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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey    Writer- Barry Windsor-Smith Artist- Barry Windsor-Smith Letterers- Jim Novak & Barry Windsor-Smith Editor- Terry Kavanagh SynopsisThings get very meta, very abstract, and very confusing, very quickly. Dave So, here we are on the final chapter of the much acclaimed Weapon X. We have been on this quite a while. And this is a full-size issue as well. No rushed stories here. What do you make of the cover? Kev I think it's a fantastic wraparound cover for the final chapter, with an excellent close-up of Logan, all hair, and blood, and claws. Red in tooth and claw, so to speak. He looks almost at peace though. Which says a lot about the character, of course. Dave Yeah, it's a bit like Logan is posing for a Weapon X photo shoot, just after completing the programme. Kev Ha, ha! The Weapon cover boy. Dave There is no Marvel character in the corner box either which, I suspect, was intentional. Logan the new face of Weapon X monthly. Kev Right enough. I suppose they wanted all of the focus on Logan here. Dave Those first two pages, with no dialogue are great. It's into the burning pit for The Prof, where he well deserves to be. Plus, it has to save money on a cremation at a funeral as well. I’ve got to say, the choices of colours used on the second page are very vibrant.  "Oh, I just died in your arms tonight. It must have been something you said." Kev Ha, ha! The opening page is very reminiscent of Claremont and Miller’s ‘Wolverine’ mini-series, in that we get these widescreen-style panels. However, we then get a classic nine panel grid layout on page two where, again, Windsor-Smith plays with the concept of time, effectively slowing it right down to slow motion, as Logan deposits The Professor into the inferno of the furnace. There is a more of a design, rather than illustrative, aesthetic to Windsor-Smith's colour artwork in a fair bit of this chapter.  Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Dave That's a good point, it does have a dream-like quality to it in slow-mo, which lends itself to the next page, as this is where the confusion starts. Kev Absolutely. Any linear, straightforward elements to the storytelling really start to break down here, don't they? Dave It is definitely a break from the straight linear timeline indeed. More of a WTF is going on here? Kev Yeh, the “random playback” is very much like Logan’s fragmented memories of this horrific ordeal being pieced together by his fractured mind. And, of course, there are gaps in his memory too. He can’t even remember killing Cornelius. “Who did the killin’?” “What did he do to me?” Dave That does explain why the first two pages have this kind of majestic, brightly coloured, dream-like quality to them. Kev Ah, that's a good point. They did have a heightened, almost hyper-real quality to them, yes. “Tore up my mind!” Yep, they sure did, Logan. They sure did. Hands being notoriously difficult to draw and all, Barry Windsor-Smith does a fantastic job of using Logan’s hands as a storytelling device on pages 6 and 7.  Logan's once had a promising career as a hand model. Not now. Dave He does indeed, and this done with the level of tension building up. Kev Definitely. Dave Those past few pages, with Logan awakening amidst the confusion and trying to leave, are very methodically written. I actually think that Windsor-Smith knew exactly how this story was going to pan out from the start, and this was why it was so paced and methodical. I could be wrong. Kev Nah, I reckon you're pretty much on the money there, man. This has been expertly plotted. It really has become very much like some of the J.M. DeMatteis writing that we've covered is like. In that it’s become a psychoanalytic study of Logan’s fractured psyche, much like we saw in ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt,’ or ‘Soul Of The Hunter,’ or even what Simon Furman seemed to like doing. The climax of the N.U.R.S.E. saga in ‘Dragon’s Claws,’ where Matron used her mind machine to have Dragon and Slaughterhouse fight, not only each other, but also their own demons for her twisted amusement comes to mind. Or when he had Megatron battle, and ultimately destroy, Lord Straxus on a similar mental plain of a battlefield in ‘Transformers.’ Dave Actually, you just beat me to that. Haha! ‘Soul Of The Hunter’ sprung to mind from page 8 onwards. For a few pages there. it did start to make me think that this is very much something that is going on in Logan's head. It's a testament to how good Barry Windsor-Smith's writing skills are. Again, the twist in the story I wasn't expecting. Kev Me neither. Initially, I wasn't sure if I liked it, but then, as it went on, I realised it made perfect sense, and had actually been there all along. Dave I thought it was necessary. The revenge aspect needed to be seen, but ultimately, for Logan's journey, the twist had to happen. Kev Yeh, once I come to grips with it, I thought it added another dimension to this story, which was excellent. Dave I see why this last chapter was a full size issue; this wouldn't have worked within eight pages. Kev Not at all. There's too much going on here. Too much depth to the story, and the character.  