Who Is X-23? Origin, Powers and Key Facts

X-23 is a Marvel comic book character, the alter ego of Laura Kinney, with over 2,469 comic issue appearances. X-23 is a product of the Weapon X program, born from a damaged sample of Wolverine's DNA. During the First Age of Krakoa, she had grown old while in the Vault and presumed dead. After being rescued, she existed at the same time as a resurrected clone of herself until she was killed during Fall of X, leaving the clone as the lone Laura once more.

Who is X-23?

This version of Laura was killed during the Fall of X storyline. For the current version of Laura, see: Wolverine Origin First breath X-23's origin story was revealed in the 2004 mini-series X-23: Innocence Lost, written by her creator, Craig Kyle and frequent writing partner, Christopher Yost . An organization known only as the Facility attempts to recreate Weapon X . With all their attempts ending up failures, they turn to hiring renowned geneticist Sarah Kinney , who says she can give them what they want through cloning. However, Sarah's attempts hit a wall when she realizes the genome they recovered from Wolverine is heavily damaged, making a pure clone little more than a pipe dream. Sarah then decides to cut corners by duplicating the X chromosome, but the Facility denies her request, stating that changing the gender of Weapon X may change the abilities of the weapon itself. In an act of defiance, Sarah goes behind their backs and ends up creating a viable specimen on the twenty third attempt. While her employers are outraged, Sarah has put them in a difficult position and they reluctantly concede.

Key facts

X-23 is of mutant origin and first appeared in "Wannabe: Part Three". The character is published by Marvel. With 2,469 recorded issue appearances, X-23 ranks among the most featured characters in comics.