Preview: X-23 v3 #15

CBR has the preview for X-23 v3 issue 15 up.  It's due to hit comic shelves next Wednesday, the 5th of October.

X-23 and Mother Figures

Laura has had a tendency in the past to get attached to mother figures.  Probably still does.  This is something I've been thinking about off and on, but came even more into the light when Marjorie Liu brought the Future Foundation into the ongoing comic.  Sue Richards, the Invisible Woman, is Marvel's first and ultimate super hero mother figure.

The mother figure usages have appeared all the way throughout the X-23 appearances.  Whether it was her first appearance in NYX with Kiden acting as a young mother figure, or the second origin's tale of Megan Kinney and her usage as a mother figure to help guide X-23 and show her compassion, even Psylocke in many ways during the original X-Men appearance seems to have an appeal to X-23 as a mother figure.  There's also a small vibe in the first 3 issues of the ongoing comic as Storm being an implied mother figure.  It's an idea that just keeps getting repeated, with good reason as her youth was majorily devoid of the presence of such a figure.  X-23's mother Dr. Sarah Kinney did care for her daughter, but the facilities restrictions and practices kept that rather low key.  There's also the little problem of X-23 having killed her real mother by her manipulated hand at such a young age(X-23 was roughly 12-13 at the time).

This seems to not be the case during the New X-Men Academy X run with very good reason.  Emma Frost, a form of what could have been a mother figure for X-23, used that very notion to scar her and try to make her leave.  Emma used memories of Laura's mother to berate and harass her, trying to frighten X-23 into leaving with haunting images of a zombified Sarah Kinney condemning her.  This could in many ways explain some of Laura's downward turn back into old habits as well during the run.  Habits that eventually led to Cyclops manipulating X-23 for X-Force that caused yet more damage to her psyche.  It shows Emma's callousness, vindictiveness, and even during the apology issue she may have felt bad for what she did, but it doesn't make it clear if Emma recognizes how bad what she did was.

This is what makes me excited to see X-23 with the Future Foundation.  Tentatively it looks like Susan Richards will be acting as a mother figure, and giving X-23 a form of family stability...  Well as stable as families go for superheroes at least.  X-23's interaction as a babysitter, or 'big sister' as the case may be in the upcoming December issue also makes me lean this direction.  Her interactions with Valeria and Franklin should prove enlightening and all around just fun!  I wonder if Thor might make a small cameo during this adventure in babysitting.

X-23 December 2011 Solicits

CBR has the Marvel solicits for December up. It looks like we'll be getting two issues of x-23 in December! I've gotta admit, I'm excited if this title really is starting to go bi-weekly. Also this month will see the release of Avengers Academy issue 23 that also guest stars X-23!

Cover for issue 18

X-23 #18 & #19
Written by Marjorie Liu
Penciled by SANA TAKEDA
Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky
ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING continues! What could possibly go wrong for X-23, on an already disastrous night? More dragons? Hellion and his bad mood? How about being kidnapped to another galaxy by...THE COLLECTOR?
32 PGS. (each)/Parental Advisory …$2.99 (each)

Cover for Avengers Academy #23

AVENGERS ACADEMY #23
Written by Christos Gage
Penciled by Tom Raney
Cover by Rodin Esquejo
• X-23 joins Avengers Academy…will they survive the experience?
• A classic villain returns!
• Reptil's darkest secret is revealed!
32 PGS./Rated T …$2.99

Marvel Universe: X-23 Found at Retail!

Hasbro's Marvel Universe series 2011 wave 4 has been found at retail in USA.

Specificly they've been found at Walmart in Las Vegas by Toyark user Ronin Assassin. You can find the breaking news on Toyark.

So keep your eyes peeled at your local stores. These should be showing up soon if not already there!

This wave includes:
DarkHawk
Steve Rogers
X-23
Ultron
Classic Namor

Well, that kind of defeats the purpose of another entry I meant to do about more pictures of the figure. If you are interested in that, here you go.

KP will be doing a full on gallery of the figure soon! (Yes, I got one!)

Re-Cap: X-23 v3 #14

This issue brings in the Future Foundation. Now I've always been a fan of the Fantastic 4, but sadly haven't picked up the Future Foundation issues. There are spots in this issue that many might misconstrue as filler to leave it with the right page count for the cliffhanger, but it's also a great way to introduce new fans to the Future Foundation. I had no idea who these new kids are besides Valeria and Franklin. The Mole-Kids are entirely new to me too. Now I'm genuinely interested in picking up Future Foundation to find out. So fluff these pages were not.

I haven't truly read the Fantastic 4 since the 90s, when I was also collecting Fantastic Force. Yeah, probably not one of Marvel's shining moments, but I was a diehard fan back then. Recently I've only bought the death of the Human Torch issue, and been keeping mild tabs on how the team has since grown.

As for this issue, it's very well done. As mentioned above, it genuinely makes me interested in the Future Foundation. It also brings to light many points about X-23's comfort zones, and her tendency to have a little humor with kids.

