Weapon X
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Weapon Plus Project a fictional clandestine government project in the Marvel Universe, which turns willing and unwilling beings into living weapons. The project often captures mutants and experiments on them to enhance their superpowers. Other test subjects have included normal human beings, as well as aliens.
The most famous Weapon Plus Project is the first Weapon X, conducted by the Canadian Government's Department K (and secretly funded by the US government). This project produced the anti-hero of the X-Men team, Wolverine, and the infamous "merc with a mouth," Deadpool.
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Marvel Universe
The Weapon Plus Project
Since the popular anti-hero's first appearance in 1974, it had been implied that Wolverine was connected to a shady and malevolent government program. In the 1991 miniseries Weapon X, the project was named and it was revealed that it was responsible for bonding the adamantium to Wolverine's skeleton, making it unbreakable, and for conditioning him to bring out his more animalistic instincts.
Early 1990s issues of Wolverine's solo series, revealed that the Weapon X project also erased the memories and/or created false memories in the minds of several of its subjects and the project also produced Sabretooth, Maverick (then called Wildcat), Silver Fox, Mastodon, Psi-Borg and Kestrel. These would be the products of the first Weapon X Project.
Later on, it was revealed a second team was created, this time producing Garrison Kane, Copycat, Sluggo, Deadpool, Ajax, Slayback and many more.
Eventually, a third Weapon X was installed, now on US soil and conducted by Director Malcolm Colcord, a former guard at the first Weapon X Project run by the Canadian Government's Department K. His unit consisted of former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Brent Jackson, Garrison Kane, Copycat, Sauron, Wildchild, Wash-Out, Aurora, Sabretooth, Marrow, Madison Jeffries/Box, Jack-In-the-Box, Mesmero, Reaper, Wildside and Deadpool. Deadpool didn't last long, as he quickly tried to depart after seeing how evil Colcord's plans were once he witnessed the murder of a scared child who had first manifested his mutant powers. Deadpool quickly tried to leave and Copycat followed.
Before branching off, Weapon X was merely the tenth installation of the Weapon Plus Project, an undercover Canadian-U.S. government program that dates back to the 1940's and is intended to create living weapons for the wars of the future (more exactly to exterminate mutantkind).
Seemingly since the beginning, Weapon Plus' head has been John, none other than the sentient bacteria, 'Sublime', an organism that intends to exterminate mutankind because they are the only living earthlings inmune to it, and that operates in a human body known as John Sublime (also the leader of the U-Men movement).
Characters called Weapon X
In the Age of Apocalypse alternate universe, Wolverine was known as Weapon X.
In mainstream Marvel, Wolverine was also called Weapon X. After Wolverine, Garrison Kane went by the alias of Weapon X as well, before leaving the Canadian Government to work as a mercenary again. A short-time later, a New Zealand terrorist was captured by the Canadian Government and subjected him to an experiment which bonded him symbiotically to a bacteria colony. This symbiosis proved dangerous, as the union created a deadly energy field, which could only be contained by an armored suit, which was powered by the energy field.
Series called Weapon X
The chronicle of Wolverine's days with the Weapon X project, from the bonding of adamantium to his bones to his escape from the project, were revealed in the mini-series Weapon X, written and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith and published in installments in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents in 1991.
In 1995, Weapon X became the name of the Age of Apocalypse variation of Wolverine's ongoing series (During the Age of Apocalypse storyline, each X-Men series was renamed and then reverted to the original name after the storyline ended).
Weapon X is also the name of an ongoing series published by Marvel, featuring the last variation of the project mentioned above. The series began in 2002 and is slated to end in 2004.
Weapon X (in the Exiles series)
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. They act without mercy and without conscience.
The team's membership has changed through time. The first known mission given to Weapon X was to capture the Hulk. At the time, the membership of Weapon X consisted of Sabretooth (Victor Creed of the Age of Apocalypse, the father figure of the Exiles' leader Blink), Deadpool, and Garrison Kane, later it was 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 in their native timelines, although, save from Sabretooth, the background of all the other members are a mystery. The Exiles completed the mission without realizing the existence of Weapon X, but the Weapon X trio saw the Exiles and their leader, Blink.
