WARNING: Contains Potential Spoiler for Weapon X-Men #3 (2025)!
Marvel has been teasing the debut of their new evil Wolverine, Weapon Exile, for several weeks, and now this killing machine has finally arrived. There's just one problem: the X-Team of Wolverine, Cable, Thunderbird, Deadpool, and Chamber has no idea they've just made a new enemy who has his sights set on them.
Joe Casey, ChrisCross, Mark Morales, and Yen Nitro’s Weapon X-Men #3 continues to follow the latest iteration of Marvel’s X-Team as they face off against Captain America villain Baron von Strucker and his new super-army of WMDs (Wolverines of Mass Destruction), all intended to be linked through a hive mind under Strucker's control with the goal of global domination.
In this issue, the team goes toe-to-toe with these weaponized Wolverines and ultimately emerge victorious, destroying Strucker’s vessels before he can fully his consciousness into them. While this appears to be a major win, the ending reveals the team missed one of Strucker’s WMDs: the now fully functional WEAPON EXILE.
Marvel’s Evil Wolverine Makes His Official Debut in Weapon X-Men
Main Cover for Martin Biro and Tom Brevoort for Weapon X-Men #3 (2025)
While the team leaves the battle believing they have destroyed all of the WMDs and stopped Strucker from ing his consciousness, the epilogue reveals otherwise. A digital copy of Strucker's mind has successfully transferred into a surviving unit: Weapon Exile. Following his successful initialization, the robotic Wolverine reports, “Self-survival initiative complete. Full hive mind now compiled and ed to remaining Adamantium warganism. Nano-growth engaged. Strucker consciousness in place. Berserker mode accessible. Codename upgrade designate: Weapon Exile, online.” With that, Marvel’s evil Wolverine is officially operational by the end of the issue, something that is sure to come back to haunt the X-Team.
Weapon Exile may be one of Marvel’s most creative villain debuts in modern comics, as he represents a dark reflection of Wolverine fused with the mind of a classic villain. This makes him both familiar and entirely new. Through his own narration, readers learn that he’s powered by Strucker’s consciousness and has access to Wolverine’s berserker rage. Thanks to comments from writer Joe Casey, fans also know Weapon Exile will wield unbreakable claws and “additional adamantium-based powers unlike any ever seen before.” In essence, Marvel has created a one-of-a-kind robotic killing machine.
Marvel’s Character Design for Weapon Exile Is Badassery at Its Peak
Steve Skroce Variant for Weapon X-Men #3 (2025)
Beyond his known and teased capabilities, Weapon Exile’s debut in Weapon X-Men #3 also reveals an incredible character design that can simply be described as badass. His Adamantium silver paired with textured navy blue armor gives him a sleek, intimidating look, making this one of the coolest alternate Wolverine designs to date. The design balances functionality with a strong villainous presence, especially with the addition of glowing red eyes. It will be exciting to see this character in action, allowing fans to fully take in his design. After this issue’s release, it will be interesting to see what the final fan consensus is on this new evil Wolverine.
Weapon X-Men #3 is available now from Marvel Comics!
