Although rumored for some time, it’s now official: according to The Hollywood ReporterOpens in a new tab, Fox is looking to develop a LoganOpens in a new tab spin-off centered around Dafne Keen’sOpens in a new tab scene stealing character X-23Opens in a new tab, a.k.a. Wolverine’s clone/daughter, Laura Kinney.
Although the character is relatively new—at least compared to most other superheroes who have been around for decades—there are still plenty of comic book stories to mine for gold when it comes to a potential film starring the mutant killing machine. Here are our top seven choices we hope the producers of X-23’s solo movie take a look at.
Innocence Lost
Writers Craig Kyle and Kyle Yost co-created X-23 together, and much like Harley QuinnOpens in a new tab and BatgirlOpens in a new tab before her, she was created for other media first—in Laura’s case, the early 2000’s animated show X-Men: EvolutionOpens in a new tab. But Kyle and Yost quickly transitioned her to comics, where they wrote her adventures for various series.
The first of these is X-23: Innocence Lost, which came out in 2005 and was a six-part miniseries that gave all the gory details (literally) behind X-23’s origin. Although that was mostly covered via flashback in Logan, there is still a lot from this mini-series for a potential new film to mine.
Target X
After the success of the first X-23 mini-series, her creators Kyle and Yost returned to the character for another six-part miniseries with artist Michael Choi for Target X. This story picks up a few years after the first and finds Laura attempting to make a normal life for herself after escaping the facility that created her.
This is the storyline that brings X-23 face-to-face with her “father” WolverineOpens in a new tab. Obviously, that aspect of the story has been done on film, but an older Laura trying to find her place in the world after escaping her creators/tormentors is ripe for a movie script. This story is collected together with “Innocence Lost” in one giant collection.
New X-Men: Childhood’s End
Kyle and Yost continued to explore Laura’s world after her two initial miniseries when they had her join up with the new generation of mutants in New X-Men, at a time when the book was focusing on the young students at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
This was Laura’s first time in a relatively normal school setting, and her lack of social skills (and lack of ability to control her violent temper) result in several problems with the other students. Considering that when we last saw Laura in Logan, she went off with other young mutants, “Childhood’s End” could serve as a decent inspiration for an X-23 focused spin-off.
X-Force: Angels and Demons
In the comics, Laura eventually joined X-ForceOpens in a new tab when it was transformed into a black-ops unit by Cyclops, doing the dirty jobs the X-Men wouldn’t ever do. Wolverine opposed her joining the team, wanting Laura to be free of the life of bloodshed that he had endured. But when she signs on anyway, he does too, mostly to look out for her.
While Laura isn’t likely to join X-Force in the movies, she did end Logan by leaving with another group of young mutants, so maybe the filmmakers could use X-Force as inspiration for stories where X-23 has to play well within a group.
The Killing Dream
Writer Marjorie LiuOpens in a new tab got to write X-23’s first ongoing series back in 2010 in “The Killing Dream.” This story finds Laura leaving the X-Men’s island home of Utopia (this was after one of the many times the X-Mansion was destroyed) on a mission that has her facing off against one of the X-Men’s biggest villains, Mr. Sinister. Also along for the ride is none other than GambitOpens in a new tab. Although a Gambit/X-23 team up is probably off the table (for now) it could happen down the line, and this story would be an ideal inspiration for it.
All-New X-Men
Although not an X-23 title per se, there was a time that Laura joined the team of young, time displaced original students of Charles Xavier in the pages of All-New X-MenOpens in a new tab. Her role in this book was significant as it had her in a romantic relationship with Warren Worthington III, the Angel. Now, actress Dafne Keen is a bit young for a romantic element in a spin-off film—she’s only 12—but if this movie doesn’t come out for another three or four years? The timing might be right to see Laura in a teenage coming-of-age mutant romance.
All-New Wolverine
After Logan died in the appropriately titled Death of WolverineOpens in a new tab, Laura had to step up and become the new Wolverine herself. Tom Taylor wrote this series initially, which brought in a new element into the X-23 story, when they revealed that Laura had a series of clones of her own. While I’m not sure about the “clones of a clone” part, the idea of Laura becoming the new Wolverine after Logan’s death seems a logical step for her own movie after the ending of Logan.
Which comic book storyline of X-23’s would you like to see inspire the makers of Laura’s first solo film? Be sure to let us know down in the comments below.
Need More X-23?
- Did you know Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things auditioned for LauraOpens in a new tab?
- Watch Dafne Keen audition for the partOpens in a new tab and blow everyone away!
- And here’s why we’re ready for X-23 to become the movies’ WolverineOpens in a new tab.
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Images: Marvel Comics / Twentieth Century Fox
