X-23 #3

Review: We begin this issue with X-23 apparently fighting her way through Hell, after being sent there by Possessed Wolverine. X-23 fights through visions of wolves, ghouls and Cyclops, who even as an apparition is annoying. Eventually, after some taunting by “Cyclops” X-23 decides to run away and runs into a starry version of herself, which introduces itself as X-23's soul, which is something she wasn't sure she had, being a clone and all. X-23's soul makes her relive some of her worst moments, and tells her that even though she's been through hell, she had never been broken, and Possessed Wolvie won't succeed in breaking her either. From there, X-23 appears in front of Possessed Wolvie, who offers to save Hellion, provided X-23 gives herself over to him. X-23, now more sure of herself, tells Possessed Wolvie that his deal didn't appeal to her, and burns him away with the goodness she had in her. From there, X-23 wakes up in the hospital room from last issue, surrounded by a few X-Men and sees that Hellion is still alive and that Possessed Wolvie had left. Later on, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Storm and Gambit(?!?)meet up to discuss the X-23 situation. Cyclops and Emma feel that X-23 needs to remain on Crazy Mutie Island(Utopia), while Storm feels she needs to go out and experience life. Gambit chimes in that X-23 probably sees the X-Men as a prison, and as such was probably already gone. It seems Gambit was nearly correct, as X-23 had packed her bags and was heading off of Crazy Mutie Island. Storm manages to catch up with her and tries to convince X-23 not to run, but X-23 explains that Crazy Mutie Island didn't feel like a home to her anymore, and that she needed some time away. Storm tells X-23 that she would never be alone, before standing aside. This issue ends with X-23 walking the streets of San Francisco being watched by... Oh come ON... Miss Sinister.

Thoughts: You know what? Had that last page not been in this issue, this comic would have been my first perfect score of 2011. It was THAT good. Marjorie Liu has actually made X-23 a likable character, something her two creators were never able to do. But hell, saying Liu is a better writer than Chris Yost and Craig Kyle combined is like saying the sun rises in the east. It's common sense. This issue gave some great insight into X-23 and actually changed her from a one-dimensional female Wolverine rip-off to a character who you could actually feel sorry for. She's been used her whole life, isn't sure of her place, and can't form lasting bonds with others. THAT'S character development. Not having her run around acting like a female Wolverine, cutting and gutting everything in her path. All of the characterizations in this comic were perfect, from Lord Summers all the way down to Gambit. Hell, Liu even made GAMBIT look good! GAMBIT!!! So through the entire comic I was thinking, “Wow, this is perfect...” and then Miss Sinister showed up. To say that I hate Miss Sinister would be a gross understatement. To this day I'll NEVER understand why Marvel would take one of their iconic X-villains and suddenly give him a sex-change. It made no sense, and pisses me off every time I see her/him. It's actually the one of the many reasons I dropped X-Men Legacy. Anyway, all but the last page of this comic was phenomenal, let's see if the next issue can be as good.

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.Possessed Wolvie NEEDS a mini-series!