Did you know that Captain America was NOT the first real very soldier? Or that there have been numerous people who were put through the weapon plus Program? Well, I am here to shed some light on the program that created numerous of our beloved characters. keep reading below to get the info you want and need! Also, I have linked some of the names to their first appearance. So test your knowledge out and guess the comic, then click and see!
Weapon 0 / John Steele
Yes, before Cap we had John Steele! He is what I would call an indestructible Captain America. Scientists from the United States, Germany, and England started researching how to manipulate genes and change them to create a Homo exceptional species. The very first test subject was John Steele. He was an operative during WWI and WWII, motivated in taking out as numerous Nazis as possible. He possessed very strength, agility, and durability. even bullets could not penetrate him!
Weapon I / Captain America & Isaiah Bradley
From the research gathered from John Steele, the scientists were able to create the very Soldier Serum and change Steve Rogers into Captain America. but wait! There’s more! once the serum was used and lost after the death of scientist Abraham Erskine, there were numerous experiments conducted on African Americans with Isaiah Bradley being the lone survivor. Bradley was then called the “Black Captain America” even supporting a suit and shield like the original.
Weapon II / Brute Force
Created in conjunction with Multicorp they started to try out animals. You know like Dr. Evil and his sharks with “Lasers” hahaha. Adam Frost, owner of Multicorp wanted to create cybernetically advanced soldiers using animals. This was to become his private attack force, but this was just part of it. An enhanced squirrel with Wolverine-like claws was also designated as weapon II. I guess who would suspect a cute little squirrel of being a deadly killer?
Weapon III / Harry Pizer a.k.a. Skinless Man
A barrister named Harry Pizer was recruited by the program due to his mutant powers. Harry was able to elongate and control his skin on a molecular level giving him the chance to become a spy during the cold War. While trying to obtain an item in Otherworld, the Captain Britain Corps caught him and flayed him alive. Down the line, Fantomex would use this skin to create special bullets that could be manipulated. Of course, Harry was not pleased with this and ended up killing Fantomex.
Weapon IV / Dr. Theodore Sallis a.k.a. Man-Thing
Under code-name “Project Sulfur”, Dr. Sallis created a serum called SO-2 which converted him into Man-Thing. The original reason for the serum was to help soldiers combat bio-warfare, however, it had on huge side effect, it created monsters.
Weapon V / project Venom
Spearheaded by the one and only Nick Fury, project Venom was part of the Sym-Soldier Program within the weapon plus Program. This all took place during the Vietnam war and involved bonding soldiers to symbiotes. However, it was all destroyed by Carnage who attacked the Headquarters, slaughtering the majority of the people present.
Weapon VI / project Power – Luke Cage
This is the project that given Luke Cage with his outstanding powers, bringing us an outstanding comic run as well as a great Netflix show. Years later, a weapon VI upgrade possessing Wolverine’s healing factor, codenamed “Adam”, was produced.
Weapon VII / Project: Homegrown / Frank Simpson a.k.a. Nuke
This program focused on experimenting on soldiers during the Vietnam War. Not numerous survived the experiments except for Frank Simpson, known as Nuke. Nuke was simply a savage who loved brutal violence. He had armored implants underneath his skin and was given mood-altering “adrenaline pills” to enhance his abilities. This caused him to become addicted to narcotics and become very unstable. However, as far as face tattoos go, this man wore the crown with an American Flag on his face.
Side note: It is also said, that this is the first time that Adamantium was experimented with
Weapon VIII / IX
These two projects used drugs and hypnosis to create assassins and sleeper agents. weapon IX was better known as project Psyche which led to the creation of Typhoid Mary. We might be seeing much more of her if they ever bring back the Daredevil series.
Weapon X / Wolverine – Deadpool
Weapon X was the most well-known and predominant phase of the weapon plus program. They exclusively used mutants for all of their experiments. Of course, the most well-known one is the living killing machine, Wolverine whose bones were fused with Adamantium. even though they were very successful it was shut down and absorbed into the Canadian Government. This section known as department K would go on to create our favorite mutant Deadpool. They also tried to recreate Wolverine but failed, resulting in his “offspring” X-23.
Weapon XI – ?
Although no one has ever officially bnull
