History ComicBook / X23

!!The following tropes apply to X-23 as a character

[[folder: A-D]]
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Same as Logan.
* AbusiveParents: Depending on your definition of "parents." Zander Rice was one of the lead scientists involved with her creation and training, and the abuse he subjected Laura to was outright ''horrific''. Sarah Kinney, her biological mother, (surrogate womb and some genetic material) was ordered by the Facility to deny her an emotional connection, so was forced to shun her when Laura reached out to her. To her credit Sarah defied those orders whenever she was able, but this still led to much of her emotional damage. Then there's her handler, [[AxCrazy Kimura]], who abused Laura as badly, if not ''worse'', than Rice. It really says something when as poor of a father as [[{{Wolverine}} Logan]] can be (which he even outright ''admits''), he's ''still'' one of the ''better'' parental figures Laura's had.
* TheAce: Laura is miles ahead of her peers when she first comes to the school, having been trained as a LivingWeapon and spent years as an assassin-for-hire. Notably, when Nimrod gauges the kids for threat assessment, he ascribes Laura the highest threat level out of the entire team.
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: When Laura takes up the Wolverine codename after the conclusion of ''Secret Wars'', a woman taking up the mantle of a man.
* AgeLift: Her original depiction in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' was as a little girl. However, when she became a CanonImmigrant to the comics, she was reimagined as a teenager, which also carried other to other versions like ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelHeroes'' -- which caught fans by surprise when ''Film/{{Logan}}'' presented a TruerToTheText version.
* AloofDarkHairedGirl: She's pretty, with long, dark hair, and comes off as aloof and distant.
* AlternateUniverse: Like most Marvel Universe characters, she has several:
** She was originally introduced in ''X-Men: Evolution'', an alternate universe from Marvel's main universe, 616.
** ''League of Losers'': A villain from the future uses historical data to kill all the well known heroes in the world. Only a handful of heroes who weren't in the historical records (making them "losers") survive. X-23 was one of those heroes.
** ''X-Men: The End'': A near future version of the character. Strangely, she not only appears to have an adamantium skeleton, but her muscle tissue appear robotic or techno-organic.
** ''Artume-ruled reality'': In a temporary alternate reality created by Amazon Queen Artume where women rule the world, X-23 is known as Wolverine, and is one of the main members of the Avengers.
** ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'': The daughter of Logan and Mariko Yashida who goes by the name Kirika is found in Mr. Sinister's lab in a container labeled "X-23".
** ''All-New Wolverine #9'' reveals there was a version of X-23 raised by the Wolverine who eventually became Comicbook/OldManLogan.
** Another from ''All-New Wolverine #30'' is a version in which the heroes won an all-out war against the villains, and ushered in a utopia. In this universe, Laura is Queen of Madripoor, [[spoiler:and is dying of CloneDegeneration]].
** ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' introduces a really young and Mexican version of Laura in ''Film/{{Logan}}'', played by actress Dafne Keen.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Cassandra Cain[=/=]ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2000}}. Everything from their backgrounds (raised to be an assassin), [[NoSocialSkills lack of social skills]], and relationships with their respective [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} father figures]][=/=][[Franchise/{{Batman}} mentors]] are quite similar.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Although in the comics X-23 is unambiguously (and canonically) Caucasian with some occasional DependingOnTheArtist, in ''Evolution'' she has a much darker complection, with features that have been interpreted as anything from Latina to First Nations. WordOfGod states that her features were based on those of the girl who modeled for the reference shoot as a thank you.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: After taking up the Wolverine name for herself. However while she ''does'' have as vicious a temper, she's much more in control of it than Logan was. Her cooler head doesn't make her any less fierce or determined a fighter, though.
* ArchEnemy: Kimura, her former handler and the one who dealt her abuse from an early age. Kimura has Density Control, giving her immunity to X-23's adamantium claws since she can make her skin denser than the metal itself.
* ArmedLegs: While Logan has three claws in each hand, Laura has only two. The third claw is instead located in each of her feet, making her kicks potentially lethal. Her fighting style thus incorporates CombatParkour in order to bring the foot claws into play. She's also known to ''not'' use them and rely more on the claws in her hands. This allows her to bring them out to get the drop on an opponent who assumes she shares Wolverine's claw arrangement (as Comicbook/TaskMaster and Black Mamba discovered to their regret).
* ArtificialHuman: Laura is an engineered clone created by duplicating Logan's X chromosome due to damage to the Y making a direct clone impossible. This makes her the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis parthenogenetic]] offspring of Logan's mother.
* TheAtoner: Downplayed, but much of what Laura does is out of a desire to do be a better person after all of the horrible things the Facility made her do. She once notably asked Ghost Rider to ''use his Penance Stare'' on her because she believed she deserved punishment.
* AudibleSharpness: Her claws make the same ''snikt'' sound as Wolverine's.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Combined with SherlockScan below: Whenever Laura walks into a room, her brain ''immediately'' calculates the best means of killing everyone inside it.
* BadassAdorable: Especially as a little girl. As a teenager she's a highly-skilled fighter, and one of the most lethal assassins in all of Marvel. Notably, Nimrod identifies her as a severe threat, and yet she can [[http://vmf251-buccaneers.net/Stuff/X23PuppyDog.png really work]] the PuppyDogEyes.
* BadassBookworm: Not the same degree as some, but Laura is incredibly gifted intellectually and received an extensive (albeit narrow) education during her training. Her intellect (at least for a seven year-old) is described by Rice in ''ComicBook/InnocenceLost'' as being "off the charts." Her official power rating at Marvel places her firmly in "Genius" category.
* BareYourMidriff: Frequently, both in place of ''and'' in addition to OfCorsetsSexy. According to [[WordOfGod Mike Choi]] this dates entirely to his Top Cow variant for ''Target X #1'', which he drew intending it to be a one-off design before her backstory and look had been completely finalized. It immediately became popular, and quickly solidified itself as part of her aesthetic.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Despite being a clone of the famously ''un''attractive Logan it's clear from dialog and her character design that Laura is intended to be a ''very'' attractive young woman. And then over the course of her history, she's taken a good deal of punishment, but the only permanent mark on her body is the [[spoiler:emblem associated with ComicBook/CaptainUniverse]] on the palm of her right hand. {{Justified| Trope}}, since she has a HealingFactor.
* BeneathTheMask: Early on Laura is outwardly TheStoic bordering on an outright EmotionlessGirl, and many characters (even people who are ostensibly her ''friends'') treated her like she was nothing but a cold, unfeeling killing machine. Underneath her cold facade, however, she was a confused and suicidally depressed jumble of loneliness, heartbreak, and rage. This has changed as CharacterDevelopment taught her how to better process her emotions.
* BigSisterInstinct: Demonstrates this with her cousin Megan, even though Megan is established as older. She's also this much more literally to her ''actual'' younger sister, Gabby, in ''All-New Wolverine''.
* BizarreSexualDimorphism: Her claw arrangement was intended to be this according to WordOfGod, with her foot claws specifically designed to be a trait of females with the same mutation as Logan. As described by Craig Kyle, the concept was that of a lioness; front claws for hunting prey, rear claws for self-defense.
* BlessedWithSuck:
** Her extensive training has given her SherlockScan and AwesomenessByAnalysis that allows her to immediately size up a threat upon entering a room, planning multiple plans of attack, and choosing the best course of action. This is certainly useful when walking into a BadGuyBar or other hostile situation. Less so when she's around her friends, because ''she can't turn it off''.
** She also has pretty much every BlessedWithSuck trait as Wolverine: Her heightened senses mean she's enduring a constant barrage of sensory overload in a crowded room, and because of her HealingFactor, every time she extends her claws it tears up her skin again. Laura's not bothered as severely by the adamantium since it only covers her claws, but she does note in her solo series it still makes swimming a bit harder than it would be otherwise. Also, even though her claws are laced with adamantium, the bones of her hands and feet are ''not'' reinforced, meaning the vibration of striking something with her claws with sufficient force could conceivably ''shatter the bones in her hands, wrists, ankles and feet''. Ouch.
** Even though she heals much faster than Wolverine, she can be hurt in ways far worse than he can since this is because she lacks the adamantium on her bones.
** The Scent is its own bit of this, as well: She's already a highly-trained and deadly fighter, and the Trigger Scent turns her into a virtually unstoppable ball of whirling, adamantium-bladed death that ''will not stop'' until everything in reach is dead. Unfortunately, that means ''everything'': The trigger sends Laura into an UnstoppableRage in which she is incapable of distinguishing friend from foe. And yes, this ''has'' led to her hurting people she cared about.[[spoiler: However the trigger scent has been rendered useless.]]
* BodyHorror: Her claws were ''forcibly removed'' from her body without any attempt at anesthesia so they could be coated in adamantium. Because only her claws have been bonded she's also been horribly mangled in the past. Including getting ''hit by a train''.
* BreakoutCharacter: Started as a CanonForeigner for a [[WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution mostly forgotten animated series]], quickly ported to the comics due to positive reception, and her popularity has only grown from there. She was arguably the main character of New X-Men, has had a number of miniseries and now an ongoing series, was included in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' despite having only existed for less than a decade then, and is now almost always included in Team images. She's easily the most popular post-2000 ''X-Men'' character.
* BrokenAce: Although miles ahead of her peers in terms of her maturity, skills, and experience, Laura is a very broken, damaged and withdrawn girl prone to bouts of severe (if not suicidal) depression. Her preparedness to sacrifice herself for others without hesitation stems from a poor sense of self-worth, and she habitually cuts herself when severely stressed or upset because she doesn't know how to deal with her feelings (such as her jealousy when she sees Surge kiss Hellion).
* BrokenBird: Laura has endured ''horrible'' amounts of abuse and suffering in her life, and a major recurring theme is her efforts to recover from the emotional damage done to her.
* BrutalHonesty: She's InnocentlyInsensitive and has difficulties with lying, even to spare others' feelings.
* CainAndAbel:
** The Abel to {{ComicBook/Daken}}'s Cain.
** Also to Raze, the time-traveling shape-shifter son of Logan and [[spoiler:Mystique]].
* CannotTellALie: Laura is very well-known for her BrutalHonesty and being InnocentlyInsensitive. Because she was created as a LivingWeapon covert operative and assassin, she certainly has the capability to lie in order to maintain her cover on missions, but outside of this context she consistently shows an inability to do so.
* CanonImmigrant: Originally created for ''X-Men: Evolution'', but found her way into the comics universe in ''NYX''.
* TheCape: Although willing and able to kill if she has to, Laura has increasingly leaned in this direction, resorting to lethal force only as a last resort. She also possesses a strong willingness to sacrifice herself for others, and a growing sense of idealism leaving her desperately hoping for something ''better'' to aspire to.
* ChildrenForcedToKill: The first time Laura ever killed anyone was at the age of 9, when Rice used the Trigger Scent to force her to kill her sensei. Her first assassination mission was when she was 11. By the time she escaped the Facility at age 13 she had killed ''hundreds'' of people, and she continued killing even after joining the X-Men.
* TheComicallySerious: She rarely smiles, has never been shown truly laughing, and her sense of humor is very subdued, generally black, and trends towards the DeadpanSnarker (emphasis on "deadpan"). Much humor is derived at her expense as she reacts to the insanity that surrounds the X-Men with complete, [[TheStoic stoic]] seriousness. She even views a potential ''racquetball'' game with the same intensity as she would wading into combat.
* TheChosenOne: She shares a connection to the [[Comicbook/CaptainUniverse Enigma Force]], and [[spoiler:has even been designated the chosen heir to its power]].
* TheChosenMany: After Logan's resurrection, Laura now shares the mantle of Wolverine with him.
* CivvieSpandex:
** Although Laura has had a few more traditional costumes (a variation of Wolverine's Shi'ar "wild" suit, her New X-Men, X-Force, and All-New X-Men uniforms, and now the Wolverine costume), she's spent almost as much time in civvies as she has in an actual costume: She was introduced in a {{Stripperific}} coat, corset/tank top, miniskirt, and fishnets ensemble (justified as she was a prostitute at the time), she actually spent more time in ''New X-Men'' wearing PaintedOnPants and a sports bra than in her actual uniform, wore a similar outfit for the duration of ''Avengers Academy'', and only wore her then-current X-Force uniform twice during the Liu series.
** It becomes almost literal in the costume Mike Choi designed for Volume 4, as he based it heavily on athletic wear after surveying women in their late-teens and early-20s about what they would ''actually'' wear as a superhero.
* ClassicalAntiHero: When she first appears, Laura is plagued with doubts about herself. She's prone to bouts of suicidal depression, practices SelfHarm, questions whether she's "real" or worthy of life because she's a clone, accepts her role as a killer and that it devalues her compared to people like Wolfsbane, has a strained relationship with her father figure as a result, wonders whether she even has a soul, (and even asks Comicbook/GhostRider to use his Penance Stare on her) and believes she deserves punishment for the things she did under the Facility's control. Over time, she comes to accept that she had no control over what the Facility made her do, (especially when the Trigger was involved) accepts that being a clone doesn't mean she's not a "real" person and comes to value her own life, and adopts a ThouShaltNotKill attitude, using lethal force only as a last resort.
* ClonesArePeopleToo: It tends to vary depending on her self-esteem. When she first appeared she thought very little of herself, and for a time she viewed herself as expendable in part because she was a clone. However after CharacterDevelopment greatly improved her sense of self worth, she's now come to believe that clones are just as "real" as normal people. However it's quite common for people seeking to put her down to call her "clone" as an insult, and much of the torture inflicted on her by the Facility was because Rice did ''not'' differentiate her from Wolverine.
* CloningBlues: Zig-Zagged. Because Laura actually had to be implanted in a womb, carried to term, and raised from birth, she's a bit more realistic than the typical comic book clone and generally averts the "Am I Real?" angst most are subject to. Hellverine ''was'' able to get under her skin by telling her that as a clone she doesn't have a soul, and Blackheart once managed to distract her by telling her he can confirm whether or not she does. She even asked Comicbook/GhostRider to use his Penance Stare on her ''just'' to find out for sure.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Laura's ''entire life'' at the Facility. TrainingFromHell, her claws surgically removed one by one without anesthesia, punished severely even when she completes missions ''successfully'', constant physical and emotional abuse. ''Target X'' reveals that even her conditioning to the ''trigger scent'' involved outright torture when Laura is shown being electrocuted and nearly drowned.
* CombatParkour: Unlike her genetic father, {{Wolverine}}, X-23's fighting style is much more acrobatic and in many of her fight scenes she can be seen using flips and handstands to bring her foot claws into play, and because her body is much less durable since only her claws are bonded with adamantium.
* ComfortFood: Played with subtly. Laura has shown a fondness for spicy foods in her own series after being raised in the Facility with no choice but the nutritionist's bland fare for her. Played with in that she eats things she didn't get to have; eating more familiar things would probably bring back ''bad'' memories.
* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames: As noted on the trope page, a non-film example that's played with. It's initially {{inverted| trope}} since Laura wasn't given a ''real'' name until she was thirteen years old, when [[TearJerker Sarah names her as she's dying]]. Until then she was either referred to by her Facility codename, X-23, or various insults (particularly Rice calling her "animal") to dehumanize her. Most of her friends, loved ones and teammates just call her Laura, and occasionally they'll use "X" as a sort of nickname. She's addressed much less frequently as "X-23" in-universe (usually by people such as Kimura who intentionally use it to dehumanize her), though it ''is'' the name she's usually marketed under. She doesn't begin using a codename with regularity until she takes up the Wolverine mantle.
** In her movie debut itself, the only appearances of "X-23" are in her dossiers (and more specifically, Laura is X-23-23, the 23rd subject of the project to create mutant clones). The bad guys refuse to use any name with her, but her nurse calls her Laura, leading Xavier and Logan to do so as well.
* CoolBigSis: Was one to her cousin Megan, (even though the timeline in ''Innocence Lost'' suggests Megan is actually somewhat older) and now Gabby. Jubilee is one to her.
* TheCowl: Started out as this, especially during her tenure in the [[ComicBook/NewMutants New X-Men]]. Part of her CharacterDevelopment is her transformation from this into TheCape.
* CreepyChild: Laura's icy stoicism makes her off-putting to almost everyone she meets.
* CulturedBadass: An alternate cover for ''All-New Wolverine'' #20 shows Laura and Gabby napping on a couch while reading ''Theatre/{{MacBeth}}'', while her mother read to her from ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' when she was a child, and she's a polyglot who speaks at ''least'' English, French, Japanese, and Russian. Laura is also known to [[SmartPeoplePlayChess play chess]], and during the Liu series suggests she's ''quite'' good.
* CuteBruiser: Laura's ability to heal makes her very tough to kill, and she may be an even ''more'' dangerous fighter than Logan. She's also a very attractive young girl with a fondness for [[OfCorsetsSexy corsets]] and {{Stripperific}} outfits.
* DarkActionGirl: Basically what the Facility turned her into. She usually dresses in dark colors, is often emotionally standoffish, and is willing to kill and torture to achieve her goals, even ''after'' joining the X-Men and attempting to turn her life around. However it's been increasingly downplayed over time, and while she's still able to kill if she has to, thanks to CharacterDevelopment it's more and more her last resort. By the beginning of ''All-New Wolverine'' she's verging on outright becoming TheCape.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hoo boy. Tortured, abused, trained from childhood to be a living weapon, treated as if she weren't even human by those who created her, forced to kill the only two people who showed her kindness and compassion during her training (one of whom was ''her mother''), and gave up her only other family to protect them from Kimura after she finally escaped. And this isn't even getting into her time as a StreetWalker. And unlike Logan for most of his history, ''she remembers every moment''.
* DarkerAndEdgier: As badly as X-23 suffered in ''Evolution'', her better-known comics version endured even ''worse''. To the point that when she made her bow in the comics, it was as a virtually mute and catatonic child prostitute.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Gradually evolves into this. [[note]]Her personified soul--[[spoiler:which ''may'' be the [[ComicBook/CaptainUniverse Enigma Force]]]] -- takes the form of a humanoid sliver of night, and stars are a common motif for her.[[/note]] In particular, she reassures Jubilee that being a vampire does not automatically make her a predatory monster.
* DeadpanSnarker: Laura's BrutalHonesty often manifests as this. As her social skills have improved she's developed a distinctly dry sense of humor.
* DeathSeeker: Downplayed in recent years, but much more evident in her past, when she was willing to sacrifice herself for others without hesitation, and took many actions that were potentially suicidal.
* DecoyProtagonist: Although ''ComicBook/InnocenceLost'' reveals X-23's origins, the story itself actually focuses on her mother, Sarah.
* DefusingTheTykebomb[=/=]IAmNotAGun: She is struggling to find an identity other than "living weapon," and strongly dislikes being used in that manner. This makes the trigger scent particularly upsetting for her, because it allows someone to make her kill against her will.
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: Being a very strategic fighter, Laura is not above taking advantage of her HealingFactor if she can turn it to her advantage.
* DependingOnTheArtist:
** She's sometimes drawn with dark skin like her original design in Evolution.
** Although she's canonically only modestly to a bit above averagely endowed, Paco Medina and Humberto Ramos gave her a positively ''[[MostCommonSuperpower massive]]'' [[MostCommonSuperpower rack]] during ''New X-Men''. [[https://roguewatson.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/new-x-men-35.jpg See exhibit DD]].
** Her height also tends to vary between short to average, not helped by the fact she's often drawn shorter than Logan, whose height has ''also'' varied significantly from artist to artist. Her official height is listed as 5'1".
** Though Laura is canonically Caucasian in the main universe, some artists draw her in a way that she almost appears Asian or even Latina.
** Occasionally, covers will draw her slightly beefy and resemble a slightly older version of her Evolution design, only for the story to use her more common skinny goth look.
** Although her eyes are canonically green, they've also been colored brown or blue in different books.
* DependingOnTheWriter:
** In the X-Books, Laura is established as having a HealingFactor superior to Wolverine's (see below). However, once she gets to ComicBook/AvengersAcademy, Hank Pym warns Hazmat that "her healing factor isn't as strong as Wolverine's". The writer later admitted to the mistake on his part in the letters pages.
** Her speech patterns are generally accepted to be more formal and laconic than her peers, and tends not to use slang. However the degree tends to vary between writers from outright SpockSpeak (Liu) to more naturalistic but still proper (Kyle and Yost), with some signs that her dialogue has become much more relaxed to coincide with her CharacterDevelopment (Taylor). However some writers dispense with this altogether and write her as they would any teen character (Bendis).
** Although canonically a GeniusBruiser who carefully analyzes a situation before acting with the most effective strategy (and she can do it ''quickly'', at that), it's not uncommon for some writers to forget the "Genius" part and just throw her right at a threat in a brute-force frontal assault.
* TheDeterminator: Laura is incredibly stubborn, a trait Logan wryly notes she gets from him, and she ''will'' keep coming no matter how badly she's hurt.
* DissonantSerenity: Unlike her [[TheBerserker father]], Laura rarely loses her head in combat, and instead approaches killing with chillingly cold and collected detachment. If she's [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness ever]] ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness visibly]]'' [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness angry when she's coming for you]], you should be running. '''''[[OhCrap Fast]]'''''.
* DistaffCounterpart: To Wolverine and Daken. The writers explicitly designed her with the question in mind: "If Wolverine were the male of the species, what would the female be like?" They decided that she would be leaner so she could chase prey like a lioness and would have two claws on her hands and one on each foot so that she could climb trees and puncture the gut of any predators who managed to tackle her.
* DominoMask:
** Her X-Force costume incorporates one with red lenses.
** The design is also present on Mike Choi's concept artwork for the 2018 series. She also wears them in the series proper, where this trope is combined with GogglesDoSomethingUnusual, acting as infrared or night vision goggles.
* DoppelgangerGetsSameSentiment: X23 was abused by her creator because she was an OppositeSexClone of Wolverine. He hated Wolverine because of his father's death related to the Weapon X project, and so X-23, grown from his DNA, made a good scapegoat for his frustrations with the other mutant.
* TheDreaded: Let's put it this way: she was dangerous enough from the start of her career that even ''Captain America'' was wary of her, and while she may still be barely functional as a human being on all but her very best days, most people who aren't significantly above her weight class know to give her a wide berth unless she's unquestionably an ally.
* DueToTheDead: After Logan's death she does this twice: First by dyeing her forelocks gold and blue, his most iconic colors, as a tribute. Later, this is one of the reasons why [[LegacyCharacter she took up the Wolverine name herself]].

