Logan, once a member of Canada's special forces, has fallen on hard times. Alcoholism, fuelled by the memory of a disastrous mission in North Korea, and a dark secret known only to himself have taken their toll. Now a petty criminal fleeing a murder rap, he is snatched by a group of scientists and spirited to a research complex in the Canadian Rockies. There, under the direction of the brilliant, enigmatic and unscrupulous Professor, Logan begins an agonizing transformation process to harness his mutant powers and forge him into Weapon X – an unstoppable, indestructible bringer of mayhem with retractable steel claws and the ability to recover from any wound. To own and control the ultimate killing machine, the Professor enlists the help of Carol Hines, the operator of a revolutionary mind-control device, and Dr. Abraham B. Cornelius, a groundbreaking immunologist. Together the trio invade and torture Logan's mind and body with biotechnological and psychological procedures. But in the act of remaking a man into a monster, they fail to recognise their subject's unbreakable will, his secret heritage, and his greater destiny – with catastrophic results.