CROSSING OVER WITH X-23

[MattBrady]

Worlds joined in a manner, for NYX readers who also watch the animated X-Men: Evolution. In issue #3 of the series, X-23, a character from the television series showed up in the comics series, but she was a little…different.

In X-Men: Evolution, X-23 was a young teenage girl, cloned from Wolverine, who appeared, stalked Wolverine (whom she blamed for the hardships in her life), and came to some sort of resolution, or at least understanding about her lot in life.

In NYX, Joe Quesada’s street level story about down and out mutant teens in NYC, X-23 is…well, as the cover to issue #3 shows, she likes to wait on corners for rides from men she doesn’t know.

Yeah.

The character herself was created by X-Men: Evolution writer Craig Kyle, who was credited in NYX #3. Officially, Kyle is "Director of Development, Television Programming. “I oversee all of Marvel's Live-Action and Animated TV series, working directly under Avi Arad,” Kyle explained. “Recently, I was fortunate enough to co-write four episodes of X-Men: Evolution with a very talented writer named Chris Yost.”

Kyle explained a little more about X-23’s role in Evolution continuity and her storyline. “Keep in mind this is the Evolution version, and that there are many differences in the comic incarnation of her character. That said, X-23 is a clone of Weapon X – Wolverine - created by Hydra. X-23 was designed to be Hydra's ultimate assassin. During a mission at S.H.I.E.L.D., X-23 comes across files on the Xavier Institute and locates information on Wolverine. After finding Logan's file, she trashes the computers and begins hunting her genetic donor.”

And by the by, she has two claws on each hand, rather than three.

So how does a character make the leap from all-ages animated series to a PSR+ comic?

”We're relying on my memory here so let me see how much of this I can get straight,” Quesada started. “Going back over two years ago, I was visiting our West Coast studios and got to meet Craig Kyle - a more enthusiastic guy you'll never meet. I was taken by his love and passion for comics. During the week long stay he and I got to talking about characters and comics, he had mentioned that someday he'd like to write a comic, it was a long time dream for him. That's about the same time that he started telling me about this cool character he had created called X-23.

“I believe we were in the drive thru of In n' Out burger at the time when he gave me the pitch, I just loved the idea of the character but even more so I loved the origin and the reason for the character. If I'm remembering it all correctly we were discussing bringing her into the comic continuity because at the time Craig wasn't even sure if she'd make the show or what the future of the show even was. It wasn't until I started to develop the characters for NYX that it became pretty clear to me that she would be a great fit for the group, especially taking in her origin. Also, when I refer to what's interesting about her origin I'm really alluding to everything other than her obvious Wolverine connection. I mean that's cool and all but it's her back story after that that is just intriguing as all hell.”

Kyle: “Joe was very excited about X-23 when I pitched her to him over two years ago. And let me just say having Joe Quesada excited about your idea, is really frickin’ cool. Joe told me she was going to be in NYX but I didn't know the specifics of her story until later.

“At the beginning of the year Joe shared his plans with me for X-23 and at first I was a little surprised. But after seeing his script, I was very impressed with how well he handled the subject matter, as well as her character. When I got to the last page and she said her first line, I got chills. I think the book turned out beautifully. Just between us, I bought 100 copies. No joke, I did.”

As mentioned earlier, in NYX, X-23 is…well, if she’s a super-soldier created by HYDRA, she’s a lot more than “little girl lost.” From the looks of the activities in the issue…well, she’s in a room with a guy…money looks to be exchanged…there’s some dressing, some undressing…do the math.

According to Quesada, moving X-23 into NYX’s more mature world wasn’t that huge of an issue. “On my end it wasn't anything that really came into question,” Quesada said. “When Craig and I discussed it in my mind she was about sixteen or seventeen, pretty much as she appears in NYX. When I got the idea of having her as a cast member I called Craig and got his okay since it was his baby, he was thrilled. Also as it turns out they made her even younger for the TV show - because that's what they did with most of the X-men on the show, and according to Craig, they've changed and softened her origin considerably.

