Who Were the Weapon X Subjects Before Wolverine?

Throughout the history of the Marvel Universe, various figures have been retconned and revealed to be connected to one of its most nefarious organizations: the Weapon Plus program, an institution whose experiments have turned its subjects into living weapons. This fits given how much the backstory of Wolverine, who's widely associated with the Weapon "X" Program, has been retconned.

Its first products included the artificially created mutants of The World. But its most famous success stories are Deadpool and Wolverine, aka Weapon X. However, plenty of other major Marvel characters have been revealed to be results of the program, including some heroes that, technically, predate Wolverine's connection. Here are the heroes who have quietly been connected to Weapon Plus over the years.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on July 31, 2024:Wolverine is the most well-known experiment and victim of the Weapon X program. It was later revealed that the X in Weapon X wasn't a letter, as in the case of the X-Men, but rather a Roman numeral. Thus, there were Weapons 1 through Weapon 9 before Wolverine. Preceding the birth of "Weapon X" as fans know it, these experiments involve other Marvel heroes, namely a star-spangled Avenger who throws a mighty shield.

The First Avenger Was Weapon I

Debut: Captain America Comics#1 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

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As revealed in Weapon X #23 (by Frank Tieri and Tom Mandrake), the Weapon Plus program was descended from the government's excitement over the results of the World War II-era Project Rebirth. This was the same program that granted Steve Rogers enhanced physical abilities, turning him into Captain America. This success spurred further experimentation within the program and resulted in Captain America retroactively being designated as Weapon I when the Weapon Plus program began in earnest.

This makes a lot of sense from a legacy level. After all, Captain America was the first major superhero for the publisher that became Marvel Comics. Thus, tying him to Weapon X is logical. The idea was reinterpreted in the original Ultimate Universe, where the mutant species was artificially created by trying to recreate the Super Soldier Serum.

Weapon II Unleashed Brute Force

Debut: Brute Force #1 by Simon Furman and Jose Delbo

The next level in the program later known as Weapon X, Weapon II, was an attempt to weaponize several animals cybernetically to serve as living weapons. This resulted in both Weapon II (a mechanically improved squirrel with razor-sharp metal claws) and the rest of the group known as Brute Force.

This strange group was a band of hyper-intelligent animal soldiers who eventually ended up in stasis until Wolverine and Captain America found them in Wolverine & Captain America: Weapon Plus (by Ethan Sacks and Diogenes Neves). The stars of a short-lived comic book, Brute Force seem laughable until their dark origins were revealed as a stepping stone to the Weapon X experiments.

Weapon III Was a Skinless Mutant

Debut: Uncanny X-Force#21 by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini

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Initially listed in New X-Men as focusing primarily on animal test subjects, Weapon III was revealed to have had one successful graduate: Harry Pizer, the Skinless Man. First appearing in Uncanny X-Force #21 (by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini), Harry had elastic and flexible skin, which the Weapon Plus program enhanced. However, his powers were more like Generation X member Skin than Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four.

The malicious Pizer eventually learned to control his muscle ligaments as tendrils after the Captain Britain Corps skinned him. A hated foe of Fantomex, the Skinless Man even briefly killed the hero before being killed himself by Deadpool.

Man-Thing Was the Most Monstrous Weapon Plus Experiment

Debut: Savage Tales#1 by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Gray Morrow

Weapon IV was eventually revealed in Wolverine & Captain America: Weapon Plus to have been connected to Project Sulfur. This attempt to control and weaponize terra-floronics resulted in the head scientist on the project, Ted Sallis, experimenting with the SO-2 Serum. This ultimately led to his transformation into the monstrous Man-Thing.

Although Sallis would escape into the wilds of the Marvel Universe, his experiments eventually resulted in the creation of figures like Man-Slaughter, who would appear in X-Force. Man-Thing is largely seen as the Marvel equivalent to the similar Swamp Thing at DC Comics, who was also a scientist before becoming a "plant monster." Unlike Man-Thing, however, Swamp Thing wasn't tied to an equivalent to the Weapon X experiments.

Weapon V Was the Strangest Symbiote

Debut: Scream: Curse of Carnage#2 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman

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Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus #1 (by Ethan Sacks, Jed MacKay, and Stefano Raffaele) revealed that, in 1965, a symbiote dragon was discovered frozen in the Arctic. Codenamed Grendel, Nick Fury and his team experimented with the alien substance and facilitated the creation of the zombie-like Sym-Soldiers for S.H.I.E.L.D. - effectively starting Weapon V, later dubbed Weapon Venom.

