For years, I joked that Wolverine’s true mutant power – other than the claws and the healing – was the ability to show up in a multitude of titles, whether they were X-Men related or not. It’s a trait that Laura Kinney seems to have picked up, since Laura Kinney: Wolverine #2 finds her colliding with Elektra Natchios, aka Daredevil. But rest assured, AIPT readers: the fight only takes up a few pages before the book’s major conflict comes in.
That conflict is due to the Humanity First militia, the latest anti-mutant crusaders who plan to use a mutant to cause chaos at an anti-vigilante rally. Further complicating matters is the fact that the mutant, Anthony, is a friend of Logan’s – causing Laura to fly off the handle (even more than usual). Will her new mission to protect mutants put her at odds with Daredevil?
Erica Schultz has previously written Elektra before, but in pairing her with Laura she finds a new layer to the Woman Without Fear – and an interesting dynamic. Elektra has become very methodical due to her former life as an assassin and fighting crime as Daredevil; Laura, due to her early programming when she was called X-23, tends to fly off the handle whenever she sees someone mistreated. Schultz spends most of the issue having the two bounce off of each other, and learning from one another, to the point where I’d love to see more of their dynamic.
Marvel
Laura and Elektra are also distinguished by their fighting styles, which Giada Belviso taking special care to highlight how they work. Elektra’s fighting is more graceful, choosing where to hit to inflict the most damage and leaving her targets alive. Laura, on the other hand, charges through anyone in her path, and they’ll be lucky if they live to tell the tale. Rachelle Rosenberg continues this contrast with her color work, as Laura’s gold and black suit is a direct contrast to Elektra’s blood red uniform.
Taking a page from Schultz and Valentina Pinti’s Daredevil: Unleash Hell, Belviso draws whole panels focusing on the wounds Laura’s suffered; this is accompanied by a monologue from Laura about how her healing factor actually works. “People think I’m near-immortal…that I get shot and bounce right back,” she says. “But it takes time to heal.” That small sentence reveals a lot about Laura, and keeps the book from being a run-of-the-mill slash fest.
Laura Kinney: Wolverine #2 delivers a standout sophomore issue that offers a unique pairing I need to see more of. Some superheroes work better together, and Laura’s partnership with Elektra is just the latest proof of that.
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