WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Heroes Reborn: Weapon X & Final Flight #1 by Ed Brisson, Roland Boschi, Chris O’Halloran, and VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
Nearly every corner of the Marvel Universe has been reshaped in one remarkable way or another in the world of Heroes Reborn, and that goes for the Great White North as well. Canada has become a desolate, barely recognizable version of its former self following a ruthless invasion led by the Squadron Supreme. With the attacking forces proving too powerful to be repelled by conventional means, a new breed of hero was created to defend the country, and the scientists behind the project are the same ones behind the Weapon X program.
It has been years since the last time that Alpha Flight and the Squadron Supreme faced off. What was supposed to be the former team’s final stand against injustice ended up being their greatest victory after Logan felled Hyperion with the help of one of Shaman’s enchantments. The Squadron have never let go of that defeat, and in the years since they have continued to hunt Alpha Flight across the country, with roving soldiers breaking down doors and taking any who would support the heroes as prisoners. Bouncing from safehouse to safehouse under the cover of night has weighed heavily on all of them, though it is a burden that they chose to bear. It was also one given to them by Professor Truett Hudson, one of the founders of the Weapon X program.
In the primary Marvel Universe, Professor Hudson was first introduced along with the Weapon X program in 1992’s “Weapon X: Prologue” by Barry Windsor-Smith in Marvel Comics Presents #72. As an advisor to the United States government during the final years of the Second World War, Hudson was one of the first scientists to work on Project: Rebirth, which gave birth to Captain America and would later be rebranded as Weapon I. Over the years the Weapon Plus program developed several less successful super-soldiers following Steve Rogers’ transformation, up until their incredible success with Weapon X, aka Logan.
While the Weapon Plus program of the primary Marvel Universe has been much more of an antagonizing force than a benevolent one over the years, it is apparent that the Weapon X program of Heroes Reborn is a deviation from its predecessor. Not only was this world’s version of Weapon X founded under the auspices of fighting back against a terrorist threat, but its members were chosen with the utmost care and consideration. Professor Hudson reminds Logan of this, and that it is up to him to keep the team together and on the right track.
For all of the horror and heartbreak that the Weapon Plus program of the primary Marvel Universe has unleashed, it is astounding to see it become such a powerful force for good in this reality. Few if any other figures from the original timeline have been given such a compassionate makeover, and the people behind Weapon X are frankly the least deserving of such an altruistic fate.
It can only be surmised whether or not this version of the program would suffer the same kind of downfall as its counterpart. Perhaps Weapon X is essentially what humanity needs to endure the barbaric assault of the figures masquerading as the World’s Mightiest Heroes in this reality: a ruthless organization bent on doing whatever it takes to survive.
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