[[folder: E-H]]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Subject to this in her early appearances in ''Uncanny X-Men'', before her personality was formally established in ''Innocence Lost'', ''Target: X'', and ''New X-Men''. For example in ''Uncanny'' she immediately introduces herself as "X-23" when she encounters Wolverine, even though she later would rarely use that name herself. ''Uncanny'' also suggests that she and Logan had never met before, or that Logan had no idea who she was, even though ''Target X'' would establish that Sarah Kinney sent him a copy of her letter before attempting to free her.[[note]]This was later retconned to Logan pretending for her benefit.[[/note]] And while she's always been portrayed as anti-social, under Claremont it manifested as a much more snarling and FeralChild personality than TheStoic she's best known as. She's also frequently drawn aping Psylocke's mannerisms in the background in ''Uncanny'', something that would be out of character under her later characterization. Additionally, one early issue implied her entire skeleton was bonded with adamantium, when it was later established that only her claws are.
* EmotionlessGirl:
** Through multiple traumatic events in her backstory, Laura learned to never trust or emotionally connect with anyone. This made her an outcast among her fellow teenagers, and even most of the teachers perceived her as a heartless killer who is unable to think as a human or desire anything. But her character development (and eventual journey to find herself) ultimately subverts this trope; she gradually becomes accustomed to emotion, and bonds with other abuse victims who understand why she prefers solitude. By the time of later books she's interacting with others on a relatively normal, if still [[TheComicallySerious more reserved]], manner.
** It's further implied that one of the reasons she repressed her emotions is because she didn't know how to handle them or the memories of her past; when she did [[BeneathTheMask completely abandon her stoic exterior]], her displays of emotion tended to be quite extreme and often explosive (such as destroying a bathroom in a confused rage when she saw Surge kiss Hellion). Ironically, the emotionally detached state that others scorned her for was in place for their own safety.
* EmptyShell: The Facility deprived her of emotional connections and subjected her to horrific physical and emotional abuse to strip her of her humanity, and it's been noted several times that she had so little sense of self during her captivity and days as a prostitute that she truly didn't realize the things done to her were even wrong.
* EscapedFromTheLab: She was created and raised in a lab before escaping at age thirteen, but not before being subjected to extreme torture during her time there.
* EvilCounterpart: Daken, in a way. Both are genetic children of Logan, both tend to only use two of their claws and save the third for special attacks, both have messed up pasts. They have a mutual respect for each other, partly because they are so alike.
* ExtremeDoormat: Despite being a highly-trained assassin and deadly fighter with adamantium WolverineClaws and a HealingFactor, it didn't stop Laura from being walked all over at different times in her early life.
* FamilyEyeResemblance: Played with:
** Laura's eyes were made green to establish her StrongFamilyResemblance to her creator/mother, Sarah Kinney, even though Laura doesn't actually possess any of Sarah's genetic material. [[spoiler:''The Hunt For Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda #4'' reveals this is because Laura does indeed carry ''Sarah's'' DNA, making her genetically her daughter.]]
** In ''{{Generations|MarvelComics}}'' #3 Logan remarks that Laura has his mother's eyes. However as noted above, Laura's eyes are green, while Elizabeth Howlett's are blue, making it something ''in'' Laura's eyes that reminds him of his mother, rather than their appearance.[[note]]Never mind that at the time the story is set, Logan wouldn't have had memory of his mother in the first place.[[/note]]
* FanserviceWithASmile: Her first encounter with the X-Men in ''Comicbook/UncannyXMen'' came while working as a waitress at "Wannabees," a mutant-themed night club where the attractive female staff dresses as mutant superheroes.
* FastballSpecial: Although not as frequently as the TropeMaker himself, Laura has gotten her shot at it as well.
* {{Flanderization}}: Once her backstory was revealed, Laura was established as a highly-skilled fighter, and a [[GeniusBruiser very intelligent]] and [[BadassBookworm highly educated]] young girl with extensive assassin and black ops training, while ''[[ComicBook/NewMutants New X-Men]]'' expanded upon this further by revealing her to be a gifted strategist as well. Most writers now completely ignore everything after "highly-skilled fighter," and give her all the subtlety in combat of LeeroyJenkins.
* FeralChild: Her depiction under the pen of Chris Claremont in her appearances in ''Uncanny X-Men''. Also how she's presented in the first half of ''Logan''.
* GeniusBruiser: Laura is depicted as very intelligent, able to formulate multiple plans for killing everyone around her and choose the most efficient and best means of doing so within ''seconds''. She's also an incredibly skilled fighter both with weaponry and her own claws. Marvel's official power ratings actually classify her as a Genius-level intellect, and her fighting prowess is ranked at the highest possible level.
* GlassCannon: Like Logan, Laura has adamantium-reinforced claws in her forearms that can cut through most things with absurd ease. In addition, she possesses similar claws in her feet that augment her graceful fighting style, letting her dish out tons of damage before her opponents can even react. However, unlike Logan -- whose entire skeleton is laced with adamantium, giving him unbreakable bones -- only Laura's claws are augmented, meaning she can still be incapacitated by broken bones and her organs are more vulnerable.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Laura has a healing factor that is more potent than Logan's due to the small amount of adamantium in her body. This is important since, unlike Logan, her lack of a full adamantium skeleton leaves her bones and organs much more vulnerable.
* {{Goth}}: Laura's manner of dress often has a gothic influence, ''particularly'' during the time she spent as a prostitute during ''NYX''.
* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: A biological example: Laura was created to be nothing more than a LivingWeapon. The Facility didn't even recognize her as a human being, with feelings and desires of her own. Now, she's a compassionate woman who is trying her best ''not'' to kill, has built friendships, desires something noble to aspire to, and has even fallen in love.
* HappilyAdopted: Laura was taken in by Wolverine, who served as a moral compass and father figure while she recovered from the effects of being raised as an assassin. He later legally adopted her.
* HarmfulToMinors: Practically from birth, Laura was subjected to violent imagery and outright physical and emotional abuse, including being ordered to ''kill a puppy'' when her creators decided she had too much empathy, who then threatened to ''torture it to death and make her watch'' when she failed to complete the assignment. And this is ''before'' they started sending her on assassination missions, she killed her own mother during her escape under the effects of the Trigger Scent, and became a child prostitute under an abusive and violent pimp on the streets of New York City.
* HatesBeingTouched: Rarely initiated physical contact when first introduced, even with people she liked. Justified in that most physical contact she received as a child was abusive, and such feelings are very much TruthInTelevision among abuse victims. It eventually becomes downplayed due to CharacterDevelopment, though she is still often uncomfortable with physical contact.
* HealingFactor: The same as Wolverine's, of course, but much more efficient since she only has adamantium in her claws, and thus it's taxed ''far'' less than Logan's skeleton taxes his. Her mother speculated that Laura's ability to heal would be similarly slowed if her entire skeleton was bonded as well. The only thing that defeats it is a full-face blast from Nimrod's lasers. There are indications it can naturally fluctuate due to her emotional state. For example, the [[SelfHarm cuts she inflicts on herself]] when stressed or upset tend to leave visible injuries far longer than damage she sustains in combat. As with Logan, several of her secondary powers are a byproduct of her healing abilities, including: SuperSenses, mild SuperStrength,[[note]]both because of increased muscle density, and she can exert more force on her connective tissue and skeleton before they fail[[/note]] and SuperReflexes, IdealIllnessImmunity, [[VictoryByEndurance Perpetual Stamina]], ImmuneToDrugs, [[note]] They can still slower her down but are never fatal and the effects wear off quickly with no lasting damage [[/note]], [[THeAgeless reduced aging]], among others.
* HellbentForLeather: This is her typical look in civilian dress; leather pants, skirts, corsets, boots, etc.
* HeroicBSOD: Laura is constantly slipping in and out of these as a result of all the trauma going on in her life, and the fact she can rarely catch a break before something ''else'' bad happens to her.
* HeroicSacrifice: Has a tendency to attempt these at the drop of a hat. It's heavily implied her preparedness to do this stems from her poor sense of self-worth and difficulties accepting herself as a real person whose life has value. However even after moving on from these issues she's still quick to put her life on the line for the sake of others.
* HeroWorship:
** A series of {{Funny Background Event}}s in her early appearances in ''Uncanny X-Men'' suggested she had some of this for Psylocke, as she could often be seen in the back of panels mimicking Betsy's mannerisms.
** Also of Logan. Funny thing about it is that it didn't start until after he died, such as dyeing her forelocks gold and blue in his memory.
* HollywoodScience: The process in which X-23 was cloned is currently impossible. However, in a universe where humans can fly, shoot lasers out of their eyes and talk to gods on their cell phones, it's hardly significant.
* HugeGirlTinyGuy: DependingOnTheArtist. Her height vs. Logan's height varies a lot. Mostly due to how Logan's height changed since Creator/HughJackman played him in the movie (Logan started at 5'2", spent a lot of time at 5'5", and now is sometimes drawn actually ''tall''.) During New X-Men, Laura was half a head shorter than Logan. She is also usually depicted as shorter than her primary love interests, Hellion and Warren. She's officially listed at 5'1", so canonically would be this towards most anyone.

[[folder: I-L]]
* IAmNotPretty: Laura is quite clearly a very beautiful young woman, whose looks are frequently commented upon. Laura, however, doesn't see it for herself, which stems from her abusive upbringing aimed to strip her of her humanity, resulting in very poor self-esteem and sense that her life has little value.
* IconicOutfit: The [[{{Stripperiffic}} corset, fishnets and miniskirt]] outfit Laura wore in ''Target: X'' may be one of her most common looks in fan art, even though she only wore that in one book (though it is similar to the outfits she wore in her debut appearance in ''NYX''). If not this, she's drawn in her black PaintedOnPants, sports bra, and locket from ''New X-Men''. Her X-Force uniform is perhaps her most popular actual costume.
* ImmortalAssassin: It's unclear how long someone with her type of HealingFactor can live if left to their own devices, but based on Wolverine and Sabretooth Laura could have a lifespan of centuries if not longer (Romulus is possibly thousands if not ''tens of thousands'' of years old). While she ''can'' be killed, Laura's ability to bounce back rapidly from even fatal injuries makes that incredibly difficult.
* ImplacableMan: If Laura was sent to kill you, she ''would. Not. Stop.'' until you were dead, and if you were marked with the trigger scent, ''nothing'' would save you. She ''will'' keep coming unless you can inflict enough damage to knock her out, and once she ''does'' get back up she'll just come after you again. Unfortunately, this comes back to bite the Facility themselves ''hard'' when Sarah gets fed up with their abuse and turns Laura loose against them. Once Sarah orders her to take them down, nothing could stop her from slaughtering everyone ([[TheDogBitesBack not that she needed to be ordered to do it]]). Laura still retains this tenacity even after joining the X-Men.
* InnocenceLost: Laura's origin story is even ''called'' this, and shows in brutal detail the cruelty inflicted on her by the Facility to strip away her humanity and turn her into an emotionless killing machine. They ultimately failed, but still managed to inflict quite severe damage that she still struggles to recover from.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Because of her lack of social skills Laura at times has these moments due to a combination of BrutalHonesty, CannotTellALie, and genuinely not understanding what is or is not appropriate to say.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Gambit. And Psylocke. And Kitty Pryde. And [[CoolBigSis Jubilee]]. Frankly, Laura shows a general tendency to have an easier time relating to and establishing friendships with people older than her, while struggling with people her own age.
* JuniorCounterpart: To her father, Wolverine, with all the same powers. However it's mildly subverted in that Laura is much more tactical and in control of her anger than Logan ever was.
* KillerRabbit: Laura is physically quite unimposing, generally being depicted as a slight, pretty teenage girl. She's also one of ''the'' most deadly assassins ''in the entire Marvel Universe'', having a body count into the hundreds, if not ''thousands''. By the time she was ''thirteen''. On numerous missions Laura has been shown actively taking advantage of this trope by playing up her harmless appearance (whether by disguising herself as a handicapped girl, or a Girl Scout selling cookies, etc.). Even those who ''have'' heard of her are stunned when they actually see her for the first time.
* KillTheOnesYouLove: Laura, as a living weapon, wasn't meant to bond with other people at the Facility. Those who did anyway were killed by her own hands in artificially induced rages.
* LeeroyJenkins: Normally Laura averts this, as she is a disciplined fighter who very carefully analyzes the situation before she acts. However once she loses control of her emotions she's prone to acting impulsively and rashly, and can rush into trouble without thinking clearly.
* LeftForDead: On one mission, Rice decides to participate and attempts to abandon X-23 to be killed, murdering his own team in the process as an excuse to withdraw prematurely. X-23 reaches the rendezvous point in time nonetheless, and he deliberately leaves her behind, smugly dropping his father's dogtags to make sure she knew why he was doing it. She still survives and manages to return to the installation on her own.
* LegacyCharacter: Laura has taken on the mantle of Wolverine in the aftermath of his death and ''Secret Wars''.
* LineageComesFromTheFather: Invoked by the Facility, who created her with Logan's DNA in order to continue the Weapon X experiments. [[TheUglyGuysHotDaughter She got her looks from her mother, however.]]
* LittleMissBadass: In ''X-Men: Evolution'', Laura defeated ''all'' of the X-Men, despite being half the age of most, if not all, of them. Although this version did have her skeleton laced in adamantium and the element of surprise (and even the ones who knew they were being attacked had no idea ''who'' they were up against and had no way to fight back), it's not likely Wolverine himself could do this.
* LossOfIdentity: Her entire childhood was essentially engineered for the purpose of dehumanizing her.

