Editing Legacy Virus (section)

==History==
The Legacy Virus first appeared in ''X-Force'' #18.<ref name="XForce18">''X-Force #''18 (January 1993)</ref> It was based on a virus created by [[Apocalypse (character)|Apocalypse]] in the distant future, which was intended to kill the remaining non-mutants. At the time that this alternate version of Apocalypse was killed, the virus had not been perfected, and much like Legacy-3, it targeted all humans indiscriminately. As a result, this virus was never deployed, until Stryfe acquired it and altered it for his own purposes.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Silva |first=Logan |date=March 20, 2025 |title=X-Men Just Brought Back the 1 Threat Scarier Than Any Supervillain: "A Great and Purifying Cleanse" |url=https://screenrant.com/x-men-legacy-virus-return-stryfe-wolverine-op-ed/ |access-date=March 21, 2025 |website=[[Screen Rant]] |language=en}}</ref>

During the ''[[X-Cutioner's Song]]'' event, [[Stryfe]] gives [[Mister Sinister]] a canister containing the Legacy Virus. Gordon Lefferts, a scientist working for Sinister, opens the canister after Stryfe is apparently killed by [[Cable (character)|Cable]], releasing the virus.<ref name="XForce18" /><ref name=":0" /> The virus kills various mutants, including [[Magik]], [[Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde)|Mastermind]], and [[Pyro (Marvel Comics)|Pyro]], before [[Colossus (character)|Colossus]] sacrifices himself to cure the infected.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cronin |first=Brian |date=January 3, 2016 |title=Provide Some Answers - Why the Legacy Virus Plotline Turned Out So Poorly |url=https://www.cbr.com/provide-some-answers-why-the-legacy-virus-plotline-turned-out-so-poorly/ |access-date=March 21, 2025 |website=[[Comic Book Resources|CBR]] |language=en}}</ref>

The Legacy Virus later returns in ''[[X-Force (comic book)|X-Force]]'' (2009), with [[Bastion (comics)|Bastion]] having obtained a sample. Bastion and the [[Leper Queen]] infect [[Beautiful Dreamer (comics)|Beautiful Dreamer]] and [[Fever Pitch (comics)|Fever Pitch]] with the virus, causing them to go berserk and kill themselves and thousands of civilians during an anti-mutant rally. [[Hellion (character)|Hellion]] and [[Surge (Marvel Comics)|Surge]] are also infected, but are cured by [[Elixir (character)|Elixir]].<ref>''[[X-Force (comic book)|X-Force]]'' (vol. 3) #12 - 13 (April - May 2009)</ref>

In ''Deadpool/Wolverine'' (2025), Stryfe creates a new version of the Legacy Virus that enables him to control the minds of those affected.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harth |first=David |date=March 20, 2025 |title=An X-Force Villain is Back (And Could Destroy Humanity) |url=https://comicbook.com/comics/news/x-force-villain-back-destroy-humanity-stryfe-legacy-virus/ |access-date=March 21, 2025 |website=[[ComicBook.com]] |language=en-US}}</ref>