Continuing the tie-in to AvX, this issue brings up some interesting points. So let's get to it.
X-23 on Guidance.
Laura raised a very valid point on the difference between the two teams. One side tried to tell her what she needed to do or be, while the other gave her the information she asked for and let her make her own decisions. In life this is true. The more you try to tell someone the choices they need to make, the more likely they are to rebel even if it is best for them, but if you give them the information they need to make an informed decision and let them think for themself and choose, they might surprise you by making the right choice themself.
X-23 as a Leader.
More and more Laura is coming across in a leader capacity. This isn't surprising considering her training and her history at Academy X, but it's nice to see that new Laura after her self-discovery journey is becoming more than just a tactics-to-win leader. The elements of empathy are there and she genuinely cares for helping life. This is an interesting change from her Academy X days where they had to tell her no killing.
X-23 and the New X-Men.
Seems the Academy X kids have finally grown... Somewhat. There were apologies all around on the New X-Men side for how they treated Laura and parted ways ages ago, but a lot of that was said in thinking she'd be leaving with them when she wasn't. Dust again seems to be the voice of reason here, telling Laura if they ever need her they'll be there. I kind of wonder how Surge's leadership is going to be affected by this, and if she might throw more tantrums, but it was nice to see Surge finally calm down and not be a total raging hypocrite still.
X-23 and the "New" Avengers.
Laura decided to stay with the Avengers Academy. She has an interesting knowledge of her teammates and how to ask for help when needed. This goes back to her as a leader, them respecting her, and how they accept her, but it's still interesting to see how she quickly took an inventory of all the powers available to read the situation for the most information about what's going on. Instead of diving into a headlong fight against Shaw, she dove into figuring out what his intentions were. Instead of attacking, she asked why. This outright is the key to life. Asking why and understanding leads to not jumping to conclusions and casting others down like they were nothing for what you think is going on that couldn't be farther from the truth. It plays up her empathy, but it also shows a very well rounded Laura who doesn't fall into prejudgements. It's an interesting notion between the X-Men and the Avengers. The X-Men have been judged so much they fall into this time and time again about condemning others for perceived slights, whereas that isn't what the Avengers are about. It's the difference between doing the right thing because it's right, and doing things because you want to prove others wrong out of fear or spite.
This was a great issue, and it brought many more points than that up, but it's worth buying and reading for yourself for those points. Gage and his creative team continue to impress time and time again with how they handle these characters and make them grow.
Be there next issue, as Avengers Academy will be picking up a powerful moment from Marjorie Liu's run on X-23's solo book as Emma Frost comes a-knocking at the Academy to take apart the sentinel!
(Just a reminder, next week might be a more or less dead week here with sparse postings or late notices.)
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