[[folder: M-P]]
* MadeOfIron: Even without her healing factor taken into consideration, Laura can take an ''incredible'' beating for someone as tiny as she is. Part of this is that her healing factor naturally makes her bones denser, meaning they're harder to break in the first place.
* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: Laura's creator, Dr. Sarah Kinney, was described as the foremost expert on mutant genetics and was hired by the Facility after her proposal to clone Wolverine. Sarah's interest was purely ForScience, and directly likened the idea of cloning a ''mutant'' to [[AGodAmI godhood]]. All this knowing full well that the child would be raised to be a LivingWeapon heading in. Laura herself is frequently described as Sarah's spitting-image, ([[spoiler:she ''does'' carry Sarah's DNA, after all]]) and it's made quite clear Laura is intended to be a quite beautiful young woman.
* {{Matricide}}: She was forced to kill her mother with the trigger scent [[YankTheDogsChain just as they were about to escape together]].
* MeaningfulName: Although frequently cited as the 23rd attempt to clone Wolverine ''period'', WordOfGod confirms the name "X-23" specifically refers to her being the 23rd attempt at a ''female'' clone, after an unknown number of males. Her facility code name therefore derives "X" from the X chromosome, and "23" for the 23rd attempt.
* ModifiedClone: Laura is essentially this: Because the Y chromosome from Logan's DNA sample was damaged, Sarah Kinney modified the genetic structure to create a female instead.
* MookHorrorShow: You know the monster that ''[[ImplacableMan might]]'' go down with enough firepower, but will gut the poor slob closing in for a coup de grace and/or track down those who leave it for dead? This is her, just add assassin skills to the mix.
* MoralityPet:
** Acts as one for Wolverine. Gambit as well in her self titled series, and he also sometimes acts as one to her. Hellion can be considered hers during their time with the New X-Men. She's become one for Daken, too, as Laura is one of the only people he has demonstrated genuine affection and respect for. She also acts as one for Sarah.
* MsFanservice:
** Her most common civvies include [[OfCorsetsSexy corsets]], {{Dangerously Short Skirt}}s, ZettaiRyouiki, StockingFiller, BareYourMidriff, and PaintedOnPants. Even her uniforms have traditionally been more revealing, such as her X-Force outfit.
** Although downplayed more recently, with her civilian style becoming a bit more casual and modest, her wearing the classic Gold and Blue spandex as Wolverine is [[Rule63 its own brand of fanservice for some]]. That the costume is skin-tight still leads to more conventional MaleGaze moments (including quite infamously in a clear shot of her backside in the ''ComicBook/MonstersUnleashed'' tie-in to ''[[ComicBook/AllNewXMen2016 All-New X-Men]]'', and on the cover to the final issue of ''Comicbook/InhumansVsXMen'').
** The dress she wore in Rogue and Gambit's wedding demonstrate that, despite her height (or lack of it), ShesGotLegs.
** Her post-''[=ResurrXtion=]'' black and gray suit qualifies as well, combining a BikerBabe aesthetic with bared shoulders without the jacket.
* MundaneUtility: One of the things she's used her claws for, is trimming Gambit's hair.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The trigger scent sends Laura into a blind, murderous rage in which she will kill ''anyone'' marked with it, FriendOrFoe, and no matter how much she cares about them. She's been consistently shown to be ''very'' sensitive about its effects on her.
* MyGreatestFailure:
** Laura is deeply haunted by and remorseful over all of the deaths she caused, and once even asked Ghost Rider to use his Penance Stare on her because she believed she deserved punishment for all of her killings.
** Killing her mother in a trigger scent-fueled rage is the single biggest one, to the point that when Logan finally manages to bring her to the Xavier school, Emma Frost tries to force her to leave by taunting her with a psychic ghost of her mother's dead body blaming Laura for her death. It's enough to drive the [[NotSoStoic normally stoic Laura to tears]].
* NaturalWeapon: As with Logan, Laura's claws are bone beneath the adamantium.
* NeverGivenAName: X-23 wasn't named at all, [[TearJerker until Sarah Kinney names her Laura]] in the very last pages of ''ComicBook/InnocenceLost'' #6. She was ''thirteen years old'' before she was given a name other than her [[YouAreNumberSix Facility codename/designation]].
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Initially averted, and ultimately invoked. Laura ''is'' the prototype, and once she is successfully created essentially is also the plans since the Facility can [[spoiler:(and does, as is discovered near the end) of ''Innocence Lost'']] use her genetic material to create additional clones (which would also serve as a backup). [[spoiler:The entirety of the last act is Sarah setting X loose with specific orders to destroy her unborn "sisters," and all equipment and research associated with the project to prevent the Facility from recreating her.]] A big reason the Facility has made several attempts to recover her is so they can use her as a template for more assassins.
* NoSocialSkills: Because Laura was deprived of normal human social interaction, her social skills are generally rather lacking. She's [[BrutalHonesty blunt]], and [[InnocentlyInsensitive struggles with social niceties]].
* NotAllowedToGrowUp: WordOfGod from Craig Kyle is that this was the plan: Because Laura's healing factor was activated at such an early age, she would remain a child much longer than normal. While still technically in effect thanks to ComicBookTime, it was still averted when Joe Quesada aged her up to a teenager in ''NYX''. Averted further in ''All-New Wolverine'', in which she is firmly established as an adult at 20 years old.
* NotSoDifferent:
** With Vampire Jubilee. Jubilee and Laura realize they have much in common, with X-23 having to struggle with finding herself and the trigger scent and Jubilee struggling to control her newfound blood lust. They get along [[HeterosexualLifePartners really well though]].
** She has this with Daken as well: Technically brother and sister, both raised by some very, ''very'' bad people, but while Daken embraces what Romulus made him, Laura desperately wants to be something more than just a weapon and killer. Nonetheless, their similarities give them a fair bit of mutual respect towards one another.
** Also with Kimura, of all people. Both suffered severe physical and emotional abuse in their past that's largely shaped and defined who they are now. Both also only had one or two people in their lives when they were young who showed them love and kindness, and attempted to repair the damage that was done. The difference is that Kimura became an AxCrazy psychopath who uses the abuse and bullying she was subjected to as an excuse to do it to others herself, while Laura is making an ongoing effort to heal.
** And again with [[Comicbook/{{Wolverines}} Siphon]]. She talks down both Daken ''and'' Comicbook/{{Blade}} from killing him because she can empathize with what it is to be tortured and turned into a weapon, and to constantly be fighting against her conditioning to kill. As a result she genuinely desires to try and help him.
* NotSoStoic: Laura as a rule [[EmotionlessGirl keeps her emotions tightly controlled]], and it's a significant character trait she has difficulties expressing, or even ''understanding'', what she's feeling. She endures the years of physical and emotional abuse inflicted on her by Zander Rice and [[AxeCrazy Kimura]] in complete silence, even when her creator/mother, Sarah, tries to get her to talk about it. At least until she's forced to kill Sarah by the Trigger Scent during their escape from the Facility, at which point for a couple pages Laura [[TearJerker becomes a lonely, broken girl desperately crying over her mother's body to come back to her]]. She also breaks down in tears once again when she's forced to cut off ties with her cousin and aunt to protect them form Kimura. The only other times she generally lets her guard down is when someone she cares about is in danger. In which case it's a very, ''very'' bad idea [[UnstoppableRage to be on the receiving end]].
* OfCorsetsSexy: If she's not in a midriff-baring tank top, chances are she's wearing one of these.
* OneManArmy: Laura is a highly-trained assassin and skilled fighter. When her mother turned her loose on the Facility, she was slaughtering their soldiers by the ''dozens''.
* OpposeWhatYouSuffered: This is almost a Hat:
** Being an OppositeSexClone, Laura [[BerserkButton is extremely sensitive to genetic experimentation and exploitation]]. It lead to her siding with the Sisters against Alchemax in ''Comicbook/AllNewWolverine'', and the central plot of the Tamaki series involved her hunting down and ''shutting'' down further attempts to experiment on her genetics. She has outright stated that she refuses to let anyone else suffer as she did, and intends to make good on that promise.
** Additionally, Laura spent some time as a StreetWalker under a particularly sadistic and cruel pimp. As a result, she's evolved into something of a WifeBasherBasher who goes out of her way to bust up any human and sex traffickers she comes across. On several occasions she has outright killed people she caught brutalizing prostitutes (and in one case killed a man who murdered a girl she ''[[MistakenForProstitute thought]]'' was a prostitute).
* OppositeSexClone: Of Wolverine.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** Laura is typically calm, collected, and withdrawn, and prone to DissonantSerenity even while gutting {{Mooks}}. Even though she inherited Logan's temper, she's much more in control of it, typically keeps her head in a fight, and kills with a cold, efficient detachment. If she's ever ''visibly'' angry, you've likely just done something ''incredibly'' stupid, and you should be running. [[OhCrap Fast]].
** On the less frightening end of the spectrum, when she breaks down emotionally she ''breaks down'', and it's a sign of just how bad things are when Laura loses control of her emotional state. This has been downplayed as CharacterDevelopment led to her expressing her feelings more freely, but her becoming unusually emotional is still a sure sign of a HeroicBSOD in progress.
** Laura generally HatesBeingTouched, and even as her behavior has normalized still largely avoids physical contact even with people she's close to. For Laura to ''initiate'' contact (such as hugging a distraught teen Cyclops after the latter learned his father was still alive[[note]]the time-displaced O5 were drawn from a time period before Cyclops reunited with Corsair[[/note]]) demonstrates just how seriously she views the current moment.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Practically Laura's ''entire life'' has revolved around this. While she did kill innocents under the Facility, they also hired her out to kill some pretty bad people, as well. And of course when Sarah turns her loose on the Facility itself it becomes this. It's also generally her role on a team; much like Logan, she's the one willing to kill if she has to. UpToEleven when she's on X-Force, an entire ''team'' built on this principle.
* PhotographicMemory: O5 Cyclops remarks that she has one in the second volume of ''All-New X-Men'', and she certainly demonstrates excellent memory and recall.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Not exactly the strongest physically, but is quite deadly for someone whose actually ''shorter'' than ''Logan''. ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'' even classes her as a Bruiser. To put that into perspective, this is the same category as ''Colossus, Juggernaut, Hercules and Thor''.
* ThePowerOfLove: Despite everything the Facility did to break her and forge her into an emotionless killing machine, it was Sarah Kinney's love for her as a daughter, defying orders to not treat her as a child whenever she could by reading to her and offering an emotional connection that preserved her humanity and helped her break free of the Facility's control.
* PracticallyDifferentGenerations: Laura is as much as fifty years younger than her brother, Comicbook/{{Daken}}, who was born in the late/mid-1940s. She's also this to her younger sister Gabby (who takes it further by being YoungerThanSheLooks, since Gabby was rapid-aged while Laura grew up normally).
* PrecisionFStrike: Laura is generally much more reserved and controlled than Logan, so while she doesn't swear ''often'', when she does she makes it count.
* ProfessionalKiller: This is what X-23 was raised to be. Not wanting to let that define her life, she's since changed her approach to be more in line with X-family ideals, but her complete ruthlessness makes her at times a more efficient killer than even Wolverine.
* PromotionToParent: Laura has found herself in the position of having to raise a thirteen year-old clone of herself created by a division of Alchemax. Energetic and precocious Gabby is quite a handful and the pair frequently butt heads, but TheyReallyDoLoveEachOther.
* PsychicBlockDefense: Laura has displayed a degree of resistance to powerful telepathy. It took Emma Frost a great deal of effort to bypass Laura's mental defenses in order to learn her true nature (though afterwards Emma was able to taunt her with a mental ghost of Laura's slain mother). Logan has also displayed a similar resistance in the past, but it's unclear if this is a result of their HealingFactor, training, or a result of tampering by Weapon X/The Facility.
* PuppyDogEyes: Laura can work them very well, particularly helped by her being TheWoobie. [[http://vmf251-buccaneers.net/Stuff/X23PuppyDog.png See Exhibit A]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Q-T]]
* TheQuietOne: She speaks a bit of Japanese in training with her sensei, but doesn't speak in English until the final issues of the series. Even then, she doesn't speak much.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: She didn't need much encouragement to tear down the Facility once Sarah turned her loose. She even ''puts up her claws'' to beat Rice to death with the bare hands for 10 minutes.
* RaceLift: Ironically it's her most familiar iteration that's the RaceLift:
** In her original appearance in ''X-Men: Evolution'', X-23 is AmbiguouslyBrown, with features that have been interpreted as anything from Latina to First Nations. WordOfGod states she was modeled on the girl — who was ethnic — who posed for the reference shoot as a thank you.
** The books made her canonically Caucasian (which, considering she's a clone of Logan, makes sense that she would share his ethnicity). This extends to most other versions of Laura in both the comics and other media, who are also depicted as Caucasian.
** In the ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse universe, X-23 is half-Japanese due to having Mariko Yashida as her mother. She also has the given name of Kirika, rather than Laura, and has the same claw arrangement as Logan. Many fans therefore view her as X-23 InNameOnly.
** In ''Film/{{Logan}}'', Laura is still Caucasian, but Latino (even being portrayed by Anglo-Spaniard actress Dafne Keen), as she was born out of a Mexican mother.
* RapeAsBackstory: Subtly done: Laura was no older than ''fifteen'' in ''NYX'', during which time she was a prostitute under a sadistic and violent pimp. As she was legally unable to provide consent to most, if not all, of her Johns,[[note]]age of consent in New York City where she was living at the time is 17, while a teenager younger than 16 and older than 13 can legally have sex with someone no more than four years older than them[[/note]] ''and'' the fact that she was essentially forced into sexual slavery by her circumstances and Zebra Daddy's violent control over her (who it's implied ''also'' raped her), Laura was a victim of statutory (and possible ''actual'') rape.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: She's most commonly drawn with fair skin and black hair, and it's frequently noted that Laura is a very attractive young woman.
* RealityEnsues: X-23 is pretty much what you'd ''actually'' get out of a raised-from-birth LivingWeapon TykeBomb who endure years of TrainingFromHell. She was virtually destroyed emotionally by the years of abuse and torture she received at the Facility, leaving her a PTSD-ridden wreck prone to falling into {{Heroic BSOD}}s at the drop of a hat. Because she was deprived of the affection, emotional support, and socialization a child requires for normal development she's often lost in social interactions, easily confused by her emotions, and frequently experiences bouts of severe and possibly [[DrivenToSuicide suicidal]] depression. At least one [[http://marvel.com/news/comics/9505/psych_ward_x-23 analysis of her character]] suggests she suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder, and a significant portion of her development in the books has been spent on repairing the damage that was done to her.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: It means she's affected by trigger scent and you might want to do more than just "take warning." Varies DependingOnTheArtist to either being bloodshot, or outright ''glowing''.
* RedOniBlueOni: The Blue to Logan's Red; Laura is TheStoic, laconic, and generally keeps her emotions tightly controlled. Logan, by contrast, is far more passionate and quick to anger. She's also generally accepted as much more intellectual and given to careful strategy even when angered, whereas Logan is typically depicted as TheBerserker.
* RetCon:
** Laura's decision to spare Henry Sutter in ''Innocence Lost'' is treated as significant in that book because she never failed to complete a mission, and her refusing to kill him is a sign to Sarah that her humanity hadn't been entirely stolen from her. Later books introduce more people that Laura failed to kill as ordered. Some were other children she chose to spare (Liu series), and at least one individual she [[EyeScream maimed]], but managed to escape (''All-New Wolverine'').
** Her first appearance in a main X-Men title came in ''Uncanny X-Men'' under Claremont, and she first met Wolverine when he, Rachel, and the rest of the X-Men tracked her to Wannabee's, a mutant-themed nightclub. It's established in ''Uncanny'' that Logan had never even ''heard'' of Laura before. However this was retconned by creators Chris Yost and Craig Kyle in ''Target X'' and ''New X-Men'': ''Target X'' established that Sarah informed Logan of her existence by sending him a copy of the letter she left for Laura. ''New X-Men'' changed their meeting in ''Uncanny'' to be staged for the benefit of the rest of the X-Men, with Logan pretending he didn't know her.
** ''Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda #4'' revealed that rather than all of her genetic material coming from Logan, as was previously established, she actually received enough from Sarah Kinney to be considered her ''biological'' daughter.
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Her sense of smell is even ''better'' than Logan's, and she's demonstrably been able to locate individuals in a crowded city ''hours'' after they were last there. In one case it even allowed her to completely reconstruct a crime scene — including the movements of ''dozens'' of individuals — ''by scent alone''. Combine that with her extensive espionage and intelligence training. So when she threatens some mooks by telling them once she has their scent there is nowhere they can hide from her, ''she's not bluffing''.
* SelfHarm: She habitually cuts herself on the wrists and forearms with her claws, and is first shown to engage in this behavior [[spoiler:as a reaction to being forced to kill her sensei as a test of the trigger scent]]. Laura can fall under ''all'' of the reasons for cutting noted on the trope page and one issue of her solo series suggests she may even be inflicting fatal injuries on herself: an employee at a hotel where she was staying with Gambit reported to his manager that it appeared as if someone attempted to commit suicide in a bathroom she just left. Her HealingFactor prevents her from dying from her wounds, however, and completely heals the resulting scars. As with many tropes relating to her DarkAndTroubledPast this has faded as her CharacterizationMarchesOn.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Laura tragically killed her own mother accidentally, when she smelled the trigger scent, which makes her mindlessly attack anyone in her range.
* SexGoddess: During her time as a hooker she was said to be "the best at what she does", and commanded a much higher price than the other girls her pimp controlled. She was also his personal favorite.
* SheFu: Laura's fighting style is highly acrobatic, using flips, handstands and cartwheels to bring her foot claws into play and to avoid being struck. Justified because her body is much less durable than Logan's since only her claws are laced with adamantium. Even though she does heal faster, she's much more prone to being knocked out of a fight by broken bones or dislocated (or severed) limbs.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Laura has been dealing with symptoms of PTSD almost all her life after the things that the Facility did to her, her time as a prostitute, and the many other hardships, tragedies, and battles she's been forced to endure, and her slow recovery has been a substantial part of her character development. Even then, she's continued to fight severe, possibly even suicidal, depression.
* SherlockScan: Whenever Laura walks into a room, her brain ''immediately'' begins to analyze the situation and everyone in it, performing threat analysis, formulating multiple attack plans, and calculating the best method with which to kill ''everyone in the room''. Her thoughts in ''ComicBook/AvengersArena'' reveal that she can't turn it off, so she even does this to her friends.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Laura is depicted as quite intelligent and certainly [[BadassBookworm highly-educated]]. One issue of her solo series reveals she plays chess when Storm offers to teach her and Laura counters that she's never lost a match. She ''does'' quit their game after only a few moves, but only because [[spoiler:Hellverine]] arrives, causing her to flee.
* TheSoulless: This is a running source of angst for Laura for much of her history, particularly throughout the Liu ongoing:
** In ''The Killing Dream'', Hellverine tells her that as a clone, (and because of all the death she's caused) she has no soul, and drags her into a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to to give her a chance to prove him wrong. [[spoiler:Laura encounters her inner self (later implied to actually be a part of the [[ComicBook/CaptainUniverse Enigma Force]] that remained with her after her previous contact with the entity), who reveals that she wasn't ''born'' an emotionless killing machine, but that it took the conscious effort of the project to break her. This revelation gives Laura the power to defeat the demon.]] However, she remains in doubt over how much of his taunting was the truth afterwards. When Miss Sinister later attempts to steal her body, Laura questions her about having a soul, but Sinister is unable to answer and admits it's something she's given little thought.
** She also once asked Comicbook/GhostRider to use his Penance Stare on her, both because she ''believed'' she deserved to be punished for the pain she had caused, and, since it only works on someone who has a soul, because it would prove one way or another whether she did. However when he offered to carry out her wishes at the end of the encounter she ultimately decided it didn't matter.
** During Circle of Four, a different demon, Blackheart, calls her a silly girl for pondering whether or not she has a soul by reminding her that she's in Hell, and people can't go to Hell without a soul.
** Any remaining question about the matter is firmly laid to rest in ''All-New Wolverine #29'', when Muramasa uses a piece of her soul to craft the Muramasa Armor.
* SpockSpeak: Most fans consider Laura to have a very rigid, measured way of talking. However this voice was primarily used when written under Liu, [[DependingOnTheWriter while other writers, including Kyle and Yost, tended to be more casual]]. Her voice under Bendis went much more towards the opposite extreme, veering near to the standard "Bendis Voice."
* StarCrossedLovers: With [[Characters/AllNewXMen the time-displaced Angel]]. No matter how strong or not her relationship with him is, it ''will'' ultimately end because at some point he must return to his own time. [[spoiler:Their final breakup doesn't even occur on panel, [[ComicBook/Extermination2018 and when he]] ''[[ComicBook/Extermination2018 does]]'' [[ComicBook/Extermination2018 return home they don't even say goodbye]].]]
* StatusQuoIsGod: Whatever development she goes through, inevitably she's going to find herself back in her depressive state.
** Averted after ''Secret Wars'', as she finally begins getting her life in order and moving past her trauma, complete with [[LegacyCharacter taking on her father's mantle]].
** However she'll soon be giving up the Wolverine name again as part of Comicbook/MarvelAFreshStart. Whether her CharacterDevelopment will also be reset has yet to be seen.
* StoppedCaring: Much of her training went towards invoking this trope — teaching her not to act like an emotional or independent being.
* StraightMan: Laura is pretty much this to ''everyone'', as her sense of humor is very subtle, often black, and runs towards DeadpanSnarker (emphasis on the "deadpan"). It's ''especially'' pronounced whenever she comes into contact with wackier characters like Deadpool and Squirrel Girl.
* StreetWalker: She spent an unknown amount of time as one sometime between losing Megan and Debbie, and joining the X-Men. It was detailed in her first appearance in ''NYX'' but has been discussed or referenced several times since then.
* StrongerThanTheyLook: Laura is a short, slight, pretty teenage girl, and outwardly she doesn't seem particularly threatening. However one secondary effect of her HealingFactor is that her muscle and bone tissue is much denser than that of a normal human. As a result, her muscles exert more force than that of a typical girl her size. Additionally, her bones are stronger and harder to break, which reduces another limit since her muscles are capable of greater exertion without risk of breaking her own bones.[[note]]Human muscles are actually strong enough to ''break your own bones'' in extreme feats of strength, which is one reason why biological safeguards normally prevent you from utilizing the full extent of your strength.[[/note]] In fact Laura was fully capable of lifting carrying ''Old Man Logan'' on her back, and climbing out of Fin Fang Foom's digestive tract, adamantium skeleton and all.[[note]]Granted, much of Logan's lower torso was [[{{Squick}} partially digested]], but his skeleton alone weighs around 100lbs or more.[[/note]]
* StrongFamilyResemblance:
** Pretty much any time Sarah Kinney appears Laura is drawn as her spitting image. She also looks a lot like her aunt Deborah, who also shares a StrongFamilyResemblance with Sarah. [[spoiler:It's eventually established in ''Adamantium Agenda #4'' that Laura shares Sarah's DNA, thus explaining their similar appearances.]]
** Oddly enough [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/4dd823089187f8dcb615c2177fe8e133/tumblr_inline_o5zkznQDlM1u1tbol_1280.jpg she doesn't look much like Logan, her genetic source.]] Taylor plays with it during a flashback scene in ''All-New Wolverine #1'' by having Laura and Logan demonstrate many of the same facial expressions. Logan also mentions [[FamilyEyeResemblance she has his mother's eyes]].
* SuperHearing: Laura's hearing is enhanced by her mutation. She was once able to hear a conversation Maria Hill was holding with Captain America...''through Cap's own ear bud from across the room''.
* SuperheroPackingHeat: Although not a power ''per se'', as a former assassin Laura is highly trained and skilled in the use of firearms, and has no compunctions against using them if necessary.
* SuperReflexes: Laura's reaction times are heightened as a secondary effect of her healing factor. She's been shown dodging ''and'' ParryingBullets.
* SuperSenses: Better than even Wolverine's. Since their enhanced senses are a byproduct of their HealingFactor, this may be because Laura's is more powerful.
** Her sense of smell is so refined she's been able to reconstruct crime scenes ''hours'' after the events, even able to determine by scent alone that one victim of a killing had high cholesterol.
** Laura's vision is so keen that she was able to see ''[[{{Nanomachines}} a single nanite]]'' in a test tube with her naked eyes.
* SuperStrength: Another byproduct of her healing factor is that Laura's muscles, connective tissue, and bones are denser than those of a normal human. As a result she's [[MusclesAreMeaningless stronger than one would expect such a short, slight girl to be]]. She can also stay in states of fight or flight with her adrenaline pumping for longer and her healing speed also mitigates the duration and severity of any pain she feels.
* SympatheticSentientWeapon: Young X-23 killed a ''lot'' of people, many of them innocents. She was also horrifically tortured, abused, and forced to do so against her will.
* TechnicalPacifist: Has steadily been evolving into this over the course of her life. While even from early on she hated killing, when she first joined the X-Men she was utterly ruthless and unflinching with her use of lethal force. Usually to the horror of her friends and teammates. However over time she's become increasingly reluctant to cut loose, until by the time she takes on the Wolverine name she makes every effort to avoid killing.
* TeensAreShort: Laura has always been depicted as quite small, and many characters express disbelief that she is one of the world's most dangerous assassins when they meet her. Even by the time she's 18-19 in ''All-New Wolverine'' she's only ''5'1"''.
* ThouShaltNotKill: When first introduced she was ready to kill at need, and could be even more ruthless and efficient than even Logan. However she has gradually moved in this direction. By the time she took up the Wolverine name she has sworn off killing.
* TortureTechnician: One of the skills she's been highly trained on, in her solo series Malcolm Colcord's fingernails finds this out the hard way.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Very subtly done. While Laura doesn't have one particular favorite food, she favors ''anything'' that's spicy. See ComfortFood above.
* TrainingFromHell: Her back story in ''Innocence Lost'' and ''Target: X''.
* TranquilFury: In most cases, Laura is [[EmotionlessGirl chillingly cold, calm and efficient]] while gutting you, and that's terrifying enough. [[NotSoStoic If she ever actually loses her cool]], she's either under the effects of the trigger scent or you've just done something to really, ''really'' piss her off. In both cases you should run. Fast.
* TraumaCongaLine: From the moment she was born Laura has bounced from one hardship to the next: Torture, abuse, being forced to attack and kill those she cares about, losing her only surviving family to protect them. Laura has suffered an endless series of [[YankTheDogsChain chain-yanking]] throughout her life as things begin to look up, only to come crashing down hard again. However it finally begins to abate post-''Comicbook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}'', as she begins to finally put her life in order.
* TroubledButCute: Dialogue in the books makes it clear that Laura is a very attractive young woman. Troubled? Just ''look'' at all the tropes focusing on how screwed up she still is because of her abusive upbringing.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Laura's first assassination was at age 9. She was immediately put to work by the Facility afterwards, and by 16 she's an accomplished enough killer to worry ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica''. {{Justified| Trope}} since she was bred and raised from birth ''specifically'' to be a LivingWeapon, but her utter ruthlessness and cold detachment makes her an even better killer than Wolverine. It's mildly subverted in that she doesn't ''want'' to be a weapon, but it nonetheless comes completely naturally to her.
* TykeBomb: ''Literally'' conceived as such.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: U-Z]]
* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Jubilee has described her as "hot" and Teen Warren, who she's currently dating, has stated that she's prettier than Comicbook/JeanGrey. The fact she's the famously ''un''attractive Logan's OppositeSexClone makes the trope even ''more'' noticeable.
* UnaffectedBySpice: She can tolerate levels of spice that even have Gambit, who as a Cajun is no stranger to hot stuff, doing a double-take. In fact she habitually shows a preference for spicy foods.
* UnstoppableRage: The trigger scent causes this. Normally she's very composed otherwise, but if pushed too far she ''will'' snap. At which point whoever is responsible better run. ''[[OhCrap Fast]]''.
* UptownGirl: Gender inverted: Laura was born in a lab, and spent time on the streets as a homeless prostitute. Her primary love interests have been Hellion and the time-displaced Angel, both of whom are from privileged and wealthy upbringings.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Laura wasn't born an emotionless killing machine. The Facility ''consciously destroyed her innocence''. Much of Laura's life after escaping the is spent trying to repair the damage that was done to her.
* VagueAge: Downplayed. In ''X-Force'' it is shown that she can estimate someone's age within about three years by their scent.
* VillainousCrush: Laura has picked up a couple of these:
** Kimura is her ArchNemesis, whose obsession with X veers into full-on StalkerWithACrush, to the point that her obsession over Laura reads like a jilted PsychoExGirlfriend.
** During the time she spent as a {{Streetwalker}} in ''NYX'' she was her pimp, Zebra Daddy's, favorite girl (and it's ''heavily'' suggested he sampled the goods himself). To the point that her running away with Kiden Nixon's group, after a John committed suicide during one of their sessions, drove the rest of the plot with Daddy's escalating efforts to get her back.
** Gamesmaster — an omnipath who can read all minds, ''everywhere'', and ''can't turn it off'' — developed an obsession with her because he finds her mind a refreshingly quiet and peaceful place to hang out. Whether or not Laura actually welcomes his presence in her head never enters into his considerations, and he frequently addresses her with endearments, calling her his "wicked, lovely girl."
** Hellverine wants her to lead his armies, and it's heavily implied that he just plain ''wants'' her. He captures the above-mentioned Gamesmaster when he finds him poking around Laura's mind, and presents him muzzled and in chains as a gift (Gamesmaster ''also'' tried to drive away Hellverine to protect Laura, which got him caught in the first place). He makes several advances towards her, including appearing to her as a ''naked Cyclops''.
** Played for laughs in ''All New Wolverine'', [[ItMakesSenseInContext when she gets doused in a pheromone designed to make Fin Fang Foom randy for whatever is marked with it]]. The moment he gets a whiff of her, the background is replaced by a giant HeartSymbol.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Hellion. Laura and Jubilee started out like this before becoming HeterosexualLifePartners.
* WakingUpElsewhere: Slight variant: The rage induced by the trigger scent causes Laura to black out, during which time she has no knowledge or conscious control over what she's doing.
-->'''Laura''': The ones who made me, they made a chemical...a scent...when I smell it, everything goes black and when I wake up, everyone's dead.
* WaifFu: Laura's fighting style tends to be very acrobatic, justified because she's rather small and lightly-built, and unlike Wolverine, lacks adamantium coating her entire skeleton, so is much more prone to being disabled by broken or severed limbs.
* WeakButSkilled: She relies primarily on WaifFu in combat since she's unable to sustain damage, and is ''very'' highly trained in hand-to-hand combat, firearms, interrogation techniques, infiltration, languages, and other skills she might have needed as an assassin.
* WifeBasherBasher: Laura pulls a variation of this with prostitutes as a result of her experiences under Zebra Daddy's control. On several occasions afterwards she's been shown reacting ''very'' violently to seeing other girls abused as she was.
* WolverineClaws: Inherited from her father, though hers are in a slightly different arrangement with two in each hand (between the index and middle finger, and pinky and ring finger) and one in each foot (between the big and long toes). Like Logan's they're coated in adamantium. Zander Rice cut them out of her one by one while she was ''conscious'' to perform the procedure.
* WolverinePublicity: Played straight and at the same time played with in ''All-New Wolverine'' where various superheroes and villains, specifically Taskmaster, ComicBook/DoctorStrange, ComicBook/TheWasp, and [[spoiler:ComicBook/SquirrelGirl]] make appearances. Yes, other characters are now appearing in a Wolverine book to help establish the book.
* WouldHurtAChild: On several occasions Laura was ordered to kill children by her handlers, and in fact her very first mission sees her slaughtering a presidential candidate, his wife, and kids (and possibly other children present in the room, as well). However see RetCon above and under the series tropes below.
* TheWorfEffect: Not as frequently as Logan, but occasionally Laura will be used to deliver a big OhCrap to her teammates.
* YankTheDogsChain:
** Pretty much her ''entire life''. Her mother finally decides to take a stand and rescue her from the Facility? Turns out she's contaminated by the trigger scent and Laura kills her in an UnstoppableRage just as it seems they're about to escape. Welcomed into her aunt's home, where she strikes up a close friendship with her cousin, Megan, and begins to feel that she's part of a family? Turns out her aunt's boyfriend was an agent planted by the Facility who calls in Kimura, forcing Laura to send her last remaining family into hiding to keep them safe. Logan talks her down from a MurderSuicide and offers her a home at the Xavier school where she can get help coping with all the hell she's been through? S.H.I.E.L.D. attacks her and Captain America puts her under arrest. And now that it ''finally'' seems as if she's beginning to put her life together and heal, [[ComicBook/AvengersArena she gets shanghaied by Arcade to fight other troubled teenage heroes to the death for his amusement]]. The poor girl finally begins to catch a break by the time she takes up the Wolverine mantle, with her life improving considerably after the events on Murder World.
** On a meta level for her fans, the revelation that she would appear in ''ComicBook/AmazingXMen'' under her creators, Yost and Kyle, was falsely reported and no actual plans are in place for them to be writing her again in the immediate future.
** And also on a meta level, many fans believed that her taking on the Wolverine name was a sign of her star rising, and that she would be gaining a starring presence among the X-Men as a result. And then [[SpotlightStealingSquad Old Man Logan stole her thunder]], with most writers using ''him'' whenever they needed a Wolverine for events. It got even ''worse'' for her fans under Comicbook/{{ResurrXion}}, when Laura was removed from her only team book, while Logan got ''[[WolverinePublicity three]]'' teams.
* YouAreNumberSix:
** Laura's Facility designation, X-23. She's almost never called this by her friends and teammates, who at most just use "X" as a nickname, but otherwise call her Laura even in the field when they use their own codenames. By contrast, Kimura ''always'' refers to her as X-23, which is done deliberately to dehumanize and belittle her.
** X-23 was the only name she was ever given in her two appearances in ''Evolution''.
* YourWorstMemory: While Laura has endured loads of pain and trauma in her young life, and it has taken ''years'' for her to come to terms with the terrible things she has done, and had done to her, it's implied her single worst memory is of being forced to kill her mother under the effects of the trigger scent. Emma Frost specifically uses this memory to torment her in an effort to drive her away from the school. It reduces her to ''tears''.
* YoYoPlotPoint: '''Every''' single character arc of her's revolves around learning to be more than a weapon. [[http://waitingforthet.tumblr.com/day/2013/08/28 This comic]] sums it up pretty well.
** Subverted at the end of her solo series, she accepts that part of her is a weapon, but she won't let that beat her.
** See also TraumaCongaLine. It seems like just as she starts to become more or less stable, some fresh new trauma hits her and sends her back to square one.
** Finally starts to get averted after ''Avengers Arena'', as she pieces herself back together and things begin turning around. Particularly by finally dealing with Kimura and the trigger scent, and getting her family (Megan and Debbie) back.
[[/folder]]

