X-Men ’97 Season 2 has been surprisingly light on Wolverine. For years now, many X-Men fans have complained that Wolverine has become overexposed – both in the comics and in Fox’s X-Men movies. All of which makes X-Men ’97 something of a breath of fresh air, because this show knows full well that there are many other mutants who can steal the show. We’ve even had an entire X-Men episode starring Jubilee. Episode 5 finally gave Wolverine fans some love, though, with a story that basically riffed on the ’90s Wolverine comics – amping up the gore and violence, and even daring to kill off Team X members too.
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The plot was pretty simple, really: Wolverine wants to get his adamantium back, so he returns to the project that originally gave it to him. Naturally, complications ensued, because the Weapon X Project had come to an abrupt end courtesy of a parasitic alien race known as the Brood. That meant Logan’s team found themselves digging through Weapon X records, setting up no less than eleven X-Men, villains, and super-soldiers in just seconds. One of them was particularly important: Laura Kinney, Wolverine’s female clone and replacement.
X-Men ’97 Set Up X-23 in this Marvel Timeline
“Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs” is pretty much exactly what it says on the can: it explores the Weapon X Project’s secret history courtesy of a range of DVDs, while exposing Wolverine himself as a liar. In one key scene, Morph scans over a range of DVDs featuring established Marvel characters who were apparently associated with Weapon X in this timeline; the likes of Psi-Borg, Mastodon, and even – most surprising of all – the Winter Soldier. X-Men ’97 has always been jam-packed with Easter eggs, but I think this has to be a record – not least because any one of these characters could easily be explored in the future.
Naturally, the Winter Soldier nod got the most attention. But another reference is seriously exciting: X-23. Originally introduced in the X-Men Evolution animated series, X-23 was a female clone of Wolverine raised as an assassin. The character was popular enough to make the jump into comics, where she was aged up significantly because Marvel wanted a sexier character rather than the morally uncomfortable child assassin; however, Logan played it straight, casting the young Dafne Keen as the girl often known as “Laura Kinney.” She continues playing the part today, appearing in Deadpool & Wolverine.
X-23’s animated origin make this something of a full-circle moment for the character. She appeared in animation, migrated to comics and live-action, and now has been referenced in the most popular X-Men animated series of the last decade or so. Making this even more exciting, though, is the fact X-Men ’97 draws from plots across comic book history – and Laura Kinney ultimately became the best Wolverine replacement in the comics.
Why Laura Kinney Became the All-New Wolverine
Death is a revolving door in comics. In 2014, it was Wolverine’s turn to die; his healing factor was deactivated, and he was then entombed in molten adamantium (because, comics). Marvel quickly began a sort of “competition” era between potential Wolverine replacements, trying to get readers excited about a replacement. The winner was Laura Kinney, who by now had developed a fantastic father-daughter relationship with Logan and sought to honor him by claiming the Wolverine mantle.
In truth, it made sense for Laura to ditch the “X-23” name. That was never really her codename at all; it was more akin to her “slave name,” because it was the dehumanized designation given to her by the people who forced her to kill on their behalf. Meanwhile, Marvel wisely picked Tom Taylor as the writer of All-New Wolverine; a phenomenal talent, he had an absolute blast developing Laura in her new role. There’s a reason a large part of the fanbase still want to see Dafne Keen become the MCU’s new Wolverine, and it’s rooted in those comics.
Sadly, although I hope Keen will reprise the role in Avengers: Secret Wars, I’m not really expecting her to become the mainstream 616 Wolverine once the Multiverse Saga is over. All of which means I’d be delighted to see X-Men ’97 take things in this direction instead, introducing X-23 and developing her to the point where she genuinely becomes Wolverine’s replacement. The character deserves a lot more love in every medium, X-Men ’97 is willing to challenge Logan’s heroism in a way other stories aren’t, and this plot would be absolutely thrilling to see brought to life.
The first five episodes of X-Men ’97 are streaming now on Disney+, and new episodes will be released weekly. Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