“One of the things you'll be seeing with this version of X-23 is a character with an origin that is as close to Craig's original vision as we'll be able to get on the comic page. Well, at least it will be when Craig gets around to writing it in 2004, whoops did I just give that away? Anyway - you also have to keep in mind that the place in her life where you see X-23 in NYX #3 will be the last time you see her in that kind of a situation and without giving too much away, things aren't always what they seem. You'll discover some very interesting things about what happens when the doors close around X-23 and her situation.

“Much of the point of the series is to watch these kids take a lousy situation or a crappie hand that life might have handed them and still triumph despite of all of that. It's a very serious look at the making of heroes and it's a very Marvelesque formula presenting heroes with feet of clay. Does anyone remember that Tony Stark was an alcoholic? And that happened in the seventies which was pretty hard core for a comic back in those days! It's that ability to triumph and defeat your demons in order to serve the greater good that to me is the hallmark of great heroic tales and characters. The kids in NYX are no different, I've just tried to take the formula and update it in a way that kids today maybe can relate to. It's a cold hard world out there and the horrible reality is that on way too many occasions kids are forced to live in it.”

And yes, Quesada knows the arguments – heck, he’s made them himself: if an audience member of another version of a character likes the character enough to track them down in comics, then the comics character should map pretty closely to the version from the other media, right?

“There wasn't that kind of thought put behind X-23,” Quesada said. “As I said, at the time that Craig and I discussed her she was basically just a great idea, well at least to the two of us she was. The future of the show wasn't certain so we just wanted to make sure she had a life somewhere in the Marvel U. Also, it's pretty obvious that her origin wasn't something that could be used easily in the show because of it's very sad yet hard edge so either way we were looking at splitting the baby somehow. Arguably, this is the fine line we have to walk between different media with our characters. Obviously a character like Wolverine isn't going to be quite the same in a Saturday morning cartoon to what we see in the movie or the comic.”

On the art side of the coin, although NYX artist Josh Middleton knew that X-23 was coming (Quesada had mentioned her when the two first started talking about the project), he didn’t know too much more about her, aside from Quesada’s notes.

“As far as I was concerned, we were starting from scratch,” Middleton said. “I simply designed X-23 for NYX based on the outline Joe had given me which really spoke more to personality than visuals. I think it was suggested early on that X-23 be the ‘goth-chick’ of our little group, and she did seem the perfect candidate for a ‘goth’ look, given their obvious need for a hug. It's just a cry for help, isn't it, with all the eyeliner and frowning. Damn jocks and all their joyous victories...Anyway, the danger with X-23 is the hug might get you run through with some very sharp claws.”

The need for that hug is matched by the quasi-vacant look Middleton puts into X-23’s eyes, indicating that she’s not really there, mentally either due to damage – or choice.

”Because she's not exactly talkative, so much of her character has to come out through really subtle body language and expression,” Middleton said. “It's sometimes a real challenge when working in a somewhat minimalist style. Right away I saw her as being almost black and white, pale skin and dark features with long hair to hide behind, and having slightly unusual or exotic qualities, such as very wide-spaced eyes which helps suggest a more animalistic nature. Within all of that was the need to project a sort of innocence, something that begged for your pity. Of course, all of this fit in nicely with the ‘goth’ image. The fun will be revealing all of the shades of gray she keeps hidden away. In the end, she was a natural to design, feeling right at home as an introverted, self-mutilating, ferocious but lovable ‘goth-chick’ with claws. Every parent's wish, really.”

“Josh is an amazing talent,” Kyle added. “I couldn't have asked for a better artist to draw X-23 and bring her to life for a new audience. He deserves more credit than I can express in a single chat, as does Joe. They both did a wonderful job on X-23 and I'm grateful.

