The X-Axis, 18 August 2002
Part 3 of 9:
WEAPON X: THE DRAFT - KANE

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The third Weapon X preview story is nominally Kane's, although in fact it's a Brent Jackson story.  In order for it to be Kane's, the story would have to have some bearing on his life, and contain some actual characterisation.

On the plus side, at least this one doesn't feature another story about evil people torturing the mentally defective.  Kane is neither pathetic nor tortured.  Unfortunately, somewhere along the line he seems to have turned into a one-dimensional cyborg character who wanders around shooting people for the hell of it.

And that does give him something in common with the Weapon X versions of Sauron and Wild Child.  From what we've seen so far, all three have been given a substantial personality overhaul which has served largely to make them significantly less interesting.

The real story, though, is about Brent Jackson attempting to recruit his former colleague Rapture into Weapon X.  She thinks he's a bastard and tells him to get lost.  The end.

No, I mean, seriously.  That's it.

Jackson is a curious character.  In some stories, he's been written as the Weapon X agent with pangs of conscience over what he's doing.  In others, he's a complete asshole.  This is particularly odd since almost all of his appearances have been by the same writer, Frank Tieri.

I suspect that Jackson is meant to be a complex and conflicted character with multiple layers of morality.  But he never displays more than one dimension in any given story.  He doesn't come across as conflicted at all - he comes across as a schizophrenic cipher whose personality swings all over the place with no consistency.  As a result, he lacks any dramatic credibility.

Rapture, meanwhile, is a renegade SHIELD agent who has for some unfathomable reason decided to name herself after a Blondie song.  She's a bog standard character type who never comes across here as particularly distinctive.

Skip it.  

Rating: C

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Copyright 2002 Paul O'Brien.  All characters and publications   This web site is a work of critical comment and review. All characters and publications referred to, and artwork reproduced, are ™ and © their respective owners.
 

WEAPON X: THE DRAFT - KANE
Marvel Comics
October 2002
$2.25 US / $3.75 CAN

"Caught in the Draft"
Writer: R A Jones
Artist: Pablo Raimondi
Letterer: Paul Tutrone
Colourists: Hi-Fi Design
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover art: JH Williams III

LINKS
Marvel Comics
RA Jones
Pablo Raimondi
Hi-Fi Design
JH Williams III