Bernard Hoyster was a mercenary who worked alongside Deadpool and Garrison Kane as members of a new Weapon X team. Hoyster also happened to be a mutant by the name of Sluggo, which is why he was recruited by Department K. Sluggo’s powers made him practically invulnerable to any form of damage, which made him a perfect fit for the team. Eventually this incarnation of Weapon X was dissolved, and Sluggo found himself out of the game. That is until a mysterious millionaire named Tyler “Tolliver” Dayspring brought him back in. Toliver was hiring elite mercenaries, and Sluggo made the short list. During his employment with Tolliver, Sluggo met Copycat, a shapeshifting mutant. 

Tolliver’s Will 

Sluggo made his first official appearance in X-Force #22. Following Tolliver’s death at the hands of Cable, a secret “will” was sent out to all of his mercenaries challenging them to find hidden treasure that he left behind. The catch was, only one of them would be left standing to claim it. As Deadpool was fighting Copycat, who had taken the form of a friend of hers named Tina, Sluggo showed up and shot who he thought was Copycat. The problem was, his instincts were wrong and he actually shot Tina. Deadpool commented on how he hadn’t seen Sluggo for years, and that he’d kill Sluggo if he shot “the right one,” as Deadpool had a romantic history with Copycat. Sluggo informed Deadpool of Tolliver’s will and the pair decide to track down Copycat together. 

Encounter With Domino Leads to Bad Luck 

Unfortunately for Sluggo, he was taken out of the game by Domino, who shot both he and Deadpool from behind, and then cut a deal with Copycat in order to locate X-Force. A few weeks later, Sluggo attempted to gather more information about Tolliver’s will from Copycat’s mother. His bad luck continued, as he was ambushed by Copycat herself, who tossed him through a building and left him for the police. 

Later Years & Death 

Sluggo never really recovered from his string of bad luck. Despite his promising debut, and his ties to Weapon X, he was later relegated to obscurity. This was directly mocked in Weapon X: First Class #2. Deadpool broke the fourth wall in order to make fun of Sluggo for never even gaining entry into the Official Marvel Handbook. Sluggo made one final attempt at making a name for himself in Deadpool #36 (Volume 4) by joining a ragtag group of villains focused on getting revenge on Deadpool for being a lousy friend. However, Weasel accidentally killed him with a grenade launcher, resulting in a sad end to Sluggo.