“As for the maturity issue and the cartoon/comic stuff...I deal with issues like these all the time. Evolution is its own universe. The X-characters in that series are in every way, the ones loved by the hardcore, older comic fans. Their souls - or integrity - are maintained, because that is my number one concern, it is only the world that has been altered. So, X-23 is the same core character in NYX that she is in Evolution. In the comics, her life will be darker and elements of her past and future will be altered because - given the audience - that freedom exists. Also, the pitch I gave Joe was not something appropriate for kids. When I write, I go for it. I come up with stories and characters without pulling any punches and when I'm finished that's when I revise my ideas to make them suitable for the audience, in this case, children.

“I love the freedom celebrated in the comics. I also enjoy the challenge of trying to make shows older fans can enjoy, even though our main responsibility is to gear the material for kids ages 6 to 11. If we can't keep the younger fans, we don't have a show. It's a hard job, but very rewarding when we succeed. So my short answer is, no we can't make X-23 as edgy on X-Men: Evolution but NYX is its own reality, so more power to them.”

As for X-23’s path as time goes on in NYX, Quesada said that many questions – including hints as to whether or not X-23 came about the same way, i.e., cloned, as she did in the animated series, or if she’s actually Wolverine’s daughter via the old fashioned method - will be answered in the coming year. And hints are already there.

“Right now there are some very obvious differences between the two characters, in the comic she's at least 3 or 4 years older and she looks rather different than she does in the show,” Quesada said. “All I can tell you is that there are dramatic differences from the comic version to the show, first and foremost, the origin and back story in the comic version will be closer to the purity of the creator's vision, so expect some very cool surprises.”

But does she know, in NYX, who her “daddy” is?

“If I told you Craig would go all X-23 on my butt so you'll have to wait and see.”

[killeridentity]

Cool , it would be intresting to see how wolverine reatcs finding out he is sort of resposible for this girl, hopfully he wont gut her and kill her straight away.

[jasinmartin]

I'm really liking NYX so far, and especially Middleton's art. Can't wait to see how X23 plays out.

[Ace]

I find X23 sort of frustrating. Part of the reason why X-Men Evolution was so wonderful was because Wolverine was a supporting character at best. It was mainly about the kids and it was done very very well(from the beginning of the second season on). The network(I think) wanted younger characters, so they bring in the New Mutants, and that works out great. But then I read in an interview that it came down from Marvel that they don't use Wolverine enough, so X23 gets created. That just frustrates me somehow.

Still, if they should be incorperating ANY character of the Evolution universe they really need to sneak the younger version of Lance/Avalanche into Exiles or something. He definately had the best character arc of the show (especially in season two all the way up to Joyride).

Matt

[jcrichards]

X-23 looks a lot like Josh's woman (especially in those last sketches).

perhaps he works like Alex Ross, basing his interpretations on real-life people...

[Hdefined]

Uh . . . .

So to sum up, he's taking a bit character from the WB show and making her a whore?

[Aquaboy]

Originally posted by Ace


Still, if they should be incorperating ANY character of the Evolution universe they really need to sneak the younger version of Lance/Avalanche into Exiles or something. He definately had the best character arc of the show (especially in season two all the way up to Joyride).

that got me thinking... i'd love to see a guest star on exiles of freedom force/2nd Brotherhood as defenders of the Xavier dream. i just think it would be cool to see Blob as an x-man.... very bizarre and interesting.

[gOgIver]

I dig NYX

In terms of artwork NYX is my favorite Marvel title right about now, Funk Soul Brutha

[OM]

Originally posted by Hdefined
So to sum up, he's taking a bit character from the WB show and making her a whore?

...And a crack whore, at that. Maybe we'll see her in a centerfold spread in Crack Whore Magazine with Lee Ann Cartman.

As for doing the math....

"Oh babe, get on your knees and suck my [SNIKT!] AAAAAGH!!"

...To which we find in a later issue that she keeps them as trophies in a jar by the sink, and there's a Lorenna Bobbit poster on her bedroom wall.

