the Captain America/Daredevil interrogation angle is very satisfying even though it does raise a few continuity problems in terms of NYX, but it’s Craig Kyle’s character, so he can do whatever he feels he needs to do.
Mike Choi’s artwork is again superb. As has been the case throughout the series, my only problem is that Daredevil and Cap look like children, although in this issue Cap looks to be in his early-mid twenties. Besides that, the violence and the action has been beautifully captured in every issue, and the emotion of the characters are conveyed near flawlessly. There’s also a humorous moment between Cap and X-23 at a bus station where Cap only wears a jacket over his costume and someone has wisely whipped out their cell-phone camera. Overall, Mike Choi and Sonia Oback have presented some of the finest artwork I’ve seen throughout this whole series.
There’s also a special section at the end of this issue. Variant covers and sketches by Mike Choi normally suited to the trade collection are included and are a welcome addition. I love seeing the way artists flesh out what becomes the finished product, and I think every comic should feature a section like this at the end of an artist’s run.
I hope Craig Kyle and Chris Yost continue to tell X-23’s story, perhaps in her own series. They are two of Marvel’s hottest new writers and have produced two solid mini-series featuring a character than can only grow in potential and popularity.
What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!