X-23 is the biological daughter of Logan, who was created using samples of his DNA. Taking up the name Laura, her father helped her escape from her creators, ultimately sacrificing himself to save her. Sometime after her father's death, Laura was pruned by the Time Variance Authority and sent to the Void, where she met fellow heroes Elektra, Blade, and Gambit, among others who also wanted to fight Cassandra Nova to escape the Void. She eventually met Deadpool and an alternate version of her father, and after encouraging the depressed Wolverine to find his new purpose, joined forces to defeat Nova’s mutant army. When the conflict ended, she was freed from the Void by the TVA, restored to her timeline, albeit at a moment in the past, and joined Deadpool and his friends.
"The shit-heels that grew her in a lab called her X-23, but she was just a kid. A younger, daintier, somehow meaner version of you. You died trying to save her. It was beautiful."
Using the DNA of the mutantLogan, scientists conceived a child, who had similar powers to her "genetic father", which the scientists dubbed "X-23." Adopting the name "Laura," she and the other children being experimented on were able to escape from their creators. Laura managed to track down her biological father, and despite his gruff and reluctant personality, he ultimately decided to help Laura and protect her from those hunting her.
Logan was able to deliver Laura safely to the rest of the children from the lab in North Dakota, but when they were found, Logan died in the fight saving his daughter. As Logan died, an emotional Laura was by his side and she listened to his final words telling her not to be what the scientists made her. Laura buried her father with an "X" on top of his grave, and she headed off with the rest of the children to their freedom.
Logan's sacrifice did not go in vain, as Laura, as well as the other children were able to grow up happy and be safe.[1] Since then, Laura came across with several English-speaking people, leading her to develop a neutral accent and start speaking English more fluidly.[2]
Banished to the Void[]
Encounter with the TVA[]
"TVA decided our universe was dying. And I never even got a chance to fight for it." "People like us don't go quietly. TVA knows that, so they took us out."
At some point, Laura encountered the TVA, who informed her that her universe was dying and that it could not be stopped. Laura wanted a chance to save her world, so she resisted the TVA, but they did not tolerate this and banished her to the Void. Now stuck in a desolate wasteland to die, Laura was able to avoid being eaten by Alioth.[1]
Joining the Resistance[]
"We came a long way to find youthree." "There's four of us."
Laura came across a group of other heroes who had survived in the Void from Alioth. However, the wasteland was ruled by the mutantCassandra Nova, who forced those trapped in the Void to work for her. This group of heroes, including Elektra, Blade, Gambit and Human Torch, rebelled against Nova and formed a Resistance, hiding out in the borderlands and trying to figure a way out of the Void. The Resistance spent years in hiding, and any attempt they made to fight Nova only ended in defeat.[1]
"Who... Who brought us here?" "That would be me. Don't make me regret it." "Holy shit, Logan, that's her. That's X-23. She's the one I told you about."
One day, while out in the woods not far from the Hero Hideout, Laura came across a severely damaged and bloodied minivan that had an unconscious Wolverine and Deadpool inside. Determining they could be allies, Laura drove the minivan to their base and brought the two inside.
The other members of the team were the first to interact with the two new arrivals when they woke up, and when Deadpool questioned who brought them to the base, Laura entered the room and revealed it was her. Knowing who she was, Deadpool was surprised to see her and told Logan her identity. Laura and Logan then shared a long look at each other, with Laura minimally reacting as she stared at another version of her father who was in a drunken state. Deadpool wondered how they all came to the Void, so the Resistance explained how the TVA sent them there.
Laura voices agreement in fighting back
Laura remained mostly silent during the conversation between the Resistance and Deadpool, who wanted to join the team and work on a way out of the Void. Deadpool revealed that he had been inside Cassandra Nova's compound, which intrigued the team, as no one had ever been able to escape from there before. Laura listened as the rest of the team came around to Deadpool's idea of fighting against Nova, and when he called upon Laura for her vote, she determinedly supported it.[1]
That night, Laura went up to Logan, who was drinking by himself outside by a campfire and sat down by him, although he told her that he didn't want any company. Laura told Logan about how he reminded her of her father, in that he was angry, drunk, mean, but she also noted that when it mattered most he did the right thing, even when he wasn't trying.
