X-23 Appreciation Post: My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel

[Jumpyshark]

I think the problem is, is after Avengers Arena happened Laura's voice changed drastically. There was never any slow transition showcasing she developed and changed her views on life.
If anything, Arena should have sent her into somewhat of a depression for a period of time. You could argue some of it was memory loss, but she regained her memories in ANXM.
Even with Taylor, I don't think there was a slow change in her dialogue from the beginning without Gabby to later when Gabby moved in.

I do see your point, but I think the decision to skip over exploring Bendis' missteps with Laura for ANW was a wise one, as, if she was supposed to be taking on a new mantle, focusing on the past wasn't the way to go. However, an argument can certainly be made that Laura's voice shifted to bridge this gap, but it is possibly difficult to separate this from the context of ANW having more of a comedy element. ANXM also confuses the era so I just try to be pragmatic in my X-23 fandom, because she can be a tricky character to write as we've seen, but more often than not her primary writers have given us far more good than bad. However, I don't mean to imply that my appreciation of Taylor's Laura is any more valid than others, so this is just my take. I would love to have the page space to really sort out all the kinks so to speak, but you have to be expedient to get to 35 issues in this era.

Taylor’s always written Laura as a MMA female fighter with a grade 5 education.

The stilted formal dialogue under Kyle/Yost and Liu did not so come across as merely as a result of someone with poor social skills or even social armour. It came across as someone who was sensible and mature. For example, as a teenager I used to use a lot of profanity when I spoke, even in casual conversation. But as I became older I just saw it as being silly childish. I always saw an excessive use of profanity as being nothing but a sign of someone either with a poor vocabulary or as a mask of toughness. That’s something that Laura never needed to resort to. Just by a look she could let you know that she was about to give you a beat down. But it takes a skilled writer to convey that. And Taylor is not that writer.

In fact in many ways Taylor almost reminds me of Bendis in that many of his characters seem to talk with the same voice. Like a trucker.

This doesn’t work for several reasons. Laura’s had plenty of experience hanging around happy teenage girls. Including a friendship with Jubilee. So the notion that she’s now seeing the world as a result of Gabby is just ludicrous.

Another thing, is that for one of the appeals of the character for me is that she’s very smart. She watches and observes things. She also has the wisdom to understand what to pick up and what to drop.

I'm gonna keep this brief, but there is a fair amount of science out there demonstrating that intelligent people tend to swear more. If you Google "Intelligent people swear more" you can find various news reports on studies proclaiming links to intellect and swearing, the positive benefits of swearing and that intelligent women tend to swear the most. This isn't a be-all or end-all, but, in short, I think you're over-focusing on a single swear word. It's hardly an "excessive use of profanity" and, while art is subjective, you are twisting things significantly to fit your argument.

You've only responded to part of my post, but my rebuttal is that hanging around with peers versus being responsible for a young person who is growing and learning is very different. Moreover, Gabby is a clone of Laura, so she is quite literally providing a window into a past Laura could not have, and that's powerful.

Finally, even in the Marvel universe where there's magic and future tech and all sorts, mermaids would still be really cool to see in person! It's easy to lose track of this when we're seeing so much fantasy/sci-fi stuff in the Marvel universe, but it's pretty amazing visiting an aquarium, so Atlantis must be hella legit.

[Mia]

I came across this website this morning.
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/co...ng-person.html

I thought that it really encapsulated Laura (the Kyle/Yost/Liu version) as well as most of the X-women.

[Mia]

I'm gonna keep this brief, but there is a fair amount of science out there demonstrating that intelligent people tend to swear more. If you Google "Intelligent people swear more" you can find various news reports on studies proclaiming links to intellect and swearing, the positive benefits of swearing and that intelligent women tend to swear the most.

I took a cursory look at some articles and the findings and they aren’t convincing. As the studies do not characterize how the word intelligence is being used. If, as I suspect, the study is defining an intelligent person by level of education or high IQ or who ‘knows lots of stuff’ does not constitute and intelligence person in my view. I’ve seen people who have degrees or professional accreditation loose their jobs and derail their careers and even be jailed due to foolish decisions and choices or saying stupid things. That to me isn’t a sign of intelligence. An intelligent person to me is someone who is highly perceptive but who employs wisdom.

This isn't a be-all or end-all, but, in short, I think you're over-focusing on a single swear word. It's hardly an "excessive use of profanity" and, while art is subjective, you are twisting things significantly to fit your argument.

Hardly. This isn’t just one use of profanity. It’s been throughout Taylors writing of the character.
Which is why you’ve seen numerous complaints on this forum why under Taylor she doesn’t sound like the character she was introduced as. Serious, mature and measured. No one expects that a character won’t shift slightly in tone under different writers. But it should be slight and subtle. Not so vast that I feel as if I am reading a completely different character. Further under Kyle and Yost, Laura has been under more stressful circumstances. Yet they never had her cussing like a sailor.

