I have been a huge X-23 (Laura Kinney) fan for many years. Her big screen debut in the film Logan was something I eagerly awaited from the moment it was announced. In recent years she has been rising rapidly through the ranks of the Marvel comic universe. If you are already well versed in all things X-23 related, this will be old news to you. That being said, let’s take a look back at Logan.
There are some key differences between the film and comic versions of X-23. The movie depicted her as part of an experimental child attack force of killing machines. In the comics X-23 was the 23rd attempt at creating a clone from Wolverine’s DNA. There were no other children developed alongside her in the comics. All other lab attempts failed to even get close to producing a clone.
Differences
By the time Laura meets Logan in the comics she was already deployed as a brutal assassin. Many of her massive uncontrollable killing rampages in the comics were brought on by a manufactured triggering scent that would unleash this sheer brutality. In the comic world Laura accidentally kills her mother in a blind rage brought on my the trigger scent. The film makes no mention of the trigger scent. Her caretaker isn’t her mother. Her caretaker is killed by people trying to capture Laura.
Granted X-23’s full background would take up quite a bit of film time. This movie is primarily focused on being the final installment of Hugh Jackman’s Logan saga. Character development is frequently a problem when secondary characters are added to an existing movie franchise.
This film captured X-23’s fast paced extreme killing style very well, but without the trigger scent or trained assassin history, it comes off as just violent lethal force instead of something deeper. That’s where there is a disconnect regarding motivation for such violence. Make no mistake, bad guys get dispatched pretty brutally in both mediums.
Professor X and Logan
I thoroughly loved cranky Professor X. A very nice touch. We experience another side of Charles Xavier. There is a great vulnerability to this aging Xavier. He is physically and mentally frail. There is a new relationship twist between Logan and Charles. Logan is his caretaker. Charles is losing complete control of his mind which creates deadly side affects wherever he goes. He must remain overly medicated. He bickers with Logan frequently which creates several moments of laughter as well as empathy.
Logan battling his demons has always been a key theme in all Wolverine works. Logan delivers strongly in this area. This time the actual physical breakdown he is experiencing is unsettling. Like Charles, he is dying throughout the movie. Seeing these two beloved characters weaken rapidly before our eyes is extremely unsettling.
I really loved how X-Men comic books were shown in the movie and dismissed by Logan as being fantasy fluff that doesn’t tell the real story of the X-Men. It’s amusing when a comic based movie character declares comic books as inaccurate. That is a very clever juxtaposition and, quite possibly, a little jab at all the hardcore comic book fans who are determined to pick apart every film adaptation.
Bloody Blood
Logan features more blood and rough language than any other X-Men movie. It is definitely higher on the gore-action scope. This is something you really have to remember when checking this one out. Some of the bad guys are taken out Freddy Krueger or Tromaville style. There are a lot of blades flying when Laura and Logan are doing the father daughter chop shop routine. While it’s pretty bloody in the fight scenes, the story still remains the driving force.
If a solo movie treatment for X-23 (Laura) ever makes it to the silver screen, the filmmakers might encounter a few continuity issues regarding Laura’s internal conflict. She has more issues than just being angry at what happened to her. She is far more troubled about the things she did than what was done to her. It’s a volatile mixture. A stand alone film would most likely be set several years after this film, so there is a way they could put a lot of X-23’s comic story in the years between this movie and a new film.
For more history on X-23 check out her 2 appearances in the 2003 “X-Men Evolution” cartoon. She was created specifically for this series.
Later she was brought to the written page in several works that tell her story. They are all available in trade paperback/graphic novel format as well as individual issues.
Also check out her first lengthy comic runs :
X-23 in New X-Men: Academy X #20-46 (2006 – 2008)
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