5 Reasons To Love The All-New Wolverine

Superheroes are always evolving, and with that ebb and flow typically comes a change in identity for some of fandom’s favorite characters.

When Logan, more commonly referred to as Wolverine, met his death in 2014, Laura Kinney was announced as the next character to step into the role. These types of announcements can spark intense debate, and this one was no different, resulting in a mix of uneasiness, excitement, outrage, and prideful joy,

Since the book’s debut, though, most of the critics have decided to pick other targets.

That’s because Laura Kinney has become one of the best all around characters in the Marvel NOW universe, and we here at ComicBook.com decided to list out a few of the reasons why.

Her Reputation Speaks For Itself

There’s a trend in comics that when someone assumes an iconic characters mantle, it has to be explained to the reader why they are qualified to do so. In Laura Kinney’s case, it was a nonstarter, and more transitions should be handled in this matter of fact way.

Laura begins her first issue knee deep into an investigation, and the reader never is allowed to question “how or why did she become Wolverine”. She just is, and it allows the book to move past pages and pages of needless exposition. The creative team treats her like a big deal, and therefore she completely personifies that vision.

Unless the story itself revolves around the identity of the hero, every transition should begin this way. If there was a question as to her qualifications (which there shouldn’t be), it should be addressed before her book even starts. Once you’re in issue #1, it’s time to hit the ground running, and Laura certainly did.

She’s The Best There Is At What She Does

As mentioned earlier, her qualifications have been well established in her time with the X-Men and later X-Force, and even back then she proved she’s more than capable of bearing all that comes with the title of Wolverine.

She’s more than proved that since her time in All New, and nowhere is it more apparent than in her battle with Taskmaster. Taskmaster’s power-set centers around his ability to learn one’s moves and anticipate them, priding himself on knowing what your next move is before you do. Taskmaster has built quite a reputation for himself throughout his career, and early on he displays just how he’s managed to do that in a throwdown with Laura.

It’s here that Laura’s ruthlessness shines, and while she won’t kill him, she’ll make it nigh impossible for him to use that hand again anytime soon. He puts up a good fight, but he doesn’t see that foot claw coming (no one ever does), and pretty succinctly owns him.

The title of best there is was even given by Logan himself, a flashback that is shown early on in the series. It’s fitting that this sort of touching and thoughtful moment would come after taking a bazooka shell to her torso, but it’s here that Logan spells out how the two differ from each other.

“You’re the best there is at what you do, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it.”

She’s just as capable, but she has the restraint to not let it consume her. She’s more than capable of carrying the title.

Learning From Logan’s Mistakes

Logan taught Laura many things during their time together, but as he would freely admit, he made more than his fair share of mistakes and wasn’t always there for her when she needed him to be.

Even though she knew Logan cared for her, that impression always stuck around in the back of her mind.

She was presented with a similar situation when Gabby and her two sisters showed up in Laura’s world. After the events of the first arc, Gabby needed a home, and while Laura very well could have let any number of organizations or secret agencies decide her fate, she chose to have Gabby stay with her (along with their Wolverine Jonathan) and the two have been inseparable ever since.

Laura’s compassion and wit are magnified so much more when Gabby is around, and the two play off each other extremely well. The character, lone wolf as she may be, has a much better sense for family than her predecessor. Laura wasn’t going to make the same mistake that Logan did, and her world is the better for it.

A Relatable Killing Machine

Laura isn’t as angry as Logan always seemed to be, but once that switch is flipped, however, she is just as deadly as he ever was. Still, she contains that just under the surface tenderness that Logan only saved for a select few people.

She echoes the best parts of Logan and melds them into a complete personality that is uniquely Laura. These moments present themselves in the oddest of places, like after a drone explosion shot her across the pavement. As her boyfriend, Angel of the original X-Men approaches her, she says “Don’t hug me” and proceeds to snap her shoulder back in. After Angel asks “Can I do anything in the meantime?”, she responds “Anything that doesn’t involve tight embraces.” 

He proceeds to pet her on the head, and after rhetorically asking him about it, they decide it’s a little awkward, but she concludes “I didn’t say stop.”

Little moments like these or pretty much any interaction with fellow heroes like Spider-Gwen, Squirrel Girl, and of course Gabby, pop up throughout the series constantly, and they allow the reader to see a far more human side to the character than was ever previously seen.

A Costume Befitting Of Wolverine

Wolverine has had many looks over the years, and everyone has their favorites. Whether it was the brown and tan version, the black and silver X-Force outfit, or the classic yellow and blue, the debate as to which is best is a non-winnable conversation.

Personally, it was always the yellow and blue for me, and even that iteration of the look has seen many redesigns over the years. Laura’s new costume takes the best aspects of Wolverine’s look from his X-Men introduction and from the character’s Astonishing X-Men days and tweaks it just enough to make it truly hers, and it’s just about perfect.

Seriously, the statues and action figures can’t soon enough. Laura’s Wolverine deserves to be on the shelf right next to Logan.