Weapon X: The Draft - Sauron

Issue Date: 
October 2002
Story Title: 
Falling To Pieces
Staff: 

Buddy Scalera (writer), Karl Kerschl (artist), Tom Chu’s Color Dojo (colorist), Paul Tutrone (letterer), Mike Raicht (assistant editor), Mike Marts (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president)

Brief Description: 

The Director orders Sauron to recruit Emma Frost into the Weapon X program as they need a telepath. Actually he is aware that Sauron will fail, but thinks that Sauron is the most expendable of his agents. Like expected, the White Queen disposes quickly of Sauron, and he goes to recruit the back-up target instead – an australian telepath, named Jack, whose problem is that every time he overuses his powers his limbs turn hard and brittle. Sauron attacks Jack in his trailer and also destroys his truck,. Jack defends himself by causing an explosion, but Sauron comes out unharmed. Finally he tells Jack that he wants to recruit him, and because of his problematic condition, Jack agrees, hoping that the Weapon X staff will find a way to cure the unwanted side-effect. On the way back, Sauron thinks that jack is making fun of him like the Director usually does, and he goes into a berzerker rage. He attacks Jack and breaks him into pieces. Snapping back to his senses, he takes the pieces of Jack, who is still alive, to Weapon X. Sauron gets locked up, partially to ensure that Jack’s condition isn’t contagious, but also as a torture, as Sauron doesn’t like being locked into tight spaces. Waiting for his improvements, Jack reads the Director’s mind and is shocked to find out his evil plans.

Full Summary: 

The Director reviews the file on the Weapon X agent Sauron. He thinks that Sauron is not easily managed, and even during his time with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Sauron was an outsider. Sauron only cares about himself and even though he is powerful, yet also potentially dangerous and unpredictable. The key to handling him is to make Sauron believe that he is using Weapon X, not the other way around. Sauron will be sent out to recruit Emma Frost, since Weapon X needs a telepath. The Director already knows that he is destined to fail, but they will still send him out since Sauron is the most expendable.

Later, the Director and Brent Jackson brief the operatives on their mission. Each of them has been assigned to bring a new recruit into the Weapon X program and in the event that they should fail to complete that task, they have been assigned a backup mission. The missions are dangerous and some of the agents could be killed in the line of duty. Sauron comments that it would be better if the Director got killed, but the Director quickly puts him down by telling him his objective: Emma Frost. He taunts him that the mission has certain parallels to “Beauty and the Beast“, only that Sauron will always be alone unlike the Beast of that fairy tale. Sauron is silent, but after the Director has left, he becomes furious, snapping at his fellow agents and then leaves the room to fly away. Once he is out of sight, the Director tells Jackson to prepare some bodybags – they might need them even if the agents survive their missions.

Later, flying over Manhattan, Sauron is still angry about the way he was treated. The beeping noise of his global positioning wrist device snaps him out of it. He has arrived at the penthouse of Emma Frost. Sauron spots his objective, sitting by the pool. He attacks the White Queen, but she turns out to be a telepathic illusion. Emma mocks Sauron and notices how he has changed: he is less intelligent than he used to be and he seems to have lost his hypnotic powers. Sauron yells that the Director is responsible for his changes and attacks Emma, but his claws bounce off her diamond hard skin.

Emma is concerned about the damage done to her apartment and tells Sauron to ask her “How‘s business ?“. As he repeats the question, she replies that business is great and she can now write off their meeting as a business expense. The White Queen asks why Sauron is trying to kill her, and he explains that he is not there to murder her but to recruit her into the program. When she declines, he even makes a clumsy attempt to uses psychology on her, by stating that they will make the offer to the Plan B mutant instead. Emma still is not interested in joining Weapon X, and she uses her telepathic powers to put Sauron into a trance.

