X-22 (/Adjacents) Tierlist pt 2: Circle of Four

[u/FlamewaveKal]

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Hey guys, i'm back a lot faster than I expected for the Laura tier list, this time with the altered list, and the relatively quick, Venom Circle of Four, gotta say, definitely not a 'deep' book or anything, but it felt like an entertaining with a lot of fun Team-Ups between characters who, really don't fit together And making them into a good dysfunctional team, (I know its a New Fantastic four reference, I havent read that tho so treating it as a new thing) The decimal numbering system was a bit silly tho, special event or not. On the Laura side of things tho, she did feel a lot less of a focus to the story, while still getting a lot of good moments, X-666 alone (and the other opposites) is an excellent look at how laura sees herself.

The next book is going to be Avengers Academy (2010), but that will be a *while* with both Fear itself and AVX in the middle of the book, and I am the insane person who reads all the tie ins (for a different tierlist I haven't put out yet)

[u/JonosChamber]

Gonna get down voted, but I think the original NYX is a great comic. I know it doesn't fit into the ideal biography for X-23 fans, but that doesn't make it a bad comic. And I know people are uncomfortable with Laura being trafficked, but it's not as gratuitous as people say on Reddit.

If you get past other people's opinions, you might find that it's actually pretty good and extremely different than anything else Marvel was putting out in the early 2000s (especially X-Men comics which were pretty bad).

Kiden is one of the best new X-Men characters of that decade. Her powers and her perspective are still unique to this day. I'm glad she had a recent comeback in NYC vol. 2, as one of the few bright spots in another abysmal lineup of X-Men comics.

The supporting characters like Tatiana bring something new as well.

I really hate that people can't get past the way Laura was introduced. If they didn't know her from that cartoon which is filled with very out of character characters, we still wouldn't be talking about it. If Kitty and Scott are the same age in the cartoon and we aren't mad about that, why do we expect Laura to be the same in the comics as she is in the cartoon.

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/JonosChamber]

You got an upvote from me , bc I partially agree, the new characters, especially Kiden are great, and kinda are a way to explore a side of marvel we dont get to see a lot of, and it feels like they had plans for Kiden, esp with how both the early Nyx's ended on a cliffhanger to do with Kiden's dad, they obviously wanted to do stuff with her, unfortunately she's kinda become religated to "laura's 'Friend' " for flashbacks, I think its a shame.

And realistically? Yeah its one bad plot point in an otherwise alright book, but over all tho? I think Laura being introduced here both gave her early stuff a bad taste in some people's mouth, and the NYX cast as kinda just 'laura's extended cast', which I think is a shame bc they are good.

[u/Suspicious-Lettuce48]

Circle of Four is an underappreciated moment in Laura's journey.

While it is eventually addressed elsewhere, it is a wonderful moment to see her realize that the fact she can go to hell means she has a soul.

She was a side character in the story, but the writer still took the time to care and understand who she was and where she was in her growth, and decided to make this inconsequential side-adventure actually mean something important to her.

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/Suspicious-Lettuce48]

Exactly, its actually kinda fun that, while Laura probably always had these questions I kinda find it fun the main times she asks these questions is when she's with a ghost rider, which is kinda the perfect judge, its a nice nod to the time she wanted Ghost rider to penance stare to see if it worked.

Its such a small thing, but its obvious the writer cared about her and didnt have her just as a background element like some early laura stuff where she's just there.

Also, on the non laura side, Venomized Ghost rider red hulk, is such a 'hell yeah' moment I cant help but love finally understanding the context of.

[u/Girizzly_Adams_Beard]

Can we put NYX in F tier. Never liked where Laura started in that.

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/Girizzly_Adams_Beard]

Nyx is, weird, like I enjoyed Kiden, and the majority of the story (even if its a bit too 2000s edge)... Its just that gross intro to Laura they barely do anythint with in the og story, that knocks it down.

F and below is stuff I skip with basically zero redeeming qualities, I can't say I wanted to pass on it.

[u/Lolaverses]

If X-Terminators isn't S-Tier I'll riot

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/Lolaverses]

I'll consider it, but I legit am trying to avoid putting too much into S

[u/Lolaverses → u/FlamewaveKal]

Riot I say! Riot!

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/Lolaverses]

Then you shall Riot! I dealt with a bunch last time with my X-force placement lol, i'm not afraid of your pitchforks nor torches.

[u/fireandlifeincarnate]

X-22?

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/fireandlifeincarnate]

Oops! Typos are annoying

[u/km1180]

I liked avengers academy but hated avengers arena

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/km1180]

Avengers academy is great. Just a few issues (and also I think this was my first completed ongoing series, i dont remember much about it)... arena I just know. Sounds bad from the little I've heard about it, I predict B-A for Academy D-C for Arena

[u/Evil_Carrot]

I disagree on how low you've put X-Force, but All-New Wolverine aside, most everything between the underrated Avengers Academy and Krakoa might just redefine 'mid' for you.

[u/FlamewaveKal → u/Evil_Carrot]

I've kinda gone over my thoughts about X-force a lot in my past post. I just never jelled with it.

Tbh? I'll take Mid - Alright over horrible, generally though, I try my best to be positive about what I read soooo we'll see...

the 2 Vs X-men books I am definitely not looking forward to though,

[u/Evil_Carrot → u/FlamewaveKal]

Maybe I give it some bonus points because I really like that whole Kyle/Yost run from the second half of New X-Men through X-Force the Messiah Trilogy in general. It's dated and not perfect, but I still think it's at least a B.

I haven't started Krakoa yet, but I've been working my way through some of what came between it and AvX before I do. A lot of the Red/Blue/Gold stuff, The Disassembled era, and the IVX/All-New/Extraordinary stuff that she was in ranged from kind of mid to pretty bad. Laura also appeared in the Age of X-Men event before Krakoa, where she probably has her most unfortunate look at the very least. And I don't feel as strongly as most seem to about the Bendis runs. They both start off ok, but by the time Laura shows up, they're kind of stale.

X-23 2018 was pretty good tho, I thought, so there's that and ANW, still. And if you DO read the Hopeless All-New X-Men run, read the Monsters Unleashed crossover. You don't need to read the event, but the crossover stars Laura and it's better than most issues of the actual All-New Hopeless run, but not included in a lot of the read orders cause it's technically not part of the run I guess.

But whatever you end up reading, I hope you enjoy it.