Doctor Who References In X-23?

With today being the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, I thought we'd try a slightly different entry today.  Something that was overlooked previously.

These nods could be in question, but considering the rise in popularity that happened during these years as the buildup to the 50th anniversary, they are interesting to note nonetheless.


First up, during the Chaos Theory story arc in issues 13 through 16 of the volume 3 comic run, we have several that could be considered references.  Of not immediately of course would be Peter Parker's constant usage of the phrase "This is not cool."  An oft repeated phrase of the 11th Doctor when referencing matters of ill repute.  While done offhandedly, this phrase should be noted as potentially a surface reference in conjunction with the other possible reference in the story.

Most notably again a reference from the same arc in issue 16 with Dr. Reed Richards starting to say:

X-23v3 Issue 16 Page 8 Panel 1.

"If I can just reverse--"  Which potentially could be taken as he was starting to say "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow."  A line that's often considered synonymous with the 3rd Doctor.  Though it's still possibly as suspect as Peter's constant "not cool" remarks as the line isn't fully stated.


Later again we're treated to an off the cuff remark.  This one coming in from issue 19 of the v3 comic as spoken by Jullian Keller, aka Hellion.

X-23v3 Issue 19 Page 15 Panel 5.

Gee, I'm not sure I can think of who any other crazy old guys with a spaceship that would need a dimensional rift to access could be.  Just who could that be?

In the miniseries X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back, we also have another offhanded reference.  This time spoken by Laura Kinney herself.

Demons Run is the name of the Asteroid base where Madame Kovarian has been keeping Amy Pond and her child captive.  It's also the centerpiece of the poem associated to the episode "A Good Man Goes to War."

Demons run when a good man goes to war.
Night will fall and drown the sun,
When a good man goes to war.
Friendship dies and true love lies,
Night will fall and the dark will rise,
When a good man goes to war.
Demons run, but count the cost.
The battle's won but the child is lost. 

Now whether or not these were intentional Doctor Who references is anyone's guess.  There might be other oddities like this throughout the v3 comic run among X-23's other post X-Force v3 appearances.

River Song herself was a sword to be used against the Doctor, and instead she became the sword that he wielded back and tried to save from the silence and headless monks as he only ever wanted to give her the freedom to choose, even putting his life on the line to do so.  So there are probably many more parallels between River and X-23 that could be made, but... Spoilers.