X-Men ’97 Season 2, episode 4 ends with the perfect Weapon X setup. Post-credits scenes have been a Marvel tradition ever since 2008, but Marvel’s TV shows have increasingly avoided them. In a delightful twist, though, X-Men ’97‘s latest episode features one that’s incredible setup for what may be one of the most important Wolverine stories in years. What’s more, this came complete with a surprise Avengers cameo.
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The post-credits scene sees Wolverine head to Paris, where he meets with Captain America and Black Widow. The two share brief reminiscences, recalling how they worked together 50 years ago, before Cap hands over a dossier marked “Weapon X.” We already know episode 5 is entitled “Weapon X, Lies and DVDs,” making it a sequel to the classic episode “Weapon X, Lies and Video Tapes.” It’s pretty clear we’re about to learn some thrilling secrets from Wolverine’s past, lifted straight from the comics.
5. We’re About to Learn Wolverine’s Real Weapon X Origin Story
In comic book lore, the Weapon X Project was the experimental program that first gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton and claws. Most viewers will be familiar with the classic incarnation, but the Weapon X Project has changed a lot over the years – most notably because of the revelation the “X” actually represents the Roman numeral for “10.” In other words, Wolverine was the tenth-generation experimental super-soldier created by the so-called “Weapon Plus” program. Steve Rogers, appropriately enough, was Weapon I.
Weapon Plus was the brainchild of superstar comic book writer Grant Morrison. The Morrison era (which featured art by Frank Quitely) has already had a massive influence on X-Men ’97; last season’s Genosha arc is lifted straight from it, and trailers have shown some X-Men in costumes from that run. Marvel’s first X-Men ’97 trailer debuted at Comic Con Revolution Ontario, and it was never released online; it featured a scene in which Logan led a task force, with DVDs representing different Weapon Plus test subjects. We’re clearly about to learn the full Wolverine origin story, adapted in full for the first time.
4. The French Connection Can Only Mean We’re Getting Fantomex
The Weapon Plus revelations are, in the comics, tied to one specific mutant: Fantomex, a delightfully whimsical super-soldier created as Weapon XIII. One of Marvel’s most skilled assassins, he’s noted for a strange bond with a ship called E.V.A., which is an extension of his own nervous system. Fantomex is also noted for speaking with an exaggerated French accent – which surely makes it significant Wolverine is meeting Captain America and Black Widow in Paris.
If we’re heading for Fantomex, then X-Men ’97 is about to adapt some of the most entertaining, trippy comics in X-Men history. Fantomex could even conceivably set up a mysterious Weapon Plus facility called The World, an advanced facility that exists outside the normal flow of time. Another of Grant Morrison’s high-powered ideas, The World is situated somewhere in rural England and has become a major X-Men location. It would be thrilling to see both Fantomex and The World adapted for X-Men ’97.
3. This is the Winter Soldier Setup We’ve Been Waiting For
Yes, you read that right. The Comic Con Revolution Ontario showed names on the discs, and the most surprising was a reference to the Winter Soldier. It seems that, in the X-Men ’97 timeline, the Weapon Plus project operated on both sides of the Iron Curtain. This presumably explains why trailers have featured the Russian mutant super-solder Omega Red, who must also be a Weapon Plus experiment.
But the Winter Solder name-drop is particularly important for Wolverine. In the comics, the brainwashed Bucky Barnes was used as a pawn to manipulate Logan throughout his life. In fact, he was the assigned assassin who killed one of Wolverine’s lovers – and who was responsible for Wolverine’s son, Daken, being spirited away on behalf of the mutant warlord Romulus. Even more excitingly, we have no way of knowing whether the Winter Soldier has been redeemed in the X-Men ’97 timeline. So we could even conceivably get a Wolverine versus Winter Soldier scrap.
2. Black Widow Just Made Her ’90s Animation Debut
You may be surprised to learn that Black Widow has just made her Marvel ’90s animation debut. Back in the ’90s, there was a strong relationship between Marvel shows and the action figures they sold; it’s generally believed there were problems with Black Widow merch rights, so Marvel’s animated shows never used the character. The closest they came was Agent X, a Black Widow doppelganger in Spider-Man: The Animated Series who was an obvious riff. X-Men ’97 just confirmed another Avenger in this timeline.
In the comics, Natasha Romanoff has history with Wolverine too. They met when she was just a child, and he and Captain America saved her from some pretty dangerous mystical ceremonies. This backstory was established in “Madrpoor Knights,” a key part of Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men run, and something like it may well be part of the timeline too. We can only hope we get some actual flashbacks cementing the relationship between Black Widow and Wolverine.
1. This Has Got To Be Where Wolverine Gets His Adamantium Back
X-Men ’97‘s Wolverine is currently diminished, the adamantium stripped from his bones. In the comics, Logan eventually got his adamantium back courtesy of Apocalypse; we’d assumed something similar would happen in Season 2, because trailers have already confirmed the Canucklehead will be restored in the end. But the Weapon Plus focus raises a much more likely explanation: Wolverine could easily be looking into Weapon X with the purpose of undergoing adamantium implantation again.
That would be a smart move on Marvel’s part. It would turn this around, from a random side-mission to a logical part of the story. In a single stroke, we’d know exactly why Wolverine has decided now is the time to research Weapon X. Appropriately enough, it would make him the only real Weapon Plus success since Captain America: a super-solder granted powers (again, in this case) who goes on to do exactly what he’s intended to – save the world.
The first four episodes of X-Men ’97 are streaming now on Disney+, and new episodes will be released weekly. Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
