Comic Books

X-Men Monday #336 – Jody Houser Talks ‘Generation X-23’

Plus, an eXclusive look at ‘Generation X-23’ #3 and #6!

April 13, 2026

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

Laura Kinney — the Wolverine — and her sister Gabby are back in action in the pages of the X-Men: Shadows of Tomorrow series Generation X-23. Along for the ride is a cast of new muta– err, well, these fresh characters definitely aren’t mutants — they’re the Generated.

You’ve got questions about the Facility’s latest creations, and fortunately, Generation X-23‘s writer Jody Houser is here to answer them and weigh in on what else is on X-Fans’ minds. Let’s see what she has to say.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Welcome to X-Men Monday, Jody! As this is your first time appearing in the column, I was wondering if you could share your first X-Men eXperience as a fan.

Jody Houser: My first experience with any X-Men was actually a Marvel anti-smoking comic that featured Storm as part of the hero lineup. I wrote more about it in my newsletter. But basically, that led me to watch the ‘90s X-Men animated series, which I loved. And that show (along with Batman: The Animated Series) got me buying comics.

Courtesy of Jody Houser’s Substack Newsletter

AIPT: A relatable journey for a whole generation! Speaking of generations — this week’s first X-Fan question comes from KingdomX, who’s excited to see you working in the X-Office. KingdomX wants to know how Generation X-23 came to be. Was this an idea you pitched, or was it something Marvel approached you about?

Jody: Editor Mark Basso came to me with the title and that it would be a book about Laura, but everything else was up to me to pitch. My first question was actually if I could use Gabby! After that, it was coming up with a concept where the title of the book felt like it made sense. And that was Facility 23 and the Generated.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: I don’t want to get too far without acknowledging the striking visuals across Generation X-23 #1 and #2, courtesy of the late Jacopo Camagni. Is there anything you’d like to share about collaborating with Jacopo on this series and its new characters?

Jody: Getting to create these new characters with Jacopo was really special. X-74 was originally written as male, but I loved Jacopo’s design for her so much that I was totally up for changing it. I’m still in a bit of shock over his passing… he was far too young. I had hoped he’d eventually be well enough to come back to the book. I’ll always regret that I didn’t have a chance to get to know him better.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Obviously, there’s no shortage of superpowered characters in the world of the X-Men. What creative considerations went into creating the Generated so they stand out? I know X-66’s fanbase is already growing.

Jody: For me, there were two main considerations that went into creating these characters. In-universe, I wanted the Generated to have a range of powers that would be marketable in some way. Since Facility 23 is essentially making products, they aren’t going to be playing with powers that they can’t make a profit from. Out of universe, I wanted a cast of characters that called back to not only the book’s namesake Generation X, but other points in history where we were introduced to the “next generation” of X-Men (Giant-Size X-Men, New Mutants, New X-Men).

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Keeping with the Generated, X-Fan Jason wonders why they don’t consider themselves to be mutants, despite having mutant DNA.

Jody: Biologically, the Generated would likely be classified as mutants (as far as we know…). But the term Generated speaks to their lived experiences. Many mutants spend at least a portion of their lives living as “normal” humans, having what we would consider a recognizable childhood. The Generated have been raised inside a lab with no knowledge of where they came from or experience in the outside world. Clones and similarly engineered beings have major aspects of their lives that your average mutant could never relate to. So the Generated is an identity born of history rather than biology, creating a community via shared experience.

AIPT: X-Fan Key is really enjoying Generation X-23 so far and asks if you could share any insights into your frame of mind when writing Laura.

Jody: As someone who has written Logan on multiple occasions, one big goal is to make sure that Laura remains her own distinct character. As random as it sounds, looking back at how I wrote the different Doctors in Doctor Who is always a touch point to me when it comes to making sure similar characters still sound like themselves. I tend to listen to scores more when writing these days rather than putting together custom playlists, but I did pull up an old RPG character playlist that worked surprisingly well for Laura.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Jonathan Loves X-Men says Laura very emotionally rejected the name “X-23” when she killed Kimura in All-New Wolverine #18, stating that she’s not an experiment or property. Although her next ongoing series saw the name sort of return until Krakoa, she’s been Wolverine for the better part of a decade-plus. Is she going back to X-23, or are we seeing her gradually accept that as a moniker again with Generation X-23?

Jody: I think that, at this point, Laura is very comfortable in who she is. X-23 is part of her past, but it doesn’t define her. Rather than having her relitigate her own name, I find it much more interesting to have her meet characters who have a very different relationship with the “names” the Facility gave them and to explore the tension there. Does she have any right to tell others that they should reject what they see as their very identity? Are they actually wrong for making the choice that they have?

AIPT: X-Fan MaydayStan wants to know, what’s been your favorite aspect of writing Laura and Gabby so far?

Jody: I’m the oldest of two sisters with a not-dissimilar age gap, so Laura and Gabby’s relationship is a particularly special one to write. And of course, Gabby is just an absolute ball of joy.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: X-Fan Ryan asks if any of Laura’s former New X-Men teammates might appear in Generation X-23, while Ryan and fellow X-Fans David, RIFT, and SKULLCAT all want to know if Laura’s ex, Hellion, might show up down the line.

Jody: Currently, we don’t have any plans for those specific characters to show up, but that could always change in the future!

AIPT: Finally, what can you share about the Generation X-23 issues to come? The cover to #3 looks especially concerning for Laura…

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Jody: Oh, I’m sure she’ll be fine! I’d say keep an eye out for familiar faces, but maybe not the ones you’d expect…

AIPT: Interesting… but on that note, thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday, Jody!

Remember, X-Fans, Generation X-23 #3 goes on sale April 29, 2026. Here’s an eXtra early eXclusive look at the issue’s lettered preview, courtesy of Jody Houser, colorist Erick Arciniega, and letterer VC’s Ariana Maher. The first three pages were illustrated by Jacopo Camagni, and the fourth is by artist Marco Renna.