Era #10, Part 23: Assault on Weapon Plus (New X-Men)

Grade: B

Grant Morrison continues to barrel through his Manifesto that is designed to challenge our expectations and the X-Men norms. This collection includes two different stories that reveal two new shocking twists.

"Murder at the Mansion" (issues #139-141): Jean Grey uncovers an affair between her husband, Cyclops, and the notorious Emma Frost. After a heated confrontation, Emma Frost is discovered shattered into a thousand pieces by an assassin's diamond bullet. The X-Men call in X-Treme X-Men Bishop and Sage to investigate while the rest of the team attempts to rebuild her body. The relationship between Cyclops and Emma Frost is one of the biggest revelations that will be felt for the next several years, and I really enjoyed the whodunit mystery.

"Assault on Weapon Plus" (issues #142-145) Fantomex recruits Wolverine and a reluctant Cyclops to infiltrate the World in order to get more answers about the Weapon Plus program. This top-secret facility accelerates time for those within its dome in order to create more lethal weapons quicker. We learn that Wolverine is the tenth weapon (roman numeral for X) while Fantomex is Weapon XIII. Unfortunately, Weapon XV is ready for activation. I was not so keen on some of the more fantastical elements of this story, but the core concept totally blew my mind. 

[7-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #139
[7-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #140

[7-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #141

[6-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #142

[6-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #143

[6-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #144
[6-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #145

Collected in New X-Men (Vol. 5): Assault on Weapon Plus