When the two teams met face-to-face for the first time, Weapon X was already a sextet: Sabretooth, Deadpool, the Spider (Peter Parker, an alternate version of Spider-Man, here a psychotic murderer with the symbiotic alien costume of Venom), Storm (Ororo Munroe, here only sixteen years old), the Vision, and the Hulk (Jennifer Walters, normally called the She-Hulk, here a former mob bookkeeper transformed into an eight-foot green-skinned powerhouse). It was mentioned that the Vision had replaced Kane and that the Spider had replaced Matt Murdock (Daredevil). 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, the entire Weapon X team was killed in battle.
Ultimate Marvel Universe
In Ultimate X-Men, which takes place in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, the Weapon X project has a similar intention and similar methodology as its Marvel Universe counterpart as was also responsible for bonding adamantium to Wolverine’s skeleton.
Ultimate Weapon X's lineup included, at times, Wolverine, Sabretooth, Rogue, Juggernaut, Nightcrawler, and the rest of the original Ultimate X-Men, for a short time after the program invaded Xavier's mansion and took them captive.
However, the Weapon X project is lead by the savage Colonel Wraith and is an international program. It also captured and attempted to condition all of the X-Men in the second major story arc of the series. With help from The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the X-Men ended the program.
Weapon X in televison & film
In the X-Men film franchise, thus far consisting of 2000’s X-Men and 2003’s X2: X-Men United, Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, is an amnesiac searching for clues to his past, which definitely includes unwilling participation in a paramilitary program that bonded adamantium to his skeleton, although the program was not named. He also encounters Lady Deathstrike, who has been put through an in identical procedure.
X2 introduced Colonel William Stryker, a military scientist who invented the adamantium bonding process and has performed other experiments on mutants. The Marvel Universe version of Stryker has no affiliation with Weapon X. In fact, Stryker was a reverend in the demi-classic 'God Loves, Man Kills' story, upon which X2 was based.
In the cartoon television series X-Men: Evolution, another Weapon X project, the young female clone of Wolverine, X-23, was introduced. She was eventually worked into the Marvel Comics universe too.
Creations of the Weapon Plus Project
Weapon 0
Weapon 0 remains classified. It managed to produce Isaiah Bradley, Maurice Canfield, and Lucas Evans.
Weapon I
Weapon I, aka Project: Rebirth, managed to produce Captain America (Weapon I) and Protocide. It's also been revealed that one of the first mutant experiments was created during this time, designated Queen. Weapon Plus considers Captain America as its most successful creation.
Nicholas Fury, aka Nick Fury, was later given a derivative of the Super-Soldier Formula, called the Infinity Formula, which granted him an extended lifespan.
Weapon II
Weapon II experimented on animals. It is unknown if any successful subjects were created.
Weapon III
Weapon III experimented on animals. It is unknown if any successful subjects were created.
Weapon IV
Weapon IV experimented on various ethnic groups, none of which have been revealed yet, but may possibly apply to existing characters.
The Soviet Union had managed to create the 1950s Electro (II) during this time.
Weapon V
Weapon V experimented on various ethnic groups, none of which have been revealed yet, but may possibly apply to existing characters.
Weapon VI
Weapon VI experimented on minor alterations to humans to create durable agents, enforcers, spies and assassins. Some successes included Bullet, while both Luke Cage and Warhawk (III) were initial prototypes conducted on human guinea pigs.
The Soviet Union had a similar project called the Red Room, which created agents like Black Widow (II), Iron Maiden and Osaku, as well as similar projects conducted by the KGB which produced the Red Guardian (I), Red Guardian (II), Red Guardian (III), Red Guardian (V), Red Guardian (VI), Red Guardian (VII) and Ghostmaker.
Weapon VII
Weapon VII, aka Project: Homegrown, experimented on psychopathic humans and mutants, many of whom were implanted with skin grafts, brain implants and mentally-manipulated. Some of the known participants who died in Project: Homegrown included Andrew Perlmutter, Michael Labash, John Walsh, James MacPherson and fourteen other unknown recruits. The only known successful subject of Project: Homegrown was Nuke (II), however the United States also employed the Power-Broker to produce another super-soldier, named G.I. Max.