The only part that seems to bug me at all, is how it's starting to seem like everyone already knows Laura, or has heard of her. This isn't much of a complaint for certain characters like say Spider-Man who spent a lot of time with Wolverine, and has met her before, but it does come into question how others know so much. One can assume for Valeria with how intelligent she is, she's done her research, but the question does come up for others. Ben Grimm at least plays this off just fine as having not met Laura before.

I'm sure this question will come up again in Avengers Academy when Laura makes her cameo. To be blunt, the only Avenger who should even know of Laura, let alone her story is Steve Rogers, but we'll see where that goes when it hits shelves much later.

Overall, the issue was a great issue. Showing us some mild down time, exploring her previous appearances, and ending on a cliffhanger that harkens back to the golden days of great comic book story-telling. I look forward to seeing where the story goes, and how it'll explore the uni-power.

X-Men: First Class - Why it's not a Reboot.

In Hollywood these days, they like to toss the word reboot around indiscriminately. It's about as bad as how much they toss around the word remake.

I'm sure many of us have bad reactions to the word 'remake' as has been shown when news broke about Blade Runner getting a remake. Nearly the entire internet collectively screamed "WHY?!?". Well it turns out in Blade Runner's case it's not a remake at all, but another story within that universe. This means it's neither a remake, nor a reboot.

X-Men: First Class has a similiar scenario going for it. It's not a reboot of the franchise, though many confused it for such. It's about as much of a reboot as say Star Wars Episodes 1-3 were to the original trilogy.

But how you may ask? Simple.
Let's start off with one simple rule about the X-Films. Cameos are just that, cameos. They often have no bearing on the actual story itself. Hank Mccoy in human guise being in X-Men 2 didn't matter with X-Men 3's Hank Mccoy. Just as X-Men First Class has Hank Mccoy's transformation into Beast to setup X3.

That's just one of many instances of cameos not mattering previously. In X-Men First Class we have a small cameo of what we're led to believe is Scott Summers during the first initial Cerebro test. Is it really Cyclops though? Well that's debatable. There are a plenthora of mutants who wear sunglasses as well. Refrax from the Fox Generation X movie for one, but even besides that, it's simply just a cameo to nod the comics. It has no bearing on the story and doesn't really matter. So that's not a movie-continuity mistake. It ranks up there again with the above mentioned Hank Mccoy cameo in X2.

Now if you're picky like me. You typically don't like these types of useless cameos. Which is why I've presented other backdoor reasonings like other characters with how they use insinuations for assumptions. Unlike Hank Mccoy in X2, Scott Summers isn't named in the film directly. In Hank Mccoy's case for X2, one can sidestep the issue and say he used an Image Inducer to hide his appearance as a politician until he was ready to reveal himself. In First Class, you can just as easily assume the kid may not even be Scott Summers, but if it is, he's still younger (as he should be) than his appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The other small continuity issues aren't that bad at all either.
Magneto and Xavier's friendship is tested in X-Men First Class, with the great original Schism allegedly happening here. Which is true. The first break in ideals happens at this point prior to what we're shown with X3 of it being after Jean Grey's recruitment. Thr problem with that flashback is we weren't given any history of Xavier and Magneto at the time. Friends can often drift apart over ideals or seperate beliefs. That doesn't mean it'll remain as such. We have large possibilities in upcoming sequels that Magneto and his brotherhood could rejoin the X-Men again. The helmet for one being the main reason behind this. The helmet Magneto now has keeps Xavier out of his head, but it also gives the story potential from Magneto's actions of Xavier bringing him back into the X-Men's fold later to keep an eye on him after it's been removed.

Really, we won't know how it all connects until more sequels happen. All we do know for now, is that Xavier is paralyzed for now, and Magneto has started to create his brotherhood. That doesn't mean they won't work together ever again, and that Magneto won't help Xavier walk when they work together again towards the Jean Grey recruitment. All of which has ripe story potential to use and elaborate on.

As for Emma Frost. XFC's Emma Frost, is not the same as Emma Silverfox from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. For one, this Emma Frost has telepathy and her diamond form whereas the other only had her diamond form. While everyone else is crying foul, I see large story potential here with how Magneto cracked the diamond form. As we know from X3, a telepath can hop bodies. What's to say that's not what Emma does later to maintain her youth and Diamond powers once she found a host. She would need a new diamond form since Magneto cracked her current one. Emma is a vain character, and she would shop for a new body as she got older. She's not the type to age gracefully. It also gives the groundwork for the lesson plan Xavier taught in X3 about this. Why he makes it a point to push the coma patients, and not active mutants as that is indeed a scary thought that only a villian or vain person would do.

That's the majority of the continuity questionable spots that really have no bearing as yet until more sequels are made. X-Men First Class is now out on Dvd and Bluray, be sure to pick up a copy and enjoy this great film.