Tiger Style. Dave Page 12's splash page is brilliant. There's so much attention to detail and atmosphere contained within it. Kev Yeh, it's fantastic, isn't it? Filled with such visceral, animalistic energy. Dave I like that comment on page 13, when The Prof. talks about Logan not knowing about his indestructible skeleton, and Cornelius quips, "Won't help him if he gets disemboweled, Professor." Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, that's a smart line of dialogue. “We could’ve set this up better,” “How do you mean, Doctor?” “If Logan had to seek it out, y’know, hunt the thing down based on instinct–to kill it or confront it or whatever–instead’ve the tiger just being there. It’d’ve been more telling, I think.” “Yes, I suppose you are right… But still, it is an acceptable scenario- -for one such as Logan’s simplistic perception." This is all getting very meta here. It’s hard not to read this exchange as Windsor-Smith having a debate with himself about the story, rather than the characters having a discussion about the scenario they've set up for Logan here. Perhaps Windsor-Smith feels we readers are all as simplistic as Logan. Ha, ha! Dave Possibly. It shows us how manipulative The Prof. is, as he was covering all the bases with Logan. He sees him as his "object" to play with, someone to terrorise as well, through his twisted mind. It's very narcissistic behaviour. Kev Yeh, The Professor continues to have delusions of grandeur here; claiming that it was he who revealed to Logan that he was a mutant, and continuing to refer to himself as Logan’s “creator.” Narcissist, indeed. Dave I'm finding there are some comedic lines coming out of these few exchanges with The Prof, Cornelius and Hines. Hines goes on about him killing out of "hunger," as if he never killed her and The Prof. "Yeh...n' like who'd wanna eat Hines huh?" It's like they are discussing the outcome of some online video game they were involved in. They are taking their deaths so flippantly. "I savour these events Cornelius," says The Prof. This is more than just work, he is so invested in this. A real criminal mastermind. Kev I thought that line was amusing as well. And a bit suggestive too. Yeh, The Professor and Cornelius are too arrogant and cocky for their own good here, and The Professor, in particular, is almost a moustache twirling villain. If he had a moustache to twirl, that is. Dave Cornelius is getting quite blunt with The Prof. as well. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, he really is. The plot point about the “great power” who was instructing The Professor is kind-of thrown away a bit here. I, initially, was hoping we would have the identity of this person revealed. This is one of the drawbacks of writing within the Marvel sandbox, in that you’re always playing with someone else’s toys, and often sharing them with someone else at the same time. This is the case with Windsor-Smith here, as her deferred to Chris Claremont, whom he felt should have had dibs on revealing just who this “greater power” was. However, as Claremont allegedly planned on this being Apocalypse, I’m glad that particular reveal wasn’t carried out here, as I don’t think Apocalypse would have fit the tone of Windsor-Smith’s story. Perhaps the movies made the right choice on this one by going with William Stryker. Dave Yeah. Funny how amongst their chatter they fail to notice Logan has decimated the security outside the gate. I think that panel of him walking through the gates with the lights on in the background is great, it sets up that there may be trouble ahead.  "There may be trouble ahead. But while there's moonlight, and music, and love and romance....." Kev Yep, with the bloody, decimated corpses of "the wranglers" strewn across the snow like chum. Speaking of which, the transponder being in over-ride, “.....from an outside source!” is interesting, in that it shows that this “outside force” was willing to sacrifice them to tie up the loose ends of The Professor, Cornelius, and Miss Hines. Dave Yeah, even The Professor is expendable. Perhaps this was dawning him in the earlier pages, being reminded that he wasn't the man at the top really. I do like that panel of The Prof, Cornelius and Hines looking at the metallic doors being ripped apart, and the next page of Logan coming through the doors like Michael Myers or The Terminator. Kev Totally. I really like those three panels that essentially zoom in on the terror stricken faces of Miss Hines, Cornelius and The Professor. Oddly enough, they almost pull in on The Professor's eyes, despite the fact that they are obscured by the lenses of his glasses, and because of this, we can't see the fear in his eyes. The fear in each of their faces is palpable though. Is this all just another simulation, another experiment, that they are running on the mind of Logan? Have they trapped his mind in a cruel loop, as they look to perfect their killing machine via their slight variations on this scenario?  "This is the end, my only friend. The end of our elaborate plans, The end of everything that stands." Dave Almost like life imitating art. Kev Indeed. Dave And, of course, the interlude and escape. The first panels show the bloodied and damaged glasses of The Professor.  Should've gone to Specsavers, Prof. Kev Yeh, I’m conflicted by this ending. It seems both strangely unfulfilling, and yet intriguing at the same time. There’s no concrete resolution to the story. Rather it’ left open to interpretation, which is frustrating, yet perversely, enjoyably so. It makes you, as the reader, do some of the work, rather than spoon feeding you a conclusion, and I always like that. On these ‘Interlude & Escape’ pages, we are back to the very design-heavy aesthetic to the artwork. Particularly with the use of bold blocks of single colour. It gives this scene a real abstract feel. It seems deliberately dream-like in its execution.  