!!The following tropes apply to X-23's solo ongoings and miniseries

''For'' X-23: Innocence Lost ''see the page [[Comicbook/InnocenceLost here]].''\\
''For'' All-New Wolverine ''see the page [[Comicbook/AllNewWolverine here]].''

[[folder: X-23: Target X]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nov062330_sx360_ql80_ttd_1.jpg]]

The second miniseries by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle, ''Target X'' was a 6-issue series running from March to June 2005. It served as Part 2 of her origin story, continuing the story of Laura's escape that began in ''Innocence Lost''.

Unlike the former series, ''Target X'' brings Laura much more into contact with the larger Marvel universe. Wolverine, Daredevil, and Captain America all play significant roles; indeed her interrogation by the latter two forms a framing story for the rest of the story. It also retcons Laura's first introduction to Logan, showing her meeting him under completely different circumstances than their encounter with Claremont's ''Uncanny X-Men'', while also skirting around her appearance in ''Comicbook/{{NYX}}''.

----
* AnArmAndALeg: Kimura handcuffs Laura with adamantium cuffs, intending to force her to watch while she tortures Megan to death. Laura ''cuts off her own hand'' to escape.
* ArrowCatch: Kimura tries to shoot Megan with a crossbow in the climax of her attack on the Kinney household. Laura snatches the bolt out of the air just as it leaves the bow. More impressive: She did it from her ''back'' after Kimura had just broken her neck.
* BoomHeadshot: Laura pulls this off on a helicopter pilot in flight. ''From the ground.''
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Laura ''thought'' she could safely go to ground with her family. Too bad the Facility had an agent planted with them even ''before'' she turned up at their door for just such an eventuality. In the end, the only way she could protect them was to send them into hiding and go on the run again, [[Comicbook/{{NYX}} leading to nearly two years of misery as a homeless prostitute]].
* CassandraTruth: Because Sarah covered up her kidnapping in ''Innocence Lost'', no one believed Megan's story about him, or of her rescuer (Laura herself). This is a substantial part of what led to her troubles with her mother and in school, as they all thought she was simply making it up. Laura assuring her it ''did'' happen helps bring her comfort, and straighten up Megan's relationship with her mother.
* CatapultNightmare: Megan awakens from a nightmare/flashback of her kidnapper with this trope.
* ContinuitySnarl:
** A minor one between ''Innocence Lost'' and ''Target X'' with Laura's age. Based on the timeline given in the former, Laura was nine years old at the time she's sent on her field test to assassinate candidate Johnson, while in the latter Laura's age is stated to be eleven. In fact, ''Target X'' tends to make her two years older during events referenced in both books in general.
** ''Target: X also'' causes confusion over where ''NYX'' fits into Laura's background in relation to ''Uncanny X-Men''.
* CoversAlwaysLie: ''X-23: Target X #5'' shows Kimura triumphantly holding two of X-23's claws, having apparently just ripped them out of her hand. The closest thing to this in the actual story is X-23 cutting off her own hand (and promptly reattaching it) to escape Kimura.
* DespairEventHorizon: Laura hits one at the end. After all the torture and dehumanization the Facility put her through, being forced to kill her mother by the Trigger Scent just as they were about to escape, having to give up all that remained of her family and the normal life she was starting to build to protect them when her Axe Crazy former handler came looking for her, and possibly spending an unspecified time on the streets as a prostitute under a sadistic and abusive pimp (it's unclear where exactly this series falls in her history), Laura finally reaches her breaking point, and seeks out Wolverine believing that all she has left is to kill him and herself. Logan manages to talk her down, but it's implied she has an ongoing battle with severe, if not suicidal, depression, and much of her character arc focuses on putting the pieces back together after all that was done to her.
* DrivenToSuicide: The events of ''Target X'' finally push Laura to her breaking point. After escaping Kimura and severing contact with her only remaining family, she seeks out Logan with the intent of killing him and then herself to put a permanent end to the Weapon X project. She's so broken by everything that's happened to her by this point, that the only release she sees now is death. Logan manages to talk her down, but there's hints in later stories that Laura may still be prone to bouts of severe and possibly even suicidal depression.
* DysfunctionJunction: This is the state of Megan and Debbie when Laura first arrives at their house. Megan is troubled and still suffering severed PTSD over the trauma of her kidnapping, Debbie is struggling to help her as best she can, and her boyfriend, Desmond, is generally apathetic.
* {{Fanservice}}: X wears a school-girl style outfit — featuring a ''very'' short pleated skirt and a tight white shirt — in one of the flashbacks to her missions, that leads to ''several'' aversions of MagicSkirt during the subsequent fight scene. To say nothing of the corset, miniskirt, and thigh-highs she raids from her cousin's closet.
* FastRoping: The first Facility troops to respond to Laura's escape are delivered in this method by helicopter in the woods outside the bunker.
* FramingDevice: The story is told in flashback, with the events depicted being what Laura reveals under interrogation to Captain America and Daredevil.
* HairTriggerAvalanche: After being cornered by Kimura during her escape from the Facility bunker, Laura grabs a gun from Kimura's belt. Kimura mocks her by reminding her that she's indestructible. Laura simply responds, "I know," before aiming off to the side and firing to trigger an avalanche.
* HellishCopter: Laura shoots down a helicopter gunship pursuing her through the woods outside the Facility's bunker...by capping the pilot ''from the ground'' with a perfect [[BoomHeadshot headshot]].
* ImmediateSequel: Partly: ''Target X'' fills in a few gaps in Laura's training and conditioning by the Facility, before picking up immediately after Sarah's death.
* InterrogationFlashback: As noted above, Cap and Daredevil's interrogation serves as a FramingDevice while most of the story are flashbacks as Laura relates their past to them.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: She was developing a good relationship with her aunt and cousin, so getting as far away from them as she could was the best thing she could think of doing for them. Of course, it didn't help that Kimura was chasing her and had already tried to kill them.
* ItsRainingMen: The Facility attempts to cut off Laura's escape by FastRoping soldiers into the woods from a helicopter gunship.
* MeaningfulRename: At one point Captain America asks Laura during her interrogation if she is X-23. She tells him no. Daredevil, who Steve brought in to act as a LivingLieDetector, ascertains she's telling the truth. It's a very subtle moment, but one which establishes Laura has decided that she truly is ''Laura Kinney'', not X-23.
* MobWar: The Facility is hired by Comicbook/TheKingpin to put an end to one between himself and Fade, a mutant gangster attempting to muscle in on his territory. X assassinates Fade in his own office, and later takes out his wife and child, as well.
* MookHorrorShow: Laura subjects some Facility goons to one when they attack the Kinney household; she sends Megan and Debbie into the basement and turns on the sprinkler system to mask them from thermal goggles. She then stalks through the house picking off mooks one by one. She's only stopped when Kimura herself intervenes and [[NeckSnap breaks her neck]].
* MurderSuicide: Laura intends to kill Logan and then herself to put a permanent end to the Weapon X project, but Logan talks her down.
* MythologyGag:
** A student who harasses Megan in the hallway has a shirt which reads ''Comicbook/{{NYX}}''.
** Laura and Megan attend a Comicbook/{{Dazzler}} concert during their day out after getting suspended.
* NeckSnap: Kimura snaps Laura's neck like a twig when she attacks the Kinney household in ''Target X'', then unceremoniously dumps her body down the basement stairs to menace Megan and Debbie. Laura survives because of her HealingFactor.
* PerpSweating: Done by Cap while questioning Laura about her identity, and ascertaining that she is, indeed, X-23.
* PinnedToTheWall: Kimura pins Laura to a ''tree'' with a crossbow bolt during her escape from the Facility.
* RetCon: In ''Uncanny X-Men'', Laura first meets Logan when her killing of some men who attacked a woman she was protecting draws the X-Men's attention. He, Nightcrawler, and Rachel track her to a restaurant, and it's implied Logan had never even heard of her before then. However ''Target X'' reveals that Sarah ''sent Logan a copy of her letter'' in case something happened to her, and that they first meet alone when she tries to kill him. ''[[Comicbook/NewXMenAcademyX New X-Men]]'' further refines the story by suggesting their encounter in ''Uncanny'' was a show for the others.
* RainOfBlood: This is what tips Cap off that he let Johnson's killer escape: As he's consulting with a grunt on the killings he notices blood dribbling from between the rear doors of the ambulance where he ''just'' left the only "survivor" of the attack. He opens the door to reveal the inside of the ambulance covered in blood, and the two [=EMTs=] dead inside.
* RoomFullOfCrazy: Megan's room is plastered with pictures she drew of her kidnapper, revealing just how deeply affected she is by the trauma. There's also a few of Laura, as well.
* ShoutOut:
** Laura's French teacher is [[Series/{{Mythbusters}} Jaimie Hyneman, and her science teacher is Adam Savage]].
** And a kid seated behind her and Megan at the movie theater wears a ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' T-shirt.
* SkippingSchool: Laura and Megan in ''Target X''. Technically they get ''suspended'', but rather than heading home like they're supposed to, they ''steal the principal's car'' and take it on a joyride across San Francisco.
* SpeechBubbles: While everyone else has the traditional white bubbles, Fade's bubbles are in a very light green to set them apart.
* TheStakeout: Laura does this twice:
** The first is when she observes Debbie's family before revealing herself, which she does for nearly a month.
** She does it later with Logan, however a freak shift in the wind she couldn't account for tipped him off, and led him to lure her away from the school where he could confront her with less risk of collateral damage.
* StuffBlowingUp: Laura cuts a gas line and blows up Megan and Debbie's house with Kimura (and possibly herself) inside it. Kimura obviously survives because of her indestructibility, while Laura uses it to help Megan and Debbie escape, masking it with a gas explosion.
* SuperHeroOrigin: ''Target X'' serves as the second half of Laura's origin, depicting the immediate aftermath of her escape from the Facility, and the loss of the last of her family.
* WhatAreYou:
** A part of Cap and Daredevil's interrogation of Laura hinges on this question.
** Fade asks her this when she's set off by the trigger scent, and is able to track him even after he becomes invisible.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: While Logan is mentioned by Captain America and Daredevil throughout their interrogation of Laura, the last we actually ''see'' of him is when S.H.I.E.L.D. attacks him while trying to convince Laura to join him at the Xavier School. That he's not there raising hell with Steve over the matter is quite jarring.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: ''Target: X'' reveals that this was Laura's exit strategy for her first assassination detailed in ''Innocence Lost''. After slaughtering a political candidate, his [[WouldHurtAChild entire family]], and ''dozens'' of security, staff, press, functionaries, and other guests, Laura escapes by pretending to be the lone survivor ''of her own rampage''. It's so convincing she even fools ''Captain America'' and slips his grasp just before he discovers the ruse.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Volume Two (One-Shot) and Three]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1157797_p00001___x_23__11.jpg]]

Both written by Marjorie Liu, ''X-23'' ran for 21 issues from November, 2010, through May 2012. This series followed Laura on a [[JourneyToFindOneself journey of self-discovery]] in the aftermath of ''Second Coming'' and her stint on ''Comicbook/XForce''. Confused as to her purpose when Wolverine removes her from the team so she can finally try to heal from her dark past, Laura decides there are too many voices all telling her what to be, so leaves Utopia to find her own answers.

Although not part of this series, Liu also wrote a one-shot story featuring Laura released in May, 2010 which nonetheless was closely connected thematically. It finds Laura reuniting with [[Comicbook/{{NYX}} Kiden Nixon]], and fighting the influence of the Gamesmaster, who has decided to take up residence in her head.

Both stories are generally well-regarded, and did a great deal to advance and develop Laura as a character, particularly by expanding her beyond the influence of her creators, Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle. Liu's series codified many aspects of Laura's personality for readers, and this book is often now considered the standard by which other writers are compared. This has led to some fracturing of the fanbase over what Laura should read like, (particularly Liu's SpockSpeak versus more naturalistic speech patterns) as well as mixed reactions once word of Liu's CreatorBreakdown came out, leading to questions of whether she allowed her personal issues to affect the final few stories of the series.

