My Top 3 Picks for Best X-23 Stories

If you were curious what I think the Top 3 X-23 stories are, this entry is for you.  This is entirely my opinion and may not reflect the majority, but these are the top 3 X-23 stories that I've read and enjoyed the most that have been release up until this date.


Honorable mentions:  X-23/Daken: Collision, Touching Darkness, and X-23: Innocence Lost.

Who made the final cut.

3. X-Men: To Serve and Protect Issue 2: Judgement
This story is outright one of my favorites that uses X-23.  Well I guess duh on that since it made the top 3 list.  It's written by Simon Spurrier with David Lafuente as the artist and Marte Gracia as the colorist.  This story is X-23 meeting Ghost Rider on her Soul Quest after the events of the Killing Dream, but before the events of the Miss Sinister and Alice arc.  I'm not sure if it's the borderline Halloween Town apparel X-23 is wearing or just the sheer fun of the story, but this little short is just all kind of fun ending on the typical fanboy debates about who the penance stare affects and what it would do to X-23.  Though yes this question is never answered in the story, it presents the moral quandry that is X-23 in a rather unique and just outright fun manner.  I might just be partial to it from being an avid Tim Burton fan myself though.

2. X-23: Target X
The story of Megan and Laura is a touching one.  This tale written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost harkens back to the core of what makes Marvel characters so appealing to wider audiences.  It gives the X-23 origin tale heart though yes some plot holes.  These minor flaws are the only thing that kept it from reaching the number 1 slot though the art by Mike Choi and Sonia Oback made that call uncomrpehendingly hard.  Their artwork just jumps off the page with the emotion and vibrance they bring to the story.

1. X-23 v3 Issue 7
This issue written by Marjorie M. Liu is the precursor to the X-23/Daken crossover event Collision.  It made the list because while being the X-23 side of the prologue to the event, it's entirely told in a self-contained manner harkening back to what makes comic books great.  This issue in particular covers a variety of topics and allusions as well as gives us a glimpse into how X-23 thinks and reacts strategicly to circumstances to the point in this issue she kills no people, yet takes down a group of pirates and rescues a man from them. It's X-23 and Gambit vs. pirates in this tale of their travel from USA to Madripoor.  What can I say, pirates are in this year.  The cover in particular has quickly become one of my all time favorites, but it's the clear amazing writing that sells this issue on its merits with just good solid story telling. I'm little bit saddened they didn't use it as the final story in the Killing Dream TPB. That would ended it on a note of drifting in the wind. Giving it a form of story closure but also an opening to buy the Collision TPB to see where it led.