Another Funny Marvel Comic Bites the Dust: Weapon X

So apparently, Marvel has decided to cancel Weapon X, one of my favorite series in their entire catalog. If you’ve listened to the podcast at all, then you’ve heard me rave about its greatness on multiple occasions. It’s the mutant mashup I never realized I needed: Old Man Logan, Sabretooth, Domino, Warpath, and Lady Deathstrike.

William Stryker’s Weapon X division decided to go harvest mutants again to make yet another ultimate mutant to kill all other mutants. Their primary targets are mutants with rather insane healing factors, so Logan, Victor Creed, Warpath, and Lady D are pretty high on the list. They’re also after Domino because of her luck powers. A super mutant that has adamantium claws, super strength, super healing, and super luck? That sounds like one formidable foe. It’s going to take all of these crazy characters—who hate one another, I should add—to team up to take down Weapon X once again.

The dynamic between the group was absolutely amazing. You have a mixture of heroes, villains who do hero work on occasion, and mercenaries. Saying that shenanigans ensue doesn’t begin to cover it.

The Odd Couple of Logan and Creed

I would read an entire on-going series of this odd couple’s adventures. The banter between the two of them never once stopped being funny. It was the second issue of the series, when Logan recruits Creed, that got me sold on the entire matter.

This one sticks out to me the most, because I shared this series of panels with everyone I could think of to get them interested in Weapon X. However, it’s not the only amazing moment between the two of them.

This pairing of course would never have worked if Creed hadn’t gained empathy and morality to be part of the 2015 Uncanny X-Men run. If you haven’t read that series, do yourself a favor and check it out. Sabretooth was my second-favorite character, something I never ever thought I’d say. His relationship with Monet, a character I do hate, was one of the sweetest side stories I’ve read in an X-Men series. Some of that humanity has stayed with Creed, but he can’t resist fighting or doing things in the darkest shades of gray. When he strays, Logan has to steer him back to the center lane. Although sometimes he lets Creed go, just in a different way than he originally wanted to, and it produces some hilarious results.

Bring in Domino, Warpath, and Lady Deathstrike, and it just goes all over the place in the most delightful way.

Passing of the Torch

At about the halfway point for the series, Old Man Logan gets, well, old. His healing factor isn’t working as well, hence the need for the Dead Man Logan series. Since the Weapon X team must carry on, he puts, of all people, Sabretooth in charge. Warpath is less than pleased by this, and after one international incident with Russia, he leaves. The moral compass of the team is pretty much gone, and I was not sure how the team would be able to survive. I thought for sure the series was over.

But I was wrong. Warpath and Logan may be gone, but hey, we have Omega Red and Mystique to take their place! Wait, what? Omega Red? How is that going to work?

Well, it turns out Omega Red just needed Sabretooth to be nice to him and offer to help him kill his brother. And a tiger cub. No, seriously, a tiger cub. Thanks to the tiger cub, we get one of the best panels I will ever see with Sabretooth.

I also learned that even Omega Red has a sense of humor.

This new group was just as amazing as the original. I thought it could continue for quite awhile on violence and laughs alone. But I missed the memo that their mission to defeat William Stryker once and for all was going to be the last of the series, period.

Turns out Stryker has been dead all this time, but his, um, parish continues to offer blood sacrifices to raise him from Hell. I’m not joking, either. The Weapon X team, which now includes Deadpool and Monet, goes to Hell to kill Stryker’s soul (I’m guessing?). While in Hell, plenty of shenanigans happen, the last of which includes Sabretooth losing his humanity (morality, empathy, etc.) to defeat Metallo and destroy Stryker. His last heroic act before he loses his mind all together is save his son, Graydon, instead of resurrecting himself.

However, since Sabretooth is more animal than human now, the devil decides that he won’t fully know or understand the eternal tortures of Hell. So, he releases Sabretooth back into the mortal plane to go murder and pillage and earn his rightful place in Hell.

I strongly believed that this was the start of a new arc for the Weapon X team to help save Sabretooth. It turns out that the “END” in the bottom right corner of the last panel is truly the end.

No more good Sabretooth. No more funny Sabretooth. We’re back to the ravaging animal we’ve had for decades. Even worse, what’s going to happen to the team? I see Domino and Warpath are part of the new X-Force, but where are the others? I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but where is Omega Red?

Arrrrgh Marvel you can’t do this to me again. This was the mutant team we all needed and deserved. I was looking forward to Sabretooth and Monet riding off into the sunset. I couldn’t wait for more buddy-cop adventures with Omega Red.

First X-Men Gold, now Weapon X. Thank God Mr. and Mrs. X has been extended. You can’t cancel all of my preciouses, Marvel! I won’t let you do it!

As one final farewell to this amazing series, I want to thank Greg Pak for keeping this series as fabulous as it has been. You took something that never should have worked and made it work splendidly. I look forward to your next projects.