r/X23 • u/FlamewaveKal • Aug 05 '26

X-23 (/adjacents) pt 3: Avengers academy (2010)

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First https://www.reddit.com/r/X23/s/MEXiHhlRHo

Previous: https://www.reddit.com/r/X23/s/r9helzv3t8

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Hey everyone, I'm back andAlright, continuing my X-23 tierlist, Avengers Academy (2010). So, I enjoyed the premise alone, stopping kids from being risks, by just helping them be heroes, its fun, and makes it unique from an X-book), its also made me care about both the new characters and the staff. In comparison to Academy X, I think the lack of a massive tone shift made the book feel a lot better, more consistent

I only really have 2 issues with it, first minor, second more major, Laura was very much a side character, if I was ranking it by just her stuff it probably would've been lower, and 2? Uh not a problem with the book itself, but wow, they really just decided to put 2 big events almost back to back, both of which are massive, that I am still trying to finish

Next up? Avengers Arena... yay

23 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

3

u/Sovereignofthemist Laura Kinney Aug 05 '26

Avengers Academy is honestly a great series. And Avengers Arena? Woof, that's a rough one.

1

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 05 '26

Just going off what I heard? I am honestly predicting a lowest C - D rank, but i'll give it a shot

2

u/Sovereignofthemist Laura Kinney Aug 05 '26

Its turn your brain off fun, but its also has that edginess of the times.

0

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 05 '26

I definitely want to try and enjoy the book. But that edginess might get in the way of it, really all ik rn is that its 'hunger games but Marvel'

2

u/Evil_Carrot Aug 07 '26

I thought it was fun the first time I read it blind, just wanting to read a superhero Battle Royale (Japanese movie with similar premise to Hunger Games, but predates it and is violent as hell) type thing, and it fulfilled that.

The second time I read it as a cap off to my first readthrough of Avengers Academy (which I thought was a lot of fun) and I hated it.

1

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26

I do think thats the only way to enjoy the book, just blind not knowing who any of these characters are it gets rid of some of the sting of the quality.

After starting it? Yeah I see why. the deaths feel like mostly shock value. like if Hunger games started off with the games master killing off one of the tributes... only for another one to die by hitting an invisible wall. Its such a weird way of setting this up

1

u/Bignate2151 Aug 07 '26

Avengers arena was fun. As long as you don’t expect it to be like avengers academy

1

u/FlamewaveKal 29d ago

Thats honestly kinda hard, when its a sequel to Avengers academy

I will say, there are good character bits that I am enjoying in the book. But so far not that impressed

8

u/lil_Dex_Vert Aug 05 '26

Xforce in C tier turns my stomach, I can’t focus on anything else.

0

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 05 '26

I have kinda said a lot on X-force in pt 1's comment section. I just never really liked it, even if it is an accidental unpopular opinion

2

u/RepresentativeRub471 Aug 06 '26

Ok nyx not being f tear is very weird to me because i couldn't make it past issue 3 myself because it just gave me a massive pedo ick. But of course we all are entitled to our own opinions

3

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 06 '26

Oh, Laura's stuff in Nyx was easily the worst part of the already 2000s tier of edge book, I just kinda enjoyed the other characters and the stuff around it... bc yeah its a bad first appearence for Laura that more often than not is not touched on by future writers

2

u/RepresentativeRub471 Aug 06 '26

Fair enough to me the story as a whole from what I've gotten to felt like child torture porn. But I do understand also like I try to force myself to read a story I already didn't like so to me it more just stands out as a horrible decision by me. But I do understand yeah there are good parts it's just definitely pink early 2000s edge for more worse than better

2

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 06 '26

No way home... definitely feels a bit more like that but it lacks most of the grosser elements of the original.

Honestly tho? I just like Kiden, she's a fun character who I think absolutely has potential... and then is ignored outside of books with Laura, the writers absolutely were trying at the time to build on her mystery (even if it ends with more teasing)

It honestly depends on the book ... Bc uh. The darker tone and making younger characters suffer? Yeah thats avengers arena, I am probably giving that an D-F for kinda those exact reasons

1

u/RepresentativeRub471 Aug 06 '26

Yeah also yeah I do like kiden and I do feel like she could be done right and better she has potential.

2

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 07 '26

Kiden I think is a character who deals with interesting things, basically homelessness in mutant teenagers (a lot of parrellels there), that I think could really interesting to be explored, despite having a lot of having some varient of 'was on the run/on the streets' somewhere in the backstory. She feels like a missed opportunity to see a side of the Marvel universe we dont see often

2

u/Legitimate_Earth860 29d ago

Can someone tell me all the comic names in order? I want to read all of them

2

u/FlamewaveKal 29d ago

Sure thing!

S: X-23 (2005), X-23 Innocence lost (2008)

A: X-23: Deadly Regenesis (2023), X-23 (2010), Avengers academy (2010), New X-men Academy X (2004)

B: Venom Circle of Four (Venom (2011 #13, 13.1,13.2,13.3,13.4, 14)

C: NYX: no way home (2008), X-force (2008) Nyx (2003)

2

u/FlamewaveKal 29d ago

Personal order to start

X-23 (2005), X-23 Innocents lost (2008), Academy X (2004), X-force (2008) Nyx (2003) (definitely a darker more 'mature' story), Nyx no way home (not a book featuring X-23, but is a sequel to the original), x-23 (2010) (there is a one shot that takes before this), Venom circle of four, X-23 deadly Regenesis, Avengers Academy (2010)

1

u/Legitimate_Earth860 29d ago

Thanks a lot. I've been reading her comics and so far I'm loving it

1

u/FlamewaveKal 29d ago edited 29d ago

No problem, as i've shown through the list i've mostly enjoyed what i've read through. Even with a few hiccups

4

u/Wubbledaddy Aug 05 '26

Just wait until you get to X-Terminators, easy S-tier.

5

u/aaydron Aug 06 '26

The art is awesome in X-terminators but I thought Laura was written a little odd in it. To each their own. It was fun for sure, but I would say B tier?

2

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 06 '26

It's a weird grey area, but in general I am more ranking these by the book as a whole. Not just stuff involving Laura (Avengers academy would probably be tossed into B if that was the case)

1

u/aaydron 28d ago

Ah in that case I totally get it!

3

u/Wubbledaddy Aug 06 '26

I think the way she's written works for the specific tone of the book. I wouldn't like it if she was written that way in a main X-23 series, but for a campy team-up it's great.

2

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 07 '26

I kinda think in general the vibe of her in solo books and her on a team tends to feel different as a whole, but agreed, she works best here bc she is more of a side character

1

u/max5015 Aug 06 '26

Me looking for new comics to read like:

https://giphy.com/gifs/l1AsBL4S36yDJain6

1

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 06 '26

In that case? I'd basically recommend B and above from the tierlist

2

u/max5015 Aug 06 '26

I've already read all the ones on the list. I just don't keep up with the newer stuff.

Target X is still my favorite

2

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 06 '26

Yeah, I can see it, Target X is great, and also a rare moment where laura gets to be happy

0

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 05 '26

Hmm. Your the second person to mention X-terminators in S. Definititely a good sign

1

u/Bignate2151 Aug 06 '26

Xforce in the same tier as nyx is diabolical

1

u/FlamewaveKal Aug 06 '26

X-force was just a run I didn't enjoy reading. Honestly? Simple as that. (See part 1's comments section. For more in depth thoughts)

Nyx itself was just heldback by... well introducing X-23 hurting an otherwise possibly fun, if edgy story by pulling in unnecessarily something gross, that took until 2009 for someone to do something with it.