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Weapon X

Weapon X is a fictional government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They were conducted by Department K, which turned willing and unwilling beings into living weapons to carry out covert missions like assassination or eliminating potential threats to the government. It was similar to human enhancement experiments in the real world, but it captured mutants and did experiments on them to enhance their abilities such as superpowers, turning them into weapons. They also mutated baseline humans. The Weapon X project produced Wolverine (Weapon X), Deadpool (Weapon XI), Sabretooth, Laura Kinney (Weapon X-23), Gwen Stacy (Weapon X-31), and Weapon H.

The fictional experiment X, or the brutal adamantium-skeletal bonding process, written by Barry Windsor-Smith in his classic story "Weapon X" (originally published in Marvel Comics Presents #72–84 in 1991), was eventually revealed as part of the "Weapon X Project." Grant Morrison's New X-Men in 2002 further revealed that Weapon X was the tenth of a series of such projects, collectively known as the Weapon Plus Program, and the X in "Weapon X" referred not to the letter X but the Roman numeral for the number 10. The first project, Weapon I, pertained to the

Fictional organization biography

Original installment

Weapon X was originally mentioned in the first appearance of Wolverine in The Incredible Hulk #180 (1974). In the 1991 story arc "Weapon X" (originally published in Marvel Comics Presents #72–84 in 1991), the project was designated Experiment X, and it was revealed that it was responsible for brainwashing Wolverine to become an assassin and binding adamantium to his skeleton. Wolverine later escapes from Weapon X, killing Dale Rice and dozens of other members.

Weapon X operated through Canada's Department K and was directed by Professor Andre Thorton, with Sublime leading Weapon X's parent organization Weapon Plus. Some of the work of Weapon X was based on the experiments detailed on the journals of Nazi scientist Nathan Essex.

The project's original test subjects were the members of Team X, a covert ops CIA team (consisting of Wolverine, Sabretooth, Maverick, Silver Fox, Mastodon, Arthur Barrington, Psi-Borg/Aldo Ferro, Wildcat/Noel Higgins, and Kestrel). Psi-Borg was involved in the creation of the victims' memory implants, in exchange for being given immortality. The test subjects were policed by an adaptive robot enforcer, called Shiva, should any of the agents go rogue. Subsequent attempts at recreating the success seen by Weapon X with Wolverine include Native, Kimura, and X-23 (a clone of Wolverine who was designed to hunt down rogue agents). The Weapon X Re-Creation Project, also known as the Facility, is headed by Martin Sutter, Dale Rice's son Zander Rice, and Sarah Kinney. Later creations of the Facility, now under the direction of Dr. Adam Harkins, include Predator X.

Second installment

At some point, Weapon X branched off from Weapon Plus' control and is solely headed up by Canada's Department K. A new generation of agents were created: Deadpool, Garrison Kane, Slayback, Sluggo, Wyre, Wild Child, and Ajax, among others. Weapon X used Logan's DNA to endow its agents with healing powers. The batch produced many additional failures, which were sent to a facility for dissection to determine the cause of their failures. These rejects are freed by Deadpool when he escapes from the facility.

Typhoid Mary is captured by an Antarctic facility continuing research for the Weapon X project, specifically the mental faculties of the mutant mind. Their experiments create Mary's "Bloody Mary" persona, who possesses increased psychokinetic powers.

Third installment

In Weapon X series number 6, director Malcolm Colcord forms the third version of the Weapon X project, designed to monitor and eliminate mutants. Colcord, once a security guard at the first Weapon X project, suffered severe facial lacerations during an escape attempt by Wolverine. Unlike the previous two installments of Weapon X, the third project was completely U.S.-based and focused not only on the creation of living weapons, but also on the ultimate goal of Colcord: the creation of death camps where mutants are either executed or forced to serve Weapon X.[1]

The agents of the third Weapon X are Brent Jackson, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent; Sabretooth, who is given new adamantium implants; the shapeshifter Copycat; Deadpool; and Mauvais. Later on, Deadpool goes rogue and new operatives were recruited into Weapon X, many of whom have their powers enhanced or are brainwashed into servitude. Maverick is saved from certain death and his powers are enhanced with the purpose of assassinating Wolverine. Wild Child is brainwashed and further mutated into a feral form. Unbeknownst to all except Sabretooth, Mister Sinister is disguised as Robert Windsor, the head scientist at the Neverland facility. As Windsor, Sinister rescues mutants from Neverland for his own use.

