- Written by: Jody Houser
- Art by: Jacopo Camagni
- Colors by: Erick Arciniega
- Letters by: VC’s Ariana Maher
- Cover art by: Partha Pratim Sakar, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: February 18, 2026
Generation X-23 #1 (Marvel, 2/18/26): Writer Jody Houser and artist Jacopo Camagni unleash X-23 (Laura Kinney) against a fresh wave of mutant cloning horrors at a shadowy facility, sparked by bizarre time distortions during a street skirmish. Uneven creative execution hampers the thrills; Verdict: Skip it.
First Impressions
Laura Kinney slashes into action with ferociously vivid energy right from the blood-dripping claws on page one, instantly hooking with raw mutant peril that feels sharply personal. Yet, the rapid pivot to jokey sibling banter abruptly dulls the menace, leaving a gut check that wavers disappointingly between gritty tension and forced levity.
Plot Analysis (SPOILERS)
Laura Kinney, as Wolverine, and her clone-sister Gabby, as Scout, protect a young mutant girl named Celia from a massive anti-mutant mob in New York City. A sudden time distortion warps mob members into grotesque age-shifted horrors, scattering them in terror. Laura detects a familiar scent tied to her old friend Kiden Nixon, whose time powers seem amiss, while she sends Gabby to safeguard Celia.
Laura pursues erratic time anomalies, leaping through a glass portal to tackle what she believes is Kiden, only to encounter a mysterious red-hooded girl instead. The girl reveals visions of dying experiments and rapidly ages to dust under uncontrolled powers, smelling uncannily like Kiden and marked with an X-80 tattoo. Laura vows ruthlessly to dismantle the cloners experimenting on her friends’ DNA.
Laura tracks the girl’s scent to a deceptively normal facility reeking of her childhood Facility torment. Gabby reunites with her abruptly, having “borrowed” a bike after dropping Celia off, ready to storm the site together. They detect chemical familiarity and minimal security, sensing watchful eyes as monitors confirm X-23’s arrival.
The issue cuts off there, abruptly hinting at confrontation without delivering a pulse-pounding cliffhanger or deeper revelation.
Writing
Jody Houser paces the action sequences briskly and explosively, propelling Laura’s chases with taut internal monologues that cleverly underscore her haunted past. However, dialogue stumbles stiffly into unnatural exposition dumps, like the girl’s fragmented visions, undermining authenticity with clunky delivery.
The structure waffles unevenly between urgent horror and jokey quips, such as Gabby’s babysitting gripes, diluting dramatic tension into sitcom territory. Thematic depth on cloning legacies feels shallowly gestured at, lacking sharply probing emotional layers amid the chaos.
Art
Jacopo Camagni composes dynamic panels that flow kinetically during fights, with slashing claws rendered powerfully to heighten visceral impact. Character expressions act convincingly feral in Laura’s snarls, though subtle emotional shifts land flatly in calmer beats.
Erick Arciniega’s colors moodily amplify time distortions through fractured green shards and bloodied shadows, synergizing decently with the chaos. Layouts guide the eye smoothly across page-wide spreads, but overly uniform tonality fails to sharply differentiate escalating threats.
Character Development
Motivations stay consistently rooted in Laura’s protective fury over her past and family, making her relentlessly driven yet somewhat one-note. Gabby provides quippy contrast reliably, but lacks deeper relatability beyond sibling spats; the girl experiment crumbles too swiftly for meaningful arcs.
Originality & Concept Execution
Revisiting Facility cloning feels tiredly familiar, with time-warped mutants adding mild freshness that fizzles under poor control. The premise promises explosive legacy confrontation, yet executes sluggishly without bold twists or thrilling payoff.
Pros and Cons
What We Loved
- Explosively kinetic claw fights ramp tension brilliantly.
- Moodily fractured colors enhance time distortions vividly.
- Briskly paced chases propel Laura’s relentless pursuit.
Room for Improvement
- Stiffly expository dialogue halts natural flow awkwardly.
- Uneven tone waffles between jokes amid urgent horror.
- Gabby’s unexplained arrival ignores logistics sloppily.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
The Scorecard
Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): 2/4
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): 3/4
Value (Originality & Entertainment): 0/2
Final Verdict
Generation X-23 #1 issue squanders solid action and art on stiff talk, tonal whiplash, and plot gaps like Gabby’s bush ambush. Instead you get out-of-nowhere new mutant introductions, landing without a gripping hook. It fails to ignite fun or excitement, undeserving a slot in your tight stack of reads.
5/10
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