In a world under Doom, what sort of external threat could bring together the most dangerous mutants in the world (and Chamber)? Worse still, what if all the threats aren’t external? Your Major Spoilers review of Weapon X-Men #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!
WEAPON X-MEN #1
Writer: Joe Casey
Penciller: Chriscross
Inker: Mark Morales
Colorist: Yen Nitro
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editor: Mark Basso and Darren Shan
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: February 19, 2025
Previously in Weapon X-Men: The cyborg from the future! The Merc With A Mouth! The Wolverine! The other not-quite-a-Wolverine! And also, Chamber. When a high-stakes mutant rescue mission from the ultimate global hot spot exposes the true enemy (possibly from within), an all-new team of all-action icons suddenly find themselves forged in fire.
And the official membership policy is… no mercy allowed!
WHO WANTS THE ADAMANTIUM?
Picking up from events in his own book, Wolverine starts out in Weapon X-men #1, tracking reports of a stolen cache of adamantium, which leads him to the villain known as Khyber. Well, to be specific, to the CORPSE of the villain known as Khyber, who has not only had his secret adamantium cache stolen but had the adamantium parts stripped from his body. Before he can piece it all together, Logan is targeted by persons unknown, poisoned, and his hotel bombed into rubble. Immediately after the attack, Deadpool shows up to tell him that he’s being targeted, followed by the appearance of Cable, who needs his help with a recovery mission. Of course, six claws, three guys, two healing factors, and a big freakin’ gun aren’t sufficient for what Cable has in mind, so they swing by ol’ London Towne to pick up Chamber, a living weapon that emits unspecified bizarre energies in potentially city-smashing quantities. Why do they need quite so much firepower, you ask?
Well, they’re on their way into the home country of the new Emperor of the World, Doctor Doom.
“CURSE YOUR SUDDEN AND INEVITABLE BETRAYAL!”
There’s a lot of information that the readers aren’t privy to in these pages, a side-effect of having no fewer than three main characters who are used to doing things their own way and keeping everything to themselves. It’s a common practice with first issues lately, especially Marvel first issues, but it’s nice to see Casey building that into the plot. If you can suspend your disbelief just long enough to get past the breakneck pace of it all, the plot is a well-oiled machine that gets us right to the point that I expected as a reader… and then smashes all that to smithereens. The work of Chriscross has been one of my fave-raves since the ’90s, and this issue is a good example of why, with smooth action sequences and the best-looking Thunderbird since Cockrum’s. (The fact that Deadpool is visually as chaotic as his dialogue, at one point standing with a mug of beer on his head for no reason other than it’s funny, is a big plus.) The piece de resistance is a half-page shot of Thunderbird knocking Wolverine’s light out, which is both good-looking and highly satisfying.
BOTTOM LINE: I WAS JUST HERE FOR THUNDERBIRD
To be honest, I only bought this comic to see if Marvel was going to finally do something with Thunderbird after his resurrection a couple of years ago, but Weapon X-Men #1 ended up being a very engaging comic, with really well-done art and a story that I want to see play out, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. Just the balancing of Deadpool’s fourth wall breaking with the dramatic backdrop of Doom and various X-plots is an achievement in itself.
Dear Spoilerite,
At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.
WEAPON X-MEN #1
This issue barely takes a moment to breathe, but manages to assemble the unusual troops, establish the threat, AND break my expectations, with excellent art.
-
Writing7
-
Art8
-
Coloring8
