Review by Frank Plowright

Heading back to the 1970s, little good has ever come of anything associated with the Weapon X name, and events rolled out during The Draft show that remains the case. The current director, Malcolm Colcord, is abducting mutants and either consigning them to a concentration camp or executing them.

Colcord is an absolute monster, but before the seven part title story Tieri devotes a chapter to him and his skewed views. It’s not exactly sympathy-inducing, but it provides greater understanding. In the course of what follows there are similar spotlights on other cast members, although Tieri keeps circling back to Colcord to remind us that he’s unhinged.

Since bringing Sabretooth back under control, there’s been a period of everything going Colcord’s way, but Cable’s now aware of what’s happening, and has gathered a team to put an end to his activities and that occupies the remainder of The Underground.

There’s a greater solidity to Georges Jeanty’s art in this collection, with more rounded personalities and interesting viewpoints, and a nod to Alan Davis along the way. It’s as if some time was needed to settle into the strip and familiarise himself with the cast. Neither Keron Grant nor Pop Mhan on the opening chapter is anywhere near the same level.

A long game plays out over seven chapters, and only the penultimate chapter brings together opposing forces. It’s well plotted to involve personal clashes and impossible escapes as well as eventually drawing the curtain back a little further to those enabling Colcord. Tieri leads to a great ending, but readers of the original serialised comics (or their chronological reprinting as part of Weapon X: The Return Omnibus) then discovered most plots were completely washed away unresolved. What you need is Weapon X: Days of Future Now.