Deadpool/Wolverine has teamed the two Weapon X alums together, taking them to Deadwood, South Dakota for a date with one of the most dangerous mutants of all time. However, things got very interesting when Deadpool started talking like a robot and attacking Wolverine, saying that he was an “X-Cutioner” and wondering why Wolverine hadn’t been activated. Longtime X-Men fans will recognize the term “X-Cutioner”, which has always been associated with Stryfe, the evil clone of Cable. Stryfe has somehow placed “X-Cutioner” programming in Deadpool and Wolverine, but readers didn’t really know what his grand plan was until Deadpool/Wolverine #3, by Benjamin Percy and Joshua Cassara. Stryfe is going back to an old plan, one with a huge twist that makes it even more dangerous.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“X-Cutioner” in the X-Men mythos comes from the 1992 X-Men crossover “The X-Cutioner’s Song”. This story revolved around Stryfe pretending to be Cable, and trying to assassinate Professor X. This led the X-Men and X-Factor to hunt down Cable and X-Force, but all of that was a trick by Stryfe. Stryfe’s true plan involved releasing the Legacy Virus, a virus meant to kill mutants. Deadpool/Wolverine #3 teases the return of the Legacy Virus as Legacy 2.0. The Legacy Virus is one of the biggest existential threats to mutants ever, and its return in a new guise will have deadly consequences for everyone on Earth, mutant and otherwise.
The Legacy Virus Was One of the Worst Things to Every Happen to Mutants
The history of the Legacy Virus is one of tragedy. Stryfe created the virus at some point in his life and hid it a canister that he gave Mister Sinister, telling the evil geneticist that it was 2000 years of Summers genetics. This was the perfect ploy, as if there is one thing that Sinister couldn’t resist, it’s genetics from the Summers clan. Once the container was opened the virus was released. Stryfe was a disciple of Apocalypse in the far future; he grew up learning that the only strong survive and the Legacy Virus was his test for the mutants of the past. In Stryfe’s mind, if they couldn’t survive the virus, than they didn’t deserve to survive.
RELATED: 10 Best X-Men Stories of all Time
The Legacy Virus targeted the X-genes of mutants, destroying the body’s ability to create healthy cells. There were three versions of the original Legacy Virus — Legacy-1, Legacy-2, and Legacy-3. Legacy-1 just stopped cellular replication. Legacy-2 went at a much slower rate than Legacy-1, and had symptoms like lesions, fever, cough, and general weakness (if you didn’t already realize it, the Legacy Virus was mutant AIDS), eventually the victim would lose control of their powers. Legacy-3 was an adaptation of the virus created in the body of the mutant Infectia, and allowed the virus to jump to humans. The X-Men only learned about the Legacy Virus when Illyana Rasputin, back at her actual age, came down with a mysterious sickness. Nothing Beast or Moira MacTaggert could do stopped the virus and Illyana died. She was the first, but definitely not the last, mutant to die, with mutants like Pyro, Mastermind, and Kwannon all dying from the virus. Beast was finally able to make a cure, but it would kill the first person who took it. Colossus sacrificed himself to stop the virus that killed his sister.
Stryfe’s Legacy 2.0 Is Meant to Target Humanity
The Legacy Virus was one of the most dangerous threats to mutantkind during its day, and its creation cemented Stryfe’s place as one of the most dangerous mutants on the planet. The end of the Legacy Virus was a huge win for mutants, despite Colossus’s death having made it possible. Stryfe’s return with Legacy 2.0 is a huge deal, but Deadpool/Wolverine #3 reveals that this version of the Legacy Virus is meant for a singular, chilling purpose — destroying humanity.
Throughout the issue, Wolverine tries to activate the X-Cutioner side of Deadpool in order to interrogate it. Wolverine learns that the purpose of the X-Cutioners was to destroy humanity and the issue later introducing the Legacy 2.0 virus shows exactly how Stryfe planned on making that happen. Wolverine has so far been able to fight his X-Cutioner programming, but Stryfe releasing Legacy 2.0 might be the nail in humanity’s coffin.
Deadpool/Wolverine #3 is now on sale where ever comics are sold.
Most Viewed
-
Image Credit: State Farm
