Waepon X-Men will be released next year, bringing Wolverine, Deadpool, Cable and more into the same team of badass mutants. Series writer Joe Casey recently opened up about how the series almost died before it got off the ground, as Marvel almost killed the series due to a behind-the-scenes mix-up.
Publishing in his “Joe Casey Writes” newsletter, the writer is surprisingly candid about how the coming year X-Men Weapon (with artist Chris Cross) came about – or how it almost didn't happen, so to speak. In the first of a two-part series called “Origins of the X-Men Weapon,” Casey writes about how a lunch with X-Men writer Gerry Duggan led Casey to pitch a new series to then-X editor Jordan White.
As we discuss different ideas, Casey suddenly came up with the title “X-Men Weapon”, which surprisingly had never been used before. Casey writes:
Here was a name – a potential brand – that seemed so perfect and so obvious that I couldn't believe that no one else in the last fifty years (since the term “Weapon X” was first coined as a vital component of the history of Wolverine) hadn't thought of that. But no one did. Even me.
All the writer friends I told about this… well, you could practically hear their hand slapping their forehead on the phone. It was a little mic drop moment. After all, we all know how difficult it is to come up with these types of ideas. When one of us does, the rest of us can't help but recognize the small victory.
X-Men Weapon It almost didn't happen, despite the writer's original proposal
Joe Casey exposes behind-the-scenes drama
Casey then explains how he wrote his proposal for X-Men Weapon and sent it to White, who responded enthusiastically. “It felt like we were at full speed,” writes Casey, “then things got weird.” In the second installment of “X-Men Weapon Origins”, Casey explains how the X-Office editorial reigns were handed over to new X-Men editor Tom Brevoort. Explaining his own history working with Brevoort as an editor, Casey felt confident that his X-Men Weapon series would still be a possibility amidst all the editorial changes happening at X-Offices.
According to Casey, it was much later when he received a letter from White explaining that another series called X-Men Weapon was leaving Marvel, the creative team of Christos Gage and Yıldıray Çınar. “It's not the same series I launched, of course,” Casey writesleading the writer to become understandably upset:
I confess that I was quite upset. Here I was, full of myself, patting myself on the back for thinking of a name that had never been used before. It hadn't even been thought of before. Not by Claremont. Not by Morrison. Not by Liefeld. Not by Hickman. Not by anyone. And it clearly had some commercial value. Needless to say, any and all conspiracy theories ran through my head.
Before it even took off, it looked like Casey's proposal to X-Men Weapon would never see the light of day, destined to occupy the same space as hundreds of other proposals and stories that never came together throughout the history of comics.
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After cooling down, Casey contacted Brevoort to see what had happenedand I quickly received an explanation:
I won't go into too much detail here, because I assume that's probably Tom's story to tell… but the summary is this: The miniseries in question originally had a different title. Tom wanted this title as part of his upcoming relaunch and informed the publisher involved that they should simply find a new title for his miniseries. Unbeknownst to Tom (or Jordan White, as far as I know), the title WEAPON X-MEN was removed from my pitch and randomly placed in the miniseries. Even the writer of the miniseries (an incredibly standup guy, by the way) didn't even know what had happened (or where the title originally came from).
It's strange to think that Casey's original and very commercial proposal almost didn't happen because Marvel stole the title for another series.
Brevoort and Casey decided to move forward with the writer's original proposal, keeping the X-Men Weapon title in force, although it has already been used. It's strange to think that Casey's original, very commercial pitch almost didn't happen because Marvel stole the title for another series, but these things happen in the world of comic book publishing. Fortunately, Casey's original proposal will hit comic book stores in 2025, so fans will be able to read X-Men Weapon in all its intended glory.
X-Men Weapon #1 is available February 19, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Joe Casey writes Weapon X-Men Origins Part One and Two