----
* AbortedArc: Because of the series' cancellation, there were several plot threads that have since been abandoned and not been revisited in other series. In particular the Hooded Woman from the Madripoor and Paris arcs, and Laura's destiny as heir to the Enigma Force.
* {{Animesque}}:
** Issues of the Liu series drawn by Sana Takeda have a distinctly anime influence.
** The covers for the first three issues of the same series are also heavily influenced by anime and manga.
* AuthorTract: After Liu revealed she was undergoing something of a CreatorBreakdown towards the end of the series, many readers began to reexamine the final arcs, particularly "Misadventures in Babysitting" and question whether it had become this.
* AssholeVictim: In issue #4 of volume 3, she meets a young girl who's forced to lure Laura into a trap. Laura, mistakenly believing the girl is a prostitute trying to recruit her for a pimp, doesn't fall for it. Instead she tries to help the girl, who flees instead. When Laura catches up she finds the girl has already been killed by her handler as punishment for the failure. She kills him in retaliation, and no tears were shed for him.
* BabysittingEpisode: One arc of the Liu series focused on Laura taking care of [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Franklin and Valeria Richards]] for an evening. Given that the younger of the two inherited her father's brains and retained a three-year old's capacity for mischief....
* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: Laura is hired to babysit the [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Richards kids]] during her first series. Even though the kids summoned a huge dragon and got kidnapped by an intergalactic pack rat, she managed to rescue and get them in their [=PJs=] before Reed and Susan got home.
* BarBrawl: Laura and Jubilee get into one with some of Zebra Daddy's ex-thugs while at a nightclub. [[CurbStompBattle It doesn't go well for the gangsters.]]
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: "The Killing Dream" arc of her first solo series largely consists of one of these: Hellverine torments Laura, as he desires her to lead his armies ([[FoeYay and may just desire her period]]). He agrees to give her a chance to prove him wrong about being a mindless killer, with both her own soul and Hellion's in the balance.
* BigDamnKiss: Julian ''attempts'' one in issue 19 of the Liu series. Once things are sorted with the Richards kids, he grabs Laura and pulls her into a kiss, believing it's going to smooth over the problems they had up to that point and lead to a RelationshipUpgrade. And then she shoots him down, and they've not spoken since.[[note]]December, 2011, to be exact.[[/note]]
* CallBack:
** When Hellverine is poking around Laura's mind during "The Killing Dream" arc of the Liu series, he runs across Gamesmaster, who has been inhabiting her consciousness since her one-shot (also by Liu, and preceding the ongoing series). Gamesmaster tried to drive him out but was defeated, and Hellverine presents him to Laura as a gift.
** At the end of the first arc of the Liu series, Laura is left with a small mark on the palm of her hand [[spoiler:implied to be connected to the Enigma Force]]. It comes up twice more in the series: The first time in the very next arc when Ms. Sinister questions why she has it despite her HealingFactor, and much more importantly during "Chaos Theory," when it's recognized by the Whirldemon King, and marks her as heir to the Enigma Force's power.
** When Logan intercepts Laura before she could run away during "Touching Darkness," he assures her that it's really him and not the demon that was using him as a MeatPuppet in the first arc.
* CollectorOfTheStrange: The Collector himself appears in "Misadventures in Babysitting." Apparently he considered Laura's adamantium claws quite the prize.
* ContinuityNod:
** "Songs of the Orphan Child" has two significant ones:
*** Ms. Sinister is losing control of her body to Sinister due to an injury she received from Daken during ''his'' solo series.
*** Also, Sinister himself. His taking control of Claudine's body is the result of a CrazyPrepared attempt to return from death after he was killed by Mystique during ''Messiah Complex''.
** Both the one-shot and ongoing reference ''NYX'', with Kiden and her gang appearing in the former, while Laura runs afoul of former members of Zebra Daddy's gang in the latter.
* CorruptHick: Claudine Renko is in control of the local police around the town where her operation is set up, and uses them to bring Laura and Gambit to her.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Issue 19's cover has Laura and Hellion entwined in a passionate embrace and leaning in for a BigDamnKiss. While the issue ''does'' feature them sharing a kiss, it's a ForcefulKiss instigated by Julian, and rather than returning his affection she summarily ends their frielationship.
* {{Crossover}}:
** "The Killing Dream" ties into the ''Wolverine in Hell'' storyline, specifically the period Hellverine is on Utopia. Curiously enough, Laura is the only member of the X-Men who notices something isn't right with Logan.
** "Collision" plays out in both of Liu's series at the time: ''X-23'', and ''Daken: Dark Wolverine''.
** "Chaos Theory" is a near-miss variety with ''NYX: No Way Home''. Gambit and Laura arrive at Cecilia Reyes's apartment not long after Kiden and her gang had been staying there.
* DemonicPossession: Twice:
** Hellverine hitches a ride on Laura's body during "The Killing Dream" as part of his gambit to seduce her to his side.
** The Whirldemons in "Chaos Theory" possess Valeria Richards during their attempt to break free of their prison. Laura offers herself up in exchange, eventually enabling her to defeat them with the help of the Enigma Force.
* DrivenToSuicide:
** Laura takes a dive off skyscraper during her one-shot while trying to drive Gamesmaster out of her head. She survives thanks to her HealingFactor.
** Although always depicted as a cutter, Laura cuts her wrists so severely during one issue of the Liu series that a waiter at the restaurant she and Gambit were patronizing at the time alerted his supervisor that it looked as if someone attempted to commit suicide in one of the bathrooms after she finished. Again, she survives due to her mutation.
* EldritchAbomination: The [[Comicbook/CaptainUniverse Whirldemons]] during the "Chaos Theory" arc. Hellverine in "The Killing Dream" also counts, since he's a demon wearing Logan's body as a meat puppet.
* EnemyMine: After Colcord double-crosses Daken, Daken decides to turn Laura loose, and they work together to shut down his Madripoor operation.
* EnemyWithout: In the final issue of the Liu series, Laura is made to fight her own personified inner darkness by an Indian shaman.
* EmotionBomb: The Hooded Woman during "Touching Darkness" is experimenting with the trigger scent, and seeks to develop a version that will work on ''anyone''. She tests in in Paris, and manages to send both Laura, and a large part of the populace into a violent rage.
* EpiphanicPrison: Hellverine puts Laura through one during "The Killing Dream." It's unclear whether [[MindScrew the prison is Hell or her own mind]].
* ExposedToTheElements: Laura strips down naked while running with the wolf pack in the final issue of the Liu series, even thought it's snowing, and there's already a good couple inches on the ground.
* {{Fanservice}}:
** The infamous PantyShot during the "Collision" crossover, and the panels of Ms. Sinister strutting around in a corset, cowboy hat, and booty shorts. The panel during "Touching Darkness" where Laura tries to tempt Jubilee into drinking her blood also provides a fetish for many readers.
** Laura spends much of the last issue of the Liu series nude as part of a VisionQuest.
* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Hellverine's dimension straddles a line between this and {{Mordor}}.
* ForcefulKiss: Laura was on the receiving end from her (sort of) boyfriend Hellion in ''X-23 #19''. She rejected him afterwards and ended their relationship.
* FullFrontalAssault: Laura and her EnemyWithout in the final issue duke it out starkers [[ExposedToTheElements in the middle of a snowfall]] as part of her VisionQuest.
* GayParee: "Touching Darkness" finds Laura in Paris with Gambit, Jubilee, and Logan. The foursome wind up investigating an attempt to weaponize the trigger scent to a point where it affects ''anyone'' exposed to it, not just those specially conditioned as Laura was. In between, Laura goes shopping at expensive Parisian boutiques with Jubilee (Gambit and Logan foot the bill), and she and Jubilee both base jump sans parachute off the Eiffel Tower for kicks.
* GirlsNightOutEpisode: After breaking up with Hellion during the Liu series, Jubilee takes her out clubbing, though Laura doesn't exactly get into it. Laura runs across one of Zebra Daddy's former thugs, and learns that the remains of his gang is still trafficking women. She takes it upon herself to free the girls.
* GroinAttack: While on a night out with Jubilee during her solo, Laura runs across one of Zebra Daddy's former minions at a club and the man recognizes her. He flippantly comments about how Daddy gave his boys discounts with the prostitutes, but he never got a chance to have Laura. Laura tells him he'll never have her, or any ''other'' woman, again, and then proceeds to ensure it's true.
* HumanWeapon: Colcord's workshop in Madripoor is dedicated to churning these out.
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Logan and Jubilee do this with Laura during "Touching Darkness," while she's under the effects of the trigger scent. It mostly relies on them absorbing the punishment she can dish out until they're able to reach her.
* JourneyToFindOneself: The overarching plot of the ongoing consists of this as Laura goes "walkabout" in the aftermath of her stint on ComicBook/XForce, in large part triggered by questions over whether she has a soul after an encounter with [[spoiler:Hellverine]]. She leaves Utopia because she feels there are too many voices trying to tell her who she is, and wishes to find her own answers. It's relatively brief, and ends with Laura deciding to attend ComicBook/AvengersAcademy after an invitation from ComicBook/BlackWidow. During this time, Laura makes substantial progress in at least coming to terms with herself, even if much of her emotional damage remains.
* MaleGaze: During the infamous PantyShot in "Collision," the panel is centered directly on Laura's butt when she exposes the top of her thong.
* MobWar: Daken stirs one up in Madripoor as part of his plot to gain control of the island from Tyger Tiger, pitting several lesser bosses against one another in a fight to the death.
* {{Mordor}}: During the "Killing Dream" arc of her first solo, Hellverine draws Laura into a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind in a realm somewhere between this and FireAndBrimstoneHell, presented in her nightmares and in "reality" as a blasted, desiccated wasteland.
* NobleWolf: Laura encounters a wolf pack in the final issue of the Liu series. After running with them for a time they lead her to the pack leader, a great white wolf that transforms into an Indian shaman, and kicks off a battle with Laura's EnemyWithout.
* NoDialogueEpisode: The entire last issue of the Liu series is told strictly visually, with no dialogue by Laura.
* NotSoDifferent: Cyclops gets this with the Facility in her first solo series. Emma Frost {{lampshade|Hanging}}s that including Laura in X-Force, the X-Men's black ops hit squad, is just asking her to do the same thing the Facility forced her to do.
* OrWasItADream: The final issue of the Liu series opens with Laura sleeping naked and surrounded by wolves. When she awakens again, she's fully clothed and alone. Later in the issue she's crashing at a trailer park after giving one of the locals a lift when she's awakened by the howling of wolves outside. Laura follows them, and comes across the same pack of all-black wolves from her dream. She chases after them, eventually stripping naked, which ultimately leads to a battle with her EnemyWithout. At its conclusion she snaps out of the vision and finds herself naked in the snow, while the trailer park residents are out looking for her. Whether the incident with the wolves ''actually'' happened, or was all just in her mind, is left ambiguous.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: A giant purple alien dragon — much like [[Comicbook/KittyPryde Lockheed]] but ''much'' bigger — flies off with Val and Franklin Richards during "Misadventures in Babysitting," forcing Laura and Hellion to chase after it to get them back.
* PantyShot: Variation: One frame during the "Collision" crossover has Laura tucking a folded up document she and Daken recover from Malcolm Colcord into her pants. Not inside a pocket, inside her ''[[{{Hammerspace}} pants]]''. She flashes a whale tail in that panel, when she pulls the waistband of her costume away from her hip. It may have been even ''less'' blatantly {{Fanservice}} had she just been GoingCommando. It doesn't help that the panel is [[MaleGaze centered right on her butt]].
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The book intends the reader to side with Laura over Hellion during their final fight in "Misadventures In Babysitting." While Julian certainly did lose his temper with her and say some hurtful things, however the book ignores the fact that Laura also treated Julian very badly throughout the arc; She brushed him off when he just tried to ''talk'' to her about his HeroicBSOD at the beginning of the arc, stonewalled him when he just needed her friendship while trying to cope, and generally treated him like TheLoad while trying to rescue the Richards kids from the Collector.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
** Daken and Laura take turns delivering this to ''each other'' during their rampage through Colcord's base. Daken tries to call her out on her empathy for others, believing that her skills as a killer make her better than everyone around her, and that her heart only forces her to hold back. Laura flatly tells him that she doesn't fight because she has something to prove, but for something ''bigger'' than herself. She then [[ShutUpHannibal turns this around on him]], [[ArmorPiercingQuestion asking]] why ''[[TheSociopath he]]'' holds back by not taking the risk of allowing himself to ''actually'' care for anyone. Daken doesn't really have an answer.
** Julian lays one on Laura in issue 19, after she rejects him. Angry over the way she has brushed him off for the entire "Misadventures in Babysitting" story, he finally loses his temper and accuses her of really ''not'' having feelings after all. Laura responds that she does, she just doesn't feel anything for ''him''.
* RescueRomance: Although they never get past WillTheyOrWontThey, Laura's infatuation with Hellion begins after he saves her life during the fight against Nimrod.
* RetailTherapy: Jubilee attempts this on Laura in Paris, taking her shopping at ''very'' high-end fashion boutiques in hopes of getting her to lighten up. It largely fails, as Laura is a bit bemused by the experience, and isn't particularly fond of the bright, fashionable dresses Jubes picks out for her.
* RetCon: As noted above, the Liu series retconned Laura's sparing of Henry Sutter. Prior to this series, Laura was established to have never failed to complete an assignment. However in "Chaos Theory" Laura goes to confront a child whose parents she murdered, and was ''supposed'' to kill him as well. Rather than Henry Sutter, however, Liu instead introduces another individual entirely, as well as establishing that there were even more cases where she refused to carry out her orders.
* RoaringRampageOfRescue: During "Girls' Night Out" Laura encounters one of Zebra Daddy's old friends, who took over a chunk of his empire following his death in ''NYX''. After inflicting a GroinAttack when they guy gets mouthy about Laura's past, she drags Jubilee along on a rescue mission to liberate the trafficked girls. We don't actually ''see'' much of the fight, aside from Laura taking a MenacingStroll among a few crumpled bodies, but it's highly unlikely the gang gave up their merchandise quietly...
* RuthlessModernPirates: Laura and Gambit run afoul of a band while on their way to Madripoor, with Gambit getting dumped into a SharkPool for their trouble.
* SendInTheClones: Laura gets entangled in a plot by Ms. Sinister during her solo series. Seeing as cloning is pretty much Sinister's hat, it goes without saying that clones play quite a big part in the plot:
** Claudine herself is fighting a CloneByConversion process, as virus ravaging her body is slowly turning her into a clone of Sinister as part of a CrazyPrepared gambit to return from death. She wants Laura's body to escape this fate.
** All of Claudine's "children" are clones created by Sinister in one of his labs. One, Alice, figures heavily into the plot. [[spoiler:One of whom becomes the new host for Sinister himself after Laura critically wounds Claudine.]]
* SexSlave: Laura and Jubilee break up a sex trafficking ring during "Girls' Night Out," saving many girls and women from this fate. ItsPersonal for Laura because she was a former prostitute herself, and the gang they attack was made up of members of her pimp's organization.
* SharkPool: Gambit gets tossed into one in Madripoor. Laura dives in to get him out, even though she has trouble swimming.
* SheatheYourSword: How Laura defeats her EnemyWithout in the final issue of the Liu series; rather than giving in to her killer instincts when she begins to lose their fight, she sheathes her claws and reconciles with her darker side.
* ShipSinking: The end of "Misadventures in Babysitting" is ''meant'' to be this, [[spoiler:after Hellion blows up when Laura rejects his attempt at a BigDamnKiss.]] However as noted under BrokenBase on the YMMV page, all this has ended up doing was fragmenting the fanbase.
* ShootTheDog: "The Killing Dream" reveals she was forced to do this ''literally'' by the Facility as part of her BreakTheCutie TrainingFromHell. When they decided Laura still had too much empathy for others, she was given a puppy with orders to kill it within a set amount of time and was then left alone to carry it out. She played with it instead, and when her handlers returned to find the puppy still alive threatened ''to torture it'' as punishment for Laura failing to follow orders, before relenting and offering her "another chance."
* ShoutOut:
** The Hooded Woman quotes Creator/HunterSThompson during the "Touching Darkness" arc of the Liu series to cryptically hint that the two are somehow connected.
---> "As you were, I was. As I am, you will be."
** One story arc is called "[[Film/AdventuresInBabysitting Misadventures In Babysitting]]."
* StuffBlowingUp:
** Hellverine blows up a homeless shelter as part of his gambit to seduce Laura into serving him during "The Killing Dream."
** Claudine's lab gets blown up by Laura and Gambit after critically damaging some equipment.
** Laura and Daken blow up Colcord's lab in Madripoor to put an end to his experiments.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The "Chaos Theory" arc of the Liu ongoing opens with Laura seeking out the son of one of her victims, a boy she was ordered to kill with the others but chose to spare...and who was ''not'' Henry Sutter.
* ThreateningShark: You can't have a SharkPool without one.
* TrouserSpace: During "Collision," Laura tucks some documents into the waistband of her pants. Despite the fact they're {{painted on| pants}}, there's not an unsightly bulge in sight.
* TrojanPrisoner: In order to get close to the albino gangster Fade, whose powers allow him to become invisible to the naked eye and even technological tracking devices, Laura masquerades as Kingpin's "niece," Samantha. Fisk then [[FeedTheMole feeds information]] to Fade via a mole in his organization leading the gangster to kidnap her, bringing her right where she needs to be to pick up the trigger scent-laced letter her target was slipped as part of the plan.
* VisionQuest: The final issue of Liu's series has elements of this, with Laura finding herself running with wolves, and fighting [[EnemyWithout her own inner darkness]].
* WhamEpisode: ''X-23 #6'' features the return of Mr. Sinister, following his death at the end of ''Messiah Complex'' three years earlier.
* WhatTheHellHero: The rest of the New X-Men (mainly Surge) gang up on Laura over her participation in X-Force in issue 1 of the Liu series. Hellion and Dust are the only ones who defend her.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Laura and Julian's tense frielationship comes to a head during "Misadventures in Babysitting." [[spoiler: They don't, though Laura admits to Gambit she does still care for Julian]].
* WoundedGazelleGambit: Hellverine pulls one in the Liu series when Laura attacks him in the hospital knowing that he's ''not'' actually Logan. By chance, Hellion comes to visit her right after she skewers him, and Hellverine immediately plays it up to convince Julian that Laura isn't in her right mind.
* WretchedHive: Madripoor, in all its gritty glory, is the main setting of ''Collision''. Under Tyger Tiger it actually wasn't that bad, as she largely had the gangs under her control, and put an end to the drug and human trafficking that made up the worst of the city's criminal elements in the past. Unfortunately by the time Laura and Gambit arrive, Daken has muscled in as Tyger's ManBehindTheMan, and Malcolm Colcord is kidnapping innocent people off the streets for his experiments.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Volume Four]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x23cover.jpg]]

Written by Mariko Tamaki, a second volume of ''X-23'' replaced''Comicbook/AllNewWolverine'' as part of Marvel's ''[[Comicbook/MarvelAFreshStart Fresh Start]]'' relaunch. It launched in July, 2018, andsees Laura [[StatusQuoIsGod return to her roots]] to prevent anyone else from suffering as she had.
----
* AdultFear: Gabby is kidnapped by the Cuckoos in issue 2.
* AirVentPassageway: The X-Assassin uses one to gain access to its target in issue 7
* ArcWelding: Issue #8 ties ''All-New Wolverine'' into ''Innocence Lost'' by revealing [[spoiler:Director Chandler was part of the original X-23 project, and in fact was involved in the development of the Trigger Scent. This also provides an explanation for how Alchemax gained access to Laura's genetic material to create the Sisters]].
* BirthdayEpisode: Issue 1 is set on Laura's birthday. Downplayed in that she doesn't tell anyone, even Gabby, because she thinks birthdays are meaningless. The two later get into an argument when Gabby announces ''she'' wants a birthday after [[spoiler:the Cuckoos reveal that they have chosen the same day as a birthday for themselves.]]
* BreatherEpisode: Issue 6 is a comedic one-shot story set between two much more serious arcs.
* CarCushion: Laura throws one of the mooks she and Gabby are base-jumping after into a car on the street in issue 1.
* CarFu: One of the goons Laura and Gabby fight in the opening scene of issue one picks up and smashes Gabby with a cement truck.
* CloningBlues: Reflected on by Gabby in issue 1, when she wonders whether clones have birthdays (and wants to have one, as well).
* ClothingDamage: Laura's suit takes a beating over the course of the X-Assassin arc. By the end of issue 10 it's thoroughly shredded, and the only thing keeping the tattered bits from just falling off her entirely is the ratings system.
* ContinuityNod:
** The Muramasa Shield for the "Orphans of X" arc of ''All-New Wolverine'' hangs on the wall of Laura's and Gabby's apartment in issues 1 and 5.
** Laura has a carton of Twenty-Five With Chicken in her fridge.
** [[spoiler:Robert Chandler resurfaces in issue 8, and it's revealed he replaced his knees with animatronic prosthetics after Laura slashed them out in ''All-New Wolverine'' #6.]]
** Several frames from Laura's first encounter with Gabby in ''All-New Wolverine'' #2 are used in issue 12.
* ContinuitySnarl: Several issues of this series have directly stated that Alchemax Genetics was responsible for Laura's creation, as well. While Chandler was retconned to have been part of the project, Alchemax itself has always been an independent entity from the Facility.
* ConsultingAConvictedKiller: While Laura was never a ''convicted'' killer, the trope is nonetheless in play in issue 7. The [=NYPD=] brings her on as a consultant in a serial murder case because of her expertise. She quickly puts her skills into play to identify the next victim, and puts herself and Gabby in a position to catch the killer.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Laura's cover as a gym coach in issue 6 would make [[Film/{{Porkys}} Ms. Balbricker]] proud.
* EasterEgg: Par for the course with Cabal's artwork, who sprinkles jokes and references throughout the first arc.
* {{Fanservice}}: Laura's new costume is much more revealing than her Wolverine suit, [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]], and incorporating a low scoop top that only avoids ImpossiblyLowNeckline because of the translucent mesh sleeves.
* FastballSpecial: Gabby and [[spoiler:the X-Assassin]] perform one in issue 10.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Par for the course in Cabal's artwork:
** Issue 1 has bystanders taking selfies in front of the smashed car after the above-mentioned CarCushion.
** Issue 2: While the Cuckoos are hurrying to flee the school before their attack on Laura and Gabby, one of the background students is a cow. In an X-Men uniform. X-Cow continues to appear in the background (or sometimes foreground) of other panels at the school throughout the arc.
* GrandTheftMe: The crux of the Cuckoos' plan in the first arc: [[spoiler:implant Esme's consciousness in Gabby's body. Esme wants to use Cerebro to do this on a ''global'' scale.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:The X-Assassin shows Gabby how to shut down ''all'' of its duplicates, and sacrifices itself to take out Chandler.]]
* ModifiedClone: Two story arcs center around attempts to duplicate Laura:
** First, [[spoiler:Robert Chandler]] returns creating the X-Assassins, genetic clones modified with the deliberate destruction of their HealingFactor, and further made into {{Cyborg}}s. These clones were designed to be disposable, allowing them to be terminated upon completion of a mission to prevent them from developing the same free will and sense of humanity that ultimately led to Laura's own escape.
** In the final arc, Laura and Gabby discover that further cloning experiments has lead to the creation of X-23 [[spoiler''turkeys'']].
* MythologyGag:
** Issue 1:
*** Paintings hanging on the walls of the Xavier School reference several classic ''X-Men'' comics covers, including the famous cover to ''X-Men #101'', featuring the Jean Grey rising from the ocean as Phoenix.
*** Doubling with ShoutOut, Sophie's favorite actor was "Tyler Kirch," in reference to actor Taylor Kitsch. Kitsch was the first actor to play Comicbook/{{Gambit}} in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', appearing in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''.
*** Gabby has pictures hanging on her bedroom wall which reference covers to issues of ''All-New Wolverine''.
** Issue 2: Laura finds the box for Dr. Mark's fitness tracking gear in her office. It's labeled "Fit Fat Foom."[[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke IE, Fin Fang Foom]][[/note]]
** Issue 5: A 6-pack of beer in Laura's fridge is labeled that it belongs to Logan, and that he'll "[[Comicbook/HuntForWolverine Be Back Soon.]]"
* NoodleIncident: Gabby mentions in issue 3 that she feels like she's inside a washing machine ''again''.
* OffscreenBreakup: Although not explicitly stateded, Laura's interactions with Warren in the first arc strongly suggests that by the time the series starts their relationship is over.
* OutsideRide: Issue 3 opens with Laura car surfing in an attempt to rescue Gabby from the Cuckoos.
* RetCon: Although ''Innocence Lost'' implies it was Rice himself who developed the Trigger Scent, issue 8 of this series establishes that [[spoiler:Robert Chandler]] was its designer.
* SequelSeries: To ''All-New Wolverine'', as it features the same supporting cast, and builds on its developments. Issue 1 begins with Laura hunting down people who've been performing genetic experimentation on mutants as a follow-up to the events of "Orphans of X," while issue 8 [[spoiler:reveals that Robert Chandler is behind the X-Assassin]].
* ShoutOut:
** Issue 1: Sophie Cuckoo's favorite actor was "Tyler Kirch."[[note]]As in Taylor Kitsch. See MythologyGag above.[[/note]]
** Issue 2: Gabby suggests she and Laura should follow the Cuckoos' example by celebrating their birthday on the same day as Creator/EvanRachelWood.
** Issue 4: The opening of ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' is referenced at the beginning of the issue.
** Issue 6: The title of the issue, and Gabby's code-name for the mission, is Operation [[Film/KindergartenCop Kindergarten Clone]]. Laura chastises her over the name, while Gabby continues making references to the movie by referencing {{Creator/Arnold|Schwarzenegger}}'s famous delivery of "It's not a tumor!"
* ShownTheirWork: When designing Laura's new suit for this volume, artist Mike Choi surveyed a number of women of Laura's age (late teens and early twenties) to determine what they would ''actually'' wear as superheroes. [[CivvieSpandex The end result is heavily inspired by Lululemon-style athletic wear.]]
* StatusQuoIsGod: Laura has given up the Wolverine name and cowl, and is back to calling herself X-23. The Cuckoos have also given up their individual looks and are all back to being identical blondes. [[spoiler:And the full Five-in-One returns when it's reveal that Esme and Sophie have been resurrected via cloned bodies.]]
* WeHaveReserves: Chandler's view of the X-Assassin project: They're designed to be [[CannonFodder disposable]] assassins that can be destroyed once their mission is completed. He sends a veritable ''[[ZergRush army]]'' of them against Laura, and though she destroys quite a few of them even she can't contend with their sheer numbers.
* WhamShot:
** Issue 1: [[spoiler:Esme and Sophie Cuckoo are ''alive''.]]
** Issue 7: [[spoiler:The X-Assassin is unmasked, revealing it to be a {{cyborg}} clone of Laura.]]
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Clone identity makes up a substantial part of the book's metaplot, with Laura musing on her humanity, and past as a HumanWeapon. It goes even further with the X-Assassin, [[spoiler:who is a {{Cyborg}} clone presumably with any trace of Laura's humanity removed]].
* WolverineWannabe: A given being she's Wolverine's OppositeSexClone, who eventually served as a LegacyCharacter to her father. She has more extreme versions of Wolverine's powers, possessing two blades from the wrists and one from each of her feet, while her HealingFactor operates even faster since it's not slowed by an adamantium skeleton.
[[/folder]]

* MoralityPet: Acts as one for Wolverine. Gambit as well in her self titled series, and he also sometimes acts as one to her. Hellion can be considered hers during their time with the New X-Men. She's become one for Daken, too, as Laura is one of the only people he has demonstrated genuine affection and respect for.