Laura assured Logan that he was a good man, but he informed her that he was considered the worst version of himself. Although he was not the man that sacrificed his life for her, Laura expressed that she got to grow up and have a life because of him. However, this Logan continued to state that he was not a hero, and decided to tell Laura about his guilt over the deaths of his X-Men. Laura told Logan that they needed him for the upcoming fight, but he felt she had the wrong guy, only for Laura to remind Logan that he was always the wrong guy until he wasn't, and she left.[1]
The next day, the Resistance, joined by Wolverine and Deadpool, headed out to make their assault on Cassandra Nova's compound. X-23 sat in the backseat of Ol' Betsy as they approached and watched as Blade blew up the entrance to the compound. Once inside, they were quickly surrounded by all of Nova's henchmen, so X-23 put on her sunglasses she stole as a child and popped her claws out.
The two sides charged at each other and commenced the battle, with X-23 killing several of the henchmen using her claws. The Resistance pushed forward giving Deadpool and Wolverine had a path inside. Once Deadpool and Wolverine were in, the Resistance guarded their entrance and continued fighting. Needing to steal his helmet, X-23 faced off with Juggernaut, but he threw her aside. Juggernaut went to charge at X-23, but she slashed at his ankles, bringing him to his knees.
X-23 launched at Juggernaut and decapitated him, allowing her to remove his helmet. She put it in her backpack and rushed to get it to Wolverine and Deadpool. X-23 received a boost up from Blade, allowing her to climb up to reach them, using her feet claws to help her get up. X-23 got inside, but before she could do anything, a purple whip wrapped around her waist and she was pulled down by Psylocke back into the fight. As X-23 fell, she threw the backpack to Deadpool before landing on Psylocke, stabbing her in the chest and killing her.
Despite being greatly outnumbered, the Resistance managed to eliminate nearly all of Nova's henchmen. However, as Alioth began to close in on the compound, the Resistance briefly lost the upper-hand in the fight, with X-23 was shot in the arm and tackled to the ground. Using all her claws, X-23 stabbed the enemy holding her down, as the Resistance defeated the last of the henchmen. winning the battle. The four then looked up to see Wolverine and Deadpool jump through an Inter-Dimensional Portal.[1]
"We couldn't have made it out of the Void without some help from some people that the world kind of forgot. Is there any way that you could maybe find a way to bring them home?" "I'll see what I can do."
Upon defeating Cassandra Nova and saving the Multiverse, Wade Wilson made a request to B-15 to return the members of the Resistance to their respective homes. B-15 honored the request, although Laura decided to stay with Logan, who was now living in Wilson's universe but in the past. Laura and Logan joined Wilson and his friends for dinner, where a smiling Laura sat with Logan and they played with Dogpool.[1]
Personality[]
"You might not know it, but you're a good man, Logan."
Having been protected by Wolverine, her biological father, during her experimenters' pursuit when she was still at a young age, she developed a great sense of trust and love for the Wolverine in her reality. This sense of trust extended well beyond her Wolverine’s sacrifice, as even when she met a depressed version of Wolverine who was despised by everyone in his reality, Laura still believed in his capacity to change and make amends. This stands in stark contrast to some individuals in the Time Variance Authority, such as Mr. Paradox, who looked down on this “worst” Wolverine in utter disdain. She was later pleased that her faith in this Wolverine worked eventually when he aided her team at ambushing Cassandra Nova’s compound. At the end, she can be seen bonding with Wolverine and finding a new family, after he chose to stay in Laura's home reality.