[Ian]

Originally posted by MattBrady
As for X-23’s path as time goes on in NYX, Quesada said that many questions – including whether or not X-23 came about the same way, i.e., cloned, as she did in the animated series, or if she’s actually Wolverine’s daughter via the old fashioned method - will be answered in the coming year. And hints are already there.

Well, I expect Weapon X had to've gotten a hold of her regardless or Wolverine's natural "input" or the whole cloning thing.

Unless of course, it's logical that a child sired by Wolverine would inherit Adamantium-laced bones and claws.

[Robert_Coyner]

Originally posted by Hdefined
Uh . . . .

So to sum up, he's taking a bit character from the WB show and making her a whore?

When the guy who created the character is even on board, and the character was a solid creation on what is a really good television show it's hardly a bad thing that she's finding her way to the actual Marvel U. And it's funny, not saying you do, H, but a lot of people have been annoyed that NYX seems to have nothing to do with the X-Men other than the X of the title, and now you have a character that does tie in, and it bothers people. And living in LA, it's not like this isn't something that doesn't unfortunately happen to a lot of kids - boys and girls. I think it's pretty brave to tackle this idea - and this is definitely from someone who is not a big fan of Marvel. I read NYX, Supreme Power and plan to try out Runaways this month since Cloak and Dagger are in it and that's about it. I did grow up loving the X-Men though, and like the Evolution series and think the character, X-23 has a lot of potential.

[WhiteKnightFall]

I try to keep an open mind about some of the "edgy" new stuff comics come out with, and I'll admit, I needed to cut back on my Comic Subscription and NYX was in the spotlight to be cut. I gave it one more issue to make my decision......after X-23 showed up, bam, I was good to go.

I was an overly huge X-Men Evolution fan. The character X-23 was pure brilliance as far as I was concerned, I just wish the damn corporate bastards at Kids WB! would have given the show another season to run. But, if anybody saw the last episode of the show, the fans got closure to the show and basically what is going to happen once the universe is basically plotted through. X-23 does join the X-Men later on, The Brotherhood now works for SHEILD, Scarlet Witch has LONG, long black hair and a trench coat, Gambit does join the X-Men, and just little things like that I really appreciated knowing. I still wish they could have gone further with it, in the comics if not the show, but, all good things really do come to an end.

Now, NYX's version of X-23 did kinda scare me, because, well, she's being portrayed as a full out whore. A prostitued whore at that. Not exactly as thrilling as the Evolution concept of the character which, I still admit, was a lot more interesting than this "edgy-er" title, but hell, I'll take what I can get. Plus, I give credit to the man who came up with the original character anyways, and as said, this is the closest to the original origin than Evolution was to begin with.

Either way, X-23 is a great character with a lot of potential, being the daughter of Wolverine by either cloning or traditional methods. It would really help in my mind if they could speed things up a little bit, but thats just a personal opinion. Glad a character like this showing up could pump the series back up to match the hype it had for a while. Here's to hoping they don't seriesouly screw up a great storyline with a greater character.

Long live X-Men: Evolution!

[WhiteKnightFall]

Well, I expect Weapon X had to've gotten a hold of her regardless or Wolverine's natural "input" or the whole cloning thing.

Unless of course, it's logical that a child sired by Wolverine would inherit Adamantium-laced bones and claws.

Actually, they explained that rather well in the Evolution series. The kid was cloned from Wolverine's DNA because his healing factor was the key to making sure they could really create the ultimate weapon. It also made sure the Adamantium Bonding Process (which I think they said she went under at the age of 12) actually took (The files for Weapon X's Adamantium Bonding Process were duplicated by HYDRA for X-23, Weaon X didn't directly have a hand in anything). She was raised in complete isolation unless in rigorours training. The other 22 test subjects before X-23 didn't even make it that far past the bonding process. But, being Wolverine's very own, and a girl on top of that, she was unstable as all living hell, to which she blamed her "father" for everything that's happened in her hard life and vowed to kill him. The doctor that oversaw the entire operation for HYDRA only stayed on after realizing she had ruined the girls life to make sure the kid would still remain "okay". You could tell there were hints that this doctor could have been the biological Mother of X-23 as well, should you want to include her into the origin story, since she blamed herself for what happened to X-23 just as any concerned Mother would.

