[Warning: This story contains spoilers for Fox’s superhero drama Logan.]
The ending of Logan leaves a lot of room for a follow-up — and Dafne Keen’s Laura is the kind of performance that leaves audiences eager to see the character again.
The film sees her and her young band of mutants escape to Canada, where they seek out a safe place called Eden. Both Logan director James Mangold and Keen have said they are down for more X-23 adventures. But where could the escapees of the X-23 project go next? Thankfully, the comic book history of the X-Men franchise offers a few possibilities, in case Fox is looking for some ideas.
New Mutants
Although the original X-Men are, technically, the first attempt at a “teenage mutant” superhero team, it wasn’t until 1982’s Marvel Graphic Novel No. 4 — and the introduction of the New Mutants — that the “X-Men Jr.” concept really took off. It’s already known that there’s a New Mutants movie in the works, but the characters teased so far for director Josh Boone’s project appear to be the original comic book team … a lineup that doesn’t include Laura.
Generation X
Marvel’s second “next generation” X-Men comic book, 1994’s Generation X, showcased a class of mutants who were raised outside of the influence of Charles Xavier — something that might work for a post-Logan environment, given that he died in the film. That Marvel is reviving the Generation X comic book this summer might add to a synergistic appeal behind getting a movie going … even if Laura has, as yet, no connection to the property in any incarnation.
Young X-Men
While the central gimmick behind the 2008 Young X-Men comic — they’re a group of kids gathered together by Cyclops to fight the original New Mutants, except that Cyclops turns out to be an undercover bad guy — wouldn’t seem to be appropriate for a Logan spinoff featuring Laura, the title feels particularly appropriate for her team as the audience last sees them. (2001’s New X-Men would also fit.) After all, what says “next generation of X-Men” better, while making it clear that this is a brand expansion?
The Five Lights
The “Five Lights” was never the title of a comic book; instead, it refers to five mutants who were the central characters of 2010’s Generation Hope series and seen as a sign that the mutant race, which was believed to be headed towards extinction, would live on after all. Again, this seems particularly appropriate for a Logan spinoff centering on Laura and the Transigen escapees, who are the last of their kind.
All-New Wolverine
The comic book future of Laura sees her step into the yellow-and-blue boots left behind by Logan following his death, and trying to be a Wolverine all of her own. The resulting comic book is one of the most enjoyable currently being published by Marvel, but is the idea of Laura following Logan’s example quite so closely something that would stand up in the movie universe…?
