Summary

• Marvel's NYX relaunch pays homage to the original series with a cover referencing X-23's first appearance.
• NYX (2024) explores the aftermath of the Krakoan Era and features Laura Kinney and other young mutants living in New York City.
• The new series may have more connections to the original NYX series than previously thought, including possible appearances by the original cast.

More than 20 years after the publication of Marvel's original NYX series, the NYX relaunch is harkening back to its original namesake with a cover homaging the first appearance of X-23, the once and future Wolverine. It’s a surprising tribute to a controversial series, but one that makes sense as Wolverine returns to New York City. How the original series impacts this new story remains ambiguous, but this new cover gives hints that it hasn’t been forgotten entirely.

As Marvel prepares for the launch of the new NYX series from writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing and artist sco Mortariano, the publisher has now revealed W. Scott Forbes’ variant cover for NYX (2024) #3, which homages X-23’s first appearance.

Laura Kinney, X-23 at the time, debuted in the third issue of the original NYX (2003) after first appearing on TV in the animated show X-Men: Evolution. This new cover directly homages the cover of NYX vol 1 #3, recalling the very 2000s aesthetic of the original. On X (formerly Twitter) W. Scott Forbes gave a shout-out to original NYX #3 cover artist Joshua Middleton, sharing how Middleton was a huge influence on his career.

The New NYX #3 Cover Homages the Original NYX

The original NYX saw Laura Kinney on the streets of New York City after escaping from Weapon X, forced into involuntary sex work. It was only with the help of other misfit teens that she was able to escape that life and begin on her road to the X-Men. This first series got a follow-up without Laura in 2008, NYX: No Way Home, but the title has subsequently been dormant until this year. NYX (2024) is taking some cues from the original series, most notably in the setting, but is clearly far more of an X-Men book, with Laura’s appearance the biggest point of crossover between the two series.

NYX (2003) #3 is written by Joe Quasada, drawn by Joshua Middleton, colored by Middleton and Jean-François Beaulieu and lettered by Chris Eliopoulos and Randy Gentile. NYX: No Way Home is written by Marjorie Liu, drawn by Kalman Andrasofsky, colored by John Rauch and lettered by VC's Joe Caramagna.

NYX (2024) also promises to explore the aftermath of the Krakoan Era of the X-Men as several younger mutants band together in NYC to find out what mutant culture looks like now that their home is lost. It will be fascinating to see how Laura’s drastic evolution in the decades since her original appearance factors into this new series. Laura has gone from X-23 to Wolverine in her own right, taking on main roles in multiple X-Men teams. It’s been a while since she’s lived in New York City, and it’s not exactly somewhere she has a positive association with.

The Original NYX Cast Might Be Coming Back

Interestingly, this cover hints that the new NYX may return more directly to the original series than some were expecting. Marvel draws attention to the fact that the rest of the original NYX’s cast are on missing posters on this new cover, suggesting that their disappearance may be an plot point. The majority of this original cast haven’t been seen since X-23 vol 2 #1 in 2010, which saw Laura reunite with them to reflect on her origins. In that story, the team were all experiencing homelessness and, like Laura, they walked away into an uncertain future.

X-23 (vol 2) #1 is written by Marjorie Liu, penciled by Filipe Andrade and Nuno Alves, inked by Alves, Jay Leisten and Sandu Florea, colored by Alves and Chris Sotomeyor (as SotoColor) and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

These hints, and the homage cover’s existence itself, are honestly surprising, since the majority of writers since the 2010s have avoided directly referencing the original NYX. There’s an understandable perception that the series is a relic of the early 2000s; an ill-considered attempt to write a "mature" series that came off as exploitative. It takes skilled writers with sensitivity and a deft touch to revisit these elements of Laura’s character. This only goes doubly now that Laura is Wolverine, not X-23, but it looks like writers Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing are willing to try in the new NYX.

NYX #3 will be available September 25 from Marvel Comics.

Source: W. Scott Forbes via X