The story is just friggin' cool and I wish to anything they could or would have kept going with this angle. It made sense! Damn it made sense! But, better to have the character in another incarnation if not at all.

[wraith]

Originally posted by Ace
I find X23 sort of frustrating. Part of the reason why X-Men Evolution was so wonderful was because Wolverine was a supporting character at best. It was mainly about the kids and it was done very very well(from the beginning of the second season on). The network(I think) wanted younger characters, so they bring in the New Mutants, and that works out great. But then I read in an interview that it came down from Marvel that they don't use Wolverine enough, so X23 gets created. That just frustrates me somehow.

I also read an article about how the sole reason for X-23's creation, was because marvel (particularly Jemas and Quesada) wanted more episodes focusing on Wolverine. The fact is, that the only reason a crappy character like X-23 is being brought into NYX, is to capitalize on Wolverine's (and X-Men Evolution) popularity in order to boost sales on a title that will most likely be canceled within a year or two.

[Ian]

Originally posted by WhiteKnightFall
Actually, they explained that rather well in the Evolution series. The kid was cloned from Wolverine's DNA because his healing factor was the key to making sure they could really create the ultimate weapon. It also made sure the Adamantium Bonding Process (which I think they said she went under at the age of 12) actually took (The files for Weapon X's Adamantium Bonding Process were duplicated by HYDRA for X-23, Weaon X didn't directly have a hand in anything). She was raised in complete isolation unless in rigorours training. The other 22 test subjects before X-23 didn't even make it that far past the bonding process. But, being Wolverine's very own, and a girl on top of that, she was unstable as all living hell, to which she blamed her "father" for everything that's happened in her hard life and vowed to kill him. The doctor that oversaw the entire operation for HYDRA only stayed on after realizing she had ruined the girls life to make sure the kid would still remain "okay". You could tell there were hints that this doctor could have been the biological Mother of X-23 as well, should you want to include her into the origin story, since she blamed herself for what happened to X-23 just as any concerned Mother would.

The story is just friggin' cool and I wish to anything they could or would have kept going with this angle. It made sense! Damn it made sense! But, better to have the character in another incarnation if not at all.

Thanx WhiteKnightFall, that does make sense. I can't see how they can deviate from that origin and still have it make as much sense. Yet they tease like it isn't going to follow the origin story originally presented in X:E.

[Noam Choseed]

Originally posted by Hdefined
Uh . . . .

So to sum up, he's taking a bit character from the WB show and making her a whore?

First Avengers #71 which features not only lewd Wasp/Hank action, but a prostitute in a wasp costume being beaten to death (something I found far more Shocking than the oral scene ) Now a Marvel cartoon character is being redone in such a sleazy context in what seems to be a cynical attempt to stir up controversy get the curious and perverted among us to start picking up NYX I personally am a great supporter of depravity, but Marvel's new tricks just leave me uninterested (except to bitch in these posts ) They might as well just turn all their books into MAX titles alredy if thats what they think the mostly adult, male fans will pay for

[Dan20]

I'm enjoying NYX and I think Quesada and Middleton are doing a great job thus far.
I have no problems with the maturity; as long as they don't market the book to fans of the cartoon, I see no problem with her apparent work as a prostitute. The book is *supposed* to be about street kids and so on, right, so it only makes sense that one of them might be involved in that field.
I have to admit, I'm not too crazy about the name "X-23" though. Too bland and it's yet another title/character with a pointless "X" in the name.

[Ionicavenger]

Definitely have to give her a little more character than just naming her x-23. Prostitution and comics are a dangerous mix, well, I guess unless you remember Selina Kyle started out on the street and look where it got her.