When he wakes up, Sauron finds himself flying over Australia, close to the Plan B mutant’s location. The target, who is named Jack, is watching soccer game on TV in his trailer when Sauron suddenly rips the roof off. He enters the trailer and wonders where the mutant is, as Jack is no longer there. Sauron wonder if Jack is a teleporter instead of a telepath, and he fails to notice Jack sneaking up behind him. Jack hits him over the head with a spade, not once but twice, and runs away to his truck accompanied by his dog. However before they reach the truck, Sauron gets up again and destroys it. He also hits Jack’s shoulder, and instead of blood and raw flesh, the wound looks like made of stone.

Jack pulls a lighter and ignites the fuel of the truck. Sauron, still among the remains of the truck, is caught in the explosion and gets engulfed by a ball of fire. Yet he survives and emerges from the flames unharmed. He chases after Jack and grabbing him with his taloned feet, accidentally cuts off Jack’s right hand. Again there is no open wound but solid rock instead of flesh and bones. Jack wonders why he attacks him, and finally Sauron tells him that he wants him to join Weapon X.

Back at the Weapon X compound, the Director tells Agent Jackson that he expects Sauron to fail since the odds are against everyone succeeding in their task. Especially Sauron lacks the mental capacity to handle anything but the simplest of tasks.

In Australia, Jack is amazed by the damage done to his trailer. Sauron states that the Weapon X program gave him enhanced powers. Jack wonders if they could reattach his hand, and Sauron apologizes for the accident. Jack tells him not to worry, he is used to his limbs breaking off all the time, especially when he uses his radar powers. He feeds his dog one last time and decides to join the Weapon X project. As Sauron takes off with him, Jack asks for one last stop at the Bank of Australia, where he wants to say goodbye to his friend Meredith “Merry“ Miller. While Jack asks her to look after his dog, Sauron gets into a fight with a security guard. Jack tells Merry that he will be part of some special team and once he has earned enough money to buy the house in Sydney they dreamed of, he will return.

In the meantime, Sauron proudly contacts the Director that he has recruited the target. The Director scolds him for being late, and Sauron apologizes. Jackson tells the Director that Sauron actually is ahead of schedule, but he was well aware of it and tells Jackson to keep quiet.

On the way back, Sauron and Jack stop in a forest for a short rest. Jack explains his powers: a radar sense which warns him off danger and some telepathy. Sauron is unimpressed, but Jack points out that all he can do is fly and tear up things. Jack wonders what improvements the Director will give him, but Sauron does not wants to speak about him. Jack notices that he struck a nerve, as suddenly his right foot falls off. It happens whenever he uses his powers too much, his joints become brittle and he loses body parts. Showing Sauron his broken off foot, he asks Sauron to fetch him the duct tape out of his bag.

However, Sauron takes it the wrong way. He does not know what a duct tape is and thinks Jack is making fun off him. Seeing him as the Director, Sauron attacks Jack and intends to teach him a lesson about respect. When he is finished Jack is broken into many pieces. Sauron comes to his senses and is worried what the Weapon X staff will do when they find out that he has broken Jack.

Later, Sauron arrives at the Weapon X compound with a box containing Jack’s body parts. In midst of the severed limbs and bodyparts are Jack‘s head and upper chest still intact. Jack tells them that that Sauron said that they could fix him.

Sauron gets locked up in solitary and the Director tells Jackson that Sauron should remain there for some time. Partially it is to ensure that Jack’s leprosy-like condition is not contagious, however the Director commands that Sauron remains locked up longer than necessary. Inside the cell Sauron does not understand why he gets locked up, as he successfully completed the mission. Her cries that he wants to fly.

Jack still in his broken state, looks around the room and carefully starts to read the minds of people to get a feel of the place. The Director notices his mind-scan and invites Jack into his mind. Jack reads his thoughts and is shocked, “evil“ is the only word he can think of to describe what he found in the Director’s head.

Characters Involved: 

Kane, Mesmero, Sauron, Wild Child (all Weapon X)
Brent Jackson
The Director

Emma Frost (X-Men)
Jack, australian telepath with a leprosy-like condition
Merry, Jack’s friend
Ballz, Jack’s dog

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