An X-Men team full of Wolverines is the only for for the multiverse in a preview of Weapon X-Men. The new series features the cosmic entity Phoenix gathering five Wolverines from different Earths to stop a new form of Onslaught from eradicating all life in the multiverse. Fan favorites such as the Wolverine from the Age of Apocalypse, Marvel Zombie Wolverine, Old Man Logan, and Earth X Wolverine made the squad, and they're joined by an all-new character called Jane Howlett. Weapon X-Men spins out of the Original X-Men one-shot, and the preview for the first issue offers readers a recap of its events.
Marvel released a preview of Weapon X-Men #1 by Christos Gage, Yildiray Cinar, Nolan Woodard, and VC's Clayton Cowles. It introduces readers to the five Wolverines that make up Weapon X-Men, with the Phoenix Force explaining what happened in Original X-Men #1. Long story short, this Phoenix bonded with an alternate-Earth Jean Grey, but was influenced by Magneto's fears when he was killed, thus forming the origin story for Onslaught. Where the Original X-Men failed, the Phoenix is hoping the Wolverines, who are the best there is at what they do, can succeed. And if they don't, Phoenix trusts them to make the hard decisions, while she lays waste to the world to stop Onslaught from spreading his reign of terror.
How Marvel decided which Wolverines would make up Weapon X-Men
ComicBook.com spoke to Weapon X-Men writer Christo Gage to find out what went into the selection process for who would form the team.
"Editor Sarah Brunstad and I kicked around a bunch of names, but at the end of the day the story really dictated who was chosen," Gage said. "It called for 'damaged' Wolverines, if you will. Ones who weren't the supremely capable versions you might see in, for example, Days of Future Past, where he was a Colonel in the Canadian Resistance Army, or MC2 Wolverine, who had settled down and become a well-adjusted family man. So we have Weapon X from the Age of Apocalypse, who has lost a hand and the woman he loves; Earth X Wolverine, who has let himself go, both physically and emotionally; Old Man Logan, who is severely traumatized by having killed his fellow X-Men while in the grip of illusions; Jane Howlett, who is young and inexperienced by the standards of a Wolverine; and Zombie Wolverine, who happens to be dead."
He then discussed how they came around to creating Jane Howlett. "Jane Howlett actually came about as the result of what was really a joke on my part," he added. "I kept saying I wanted to use Scared Victorian Boy Wolverine from Astonishing X-Men, until Sarah correctly and intelligently pointed out that for an entire miniseries he'd kind of be a one-note joke. But that did get me wondering about a character that sprang from kind of a classic What If premise: What if Wolverine had stayed at the Howlett ancestral home? And as I continued thinking about that, I thought about making James Howlett into Jane Howlett, since a female heir, even to a rich family, would face challenges a male wouldn't in an era when women couldn't even vote. So that's the fun of the collaborative process. Then Yildiray designed her and she was just so awesome she took on a life of her own!"
The preview of Weapon X-Men #1 can be found below. The issue goes on sale Wednesday, March 6th.