Just like the end of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Dave Yep, by this stage my brain was about as fried as Logan's. I wasn't sure if this was a time jump going back or, like you say, another dream state. My bet is it another dream state, going by the colours. What do you make of the final panel? Kev I have no idea what it is, so I don''t know what to make of it, and I'll be honest, it's driving me nuts. That was my interpretation too though, particularly with the dialogue between Cornelius and Miss Hines over those images as well. However, that's not to say that those two elements are occurring simultaneously. They could be taking place at different times. Dave So basically this was a head fuck of an issue. Kev Ha, ha! Oh yeh. Definite head-fuck of an issue. Head-fuck of a story really. Dave As you say, probably intentional. I feel the ending is unfulfilling, and it just ends like the end of an ‘Incredible Hulk’ episode. This wandering soul, just wandering still. Kev The snow, forming icicles in Logan’s hair, makes it look like the bone matter of his claws, before it was replaced with the adamantium. It makes him look even less human. More beast-like. “He’s a man- -who’s being turned into a monster.” That does kind-of sum up this story, doesn’t it? Which is also very Incredible Hulk-like.  This is snow place for a crap joke. Dave It seems like a previous conversation dubbed over Logan leaving the scene. Quite a cinematic technique employed, but we don't know if Cornelius and Hines survived or not. The Prof. was offed for sure. Kev Good point. The scene with them earlier would seem to suggest that Logan would spare the two of them. “Cheer up, Hinesy…Be over soon.” It sure will, Cornelius. It sure will. This really is top tier stuff. I wonder where the break in the story was where we went from experiencing the story unfolding in the “real world,” to experiencing the simulation in Logan’s mind? If indeed there ever was a break, and we’ve not just been inside Logan’s mind from page 1. Only the prologue and this epilogue take place in the real world, according to Wikipedia. So take that with a grain of salt. Ha, ha! Dave Very ambiguous. What about the closing panel? What do you make of it? Kev Is it The Professor's hand and one of the diodes that was on Logan's head? Freed from the hand of his "master," and off his leash, so to speak. Signifying that Logan is now free of The Professor? Dave You're guess is better than mine. That makes sense. Kev What were you thinking about it? Dave I wasn't sure if it was Logan’s hand, and he had removed something that was implanted in him. Kev It's certainly open to interpretation. Like an awful lot of this story. Dave Especially this issue. But that draws ‘Weapon X’ to a conclusion now. Kev Yep. What're your thoughts on it overall? Dave Well, it’s been over 30 years since I read it, and I completely forgot how it had that twist at the end. I think it is a great story, and as I said earlier, it has obviously been well planned out. It paced itself so well, never rushing through. Painstaking at times, but excellently done. The writing is superb. Windsor-Smith really does have a vested interest in this story, and I loved the artwork and colours. Even though at times the cluttered dialogue made it a heavier read, but that was to add to the chaotic tone of it. What did you make of it? Kev I think it's top tier stuff. For something that's over 30 years old at this point, it feels like it could've been released today. I think it benefits from having a singular voice. It's auteur stuff. You could feel Windsor-Smith's fingerprints in every aspect of it. I love it. To the point where I tracked down the Gallery Edition of it, because I wanted the best version of it I could get. It's honestly one of my favourite comics, and like you, I couldn't remember so much of it. In fact, I'm not convinced I really read it back in the day. Perhaps I had a flick through someone else's copy and just gave it a quick skim read back then. Dave Probably, as teenagers, we were more into the action side of these these stories, where this a proper character study. Something that maybe wasn't done so much at the time. I see a lot of ‘Akira’ as well, not only in the blood and gore, but the experimentation gone wrong, with the ethical questions raised as well. Kev Yeh, there are definitely similar themes at play in those two. Dave Nowadays, with the introduction of more character study in the Bond and the Jason Bourne series as well for example, this would stand up today, and probably be appealing to a newer generation. This is a more adult orientated comic book story for sure. Kev Absolutely. There's no "fights in tights" stuff going on here. No X-Men. No mad summer event crossover shenanigans. Is he ever even referred to as Wolverine? Y'know what? I reckon you could make a proper arthouse superhero movie out of this. 'Legion' was kind-of like that as a TV show actually. Dave I think it should get a TV series, just to give it the proper pacing and allow the story to unfold. Kev Yeh, that would absolutely work. (D) & (K) The end. 
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