Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Will Conrad
Finally, one of my favorite characters from the Marvel universe has gotten her own series! Even better, the very talented Marjorie Liu is writing it. Now, a quick background on X-23 (aka Laura Kinney); she is a clone of Wolverine, made in a lab to be a weapon. She escaped, was used and abused by a pimp, turned runaway with some friends, and then was taken in by Wolverine (after she tried to kill him). Cyclops put her on the Wolverine led X-Force team, a black ops group that went and did what the X-Men do not do. Ok, all caught up? Don’t worry, if you pick up the issue, they have a full recap in the back of the book.
So, now we find Laura, post Second Coming, removed from the X-Force team, and asked to be a normal teenager. The problem is, she doesn’t know how to be a kid. She’s been a weapon her whole life. Liu does a great job in bringing out the sad struggle that it is Laura’s life. On the one hand, Laura is having nightmares involving her father figure Wolverine, and on the other, she is trying to reconnect with the other young mutants who are mad at her for not telling them about X-Force. She does have one shining light: the young mutant Hellion, her unofficial boyfriend. For the first time, she shows an emotion other than just being a soldier awaiting her next mission. Wil Conrad also does a great job in depicting the emotional roller coaster that this young girl is going through.
There are many young people out there that struggle like Laura. They don’t know who they are, and they battle to establish their own identity. This can lead to many bad choices. One good choice is establishing our identity in Christ. It is a foundation that will last a life time and more. His love is unconditional, and if we fall short, he doesn’t put us down for it, but instead, picks us up.
Marjorie Liu, I believe, is the perfect person to take on this story. The way she delves deep into the emotional (not just the violent) aspects of Laura’s character, makes for an interesting ride. Kudos to this lawyer/romance novelist/comic book writer, Marvel has found a rare gem that brings in a fresh style.
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