[mpg]

Originally posted by gOgIver
I dig NYX

In terms of artwork NYX is my favorite Marvel title right about now, Funk Soul Brutha

wooord up!

and you guys, geez, why do you have to sound like such old ladies? what the hell world do you live in? part of the BEAUTY of comics is that nearly everything is fair game to be explored. if the execution is bad, that is one thing.

why cant they touch on teen prostitution? i would understand if the response was "i like my fantasy superhero/supervillain costume world light and fluffy" but isnt that getting old?

[mpg]

anybody read X-Statix/X-Force?

there was a black character who joined who could make spikes come out of his body

his codename? The Spike! he didnt have the bleach blond hair, but if def looked like a nod to the evolution character to me

[Aquaboy]

random thought....
since x-23 is marvel proper universe and not cartoon continuity, why not add a little twist? if x-23 is genetically wolverine's 'daughter' why not make her mother be someone x-readers fondly remember? old-school wolverine readers recalled all the super secret spy super heroics that supposedly went on in wolverine's past. he was an agent on weapon x alongside several other agents.... sabretooth, kestrel, and silver fox. silver fox later popped into current continuity as an agent of hydra. she was involved with mariko's death. why don't the twisted docs at HYDRA make x-23 genetic mother, mariko yashida?
x-23 would be the legacy of his greatest love, mariko, and the biggest perversion of her death. ... or is this a bit too claremont?

[Ace]

Originally posted by Aquaboy
random thought....
since x-23 is marvel proper universe and not cartoon continuity, why not add a little twist? if x-23 is genetically wolverine's 'daughter' why not make her mother be someone x-readers fondly remember? old-school wolverine readers recalled all the super secret spy super heroics that supposedly went on in wolverine's past. he was an agent on weapon x alongside several other agents.... sabretooth, kestrel, and silver fox. silver fox later popped into current continuity as an agent of hydra. she was involved with mariko's death. why don't the twisted docs at HYDRA make x-23 genetic mother, mariko yashida?
x-23 would be the legacy of his greatest love, mariko, and the biggest perversion of her death. ... or is this a bit too claremont?

If by "too claremont" you mean "a constructive and positive use of continuity that won't necessarily confuse new fans or hinder the story possibilities in the least but will instead make some of the older fans happy and remind people that every issue matters because things that happened ten years ago still get referred to." Sure, sounds about right to me. Of course, they'll never do it.

Matt

[Ryan Dunlavey]

Originally posted by Hdefined
So to sum up, he's taking a bit character from the WB show and making her a whore?

Not just any old whore - she's…

HARD-TO-KILL WHORE! (tm)

(to steal an old joke from Evan Dorkin)

[NeoXorn]

I really like this X-23 character. I hope she's not Wolverine's daughter, 'coz I can't imagine how he will react if he finds out that his daughter's a prostitute. Also, I hope she's not a clone 'coz i think the clone concept is overused(Superboy, Star Wars, and the stinky Maximum Clonage of Spider-Man). I'll going to check this one.

[Robert_Coyner]

Originally posted by Aquaboy
random thought....
since x-23 is marvel proper universe and not cartoon continuity, why not add a little twist? if x-23 is genetically wolverine's 'daughter' why not make her mother be someone x-readers fondly remember? old-school wolverine readers recalled all the super secret spy super heroics that supposedly went on in wolverine's past. he was an agent on weapon x alongside several other agents.... sabretooth, kestrel, and silver fox. silver fox later popped into current continuity as an agent of hydra. she was involved with mariko's death. why don't the twisted docs at HYDRA make x-23 genetic mother, mariko yashida?
x-23 would be the legacy of his greatest love, mariko, and the biggest perversion of her death. ... or is this a bit too claremont?

Actually, Silver Fox - who used to be Wolverine's lover - worked for Hydra, so that could be your twist right there as far as Mother's go.