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The darkest incarnation of Weapon X was a multiversal team full of twisted variants of classic Marvel heroes.
The Exiles — which have gone through multiple iterations — are a team of multiversal heroes, typically tied to the X-Men — who’ve been plucked from their realities to fix broken timelines across the Marvel multiverse. But they briefly had an opposite team dubbed Weapon X that were actually comprised of twisted versions of classic Marvel characters who could complete far darker missions than their heroic counterparts.
The multiversal Weapon X might be Marvel’s most twisted team, full of some of the most unique and darkest variants of classic characters possible. Here are the most memorable variants who appeared as members of this team.
SABRETOOTH
The Sabretooth of Weapon X is actually one of the few heroic versions of the character across the multiverse. Hailing from the Age of Apocalypse reality, this Sabretooth initially fought for the titular villain but instead switched sides, eventually joining the X-Men and becoming a dependable leader within the group. He even became something of an adopted father to Blink (who later became the leader of the Exiles). Sabretooth was one of the few members of Weapon X to ever show restraint.
But this meant when the two teams met in Exiles #13 by Judd Winick and Mike McKone, he refused to kill their designated target David Richards — incurring the wraith of his teammates. He remained on that world before eventually joining the Exiles for a time. Sabretooth eventually returned to his home reality, and ultimately sacrificed himself during the events of X-Termination in a bid to save other worlds like Earth-616.
GAMBIT
After Sabretooth left Weapon X, he was replaced as both leader and moral compass by a version of Gambit. Little was revealed about this version of the Cajun mutant, except that he had remained primarily a thief and that he had ended up marrying his world’s version of Storm. Gambit filled a similar role to Sabretooth, but with enough an edge that he could keep the team on point. He also fell in love with the Storm of Weapon X — a powerful sorceress who had become the Queen of half her world’s African continent.
However, this Storm would later die on a mission, leaving Gambit heartbroken. He also had to contend with who replaced her — a variant of Hyperion known as King Hyperion. Hailing from a reality where he’d become a despot and all humanity perished in a war meant to finally destroy him, King Hyperion became Gambit’s worst nightmare — usurping control of the team. Gambit worked with the Exiles in Exiles #45 by Chuck Austen and Jim Calafiore to stop him, seemingly sacrificing himself to kill him.
SPIDER
The Peter Parker of Earth-15 was introduced alongside most of Weapon X in Exiles #12 by Judd Winick and Mike McKone. Known as only the Spider , he was seemingly a variant of Spider-Man who had a great deal in common with Carnage. Sporting red hair and ending up bonded with a red symbiote, he became an unrepentant serial killer who was sentenced to sixty-seven life sentences for his crimes.
Recruited to Weapon X, he quickly became one of the most consistent members of the team. Enjoying the darker side of Weapon X under the command of King Hyperion, Spider proved himself one of the most vile variants of Peter Parker in the multiverse. In Exiles #44, a dying Firestar was able to use the last of her powers to set off a massive explosion — killing him instantly.
HULK
The Hulk of Earth-1029 was Jen Walters, aka the She-Hulk. Instead of embracing a life dedicated to justice, Hulk (who hints she was briefly a judge in her reality) was instead established as a brutal brawler who was hinted to be involved with organized crime — suggesting this variant of She-Hulk went down a similar path as Joe Fixit in the core-Marvel Universe. This Hulk served with the team for a time and befriended the Deadpool on her team. Eventually, however, she was seemingly killed while on a mission to a world ruled by a despotic Iron Man.
Trying to trap the Wonder Man of this universe within the Negative Zone, the Spider betrayed her and allowed to be sucked in as well. Hulk was believed lost until she reappeared in Exiles #68 by Tony Bedard and Jim Calafiore. Awakened by the Deadpool who’d served on Weapon X until Sabretooth broke his neck for targeting David Richards, Hulk ultimately made a bargain with the Exiles — bringing down her former teammate in exchange for passage back to her home reality.
IRON MAN
The Iron Man of Earth-2020 initially debuted alongside Spider and Hulk in Exiles #13. He was off the team by the time of their next appearance and was later revealed to still be alive within the Time-Breakers realm in Exiles #83 by Tony Bedard and Casey Jones.
This Iron Man was revealed to have been a surprisingly cruel version of Tony Stark, who’d seemingly continued his warmongering ways even after becoming Iron Man. He’d even set off a global conflict, and was perhaps the world’s most hated and wanted man when he was taken by Weapon X. After trying to kill the Exiles upon his release, he was defeated and sent back to his world — without his armor, leaving him at the mercy of his world’s authorities.
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