Review: Ultimate X-Men Volume 2 - Return to Weapon X

After Colonel Nick Fury goes missing during a S.H.I.E.L.D. assignment, the secretive Weapon X program kidnaps the X-Men and forces them to help in the rescue mission. They are tortured by the sadistic renegade John Wraith and the unscrupulous Abraham Cornelius in order to ensure their continued submission. Having earlier evaded Weapon X, Wolverine is the X-Men’s only hope for escape.

Ultimate X-Men Volume 2: Return to Weapon X collects Ultimate X-Men #7-12, written by Mark Millar and illustrated primarily by Adam Kubert.

In Return to Weapon X, writer Mark Millar re-imagines the shady government-sponsored program that turned Wolverine into the iconic Adamantium-wielding assassin. In the Ultimate Universe, Weapon X is employed by the United States government as an off-the-books organization that enslaves mutants for the purpose of performing black ops missions. It’s run by the extraordinarily cruel John Wraith, who is responsible for giving the orders to capture the X-Men and turn them into his personal kill squad. He fulfills a role similar to that of William Stryker in X2, though admittedly much more unhinged and aggressive. Scientist Abraham Cornelius acts as Wraith’s righthand and plays a crucial role in turning Beast blue in this storyline, which is an interesting  twist seeing as most other versions depict Beast’s transformation as self-inflicted. Nightcrawler, Juggernaut, Sabretooth and Rogue also make appearances as Weapon X subjects. There’s little depth to their characters, especially when it comes to Juggernaut and Rogue, but Nightcrawler is a standout for his continued reluctance to do as he’s told. We’re shown that he’s attempted to escape before and that he still has a clear sense of right and wrong, even though Weapon X’s scientists have attempted to weed that out of them.

Morality is one of the central themes in Return to Weapon X. Professor Xavier has taught the X-Men to never take a life in battle, but they’re clearly shaken after apparently seeing their mentor do just that to Magneto. Jean Grey is especially rattled and her feelings are exacerbated when Wraith makes it clear that he intends to use the X-Men as his personal assassins. Being involved with Weapon X also begins to change Jean’s perception of Wolverine as she begins to understand his actions and is humbled by the fact that he chose to embrace Xavier’s dream in spite of all of Wraith’s programming. Millar adds layers to Jean in this respect and she becomes the emotional nucleus of Ultimate X-Men through her insight and ability to forgive. Jean is also sharply contrasted by Storm’s reactions to the events of this narrative. Where Jean’s resolve and dedication to Xavier’s dream is strengthened by Weapon X’s evils, Storm questions the X-Men’s passivity and seeks retribution for what has been done to them through Wraith and Cornelius’ schemes. This leads to a bit of a schism within the X-Men and helps to illustrate that not everyone reacts the same when faced with traumatic events.

Return to Weapon X is an excellent follow-up to The Tomorrow People. Millar and Kubert continue to show their synergy as a creative team by delivering an action-packed storyline that has both depth and poignancy. The narrative feels like an organic progression of the events that preceded it and helps to build on the personalities and motivations of the X-Men, with a great deal of work spent on further developing Jean Grey and the relationship between Storm and Beast. The inclusion of the Brotherhood in the fight against Weapon X is also a nice nod to their involvement in the previous arc and it also helps to illustrate how badass Scarlet Witch can be. Millar continues to reinvent characters as well, which works rather well with both Wraith and Nightcrawler. He’s a little bit less effective with Juggernaut and Rogue, the former though receives a nifty redesign. His dialogue is iffy at some points too. The filler artists are also subpar in comparison to Kubert’s pencils, which creates a bit of a visual inconsistency to this collection. Nevertheless, Return to Weapon X is a creative and entertaining storyline with a clear set of themes.  The action continues to be explosive and many of the characters are relatable three-dimensional heroes. In this way, Millar and Kubert deliver the goods in Ultimate X-Men.

RATING: B+