* TheQuietOne: She tends towards being less inclined to speak, either at all or at least at length, than other characters.

* ''ComicBook/InnocenceLost (X-23 vol. 1)'': Origin story, part 1.

* JailBait: During the events of ''ComicBook/{{NYX}}'' Laura was no older than 16. And she was a ''prostitute''. Age of consent in New York City where she was living is 17. Even afterwards her style of dress trends towards the provocative, and with the SlidingTimeScale it's unlikely she's aged much since then. Being underage also doesn't stop her from going clubbing with Jubilee or Warren, even though she would likely be too young to get past the doors. Ultimately subverted by ''All-New Wolverine'', in which she's clearly established as being 20 years old.

* HollywoodPersonalityDisorders: Laura is highly impulsive, prone to frequent and severe dissociative episodes and panic attacks, has a proclivity for being drawn to inappropriate relationships with others, has a poor-at-best sense of self, has chronic suicidal ideation and/or total indifference to self-preservation, and has a great deal of difficulty with emotional regulation (and often uses self-harm to regulate when her other efforts fail), all of which are common signs of borderline personality disorder.

* ZettaiRyouiki: As seen [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_large/0/2868/100248-18171-107205-1-x-23-target-x.jpg here]], X-23 at times adopts this, and it's in fact one of her {{iconic outfit}}s.

* SuperStrength: Another byproduct of her healing factor is that Laura's muscles, connective tissue, and bones are denser than those of a normal human. As a result she's [[MusclesAreMeaningless stronger than one would expect such a short, slight girl to be]].

[[caption-width-right:310:The best at what ''she'' does.]]

* {{Adorkable}}: She... [[https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/0/6063/4989308-anwolv2015004_int_lr2-3.jpg has her moments]], particularly in situations where her poor social skills or difficulties understanding her feelings come into play and are PlayedForLaughs. Such as her embarrassed grin when Angel reminds her not to use her claws during a brawl in a club, or asking what he likes about her.

* CulturedBadass: An alternate cover for ''All-New Wolverine'' #20 shows Laura and Gabby napping on a couch while reading ''Theater/{{MacBeth}}'', while her mother read to her from ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' when she was a child, and she's a polyglot who speaks at ''least'' English, French, Japanese, and Russian. Laura is also known to [[SmartPeoplePlayChess play chess]], and during the Liu series suggests she's ''quite'' good.

** Laura is typically calm, collected, and withdrawn. Even though she inherited Logan's temper, she's much more in control of it, typically keeps her head in a fight, and kills with a cold, efficient detachment. If she's ever ''visibly'' angry, you've likely just done something ''incredibly'' stupid, and you should be running. [[OhCrap Fast]].

* WolverineWannabe: A given being she's Wolverine's OppositeSexClone, who eventually served as a LegacyCharacter to her father. She has more extreme versions of Wolverine's powers, possessing two blades from the wrists and one from each of her feet, along with a BerserkMode even greater than her father, which because of her conditioning she does not have full control over.

* HatesBeingTouched: Rarely initiated physical contact when first introduced, even with people she liked. Justified in that most physical contact she received as a child was abusive, and such feelings are very much TruthInTelevision among abuse victims. It eventually becomes downplayed due to CharacterDevelopment.

* UnaffectedBySpice: She can tolerate levels of spice that even have Gambit, who as a Cajun is no stranger to hot stuff, doing a double take, as shown when she gets lunch from a street vendor in Madripoor during the "Collision" storyline.

* LegacyImplosion: After three years as Wolverine, Laura has given up the cowl.

* LegacyImplosion: Subverted. After Logan's resurrection, Laura now shares the mantle of Wolverine with him.

** In ''The Killing Dream'', Hellverine tells her that as a clone, (and because of all the death she's caused) she has no soul, and drags her into a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to

X-23 was created by the Weapon X offshoot known as the Facility,[[note]]ComicBook/{{HYDRA}} in ''Evolution''[[/note]] using a damaged sample of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s DNA. The damage was greatest on the Y chromosome, so after several attempts at a direct clone Dr. Deborah Risman in ''Evolution'', and the similar Dr. Sarah Kinney in the comics, eventually had the brilliant idea to create [[OppositeSexClone a female copy instead]] by duplicating the X chromosome. At last the 23rd attempt to create the female clone of Weapon X was successful, thus X-23. Sarah Kinney notes X-23 is technically a genetic twin rather than a true clone, more accurately making her Logan's sister. He later introduces her to her classmates at Xavier's this way, although they share more of a father-daughter relationship.[[note]]''Hunt for Wolverine'' eventually revealed that Sarah actually used some of her own DNA to complete the damaged sample, thus making Logan Laura's genetic father as well.[[/note]]

** In ''The Killing Dream'', Hellverine tells her that as a clone, (and because of all the death she's caused) she has no soul, and drags her into a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to give her a chance to prove him wrong. [[spoiler:Laura encounters her inner self (later implied to actually be a part of the [[ComicBook/CaptainUniverse Enigma Force]] that remained with her after her previous contact with the entity), who reveals that she wasn't ''born'' an emotionless killing machine, but that it took the conscious effort of the project to break her. This revelation gives Laura the power to defeat the demon.]] However, she remains in doubt over how much of his taunting was the truth afterwards. When Miss Sinister later attempts to steal her body, Laura questions her about having a soul, but Sinister is unable to answer and admits it's something she's given little thought.
** She also once asked Comicbook/GhostRider to use his Penance Stare on her, both because she ''believed'' she deserved to be punished for the pain she had caused, and, since it only works on someone who has a soul, because it would prove one way or another whether she did. However when he offered to carry out her wishes at the end of the encounter she ultimately decided it didn't matter.
** During Circle of Four, a different demon, Blackheart, calls her a silly girl for pondering whether or not she has a soul by reminding her that she's in Hell, and people can't go to Hell without a soul.
** Any remaining question about the matter is firmly laid to rest in ''All-New Wolverine #29'', when Muramasa uses a piece of her soul to craft the Muramasa Armor.
* SpockSpeak: Most fans consider Laura to have a very rigid, measured way of talking. However this voice was primarily used when written under Liu, [[DependingOnTheWriter while other writers, including Kyle and Yost, tended to be more casual]]. Her voice under Bendis went much more towards the opposite extreme, veering near to the standard "Bendis Voice."
* StarCrossedLovers: With [[Characters/AllNewXMen the time-displaced Angel]]. No matter how strong or not her relationship with him is, it ''will'' ultimately end because at some point he must return to his own time. [[spoiler:Their final breakup doesn't even occur on panel, [[ComicBook/Extermination2018 and when he]] ''[[ComicBook/Extermination2018 does]]'' [[ComicBook/Extermination2018 return home they don't even say goodbye]].]]
* StatusQuoIsGod: Whatever development she goes through, inevitably she's going to find herself back in her depressive state.
** Averted after ''Secret Wars'', as she finally begins getting her life in order and moving past her trauma, complete with [[LegacyCharacter taking on her father's mantle]].
** However she'll soon be giving up the Wolverine name again as part of Comicbook/MarvelAFreshStart. Whether her CharacterDevelopment will also be reset has yet to be seen.
* StoppedCaring: Much of her training went towards invoking this trope — teaching her not to act like an emotional or independent being.
* StraightMan: Laura is pretty much this to ''everyone'', as her sense of humor is very subtle, often black, and runs towards DeadpanSnarker (emphasis on the "deadpan"). It's ''especially'' pronounced whenever she comes into contact with wackier characters like Deadpool and Squirrel Girl.
* StreetWalker: She spent an unknown amount of time as one sometime between losing Megan and Debbie, and joining the X-Men. It was detailed in her first appearance in ''NYX'' but has been discussed or referenced several times since then.
* StrongerThanTheyLook: Laura is a short, slight, pretty teenage girl, and outwardly she doesn't seem particularly threatening. However one secondary effect of her HealingFactor is that her muscle and bone tissue is much denser than that of a normal human. As a result, her muscles exert more force than that of a typical girl her size. Additionally, her bones are stronger and harder to break, which reduces another limit since her muscles are capable of greater exertion without risk of breaking her own bones.[[note]]Human muscles are actually strong enough to ''break your own bones'' in extreme feats of strength, which is one reason why biological safeguards normally prevent you from utilizing the full extent of your strength.[[/note]] In fact Laura was fully capable of lifting carrying ''Old Man Logan'' on her back, and climbing out of Fin Fang Foom's digestive tract, adamantium skeleton and all.[[note]]Granted, much of Logan's lower torso was [[{{Squick}} partially digested]], but his skeleton alone weighs around 100lbs or more.[[/note]]
* StrongFamilyResemblance:
** Pretty much any time Sarah Kinney appears Laura is drawn as her spitting image. She also looks a lot like her aunt Deborah, who also shares a StrongFamilyResemblance with Sarah. [[spoiler:It's eventually established in ''Adamantium Agenda #4'' that Laura shares Sarah's DNA, thus explaining their similar appearances.]]
** Oddly enough [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/4dd823089187f8dcb615c2177fe8e133/tumblr_inline_o5zkznQDlM1u1tbol_1280.jpg she doesn't look much like Logan, her genetic source.]] Taylor plays with it during a flashback scene in ''All-New Wolverine #1'' by having Laura and Logan demonstrate many of the same facial expressions. Logan also mentions [[FamilyEyeResemblance she has his mother's eyes]].
* SuperHearing: Laura's hearing is enhanced by her mutation. She was once able to hear a conversation Maria Hill was holding with Captain America...''through Cap's own ear bud from across the room''.
* SuperheroPackingHeat: Although not a power ''per se'', as a former assassin Laura is highly trained and skilled in the use of firearms, and has no compunctions against using them if necessary.
* SuperReflexes: Laura's reaction times are heightened as a secondary effect of her healing factor. She's been shown dodging ''and'' ParryingBullets.
* SuperSenses: Better than even Wolverine's. Since their enhanced senses are a byproduct of their HealingFactor, this may be because Laura's is more powerful.
** Her sense of smell is so refined she's been able to reconstruct crime scenes ''hours'' after the events, even able to determine by scent alone that one victim of a killing had high cholesterol.
** Laura's vision is so keen that she was able to see ''[[{{Nanomachines}} a single nanite]]'' in a test tube with her naked eyes.
* SuperStrength: Another byproduct of her healing factor is that Laura's muscles, connective tissue, and bones are denser than those of a normal human. As a result she's [[MusclesAreMeaningless stronger than one would expect such a short, slight girl to be]].
* TechnicalPacifist: Has steadily been evolving into this over the course of her life. While even from early on she hated killing, when she first joined the X-Men she was utterly ruthless and unflinching with her use of lethal force. Usually to the horror of her friends and teammates. However over time she's become increasingly reluctant to cut loose, until by the time she takes on the Wolverine name she makes every effort to avoid killing.
* TeensAreShort: Laura has always been depicted as quite small, and many characters express disbelief that she is one of the world's most dangerous assassins when they meet her. Even by the time she's 18-19 in ''All-New Wolverine'' she's only ''5'1"''.
* ThouShaltNotKill: When first introduced she was ready to kill at need, and could be even more ruthless and efficient than even Logan. However she has gradually moved in this direction. By the time she took up the Wolverine name she has sworn off killing.
* TortureTechnician: One of the skills she's been highly trained on, in her solo series Malcolm Colcord's fingernails finds this out the hard way.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Very subtly done. While Laura doesn't have one particular favorite food, she favors ''anything'' that's spicy. See ComfortFood above.
* TrainingFromHell: Her back story in ''Innocence Lost'' and ''Target: X''.
* TranquilFury: In most cases, Laura is [[EmotionlessGirl chillingly cold, calm and efficient]] while gutting you, and that's terrifying enough. [[NotSoStoic If she ever actually loses her cool]], she's either under the effects of the trigger scent or you've just done something to really, ''really'' piss her off. In both cases you should run. Fast.
* TraumaCongaLine: From the moment she was born Laura has bounced from one hardship to the next: Torture, abuse, being forced to attack and kill those she cares about, losing her only surviving family to protect them. Laura has suffered an endless series of [[YankTheDogsChain chain-yanking]] throughout her life as things begin to look up, only to come crashing down hard again. However it finally begins to abate post-''Comicbook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}'', as she begins to finally put her life in order.
* TroubledButCute: Dialogue in the books makes it clear that Laura is a very attractive young woman. Troubled? Just ''look'' at all the tropes focusing on how screwed up she still is because of her abusive upbringing.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Laura's first assassination was at age 9. She was immediately put to work by the Facility afterwards, and by 16 she's an accomplished enough killer to worry ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica''. {{Justified| Trope}} since she was bred and raised from birth ''specifically'' to be a LivingWeapon, but her utter ruthlessness and cold detachment makes her an even better killer than Wolverine. It's mildly subverted in that she doesn't ''want'' to be a weapon, but it nonetheless comes completely naturally to her.
* TykeBomb: ''Literally'' conceived as such.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: U-Z]]
* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Jubilee has described her as "hot" and Teen Warren, who she's currently dating, has stated that she's prettier than Comicbook/JeanGrey. The fact she's the famously ''un''attractive Logan's OppositeSexClone makes the trope even ''more'' noticeable.
* UnstoppableRage: The trigger scent causes this. Normally she's very composed otherwise, but if pushed too far she ''will'' snap. At which point whoever is responsible better run. ''[[OhCrap Fast]]''.
* UptownGirl: Gender inverted: Laura was born in a lab, and spent time on the streets as a homeless prostitute. Her primary love interests have been Hellion and the time-displaced Angel, both of whom are from privileged and wealthy upbringings.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Laura wasn't born an emotionless killing machine. The Facility ''consciously destroyed her innocence''. Much of Laura's life after escaping the is spent trying to repair the damage that was done to her.
* VillainousCrush: Laura has picked up a couple of these:
** Kimura is her ArchNemesis, whose obsession with X veers into full-on StalkerWithACrush, to the point that her obsession over Laura reads like a jilted PsychoExGirlfriend.
** During the time she spent as a {{Streetwalker}} in ''NYX'' she was her pimp, Zebra Daddy's, favorite girl (and it's ''heavily'' suggested he sampled the goods himself). To the point that her running away with Kiden Nixon's group, after a John committed suicide during one of their sessions, drove the rest of the plot with Daddy's escalating efforts to get her back.
** Gamesmaster — an omnipath who can read all minds, ''everywhere'', and ''can't turn it off'' — developed an obsession with her because he finds her mind a refreshingly quiet and peaceful place to hang out. Whether or not Laura actually welcomes his presence in her head never enters into his considerations, and he frequently addresses her with endearments, calling her his "wicked, lovely girl."
** Hellverine wants her to lead his armies, and it's heavily implied that he just plain ''wants'' her. He captures the above-mentioned Gamesmaster when he finds him poking around Laura's mind, and presents him muzzled and in chains as a gift (Gamesmaster ''also'' tried to drive away Hellverine to protect Laura, which got him caught in the first place). He makes several advances towards her, including appearing to her as a ''naked Cyclops''.
** Played for laughs in ''All New Wolverine'', [[ItMakesSenseInContext when she gets doused in a pheromone designed to make Fin Fang Foom randy for whatever is marked with it]]. The moment he gets a whiff of her, the background is replaced by a giant HeartSymbol.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Hellion. Laura and Jubilee started out like this before becoming HeterosexualLifePartners.
* WakingUpElsewhere: Slight variant: The rage induced by the trigger scent causes Laura to black out, during which time she has no knowledge or conscious control over what she's doing.
-->'''Laura''': The ones who made me, they made a chemical...a scent...when I smell it, everything goes black and when I wake up, everyone's dead.
* WaifFu: Laura's fighting style tends to be very acrobatic, justified because she's rather small and lightly-built, and unlike Wolverine, lacks adamantium coating her entire skeleton, so is much more prone to being disabled by broken or severed limbs.
* WeakButSkilled: She relies primarily on WaifFu in combat since she's unable to sustain damage, and is ''very'' highly trained in hand-to-hand combat, firearms, interrogation techniques, infiltration, languages, and other skills she might have needed as an assassin.
* WifeBasherBasher: Laura pulls a variation of this with prostitutes as a result of her experiences under Zebra Daddy's control. On several occasions afterwards she's been shown reacting ''very'' violently to seeing other girls abused as she was.
* WolverineClaws: Inherited from her father, though hers are in a slightly different arrangement with two in each hand (between the index and middle finger, and pinky and ring finger) and one in each foot (between the big and long toes). Like Logan's they're coated in adamantium. Zander Rice cut them out of her one by one while she was ''conscious'' to perform the procedure.
* WolverinePublicity: Played straight and at the same time played with in ''All-New Wolverine'' where various superheroes and villains, specifically Taskmaster, ComicBook/DoctorStrange, ComicBook/TheWasp, and [[spoiler:ComicBook/SquirrelGirl]] make appearances. Yes, other characters are now appearing in a Wolverine book to help establish the book.
* WouldHurtAChild: On several occasions Laura was ordered to kill children by her handlers, and in fact her very first mission sees her slaughtering a presidential candidate, his wife, and kids (and possibly other children present in the room, as well). However see RetCon above and under the series tropes below.
* TheWorfEffect: Not as frequently as Logan, but occasionally Laura will be used to deliver a big OhCrap to her teammates.
* YankTheDogsChain:
** Pretty much her ''entire life''. Her mother finally decides to take a stand and rescue her from the Facility? Turns out she's contaminated by the trigger scent and Laura kills her in an UnstoppableRage just as it seems they're about to escape. Welcomed into her aunt's home, where she strikes up a close friendship with her cousin, Megan, and begins to feel that she's part of a family? Turns out her aunt's boyfriend was an agent planted by the Facility who calls in Kimura, forcing Laura to send her last remaining family into hiding to keep them safe. Logan talks her down from a MurderSuicide and offers her a home at the Xavier school where she can get help coping with all the hell she's been through? S.H.I.E.L.D. attacks her and Captain America puts her under arrest. And now that it ''finally'' seems as if she's beginning to put her life together and heal, [[ComicBook/AvengersArena she gets shanghaied by Arcade to fight other troubled teenage heroes to the death for his amusement]]. The poor girl finally begins to catch a break by the time she takes up the Wolverine mantle, with her life improving considerably after the events on Murder World.
** On a meta level for her fans, the revelation that she would appear in ''ComicBook/AmazingXMen'' under her creators, Yost and Kyle, was falsely reported and no actual plans are in place for them to be writing her again in the immediate future.
** And also on a meta level, many fans believed that her taking on the Wolverine name was a sign of her star rising, and that she would be gaining a starring presence among the X-Men as a result. And then [[SpotlightStealingSquad Old Man Logan stole her thunder]], with most writers using ''him'' whenever they needed a Wolverine for events. It got even ''worse'' for her fans under Comicbook/{{ResurrXion}}, when Laura was removed from her only team book, while Logan got ''[[WolverinePublicity three]]'' teams.
* YouAreNumberSix:
** Laura's Facility designation, X-23. She's almost never called this by her friends and teammates, who at most just use "X" as a nickname, but otherwise call her Laura even in the field when they use their own codenames. By contrast, Kimura ''always'' refers to her as X-23, which is done deliberately to dehumanize and belittle her.
** X-23 was the only name she was ever given in her two appearances in ''Evolution''.
* YourWorstMemory: While Laura has endured loads of pain and trauma in her young life, and it has taken ''years'' for her to come to terms with the terrible things she has done, and had done to her, it's implied her single worst memory is of being forced to kill her mother under the effects of the trigger scent. Emma Frost specifically uses this memory to torment her in an effort to drive her away from the school. It reduces her to ''tears''.
* YoYoPlotPoint: '''Every''' single character arc of her's revolves around learning to be more than a weapon. [[http://waitingforthet.tumblr.com/day/2013/08/28 This comic]] sums it up pretty well.
** Subverted at the end of her solo series, she accepts that part of her is a weapon, but she won't let that beat her.
** See also TraumaCongaLine. It seems like just as she starts to become more or less stable, some fresh new trauma hits her and sends her back to square one.
** Finally starts to get averted after ''Avengers Arena'', as she pieces herself back together and things begin turning around. Particularly by finally dealing with Kimura and the trigger scent, and getting her family (Megan and Debbie) back.
* ZettaiRyouiki: As seen [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_large/0/2868/100248-18171-107205-1-x-23-target-x.jpg here]], X-23 at times adopts this, and it's in fact one of her {{iconic outfit}}s.
[[/folder]]

!!The following tropes apply to X-23's solo ongoings and miniseries

''For'' X-23: Innocence Lost ''see the page [[Comicbook/InnocenceLost here]].''\\
''For'' All-New Wolverine ''see the page [[Comicbook/AllNewWolverine here]].''

