Spinning out of Original X-Men #1 is Weapon X-Men, a new miniseries launching this week. It features a team of Wolverines from the multiverse because why the hell not? They are the best there is at what they do, after all. Crafted by writer Christos Gage and artist Yildiray Çinar, can the creative team get people hype for Wolverine in a year where he’ll be on the big screen once again?
For the most part, the answer is yes. Weapon X-Men opens on Earth-295, where Wolverine from the Age of Apocolypse stands on a pile of bodies. He has nothing to live for, so why not join Phoenix with a band of Wolverine’s to save the universe? On the team are zombie Wolverine, Jane Howlett of Earth-1281, Old Man Logan of Earth-807128, and Wolverine of Earth X, aka Earth-9997. You might immediately think something is up since this isn’t the most powerful of Wolverine figures, but Phoenix seems confident in the team she’s put together.
To catch you up, an Onslaught of another universe needs to be killed. Phoenix is using her powers to find him, and soon, the team is rushing off to a planet where humans and mutants live in harmony. Jean Grey and Magneto now lead their greatest heroes, and away we go. After a heck of a lot of exposition–the story slows down quite a bit–the Wolverines head off and are immediately confronted with a motley crew of familiar faces, only of the multiverse variety.
Those looking for Wolverine action have come to the right place. There’s plenty of slashing, cutting, dicing, and attitude. So much attitude in fact that most of these characters grit their teeth and lack much of a personality. That said, there’s plenty of Wolverine to be had in various forms.
Çinar gets to show off his skills at drawing action with speedster flyers and even Captain America blocking Wolverine in an iconic pose. There’s more action near the end of the issue too with some great detail throughout. The art is never a detriment to the story. Each Wolverine gets to contribute to the fight in their own way and Çinar makes it easy to follow the action even when things get chaotic.
A team of Wolverines. What could go wrong?
Credit: Marvel
The narrative does feel a little familiar with tropes here and there. That includes heroes mistakenly fighting heroes and a twist you might see coming. Somewhat absent is Phoenix herself, who bizarrely drops off the mutants, pops in, then leaves again. One might imagine she’s up to something, but the larger story is just accepted as the Wolverines do as she says to kill Onslaught wherever he may be hiding. The story is also largely separate from the main X-Men continuity, so it ends up feeling like a lost story more than one that matters.
The story never digs too deep into this odd crew of Wolverines, either. A few jokes about zombie Wolverine eating people here, a joke or two about Earth X Wolverine being fat there, but nothing that gets at the heart of who they are. That’s unfortunate since there’s downtime in the comic in between action. The team never really gels either and is simply focused on the mission.
As far as action comics go, Weapon X-Men has plenty to sink your claws into. A lot of what is in this comic feels familiar, though, as the narrative never probes the characters too deeply.
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