Deployed during the Vietnam War, the Sym-Soldiers proved uncontrollable and violent. The program was shut down, with a reawakened Grendel playing a role in Absolute Carnage and the ensuing King in Black storylines. These events later manifested when Knull, the god of the symbiotes, returned to face his offspring, namely Eddie Brock and Venom.

Weapon VI Became a Bulletproof Hero for Hire

Debut: Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas and John Romita, Sr.

A Vietnam War veteran, Noah Burstein was revealed to have become involved with Weapon Plus in Wolverine & Captain America: Weapon Plus. His experiments on Mitchell Tanner (who later became the unhinged and racially motivated villain Warhawk) impressed Weapon Plus enough for them to encourage more experimentation. Though this didn't result in the adamantium skeletons used for Weapon X, it did involve a man who became as hard as metal.

His next batch was tested on residents of Seagate Prison, with his most famous subject being Luke Cage. As "Weapon VI," Cage was given considerably enhanced strength and durability, becoming a major Marvel hero in his own right. Also gifted with bulletproof skin, he took to the streets of Harlem to deal with crime and deal out punishment.

Weapon VII Was a Dark Parallel to Weapon 1

Debut: Daredevil#232 by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

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Dubbed "Project: Homegrown," Weapon VII was technically introduced during Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil story arc, "Born Again." Eventually revealed to be part of the Weapon Plus program, the only survivor of the process was the violent Frank Simpson. Enhanced with armored implants into his skin and conditioned with a series of adrenaline pills, he was given the codename Nuke. He became a government agent tasked with completing dark, clandestine operations.

He was believed dead following his battle with Daredevil in "Born Again" but was later revealed to be alive, leading him to spend time with the Thunderbolts. In many ways, his patriotic nature and mental distress over the wars that he's seen are a dark reflection of both Captain America and the brutal vigilante The Punisher. Given his mental instability, he's closer to the "evil" imitations of Captain America, such as William Burnside.

Weapon VIII: The Sleeper Agent Program

Debut: New X-Men#145 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

Weapon VIII remains, perhaps, the most mysterious offshoot of the Weapons Plus Program. Teased in New X-Men #145 (by Grant Morrison and Chris Bachalo), Weapon VIII appears to be a host of enhanced assassins and sleeper agents. Controlled through the use of drugs and hypnosis, the soldiers are seeded into the world.

From these "nests," they're poised and prepared to assist "Super Sentinels" such as Fantomex and Ultimaton in wiping out mutantkind. Weapon VIII's products have yet to be formally introduced, leaving a hole in the program's history and the potential for these sleeper agents to one day be activated.

Weapon IX: Typhoid Mary

Debut: Daredevil#254 by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr.

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Very little is known about Weapon IX's full history, save for the confirmation that it took place in Wolverine & Captain America: Weapon Plus. Dubbed Project Psyche, it was the last program before the one involving Wolverine, and it produced Typhoid Mary. A powerful mutant with multiple personas, Mary's volatile powers and training made her one of the deadliest products of the program.

She's continued to operate as a villainous assassin as the wife of Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin. A frequent enemy of Daredevil, Typhoid Mary's connection to the future Weapon X program has helped bridge the gap between her and other mutants. Though she was right before him, she's much different than Wolverine.

X-Men

Since their debut in 1963, Marvel's X-Men have been more than just another superhero team. While the team really hit its stride as the All New, All Different X-Men in 1975, Marvel's heroic mutants have always operated as super-outcasts, protecting a world that hates and fears them for their powers.

Key members of the X-Men include Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Beast, Rogue, and Storm. Often framed as the world's second strongest superheroes, after the Avengers, they are nonetheless one of Marvel's most popular and important franchises.

Created byStan Lee, Jack Kirby

First FilmX-Men

Latest FilmThe New Mutants

Upcoming FilmsDeadpool & Wolverine

First TV ShowX-Men: Pryde of the X-Men (1989)

Latest TV ShowX-Men '97

First Episode Air DateSeptember 16, 1989

CastPatrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Reynolds, Halle Berry

Current SeriesX-Men '97