I
You've only responded to part of my post, but my rebuttal is that hanging around with peers versus being responsible for a young person who is growing and learning is very different. Moreover, Gabby is a clone of Laura, so she is quite literally providing a window into a past Laura could not have, and that's powerful.

Finally, even in the Marvel universe where there's magic and future tech and all sorts, mermaids would still be really cool to see in person! It's easy to lose track of this when we're seeing so much fantasy/sci-fi stuff in the Marvel universe, but it's pretty amazing visiting an aquarium, so Atlantis must be hella legit.

A clone means that she just has the same genetic make up. Not the same personality . And as I mentioned above, Laura’s very smart, very perceptive and observant. And very mature (or at least she used to be). She’s been around other bubbly teenage girls or women who have a more optimistic view on life. So the whole notion that she now needs Gabby to see the world differently is just silly and smacks of lazy writing.

[Digifiend]

Gabby is literally Laura's Innocence Lost. But nurture affects personality as much as nature, so no, Gabby won't grow up to be just like Laura, she'll be her own woman. Think about the Parker clones. Ben and Kaine don't act exactly like Peter either, despite having his memories up to a point. They diversified.

[WebLurker]

A clone means that she just has the same genetic make up. Not the same personality . And as I mentioned above, Laura’s very smart, very perceptive and observant. And very mature (or at least she used to be). She’s been around other bubbly teenage girls or women who have a more optimistic view on life. So the whole notion that she now needs Gabby to see the world differently is just silly and smacks of lazy writing.

Gabby is literally Laura's Innocence Lost. But nurture affects personality as much as nature, so no, Gabby won't grow up to be just like Laura, she'll be her own woman. Think about the Parker clones. Ben and Kaine don't act exactly like Peter either, despite having his memories up to a point. They diversified.

I think the whole "Gabby is what Laura would've been" idea gets taken too literally, it being more symbolic, IMHO.

[Dthirds3]

X232018003-cov.jpg

X-23 #3
MARIKO TAMAKI (W) • JUANN CABAL (A)
Cover by MIKE CHOI
RETURN OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR VARIANT COVER BY CARLOS PACHECO Laura has faced plenty of threats in her day… And when those threats take aim at Gabby, all bets are off. But the stakes are even higher — and the consequences more dire — when Laura comes up against a psychic superthreat: the Cuckoos!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

[Ambaryerno]

X232018003-cov.jpg

X-23 #3
MARIKO TAMAKI (W) • JUANN CABAL (A)
Cover by MIKE CHOI
RETURN OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR VARIANT COVER BY CARLOS PACHECO Laura has faced plenty of threats in her day… And when those threats take aim at Gabby, all bets are off. But the stakes are even higher — and the consequences more dire — when Laura comes up against a psychic superthreat: the Cuckoos!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Really wondering what's happening to put Laura against the Cuckoos.

[The Big G]

Choi always does nice covers.

[Dthirds3]

Really wondering what's happening to put Laura against the Cuckoos.

Considering there going after gabby, the three in one might become the three in a unmarked grave

[Digifiend]

X232018003-cov.jpg

X-23 #3
MARIKO TAMAKI (W) • JUANN CABAL (A)
Cover by MIKE CHOI
RETURN OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR VARIANT COVER BY CARLOS PACHECO Laura has faced plenty of threats in her day… And when those threats take aim at Gabby, all bets are off. But the stakes are even higher — and the consequences more dire — when Laura comes up against a psychic superthreat: the Cuckoos!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

What the? Choi, you do know Gabby's claws are bone, right? That looks like metal.

[WebLurker]

What the? Choi, you do know Gabby's claws are bone, right? That looks like metal.

Yeah, looks like an oversight, unless something's happening between now and then. I'm really interested now where the opening story is going to go, given that Tamaki's interviews suggested the Cuckoos would be allies, but the art and summaries seem to have them as antagonists.

[Triniking1234]

What the? Choi, you do know Gabby's claws are bone, right? That looks like metal.

Gabby polished them.

[Ambaryerno]

Yeah, looks like an oversight, unless something's happening between now and then. I'm really interested now where the opening story is going to go, given that Tamaki's interviews suggested the Cuckoos would be allies, but the art and summaries seem to have them as antagonists.

From the solicit for #3 I could see a situation where someone gets hold of her to bond her claws.

And yeah, I'm not sure what to think about the Cuckoos. It could also be a situation where they're allies in the long run, but circumstances temporarily pit them against one another.

[Fokken]

And we're certain that the Cuckoos in question are in fact OUR Cuckoos? Phoebs, Mind, and Celeste reverting to their look-a-like-ways?

[Ambaryerno]

And we're certain that the Cuckoos in question are in fact OUR Cuckoos? Phoebs, Mind, and Celeste reverting to their look-a-like-ways?

Tamaki has apparently said it IS the Three-In-One.