The United Kingdom also had its own version of Project: Homegrown, aka the Black Budget, which managed to create Dauntless, Gog, Dreadnaught, Revenge, Victory, Invincible, Challenger (III) and some other unnamed super-soldiers.
The Mercy Corporation, an off-shoot of SHIELD. to work on super-soldiers and eventually broke off, also had its own unit of super-soldiers, using a serum similar to previous derivatives of the Super-Soldier Serum from Weapon I. Their agents included Jack Reno, Keel, Kyle, Agent Villarosa, Agent Davis and Agent Milo.
Weapon VIII
Weapon Project VIII (aka Project Reptile, The Project, MK Ultra and MK Delta) this project dealt with the use of psychoactive drugs and memory implants/triggers to create assassins and agents. Some of the known agents include Typhoid Mary, Jack Hazzard, Frank Roberts, Agent Crock and Lee Harvey Oswald.
Weapon IX
The tenth Weapon Project was a spin-off of Weapon VIII, but replacing the drugs and memory manipulations with cybernetics on humans and mutants. Other Projects made their first attempts to create super-soldiers equipped with robotic power armors and similar concepts. Some agents created through this included Cyber, John Garrett and Arthur Perry.
The Soviet Union had it's own success with the Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man, while Canada developed the prototype for Weapon Alpha and Japan brought about Otomo.
Weapon X
There have been a variety of superhuman agents involved or created through the Weapon X Project, aka Weapon Chi and the Chi Protocol. The eleventh project that specialized in mutant agents working for various governments.
The first team of mutant agents was developed by the Weapon X Project through Canada's Department H, by Prof. Thornton, Dr. Cornelius and John Sublime. The first line up consisted on the members of CIA's Team X: Wolverine, Sabretooth, Maverick (I), Kestrel/John Wraith, Mastodon and Silver Fox. The first team was also policed by an adaptive robot enforcer, should any of the agents go rogue, called Shiva. The team was also controlled through memory implants created by Psi-Borg (II), who was falsely promised the gift of suppressed aging after his help with the memories of the other members of Team X.
Omega Red, Proletariat and Epsilon Red are three other successful subjects from the former Soviet Union's own version of the Weapon X Project. The Soviet Union also had Red Dawn: First Strike, another Weapon Project, which developed a covert team of super-humans to launch the first strike against the U.S. should the Cold War have become an actual war, but was never activated, until rediscovered in Marvel 2099 by the Alchemax Corporation. Red Dawn included Doktor October, Red Dawn, Hammer (I), Sickle (I), the Bear and Chernobyl.
A female creation, called Native, is also believed to have been developed simultaneously along the first batch of subjects during the first Weapon X Project, but she would be revealed decades later. Also revealed is X-23, the 23rd attempt to clone Wolverine (I) who was designed to also hunt down rogue agents.
The second team was designed a few years later, after Weapon X branched off and was headed up by Canada's Department K, but this time the focus was for lone agents, and consisted of Deadpool (I), Garrison Kane, Slayback, Sluggo, Wildchild, Wyre, Copycat and Ajax. The batch produced many additional failures, who were sent to a facility to dissection to determine the cause of their failures.
During the time of the second Weapon X Project, there was also an independent contract being held by defense contractor, Wright-Armstrong, that developed superhuman beings including Chrissie Cutler, Deadbird, Mrs. Gray, Intergalactic, Manny Josin, Manifest Destiny and Stealth.
A smaller experiment was later developed by Department K with a New Zealand terrorist, who would become Weapon X (III), merging him with a symbiotic bacteria colony.
The third Weapon X was designed to help monitor and eliminate mutants, formed many years later by Director Malcolm Colcord, a former security guard at the first Weapon X installation, with the help of John Sublime. Unlike the previous two, the third Project was U.S.-based. However unlike the previous two projects, this project had broken off from the Weapon Plus project and was now a rogue organization known only to a few United States government officials, due to the ultimate inhuman goal of Colcord, the creation of concentration camps. Through the decades, he rose through the ranks, until he managed to become the Director of the third Weapon X project by convincing various government officials the effectiveness of such a program. The Director initially used this team as a method of revenge against Wolverine for disfiguring his face decades ago during his escape, but eventually began the capturing of mutants, and imprisoning them in his now realized dream, the secret government concentration camp called Neverland. Mutants who are not suitable to be used as military weapons would be executed, while those that are suitable are given the choice to join Weapon X or die.
