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Warning: Spoilers ahead for X-Men '97 Season 2, Episode 5, "Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs."Away from the big flagship releases like the Avengers franchise, Marvel movies have been pretty hit-and-miss over the years. Sure, the MCU has offered a more consistent string of hits since Iron Man kick-started the series in 2008, but there have still been duds. Outside the main MCU, the scattered movie rights of various comic book icons have resulted in smaller, more self-contained universes. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy is one example, and so is Fox's X-Men saga. When talking about the latter, one particular movie stands out for all the wrong reasons.
In 2009, Fox gave me what I thought I wanted with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Hugh Jackman's version of the metal-boned character had long been framed as the franchise's central figure, so a solo Wolverine movie felt like an inevitability. Looking back, maybe Fox should have stuck with the original concept of focusing on the X-Men a little more generally. Origins was ambitious, had a strong concept, but ultimately failed to hit home with audiences. It made a modest profit at the box office, but nothing all that impressive once marketing costs are accounted for. The reviews didn't do much to soften the blow, either. Today, it has a rating of just 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. Regardless, Marvel has boldly revisited the divisive movie's storyline in a smash-hit Disney+ project.
'X-Men '97' Season 2, Episode 5 Is a Soft Follow-up to 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'
Much like the comics, X-Men '97 doesn't single out Wolverine as a central protagonist. Instead, he's usually treated as one of many heroes. "Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs" is a rare exception to this. Wolverine's (Cal Dodd) origin story is placed front and center in the episode, albeit in retrospect. While the installment is technically a more direct stealth sequel to an episode of the original X-Men animated series, "Weapon X, Lies, and Videotape," that 1995 effort offered a relatively shallow dive into Logan's experiences as part of the Weapon X program. A more in-depth exploration of the subplot can be found in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Granted, the 2009 Fox movie and the animated X-Men shows don't share the same continuity. Therefore, watching the divisive feature-length effort as a prequel to "Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs" can be done; you just need to bear in mind that some things won't match up from a canon perspective. Seeing Hugh Jackman's Wolverine gaining his indestructible skeleton twice, for two different reasons, transcends the fact that the story switches mediums part-way through, and the fact that both projects are only very softly canon to one another. Regardless, the fact that X-Men '97 is revisiting the storyline in any way after the failure that was X-Men Origins is brave. The episode's success proves that it was the movie's execution that let it down, rather than there being an inherent issue with the plot.
"Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs" Also Borrows Deadpool From 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'
Whenever anyone mentions the name Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds' name also springs to mind. While that knee-jerk association stems from the beloved Deadpool trilogy, Reynolds played a version of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as well. As many will remember, that Wade Wilson was nothing like the more comic-accurate iteration we eventually got, but it at least gave the character his big-screen debut. As such, no one really considers Reynolds' X-Men Origins character to be the real Deadpool.
In a move that seems far too convenient to be a coincidence, a fake Deadpool also factors into "Weapon X, Lies, and Videotape." When Morph (J. P. Karliak) has a brief need for something that slices, the shape-shifting mutant takes Deadpool's form and makes use of the swords on his back. Morph could have turned into countless other characters in this moment, which makes me think that Deadpool serves as an additional nod to the false version of the Merc with a Mouth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I can't prove it, but it feels like the kind of coy Easter egg that Marvel would include.