After some time, Brent Jackson takes over as director, during a mutiny by the team in conjunction with an attack by mutants from the Underground. Cable leads this group, in a mission to destroy Weapon X and expose its existence and its human rights violations. Washout and Garrison Kane are killed, while Sabretooth is washed away into the sewers after a battle with Marrow

Fourth installment

As part of the RessurXion event, a fourth installment of the Weapon X project debuted.[2] During the Weapons of Mutant Destruction storyline, Weapon X is interested in Lady Deathstrike, Warpath, Domino, Wolverine, and Sabretooth for a new experiment. It is shown that Weapon X is turning civilians into cyborgs made of adamantium sent to hunt a specific group of mutants, forcing Old Man Logan to team up with Sabretooth to stop them.[3] Logan and his allies alongside Amadeus Cho discover that Weapon X has been experimenting on humans by grafting the DNA of Wolverine and Hulk into them while also applying Adamantium to their bones. In addition, it is shown that the director of the latest incarnation of Weapon X is William Stryker.[4]

Later, Weapon X creates H-Alpha, a mutate with the abilities of Amadeus Cho and Logan.[5]

Implosion and Xeno emergence

After Krakoa is established as a mutant nation, Professor X has Weapon X and related shadow agencies disbanded. The remnants of these agencies establish Xeno, a global organization with ties to anti-mutant politicians and business leaders. Upon discovering this, Professor X tasks Domino with infiltrating Xeno to gather intel. Domino is discovered during her infiltration, and Xeno's operatives use grafts of her skin on their genetically altered soldiers to allow them to evade Krakoa's security protocols. The Xeno strike team attacks Krakoa and assassinates Xavier.[6]

Weapon X-31

Weapon X's next project appears to involve resurrecting the remains of New U Technologies' reanimations from Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy (souls of the deceased drawn into clone bodies by Ben Reilly), beginning with Gwen Stacy, growing her reanimated severed head ('the sample') a new body and implanting adamantium blades and a healing factor into her. This project is overseen by the Great Architect, who designates Stacy as Weapon X-31 and dresses her in a purple version of Gwen Poole's uniform. After Poole is accidentally killed by X-31 while unused to her blades, Poole's ghost attempts to seek revenge on Stacy before speaking to her and, on learning about her origin, joining forces to go after the Great Architect. Spider-Man and Poole's family (partner Kate Bishop and pet/son Jeff the Land Shark) arrive and help fight the Weapon X soldiers. Spider-Man unmasks the Great Architect and X-31 goes in for the kill, but spares his life at Poole's insistence, after Poole returns to life by possessing her own corpse (Weapon X-32).[7]

Other versions

Exiles

In the series Exiles, whose cast is a group of characters from alternate timelines who travel to other realities, Weapon X is a group of superbeings that have been torn from their respective realities to fulfill various missions for the Exiles' employer, the Timebroker. To return home, they have been forced to jump from reality to reality, repairing the broken links in the chain of time. Unlike their more heroic counterparts, the Exiles, this ruthless assemblage will resort to any means necessary to attain their goals.

The initial membership of Weapon X consists of Sabretooth (Victor Creed of the Age of Apocalypse timeline), Deadpool, and Garrison Kane. It is later revealed that the team also included Wolverine, Maverick, and Mesmero. The six chose the name 'Weapon X' due to their common ties to the project.

By the time Weapon X encounters the Exiles, they have added three members to the group: Sabretooth, Deadpool, the Spider (a murderous alternate version of Spider-Man with the symbiotic alien costume of Carnage), Storm (Ororo Munroe, here only sixteen years old and already ruler of more than half of Africa), the Vision (who remained an emotionless robot), and the Hulk (Jennifer Walters, a former mob bookkeeper). Later, Iron Man replaced Deadpool.

The next time the team was seen, Angel (now a gun-toting assassin) replaced Iron Man and the team leader was now Gambit instead of Sabretooth. Later, the Hulk was replaced by Colossus, and eventually Angel was replaced by Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers).

When Storm died, she was replaced by Hyperion. Later, Colossus and the Vision were replaced by the Hulk (Bruce Banner) and Firestar. These two, along with Gambit, tried to stop Hyperion, the Spider, and Ms. Marvel when they decided to abandon their mission and rule a world. They failed, and the next mission given to both the Exiles and Weapon X was to kill enough members of each team so that there would be only six survivors in total. Ultimately, all members of this Weapon X team were killed in the fight.

Ultimate Marvel

An alternate universe iteration of Weapon X appears in the Ultimate Marvel imprint. This version is headed by John Wraith and Abraham Cornelius. The program was sanctioned by S.H.I.E.L.D. sometime before or during the Gulf War to capture mutants and force them to carry out covert missions for the United States government. Their main facility is located in Finland (as opposed to the mainstream Weapon X, which was originally based in Canada).[8]

Ultimate Universe

An alternate universe iteration of Weapon X, called Directorate X, appears in Ultimate Wolverine. This version is run by the Rasputin family (consisting of Colossus, Magik, and Omega Red).[9]

Wolverine: The End

In a possible future of Wolverine: The End, Wolverine attempts to hunt down the people involved in Weapon X, and discovers that they have long since died. He also discovers that his older brother John Howlett, believed dead, was experimented on by Weapon X. John gained similar abilities to Wolverine as well as intangibility.

X-Men Noir

An alternate universe iteration of Weapon X appears in the Marvel Noir imprint. This version is a German government agency led by Amanda Sefton.[10][11]