10 Unpopular Comic Book Character Reboots (That Were Actually Perfect)

While he didn't originate as an X-Man, Wolverine was far and away the breakout star of the industry-changing Giant Sized X-Men comics. The cigar chomping, nigh-immortal Canuck has been an avatar of unwavering masculinity, a story-telling machine, and convenient get-out-of-a-plothole-free card for writers to play around with for almost the entirety of his existence.

At the turn of the century, he was a regular on the X-Men: Evolution cartoon. But he was a professor and trainer as opposed to an active combatant in the larger narrative, so he wasn't connecting to younger viewers as much as he was in the comics or movies. in an attempt to fix this, writer Craig Kyle made X-23, a young, female clone of Wolverine who inherited his powers, aggressive attitude, and insecurities but not his hard-earned wisdom.

While she only made two appearances on the show, X-23 was instantly iconic and popular. It was clear she needed to be transitioned into the comics proper and she made her debut in 2004's NYX comics. The only problem was that she didn't debut as the confused but righteous girl fans had seen her as in the show, but as a literal dominatrix. There was bit more to her than that, but the first impression comic readers got of her still left a bad taste in their mouths.

However, this version of X-23, who later took the Wolverine mantel herself, grew and evolved along with her readers, leading her to become the badass momma bear she is today.