The third team consisted of Agent Brent Jackson, Wildchild, Marrow, Sauron, Agent Zero (II), Aurora, Mesmero, Washout, Jack-in-the-Box, Sabretooth, Madison Jeffries, Copycat, Deadpool, Reaper (V), and Wildside. Unknownst to all, Mister Sinister was disguised as the head scientist at Neverland, Doctor Windsor.
During the time of the third team, brand-new Weapon X Projects emerged, after Sabretooth sold stolen secrets to high bidders around the world.
After some time, Agent Brent Jackson, the only human officially on the team, took over as Director, during a mutiny by the team in conjunction with an attack by mutants from the Mutant Underground. Washout and Garrison Kane died in the event, while Sabretooth was washed away into the sewers after a battle with Marrow. Marrow used the battle to escape the third Weapon X Project, eventually taking over the Mutant Underground, now renamed as Gene Nation.
Director Brent Jackson's team, the fourth Weapon X, consisted of Wildchild, Marrow, Sauron, Agent Zero (II), Mesmero, Jack-in-the-Box, and Chamber. Mister Sinister was still with the group as Doctor Windsor. This unit has since then vanished, while Sinister has reappeared and Chamber has joined a superhero team known as Excelsior.
Weapon XI
Weapon XI was closed down, before creating a successful subject.
There was, however, a separate project to develop super-soldiers by the M-Branch, called X-Force (I), which involved the subjects being irradiated by gamma radiation and cosmic rays. This team included Longshot (II), Wolverine (II), Havok (II), Storm (II), Rogue (II), Dazzler (II), Psylocke (II), and Colossus (IV).
Weapon XII
Weapon Plus created Weapon XII aka Huntsman (whose real name is Zona Cluster 6) at the England-based facilities of The World, employing artificial evolution and nanosentinel technology. Huntsman, planned for Dr. Sublime's Super-Sentinels team was 'accidentally' unleashed on the Channel Tunnel and fought X-Corporation members Cannonball, M, Darkstar, Rictor, Siryn and Multiple Man. Weapon XII was eliminated by Fantomex with the aid of Jean Grey and Professor X.
Weapon XIII
Weapon Plus created Weapon XIII Fantomex, whose real name is Charlie Cluster 7, also at The World. He was designed to be the Super-Sentinels cool stealth assassin, the team member women want and men want to be like. However, Fantomex rebelled against his creators.
Weapon XIV
Weapon XIV are the Stepford Cuckoos, seemingly intended to be moles at the Xavier Institute. The Stepford Cuckoos (Celeste/Unit 01, Esme/Unit02, Mindee/Unit03, Phoebe/Unit 04 and Sophie/Unit05) are quintuplets telepaths that share a psychic link and can 'merge their minds' to increase their own telepathic power. Sophie was killed by an overdose of the drug Kick (her actions were manipulated by Esme, who attempted to take control of her sisters) during a riot at Xavier's. Esme, also under the influence of the drug Kick broke her connection with her sisters, attempted to murder Emma Frost and joined the Xorn/Magneto imposter, who ultimately killed her after Esme attacked him for refusing her affections.
Weapon XV
So far, the final creation of Weapon Plus is Weapon XV, aka Ultimaton, designed to be the SuperSentinels grand powerhouse. He dies when Wolverine destroys the Weapon Plus space satellite that was designed as the SuperSentinels HQ's.
The World
The World is a secret lab owned by the Weapon Plus Project, in which the program scientits inted to create superior humans employing eugenics, nanotechnology and artificial evolution (time is "artificial" at the World and it can be frozen or altered in any way the Program desires). The World's facilities contains its own population that is led to believe that beyond the World's limits there's nothing else than endless rock and that mutants are coming to destroy them.
The World was destroyed when AIM agents attacked the facilities and had to face Weapon XV.
External links
Knightmare6.com, The Weapon Project (http://www.knightmare6.com/faq/weapon_project)