[[folder: X-23: Target X]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nov062330_sx360_ql80_ttd_1.jpg]]

The second miniseries by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle, ''Target X'' was a 6-issue series running from March to June 2005. It served as Part 2 of her origin story, continuing the story of Laura's escape that began in ''Innocence Lost''.

Unlike the former series, ''Target X'' brings Laura much more into contact with the larger Marvel universe. Wolverine, Daredevil, and Captain America all play significant roles; indeed her interrogation by the latter two forms a framing story for the rest of the story. It also retcons Laura's first introduction to Logan, showing her meeting him under completely different circumstances than their encounter with Claremont's ''Uncanny X-Men'', while also skirting around her appearance in ''Comicbook/{{NYX}}''.

----
* AnArmAndALeg: Kimura handcuffs Laura with adamantium cuffs, intending to force her to watch while she tortures Megan to death. Laura ''cuts off her own hand'' to escape.
* ArrowCatch: Kimura tries to shoot Megan with a crossbow in the climax of her attack on the Kinney household. Laura snatches the bolt out of the air just as it leaves the bow. More impressive: She did it from her ''back'' after Kimura had just broken her neck.
* BoomHeadshot: Laura pulls this off on a helicopter pilot in flight. ''From the ground.''
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Laura ''thought'' she could safely go to ground with her family. Too bad the Facility had an agent planted with them even ''before'' she turned up at their door for just such an eventuality. In the end, the only way she could protect them was to send them into hiding and go on the run again, [[Comicbook/{{NYX}} leading to nearly two years of misery as a homeless prostitute]].
* CassandraTruth: Because Sarah covered up her kidnapping in ''Innocence Lost'', no one believed Megan's story about him, or of her rescuer (Laura herself). This is a substantial part of what led to her troubles with her mother and in school, as they all thought she was simply making it up. Laura assuring her it ''did'' happen helps bring her comfort, and straighten up Megan's relationship with her mother.
* CatapultNightmare: Megan awakens from a nightmare/flashback of her kidnapper with this trope.
* ContinuitySnarl:
** A minor one between ''Innocence Lost'' and ''Target X'' with Laura's age. Based on the timeline given in the former, Laura was nine years old at the time she's sent on her field test to assassinate candidate Johnson, while in the latter Laura's age is stated to be eleven. In fact, ''Target X'' tends to make her two years older during events referenced in both books in general.
** ''Target: X also'' causes confusion over where ''NYX'' fits into Laura's background in relation to ''Uncanny X-Men''.
* CoversAlwaysLie: ''X-23: Target X #5'' shows Kimura triumphantly holding two of X-23's claws, having apparently just ripped them out of her hand. The closest thing to this in the actual story is X-23 cutting off her own hand (and promptly reattaching it) to escape Kimura.
* DespairEventHorizon: Laura hits one at the end. After all the torture and dehumanization the Facility put her through, being forced to kill her mother by the Trigger Scent just as they were about to escape, having to give up all that remained of her family and the normal life she was starting to build to protect them when her Axe Crazy former handler came looking for her, and possibly spending an unspecified time on the streets as a prostitute under a sadistic and abusive pimp (it's unclear where exactly this series falls in her history), Laura finally reaches her breaking point, and seeks out Wolverine believing that all she has left is to kill him and herself. Logan manages to talk her down, but it's implied she has an ongoing battle with severe, if not suicidal, depression, and much of her character arc focuses on putting the pieces back together after all that was done to her.
* DrivenToSuicide: The events of ''Target X'' finally push Laura to her breaking point. After escaping Kimura and severing contact with her only remaining family, she seeks out Logan with the intent of killing him and then herself to put a permanent end to the Weapon X project. She's so broken by everything that's happened to her by this point, that the only release she sees now is death. Logan manages to talk her down, but there's hints in later stories that Laura may still be prone to bouts of severe and possibly even suicidal depression.
* DysfunctionJunction: This is the state of Megan and Debbie when Laura first arrives at their house. Megan is troubled and still suffering severed PTSD over the trauma of her kidnapping, Debbie is struggling to help her as best she can, and her boyfriend, Desmond, is generally apathetic.
* {{Fanservice}}: X wears a school-girl style outfit — featuring a ''very'' short pleated skirt and a tight white shirt — in one of the flashbacks to her missions, that leads to ''several'' aversions of MagicSkirt during the subsequent fight scene. To say nothing of the corset, miniskirt, and thigh-highs she raids from her cousin's closet.
* FastRoping: The first Facility troops to respond to Laura's escape are delivered in this method by helicopter in the woods outside the bunker.
* FramingDevice: The story is told in flashback, with the events depicted being what Laura reveals under interrogation to Captain America and Daredevil.
* HairTriggerAvalanche: After being cornered by Kimura during her escape from the Facility bunker, Laura grabs a gun from Kimura's belt. Kimura mocks her by reminding her that she's indestructible. Laura simply responds, "I know," before aiming off to the side and firing to trigger an avalanche.
* HellishCopter: Laura shoots down a helicopter gunship pursuing her through the woods outside the Facility's bunker...by capping the pilot ''from the ground'' with a perfect [[BoomHeadshot headshot]].
* ImmediateSequel: Partly: ''Target X'' fills in a few gaps in Laura's training and conditioning by the Facility, before picking up immediately after Sarah's death.
* InterrogationFlashback: As noted above, Cap and Daredevil's interrogation serves as a FramingDevice while most of the story are flashbacks as Laura relates their past to them.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: She was developing a good relationship with her aunt and cousin, so getting as far away from them as she could was the best thing she could think of doing for them. Of course, it didn't help that Kimura was chasing her and had already tried to kill them.
* ItsRainingMen: The Facility attempts to cut off Laura's escape by FastRoping soldiers into the woods from a helicopter gunship.
* MeaningfulRename: At one point Captain America asks Laura during her interrogation if she is X-23. She tells him no. Daredevil, who Steve brought in to act as a LivingLieDetector, ascertains she's telling the truth. It's a very subtle moment, but one which establishes Laura has decided that she truly is ''Laura Kinney'', not X-23.
* MobWar: The Facility is hired by Comicbook/TheKingpin to put an end to one between himself and Fade, a mutant gangster attempting to muscle in on his territory. X assassinates Fade in his own office, and later takes out his wife and child, as well.
* MookHorrorShow: Laura subjects some Facility goons to one when they attack the Kinney household; she sends Megan and Debbie into the basement and turns on the sprinkler system to mask them from thermal goggles. She then stalks through the house picking off mooks one by one. She's only stopped when Kimura herself intervenes and [[NeckSnap breaks her neck]].
* MurderSuicide: Laura intends to kill Logan and then herself to put a permanent end to the Weapon X project, but Logan talks her down.
* MythologyGag:
** A student who harasses Megan in the hallway has a shirt which reads ''Comicbook/{{NYX}}''.
** Laura and Megan attend a Comicbook/{{Dazzler}} concert during their day out after getting suspended.
* NeckSnap: Kimura snaps Laura's neck like a twig when she attacks the Kinney household in ''Target X'', then unceremoniously dumps her body down the basement stairs to menace Megan and Debbie. Laura survives because of her HealingFactor.
* PerpSweating: Done by Cap while questioning Laura about her identity, and ascertaining that she is, indeed, X-23.
* PinnedToTheWall: Kimura pins Laura to a ''tree'' with a crossbow bolt during her escape from the Facility.
* RetCon: In ''Uncanny X-Men'', Laura first meets Logan when her killing of some men who attacked a woman she was protecting draws the X-Men's attention. He, Nightcrawler, and Rachel track her to a restaurant, and it's implied Logan had never even heard of her before then. However ''Target X'' reveals that Sarah ''sent Logan a copy of her letter'' in case something happened to her, and that they first meet alone when she tries to kill him. ''[[Comicbook/NewXMenAcademyX New X-Men]]'' further refines the story by suggesting their encounter in ''Uncanny'' was a show for the others.
* RainOfBlood: This is what tips Cap off that he let Johnson's killer escape: As he's consulting with a grunt on the killings he notices blood dribbling from between the rear doors of the ambulance where he ''just'' left the only "survivor" of the attack. He opens the door to reveal the inside of the ambulance covered in blood, and the two [=EMTs=] dead inside.
* RoomFullOfCrazy: Megan's room is plastered with pictures she drew of her kidnapper, revealing just how deeply affected she is by the trauma. There's also a few of Laura, as well.
* ShoutOut:
** Laura's French teacher is [[Series/{{Mythbusters}} Jaimie Hyneman, and her science teacher is Adam Savage]].
** And a kid seated behind her and Megan at the movie theater wears a ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' T-shirt.
* SkippingSchool: Laura and Megan in ''Target X''. Technically they get ''suspended'', but rather than heading home like they're supposed to, they ''steal the principal's car'' and take it on a joyride across San Francisco.
* SpeechBubbles: While everyone else has the traditional white bubbles, Fade's bubbles are in a very light green to set them apart.
* TheStakeout: Laura does this twice:
** The first is when she observes Debbie's family before revealing herself, which she does for nearly a month.
** She does it later with Logan, however a freak shift in the wind she couldn't account for tipped him off, and led him to lure her away from the school where he could confront her with less risk of collateral damage.
* StuffBlowingUp: Laura cuts a gas line and blows up Megan and Debbie's house with Kimura (and possibly herself) inside it. Kimura obviously survives because of her indestructibility, while Laura uses it to help Megan and Debbie escape, masking it with a gas explosion.
* SuperHeroOrigin: ''Target X'' serves as the second half of Laura's origin, depicting the immediate aftermath of her escape from the Facility, and the loss of the last of her family.
* WhatAreYou:
** A part of Cap and Daredevil's interrogation of Laura hinges on this question.
** Fade asks her this when she's set off by the trigger scent, and is able to track him even after he becomes invisible.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: While Logan is mentioned by Captain America and Daredevil throughout their interrogation of Laura, the last we actually ''see'' of him is when S.H.I.E.L.D. attacks him while trying to convince Laura to join him at the Xavier School. That he's not there raising hell with Steve over the matter is quite jarring.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: ''Target: X'' reveals that this was Laura's exit strategy for her first assassination detailed in ''Innocence Lost''. After slaughtering a political candidate, his [[WouldHurtAChild entire family]], and ''dozens'' of security, staff, press, functionaries, and other guests, Laura escapes by pretending to be the lone survivor ''of her own rampage''. It's so convincing she even fools ''Captain America'' and slips his grasp just before he discovers the ruse.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Volume Two (One-Shot) and Three]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1157797_p00001___x_23__11.jpg]]

Both written by Marjorie Liu, ''X-23'' ran for 21 issues from November, 2010, through May 2012. This series followed Laura on a [[JourneyToFindOneself journey of self-discovery]] in the aftermath of ''Second Coming'' and her stint on ''Comicbook/XForce''. Confused as to her purpose when Wolverine removes her from the team so she can finally try to heal from her dark past, Laura decides there are too many voices all telling her what to be, so leaves Utopia to find her own answers.

Although not part of this series, Liu also wrote a one-shot story featuring Laura released in May, 2010 which nonetheless was closely connected thematically. It finds Laura reuniting with [[Comicbook/{{NYX}} Kiden Nixon]], and fighting the influence of the Gamesmaster, who has decided to take up residence in her head.

Both stories are generally well-regarded, and did a great deal to advance and develop Laura as a character, particularly by expanding her beyond the influence of her creators, Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle. Liu's series codified many aspects of Laura's personality for readers, and this book is often now considered the standard by which other writers are compared. This has led to some fracturing of the fanbase over what Laura should read like, (particularly Liu's SpockSpeak versus more naturalistic speech patterns) as well as mixed reactions once word of Liu's CreatorBreakdown came out, leading to questions of whether she allowed her personal issues to affect the final few stories of the series.

