Marvel Brings Back A Fan-Favorite X-Men Character

Marvel has brought back one iconic character from the X-Men franchise – and the surprise twist came in the place many fans least expected it! 

(SPOILERS) The returning character is none other than Age of Apocalypse Wolverine/Weapon X – aka, James Howlett of Earth-295. He was first introduced in the 1990s X-Men Universe crossover event “Age of Apocalypse”, as the version of Wolverine who rebelled against Apocalypse’s regime working on his own with human alliance, and his lover, Jean Grey. Weapon X survived the Fall of Apocalypse and nuclear annihilation thanks to Jean, and became an enforcer, hunting down Apocalypse’s remaining forces. Eventually, Weapon X became the big bad of his reality, in the 2010s AoA storylines that saw him transformed by Celestials into “Weapon Omega,” the “Heir to Apocalypse.” By the end of those stories, Howlett was purged of Celestial influence and became Wolverine again – albeit, tormented by his evil deeds as Weapon Omega. 

Now, Weapon X  is being recruited by a variant of Jean Grey who mastered the Phoenix Force, and used it to save her reality – instead of dooming it. This version of Phoenix has recruited Age of Apocalypse Howlett to do what he does best: hunt down and kill dangerous villains – in this case, a variant of Onslaught who has escaped into the Marvel multiverse. 

The return of Age of Apocalypse Weapon X is revealed in the cliffhanger ending to the new Original X-Men comic book. The issue sees the Good Phoenix first recruit the original X-Men team from the main Marvel Universe, to try and save a parallel timeline (Earth-696) from versions of the five Original X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, and Iceman) who used Jean’s power to stop Magneto, and psychically coerce the world into peace between man and mutant. 

During the story, it’s revealed that because Jean Grey (and not Charles Xavier) mind-wiped Magneto in the 696 version of reality, her mind became the crib of Onslaught’s birth, instead. The malevolent psychic entity used Jean and her Phoenix persona as a mask, coercing everyone (including her X-Men teammates) into doing Onslaught’s bidding. Thanks to the Original X-Men’s influence Jean is separated from Onslaught and uses her power to combat the villain while sending the younger X-Men home. 

In the epilogue of the story, the benevolent Phoenix variant that recruited the Original X-Men for the mission is seen talking with Weapon X, who explains that Onslaught escaped into the multiverse. Weapon X is going after Onslaught, but he needs backup – so Phoenix is arranging for a “Band of Logans” to join him for the upcoming miniseries Weapon X-Men. 

The team of Multiversal Wolverines includes: 

• Old Man Logan, the Wolverine of the Wastelands who comes from a future where Earth’s mightiest heroes have been slaughtered
• Age of Apocalypse Wolverine, the one-handed Weapon X of Earth-295
• Zombie Wolverine, the best there is at eating brains
• Earth X Wolverine, the wild Wolverine of Earth-9997
• Jane Howlett, a new female Wolverine from Earth-1281

Original X-Men #1 is now on sale at Marvel.