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.