Thank you again Hollywood. You've proven that you are finally starting to understand the comic process. Why I say this? Well to put it simply, comic book movies fall into two catergories.

If you are making a miniseries because of how good it is, and how much it warrants a film, you should stick to a majority of accuracy. Whereas if you're doing a film of a comic series or characters that have had ample origins that are constantly being added to and changed even in the comics, it's best to go with something original in film as it really won't matter as much. So long as the movie continuity is intact at least. It's simple in that regard. Some films need direct accuracy and references to their origin or minis like say Kick-ass, or Watchmen, or even 300 and Sin City. Whereas others have more liberties that can be taken like say Superman, Spider-Man, X-Men, Wolverine, and Batman. Personally I feel X-23 falls into a catergory where both are true. Her origin could very much so be told with accuracy. Only a few scattered changes are needed, and her sequels can easily go in any direction so long as it kept the same vibe and continued the story. Thanks to this, she has the potential to both be moderately accurately told, and to have some drastic originality in sequels.

Did I miss something about X-Men First Class? Post it in the comments, and I'll answer or add it to this. Heck, maybe you can even find a scene that'll stump me!

July and August 2011 Sales Rankings

August 2011

X-23 v3 #13
Cover - Review
Cover Price: $2.99
This issue was ranked 95 out of 300 according to ICv2 which is based on Diamond U.S. to comic specialty stores. The issue has sold an estimated 23,976 copies to them.


July 2011

X-23 v3 #12
Cover - Review
Cover Price: $2.99
This issue was ranked 86 out of 300 according to ICv2 which is based on Diamond U.S. to comic specialty stores. The issue has sold an estimated 24,605 copies to them.


You can see how previous issues did in their month of release over in the Sales Rank section.

X-23 to be in Avengers Academy Issue 23!

Thanks to Arvelous for bringing this to my attention.
X-23 will be making an appearance in Avengers Academy issue 23. Gotta love that. X-23 in issue 23. I hope this becomes a reoccurring trend. It's just too perfect.

Anyway, the cover can be found on Marvel's site.

Quoted from Christos Gage, writer of Avengers Academy, taken from a Marvel interview with him about upcoming Avengers Academy stories where Marvel.com asked "Now on the cover to issue #23, we have Mettle flinging X-23 into the reader’s lap. How does Laura end up in AVENGERS ACADEMY?"

He responds:

There’ll be a more extensive explanation in issue #23, but suffice it to say both the Avengers Academy faculty and the X-Men felt it would be beneficial. Laura has “baggage” with some of the X-Men kids she doesn’t have here. And she has struggled with some similar issues to cast members from AVENGERS ACADEMY, including wrestling with being a killer. So they’re hoping it will benefit all concerned. Of course, there are risks, too.

Marjorie Liu at CBR's X-Position with Insight into Laura's Character and Upcomign Arcs.

CBR's X-Position has done another interview with Marjorie Liu bringing more info to light about upcoming arcs and stories. Much of it we heard before thanks to Arvelous from the twitter questions, but there are some new pieces of info in there too. Specificly interesting to me at least, are the comments about the depth of the character, and the wisdom beyond her years from life experiences. Something many people tend to forget nowadays.
It's always awesome hearing words of wisdom from the mouths of capable writers. Words that seem forgotten everywhere else in this world. I also commend her for approaching the psychology issues with care, tact, and realism. X-23 being a cutter is a sore subject for many, but it is also a facet of the character from her experiences that needs to be addressed realisticly and not wave a magic wand to have disappear. I also commend her for how she handled the question about Jubilee and Schism. Showing that even ideological differences can't keep good friends apart. If there are any at least.

Be sure to check back tomorrow too, when previously promised posts about X-Men First Class, a new theory about the mystery lady, the re-cap of the recent issue, and some other bits of news I've been holding off on to give other places a stronger lead on the news they've discovered, finally goes up. Yeah, I've had some minor technical difficulties lately.

While the reviews are still being under consideration for how they can be best approached for here (a mild point of contention, but that's more gossipy than I want to get here), the re-caps will be staying. They will be going live one week from when the issue hits the stands to give some spoiler room for those that don't like to be spoiled but do want to discuss it.

Also, just a small taste of the new theory. It's come to my attention (thank you Marvel. I feel stupid for overlooking that, but did you have to be so blatant with it in the previous issues synopsis of the new issue?) that there is one character that knows what X-23 has been through, what she thinks, how she acts, and why that I overlooked.
Sorry, no usages of the Tardis to cheat and check if this theory will pan out. You'll just have to wait like the rest of us. Actually that's about all I want to say on it anyway. There are enough clues between that and the recent issue if you haven't already figured it out. Assuming that's correct at least from the evidence so far(which could go either way). To me, it looks like some halcyon days are in Laura's future.

X-23 v3 Issue 14 Preview and Release

CBR has the preview for the new issue of X-23 up.

It hits comic shops today. So be sure to pick your copy up as the Fantastic Foundation story with Laura continues with many surprises in store!