----
* AbortedArc: Because of the series' cancellation, there were several plot threads that have since been abandoned and not been revisited in other series. In particular the Hooded Woman from the Madripoor and Paris arcs, and Laura's destiny as heir to the Enigma Force.
* {{Animesque}}:
** Issues of the Liu series drawn by Sana Takeda have a distinctly anime influence.
** The covers for the first three issues of the same series are also heavily influenced by anime and manga.
* AuthorTract: After Liu revealed she was undergoing something of a CreatorBreakdown towards the end of the series, many readers began to reexamine the final arcs, particularly "Misadventures in Babysitting" and question whether it had become this.
* AssholeVictim: In issue #4 of volume 3, she meets a young girl who's forced to lure Laura into a trap. Laura, mistakenly believing the girl is a prostitute trying to recruit her for a pimp, doesn't fall for it. Instead she tries to help the girl, who flees instead. When Laura catches up she finds the girl has already been killed by her handler as punishment for the failure. She kills him in retaliation, and no tears were shed for him.
* BabysittingEpisode: One arc of the Liu series focused on Laura taking care of [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Franklin and Valeria Richards]] for an evening. Given that the younger of the two inherited her father's brains and retained a three-year old's capacity for mischief....
* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: Laura is hired to babysit the [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Richards kids]] during her first series. Even though the kids summoned a huge dragon and got kidnapped by an intergalactic pack rat, she managed to rescue and get them in their [=PJs=] before Reed and Susan got home.
* BarBrawl: Laura and Jubilee get into one with some of Zebra Daddy's ex-thugs while at a nightclub. [[CurbStompBattle It doesn't go well for the gangsters.]]
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: "The Killing Dream" arc of her first solo series largely consists of one of these: Hellverine torments Laura, as he desires her to lead his armies ([[FoeYay and may just desire her period]]). He agrees to give her a chance to prove him wrong about being a mindless killer, with both her own soul and Hellion's in the balance.
* BigDamnKiss: Julian ''attempts'' one in issue 19 of the Liu series. Once things are sorted with the Richards kids, he grabs Laura and pulls her into a kiss, believing it's going to smooth over the problems they had up to that point and lead to a RelationshipUpgrade. And then she shoots him down, and they've not spoken since.[[note]]December, 2011, to be exact.[[/note]]
* CallBack:
** When Hellverine is poking around Laura's mind during "The Killing Dream" arc of the Liu series, he runs across Gamesmaster, who has been inhabiting her consciousness since her one-shot (also by Liu, and preceding the ongoing series). Gamesmaster tried to drive him out but was defeated, and Hellverine presents him to Laura as a gift.
** At the end of the first arc of the Liu series, Laura is left with a small mark on the palm of her hand [[spoiler:implied to be connected to the Enigma Force]]. It comes up twice more in the series: The first time in the very next arc when Ms. Sinister questions why she has it despite her HealingFactor, and much more importantly during "Chaos Theory," when it's recognized by the Whirldemon King, and marks her as heir to the Enigma Force's power.
** When Logan intercepts Laura before she could run away during "Touching Darkness," he assures her that it's really him and not the demon that was using him as a MeatPuppet in the first arc.
* CollectorOfTheStrange: The Collector himself appears in "Misadventures in Babysitting." Apparently he considered Laura's adamantium claws quite the prize.
* ContinuityNod:
** "Songs of the Orphan Child" has two significant ones:
*** Ms. Sinister is losing control of her body to Sinister due to an injury she received from Daken during ''his'' solo series.
*** Also, Sinister himself. His taking control of Claudine's body is the result of a CrazyPrepared attempt to return from death after he was killed by Mystique during ''Messiah Complex''.
** Both the one-shot and ongoing reference ''NYX'', with Kiden and her gang appearing in the former, while Laura runs afoul of former members of Zebra Daddy's gang in the latter.
* CorruptHick: Claudine Renko is in control of the local police around the town where her operation is set up, and uses them to bring Laura and Gambit to her.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Issue 19's cover has Laura and Hellion entwined in a passionate embrace and leaning in for a BigDamnKiss. While the issue ''does'' feature them sharing a kiss, it's a ForcefulKiss instigated by Julian, and rather than returning his affection she summarily ends their frielationship.
* {{Crossover}}:
** "The Killing Dream" ties into the ''Wolverine in Hell'' storyline, specifically the period Hellverine is on Utopia. Curiously enough, Laura is the only member of the X-Men who notices something isn't right with Logan.
** "Collision" plays out in both of Liu's series at the time: ''X-23'', and ''Daken: Dark Wolverine''.
** "Chaos Theory" is a near-miss variety with ''NYX: No Way Home''. Gambit and Laura arrive at Cecilia Reyes's apartment not long after Kiden and her gang had been staying there.
* DemonicPossession: Twice:
** Hellverine hitches a ride on Laura's body during "The Killing Dream" as part of his gambit to seduce her to his side.
** The Whirldemons in "Chaos Theory" possess Valeria Richards during their attempt to break free of their prison. Laura offers herself up in exchange, eventually enabling her to defeat them with the help of the Enigma Force.
* DrivenToSuicide:
** Laura takes a dive off skyscraper during her one-shot while trying to drive Gamesmaster out of her head. She survives thanks to her HealingFactor.
** Although always depicted as a cutter, Laura cuts her wrists so severely during one issue of the Liu series that a waiter at the restaurant she and Gambit were patronizing at the time alerted his supervisor that it looked as if someone attempted to commit suicide in one of the bathrooms after she finished. Again, she survives due to her mutation.
* EldritchAbomination: The [[Comicbook/CaptainUniverse Whirldemons]] during the "Chaos Theory" arc. Hellverine in "The Killing Dream" also counts, since he's a demon wearing Logan's body as a meat puppet.
* EnemyMine: After Colcord double-crosses Daken, Daken decides to turn Laura loose, and they work together to shut down his Madripoor operation.
* EnemyWithout: In the final issue of the Liu series, Laura is made to fight her own personified inner darkness by an Indian shaman.
* EmotionBomb: The Hooded Woman during "Touching Darkness" is experimenting with the trigger scent, and seeks to develop a version that will work on ''anyone''. She tests in in Paris, and manages to send both Laura, and a large part of the populace into a violent rage.
* EpiphanicPrison: Hellverine puts Laura through one during "The Killing Dream." It's unclear whether [[MindScrew the prison is Hell or her own mind]].
* ExposedToTheElements: Laura strips down naked while running with the wolf pack in the final issue of the Liu series, even thought it's snowing, and there's already a good couple inches on the ground.
* {{Fanservice}}:
** The infamous PantyShot during the "Collision" crossover, and the panels of Ms. Sinister strutting around in a corset, cowboy hat, and booty shorts. The panel during "Touching Darkness" where Laura tries to tempt Jubilee into drinking her blood also provides a fetish for many readers.
** Laura spends much of the last issue of the Liu series nude as part of a VisionQuest.
* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Hellverine's dimension straddles a line between this and {{Mordor}}.
* ForcefulKiss: Laura was on the receiving end from her (sort of) boyfriend Hellion in ''X-23 #19''. She rejected him afterwards and ended their relationship.
* FullFrontalAssault: Laura and her EnemyWithout in the final issue duke it out starkers [[ExposedToTheElements in the middle of a snowfall]] as part of her VisionQuest.
* GayParee: "Touching Darkness" finds Laura in Paris with Gambit, Jubilee, and Logan. The foursome wind up investigating an attempt to weaponize the trigger scent to a point where it affects ''anyone'' exposed to it, not just those specially conditioned as Laura was. In between, Laura goes shopping at expensive Parisian boutiques with Jubilee (Gambit and Logan foot the bill), and she and Jubilee both base jump sans parachute off the Eiffel Tower for kicks.
* GirlsNightOutEpisode: After breaking up with Hellion during the Liu series, Jubilee takes her out clubbing, though Laura doesn't exactly get into it. Laura runs across one of Zebra Daddy's former thugs, and learns that the remains of his gang is still trafficking women. She takes it upon herself to free the girls.
* GroinAttack: While on a night out with Jubilee during her solo, Laura runs across one of Zebra Daddy's former minions at a club and the man recognizes her. He flippantly comments about how Daddy gave his boys discounts with the prostitutes, but he never got a chance to have Laura. Laura tells him he'll never have her, or any ''other'' woman, again, and then proceeds to ensure it's true.
* HumanWeapon: Colcord's workshop in Madripoor is dedicated to churning these out.
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Logan and Jubilee do this with Laura during "Touching Darkness," while she's under the effects of the trigger scent. It mostly relies on them absorbing the punishment she can dish out until they're able to reach her.
* JourneyToFindOneself: The overarching plot of the ongoing consists of this as Laura goes "walkabout" in the aftermath of her stint on ComicBook/XForce, in large part triggered by questions over whether she has a soul after an encounter with [[spoiler:Hellverine]]. She leaves Utopia because she feels there are too many voices trying to tell her who she is, and wishes to find her own answers. It's relatively brief, and ends with Laura deciding to attend ComicBook/AvengersAcademy after an invitation from ComicBook/BlackWidow. During this time, Laura makes substantial progress in at least coming to terms with herself, even if much of her emotional damage remains.
* MaleGaze: During the infamous PantyShot in "Collision," the panel is centered directly on Laura's butt when she exposes the top of her thong.
* MobWar: Daken stirs one up in Madripoor as part of his plot to gain control of the island from Tyger Tiger, pitting several lesser bosses against one another in a fight to the death.
* {{Mordor}}: During the "Killing Dream" arc of her first solo, Hellverine draws Laura into a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind in a realm somewhere between this and FireAndBrimstoneHell, presented in her nightmares and in "reality" as a blasted, desiccated wasteland.
* NobleWolf: Laura encounters a wolf pack in the final issue of the Liu series. After running with them for a time they lead her to the pack leader, a great white wolf that transforms into an Indian shaman, and kicks off a battle with Laura's EnemyWithout.
* NoDialogueEpisode: The entire last issue of the Liu series is told strictly visually, with no dialogue by Laura.
* NotSoDifferent: Cyclops gets this with the Facility in her first solo series. Emma Frost {{lampshade|Hanging}}s that including Laura in X-Force, the X-Men's black ops hit squad, is just asking her to do the same thing the Facility forced her to do.
* OrWasItADream: The final issue of the Liu series opens with Laura sleeping naked and surrounded by wolves. When she awakens again, she's fully clothed and alone. Later in the issue she's crashing at a trailer park after giving one of the locals a lift when she's awakened by the howling of wolves outside. Laura follows them, and comes across the same pack of all-black wolves from her dream. She chases after them, eventually stripping naked, which ultimately leads to a battle with her EnemyWithout. At its conclusion she snaps out of the vision and finds herself naked in the snow, while the trailer park residents are out looking for her. Whether the incident with the wolves ''actually'' happened, or was all just in her mind, is left ambiguous.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: A giant purple alien dragon — much like [[Comicbook/KittyPryde Lockheed]] but ''much'' bigger — flies off with Val and Franklin Richards during "Misadventures in Babysitting," forcing Laura and Hellion to chase after it to get them back.
* PantyShot: Variation: One frame during the "Collision" crossover has Laura tucking a folded up document she and Daken recover from Malcolm Colcord into her pants. Not inside a pocket, inside her ''[[{{Hammerspace}} pants]]''. She flashes a whale tail in that panel, when she pulls the waistband of her costume away from her hip. It may have been even ''less'' blatantly {{Fanservice}} had she just been GoingCommando. It doesn't help that the panel is [[MaleGaze centered right on her butt]].
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The book intends the reader to side with Laura over Hellion during their final fight in "Misadventures In Babysitting." While Julian certainly did lose his temper with her and say some hurtful things, however the book ignores the fact that Laura also treated Julian very badly throughout the arc; She brushed him off when he just tried to ''talk'' to her about his HeroicBSOD at the beginning of the arc, stonewalled him when he just needed her friendship while trying to cope, and generally treated him like TheLoad while trying to rescue the Richards kids from the Collector.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
** Daken and Laura take turns delivering this to ''each other'' during their rampage through Colcord's base. Daken tries to call her out on her empathy for others, believing that her skills as a killer make her better than everyone around her, and that her heart only forces her to hold back. Laura flatly tells him that she doesn't fight because she has something to prove, but for something ''bigger'' than herself. She then [[ShutUpHannibal turns this around on him]], [[ArmorPiercingQuestion asking]] why ''[[TheSociopath he]]'' holds back by not taking the risk of allowing himself to ''actually'' care for anyone. Daken doesn't really have an answer.
** Julian lays one on Laura in issue 19, after she rejects him. Angry over the way she has brushed him off for the entire "Misadventures in Babysitting" story, he finally loses his temper and accuses her of really ''not'' having feelings after all. Laura responds that she does, she just doesn't feel anything for ''him''.
* RetailTherapy: Jubilee attempts this on Laura in Paris, taking her shopping at ''very'' high-end fashion boutiques in hopes of getting her to lighten up. It largely fails, as Laura is a bit bemused by the experience, and isn't particularly fond of the bright, fashionable dresses Jubes picks out for her.
* RetCon: As noted above, the Liu series retconned Laura's sparing of Henry Sutter. Prior to this series, Laura was established to have never failed to complete an assignment. However in "Chaos Theory" Laura goes to confront a child whose parents she murdered, and was ''supposed'' to kill him as well. Rather than Henry Sutter, however, Liu instead introduces another individual entirely, as well as establishing that there were even more cases where she refused to carry out her orders.
* RoaringRampageOfRescue: During "Girls' Night Out" Laura encounters one of Zebra Daddy's old friends, who took over a chunk of his empire following his death in ''NYX''. After inflicting a GroinAttack when they guy gets mouthy about Laura's past, she drags Jubilee along on a rescue mission to liberate the trafficked girls. We don't actually ''see'' much of the fight, aside from Laura taking a MenacingStroll among a few crumpled bodies, but it's highly unlikely the gang gave up their merchandise quietly...
* RuthlessModernPirates: Laura and Gambit run afoul of a band while on their way to Madripoor, with Gambit getting dumped into a SharkPool for their trouble.
* SendInTheClones: Laura gets entangled in a plot by Ms. Sinister during her solo series. Seeing as cloning is pretty much Sinister's hat, it goes without saying that clones play quite a big part in the plot:
** Claudine herself is fighting a CloneByConversion process, as virus ravaging her body is slowly turning her into a clone of Sinister as part of a CrazyPrepared gambit to return from death. She wants Laura's body to escape this fate.
** All of Claudine's "children" are clones created by Sinister in one of his labs. One, Alice, figures heavily into the plot. [[spoiler:One of whom becomes the new host for Sinister himself after Laura critically wounds Claudine.]]
* SexSlave: Laura and Jubilee break up a sex trafficking ring during "Girls' Night Out," saving many girls and women from this fate. ItsPersonal for Laura because she was a former prostitute herself, and the gang they attack was made up of members of her pimp's organization.
* SharkPool: Gambit gets tossed into one in Madripoor. Laura dives in to get him out, even though she has trouble swimming.
* SheatheYourSword: How Laura defeats her EnemyWithout in the final issue of the Liu series; rather than giving in to her killer instincts when she begins to lose their fight, she sheathes her claws and reconciles with her darker side.
* ShipSinking: The end of "Misadventures in Babysitting" is ''meant'' to be this, [[spoiler:after Hellion blows up when Laura rejects his attempt at a BigDamnKiss.]] However as noted under BrokenBase on the YMMV page, all this has ended up doing was fragmenting the fanbase.
* ShootTheDog: "The Killing Dream" reveals she was forced to do this ''literally'' by the Facility as part of her BreakTheCutie TrainingFromHell. When they decided Laura still had too much empathy for others, she was given a puppy with orders to kill it within a set amount of time and was then left alone to carry it out. She played with it instead, and when her handlers returned to find the puppy still alive threatened ''to torture it'' as punishment for Laura failing to follow orders, before relenting and offering her "another chance."
* ShoutOut:
** The Hooded Woman quotes Creator/HunterSThompson during the "Touching Darkness" arc of the Liu series to cryptically hint that the two are somehow connected.
---> "As you were, I was. As I am, you will be."
** One story arc is called "[[Film/AdventuresInBabysitting Misadventures In Babysitting]]."
* StuffBlowingUp:
** Hellverine blows up a homeless shelter as part of his gambit to seduce Laura into serving him during "The Killing Dream."
** Claudine's lab gets blown up by Laura and Gambit after critically damaging some equipment.
** Laura and Daken blow up Colcord's lab in Madripoor to put an end to his experiments.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The "Chaos Theory" arc of the Liu ongoing opens with Laura seeking out the son of one of her victims, a boy she was ordered to kill with the others but chose to spare...and who was ''not'' Henry Sutter.
* ThreateningShark: You can't have a SharkPool without one.
* TrouserSpace: During "Collision," Laura tucks some documents into the waistband of her pants. Despite the fact they're {{painted on| pants}}, there's not an unsightly bulge in sight.
* TrojanPrisoner: In order to get close to the albino gangster Fade, whose powers allow him to become invisible to the naked eye and even technological tracking devices, Laura masquerades as Kingpin's "niece," Samantha. Fisk then [[FeedTheMole feeds information]] to Fade via a mole in his organization leading the gangster to kidnap her, bringing her right where she needs to be to pick up the trigger scent-laced letter her target was slipped as part of the plan.
* VisionQuest: The final issue of Liu's series has elements of this, with Laura finding herself running with wolves, and fighting [[EnemyWithout her own inner darkness]].
* WhamEpisode: ''X-23 #6'' features the return of Mr. Sinister, following his death at the end of ''Messiah Complex'' three years earlier.
* WhatTheHellHero: The rest of the New X-Men (mainly Surge) gang up on Laura over her participation in X-Force in issue 1 of the Liu series. Hellion and Dust are the only ones who defend her.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Laura and Julian's tense frielationship comes to a head during "Misadventures in Babysitting." [[spoiler: They don't, though Laura admits to Gambit she does still care for Julian]].
* WoundedGazelleGambit: Hellverine pulls one in the Liu series when Laura attacks him in the hospital knowing that he's ''not'' actually Logan. By chance, Hellion comes to visit her right after she skewers him, and Hellverine immediately plays it up to convince Julian that Laura isn't in her right mind.
* WretchedHive: Madripoor, in all its gritty glory, is the main setting of ''Collision''. Under Tyger Tiger it actually wasn't that bad, as she largely had the gangs under her control, and put an end to the drug and human trafficking that made up the worst of the city's criminal elements in the past. Unfortunately by the time Laura and Gambit arrive, Daken has muscled in as Tyger's ManBehindTheMan, and Malcolm Colcord is kidnapping innocent people off the streets for his experiments.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Volume Four]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x23cover.jpg]]

Written by Mariko Tamaki, a second volume of ''X-23'' replaced''Comicbook/AllNewWolverine'' as part of Marvel's ''[[Comicbook/MarvelAFreshStart Fresh Start]]'' relaunch. It launched in July, 2018, andsees Laura [[StatusQuoIsGod return to her roots]] to prevent anyone else from suffering as she had.
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* AdultFear: Gabby is kidnapped by the Cuckoos in issue 2.
* AirVentPassageway: The X-Assassin uses one to gain access to its target in issue 7
* ArcWelding: Issue #8 ties ''All-New Wolverine'' into ''Innocence Lost'' by revealing [[spoiler:Director Chandler was part of the original X-23 project, and in fact was involved in the development of the Trigger Scent. This also provides an explanation for how Alchemax gained access to Laura's genetic material to create the Sisters]].
* BirthdayEpisode: Issue 1 is set on Laura's birthday. Downplayed in that she doesn't tell anyone, even Gabby, because she thinks birthdays are meaningless. The two later get into an argument when Gabby announces ''she'' wants a birthday after [[spoiler:the Cuckoos reveal that they have chosen the same day as a birthday for themselves.]]
* BreatherEpisode: Issue 6 is a comedic one-shot story set between two much more serious arcs.
* CarCushion: Laura throws one of the mooks she and Gabby are base-jumping after into a car on the street in issue 1.
* CarFu: One of the goons Laura and Gabby fight in the opening scene of issue one picks up and smashes Gabby with a cement truck.
* CloningBlues: Reflected on by Gabby in issue 1, when she wonders whether clones have birthdays (and wants to have one, as well).
* ClothingDamage: Laura's suit takes a beating over the course of the X-Assassin arc. By the end of issue 10 it's thoroughly shredded, and the only thing keeping the tattered bits from just falling off her entirely is the ratings system.
* ContinuityNod:
** The Muramasa Shield for the "Orphans of X" arc of ''All-New Wolverine'' hangs on the wall of Laura's and Gabby's apartment in issues 1 and 5.
** Laura has a carton of Twenty-Five With Chicken in her fridge.
** [[spoiler:Robert Chandler resurfaces in issue 8, and it's revealed he replaced his knees with animatronic prosthetics after Laura slashed them out in ''All-New Wolverine'' #6.]]
** Several frames from Laura's first encounter with Gabby in ''All-New Wolverine'' #2 are used in issue 12.
* ContinuitySnarl: Several issues of this series have directly stated that Alchemax Genetics was responsible for Laura's creation, as well. While Chandler was retconned to have been part of the project, Alchemax itself has always been an independent entity from the Facility.
* ConsultingAConvictedKiller: While Laura was never a ''convicted'' killer, the trope is nonetheless in play in issue 7. The [=NYPD=] brings her on as a consultant in a serial murder case because of her expertise. She quickly puts her skills into play to identify the next victim, and puts herself and Gabby in a position to catch the killer.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Laura's cover as a gym coach in issue 6 would make [[Film/{{Porkys}} Ms. Balbricker]] proud.
* EasterEgg: Par for the course with Cabal's artwork, who sprinkles jokes and references throughout the first arc.
* {{Fanservice}}: Laura's new costume is much more revealing than her Wolverine suit, [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]], and incorporating a low scoop top that only avoids ImpossiblyLowNeckline because of the translucent mesh sleeves.
* FastballSpecial: Gabby and [[spoiler:the X-Assassin]] perform one in issue 10.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Par for the course in Cabal's artwork:
** Issue 1 has bystanders taking selfies in front of the smashed car after the above-mentioned CarCushion.
** Issue 2: While the Cuckoos are hurrying to flee the school before their attack on Laura and Gabby, one of the background students is a cow. In an X-Men uniform. X-Cow continues to appear in the background (or sometimes foreground) of other panels at the school throughout the arc.
* GrandTheftMe: The crux of the Cuckoos' plan in the first arc: [[spoiler:implant Esme's consciousness in Gabby's body. Esme wants to use Cerebro to do this on a ''global'' scale.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:The X-Assassin shows Gabby how to shut down ''all'' of its duplicates, and sacrifices itself to take out Chandler.]]
* LegacyImplosion: After three years as Wolverine, Laura has given up the cowl.
* ModifiedClone: Two story arcs center around attempts to duplicate Laura:
** First, [[spoiler:Robert Chandler]] returns creating the X-Assassins, genetic clones modified with the deliberate destruction of their HealingFactor, and further made into {{Cyborg}}s. These clones were designed to be disposable, allowing them to be terminated upon completion of a mission to prevent them from developing the same free will and sense of humanity that ultimately led to Laura's own escape.
** In the final arc, Laura and Gabby discover that further cloning experiments has lead to the creation of X-23 [[spoiler''turkeys'']].
* MythologyGag:
** Issue 1:
*** Paintings hanging on the walls of the Xavier School reference several classic ''X-Men'' comics covers, including the famous cover to ''X-Men #101'', featuring the Jean Grey rising from the ocean as Phoenix.
*** Doubling with ShoutOut, Sophie's favorite actor was "Tyler Kirch," in reference to actor Taylor Kitsch. Kitsch was the first actor to play Comicbook/{{Gambit}} in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', appearing in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''.
*** Gabby has pictures hanging on her bedroom wall which reference covers to issues of ''All-New Wolverine''.
** Issue 2: Laura finds the box for Dr. Mark's fitness tracking gear in her office. It's labeled "Fit Fat Foom."[[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke IE, Fin Fang Foom]][[/note]]
** Issue 5: A 6-pack of beer in Laura's fridge is labeled that it belongs to Logan, and that he'll "[[Comicbook/HuntForWolverine Be Back Soon.]]"
* NoodleIncident: Gabby mentions in issue 3 that she feels like she's inside a washing machine ''again''.
* OffscreenBreakup: Although not explicitly stateded, Laura's interactions with Warren in the first arc strongly suggests that by the time the series starts their relationship is over.
* OutsideRide: Issue 3 opens with Laura car surfing in an attempt to rescue Gabby from the Cuckoos.
* RetCon: Although ''Innocence Lost'' implies it was Rice himself who developed the Trigger Scent, issue 8 of this series establishes that [[spoiler:Robert Chandler]] was its designer.
* SequelSeries: To ''All-New Wolverine'', as it features the same supporting cast, and builds on its developments. Issue 1 begins with Laura hunting down people who've been performing genetic experimentation on mutants as a follow-up to the events of "Orphans of X," while issue 8 [[spoiler:reveals that Robert Chandler is behind the X-Assassin]].
* ShoutOut:
** Issue 1: Sophie Cuckoo's favorite actor was "Tyler Kirch."[[note]]As in Taylor Kitsch. See MythologyGag above.[[/note]]
** Issue 2: Gabby suggests she and Laura should follow the Cuckoos' example by celebrating their birthday on the same day as Creator/EvanRachelWood.
** Issue 4: The opening of ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' is referenced at the beginning of the issue.
** Issue 6: The title of the issue, and Gabby's code-name for the mission, is Operation [[Film/KindergartenCop Kindergarten Clone]]. Laura chastises her over the name, while Gabby continues making references to the movie by referencing {{Creator/Arnold|Schwarzenegger}}'s famous delivery of "It's not a tumor!"
* ShownTheirWork: When designing Laura's new suit for this volume, artist Mike Choi surveyed a number of women of Laura's age (late teens and early twenties) to determine what they would ''actually'' wear as superheroes. [[CivvieSpandex The end result is heavily inspired by Lululemon-style athletic wear.]]
* StatusQuoIsGod: Laura has given up the Wolverine name and cowl, and is back to calling herself X-23. The Cuckoos have also given up their individual looks and are all back to being identical blondes. [[spoiler:And the full Five-in-One returns when it's reveal that Esme and Sophie have been resurrected via cloned bodies.]]
* WeHaveReserves: Chandler's view of the X-Assassin project: They're designed to be [[CannonFodder disposable]] assassins that can be destroyed once their mission is completed. He sends a veritable ''[[ZergRush army]]'' of them against Laura, and though she destroys quite a few of them even she can't contend with their sheer numbers.
* WhamShot:
** Issue 1: [[spoiler:Esme and Sophie Cuckoo are ''alive''.]]
** Issue 7: [[spoiler:The X-Assassin is unmasked, revealing it to be a {{cyborg}} clone of Laura.]]
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Clone identity makes up a substantial part of the book's metaplot, with Laura musing on her humanity, and past as a HumanWeapon. It goes even further with the X-Assassin, [[spoiler:who is a {{Cyborg}} clone presumably with any trace of Laura's humanity removed]].
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* ''X-23 (vol. 4)'': Gives up the Wolverine name.

* ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen'': Returns as Wolverine.

* BerserkButton: A few:
** Because of her experiences as an abused prostitute she's developed into something of a WifeBasherBasher. She first came to the X-Men's attention when she killed a few pimps and Wolverine was accidentally implicated in ''Uncanny X-Men''. During her own solo one-shot, Laura unceremoniously beheaded ''another'' pimp she caught smacking a girl around, and in the Liu ongoing she killed another man after he murdered a girl she believed was a prostitute sent to try recruiting her (she wasn't, and it turned out the truth was a ''lot'' worse).
** The above extends to an outright ''hatred'' of human trafficking in general, and on several occasions she has gone out of her way to shut down their operations:
*** During the Liu ongoing she runs across one of her pimp's former gang members and friends while on a night out with Jubilee. Not only does she make a point of [[GroinAttack ensuring he can never personally have another woman ever again]], but she subsequently leads Jubes on a two-woman RoaringRampageOfRescue to free the girls they're moving.
*** Laura is already angry to be betrayed by Captain Ash during the "Enemy of the State II" arc of ''All-New Wolverine''. Learning Ash was trafficking ''children'' costs the pirate a ''hand'' and gets her thrown overboard. She follows this up by beginning the next arc personally hunting down Ash's supplier and tearing his organization apart.
** In ''Evolution'', she gets very pissed if someone calls her a child or a kid, as it reminds her of the childhood she didn't have.
** The "Trigger Scent" is a very literal but olfactory version of this. It's also a more traditional button, as she really doesn't like what it does to her. [[spoiler:As of ''All-New Wolverine #17'' the trigger scent no longer affects her.]]

* AssholeVictim: In issue #4 of volume 3, she meets a young girl (probably a minor) who's forced by her pimp to lure Laura into a trap. Laura doesn't fall for it, which results in the girl being beaten to death. Laura proceeds to murder the pimp, and no tears were shed for him.