Laura does not like to be called X-23, the name that her experimenters gave her when they designed her to be a weapon for killing, since she wants to live her own life and not to be simply defined by her creators. This view stemmed from what her biological father, Logan told her with his dying breath. Thus, she told Deadpool to call her by Laura instead of her biological name, X-23, when Deadpool introduces her to an alternate Logan. However, Laura's rejection of her real name does not suggest that she is cowardly, as she fought valiantly against Cassandra Nova and her minions. Laura is also a very compassionate individual, as exemplified when she briefly bonded with this new Wolverine in the woods at nighttime before confronting Nova and her forces. Laura is also very brave, willing to sacrifice herself to allow Deadpool to save his timeline.
Laura is a genetically engineered clone of the legendary hero Wolverine, thus inheriting many of Logan's powers, including retractable adamantium claws and superhuman attributes.
Superhuman Strength: Laura is very strong despite her small size, capable of tearing off the feet of the Juggernaut, a being of enormous durability, with a single swipe of her claws and then decapitating him.
Superhuman Durability: Her healing factor maximizes her physical condition optimally, making Laura noticeably resilient. During her fight with Juggernaut, she was knocked to the ground without serious injury and shortly after, she was shot in the abdomen but was able to continue fighting.
Superhuman Speed: X-23 possesses inhuman speed to run faster than the average human, she demonstrates this ability when fighting Juggernaut to move fast enough to slide over his legs and cut them before he could notice.
Superhuman Agility: Laura is incredibly agile to swift and leap with acrobatic feats, such as lunging several meters towards Juggernaut to decapitate the latter.
Superhuman Stamina: Laura's healing factor allows her to limit the loss of her stamina in addition to continuously renewing it. She was able to fight against large numbers of Cassandra Nova's minions over an extended period of time, taking severe hits or bullets, but was still standing in the end.
Superhuman Reflexes: Additional to her speed, X-23's reflexes are superhumanly quick as she reacted to each strike being thrown at her and barely injured.
Enhanced Senses: Laura has heightened senses, especially a mutant sense of smell similar to Wolverine's in every way.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Laura's mutant genes allow her to regenerate her organic tissues such as internal organs, skin and bones, preventing her from dying from mortal injuries and allowing her to heal effectively and quickly without leaving scars.
Longevity: Thanks to her mutant healing factor inherited from her father, Laura ages more slowly than an ordinary human, the process did not start from birth but more towards middle age.
Retractable Claws: Similar to her biological father Wolverine, Laura has retractable adamantium claws that are near indestructible, which she uses as an offensive weapon when charging towards her enemies. However, unlike Wolverine, Laura only has two claws extending from either knuckle and one in each foot.
Abilities[]
Expert Combatant: Similar to her father, Laura has a claw-based fighting style, delivering quick and deadly blows. She was able to defeat most of Cassandra Nova's mutant minions with ease and took down the strongest of them, Juggernaut, by utilizing his weakness and cutting off his feet.
Bilingualism: Laura is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Laura Kinney was an original character created exclusively for the animated television series X-Men: Evolution by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle. In the plot, she was a genetic clone of Wolverine created by HYDRA to be used as a weapon that could surpass Logan, only for her to eventually desert and choose her own path.
X-23 was later introduced into the mainstream Marvel Comics universe.
In 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series, Subject X23-23 was a young girl and daughter of Wolverine, who was subjected to experiments as a child, which gave her an adamantium skeleton, much like her father. Logan soon found out about her and eventually sacrificed himself to allow Laura and her friends to break free from their creators.
Compared to her first appearance in Logan, Laura no longer speaks with a Spanish accent. Dafne Keen credited this as Laura having come across several English-speaking people since the events of the film.[2]
Keen said that she "had a great time" keeping her appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine a secret until its official announcement while doing press for The Acolyte. She credited her ability to hide her involvement in the film to Andrew Garfield, who had to similarly refrain from acknowledging his appearance as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home ahead of that film's release.[2]
The pink sunglasses Laura wears during her clash with Cassandra Nova's forces are the same ones she briefly wore in the movie Logan.
