'X-Men' #5: X-23 reclaims her Wolverine identity and this time she gets to wear a new costume as well
Spoiler Alert for X-Men #5
The moment that's been teased is finally here: Laura has reclaimed her Wolverine identity complete with a new costume and Logan's full support - not that she needed it.
Laura Kinney, Wolverine's clone, took up his mantle in 2016, following Logan's death. Sure, there was another Logan running around, but as he was an alternate version from the future, he was happy to remain just "Logan," leaving Laura to move on from her X-23 identity. She remained the Marvel Universe's sole Wolverine (aside from, perhaps, Jonathan, her pet actual wolverine) until his resurrection.
Laura returned to the X-23 identity for reasons of her own, officially, but the timing of it coincided with Logan's return in a way that fans felt was unfair to Laura. After all, the Marvel Universe has two Hawkeyes, two Spider-Men - why not two Wolverines? Even after Jonathan Hickman relaunched the 'X-Men' line, establishing a new mutant nation and status quo on Krakoa, Laura held on to her X-23 identity in the pages of 'Fallen Angels.'
'X-Men' #5, however, sees Laura take the Wolverine mantle back up and she's not letting anyone forget it. Donning a sleek new yellow and black costume designed by R.B. Silva, she is one of a team of three mutants who are sent on a dangerous mission that requires the kind of extreme survival abilities that only her, Darwin and Synch can have. While being given her mission parameters by Cyclops, he mistakenly calls her X-23. Laura quickly corrects him.
Logan, who remains Wolverine, could not be more supportive of his younger clone/protege. With Logan taking up the tan/brown version of his costume and Laura taking up the yellow/black, the two have visually distinct looks but will both be Marvel Universe's Wolverines.
In fact, after the events of 'X-Men' #5, one could make the argument that Laura has now been Wolverine for longer. Entering The Vault, a place where time passes differently, Laura, Darwin and Synch have been lost inside for what is estimated to be well over 500 years and counting. It's unknown what has happened to her in the Vault, but with her healing factor, aging shouldn't be too much of a problem.
'X-Men' #5 was written by Jonathan Hickman, with art by R.B. Silva, colors by Marte Garcia, letters by VC's Clayton Cowles and design by Tom Muller.
