Exiles #13

Background

The Exiles finally get to meet their counterparts, another team known as Weapon X also recruited by the Timebroker to help fix reality. After a happy reunion between their team leaders, Blink and Sabretooth, the teams got their mission; rescue David Richards, son of Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, from a prison camp under Sentinel guard in this almost Days of Future Past-like reality. Success, however, is bitter sweet as additional instructions come through that David Richards must die!

Story Details

Yes, it's true; David Richards will have the power to free the world one day. But, consider the world he would grow up in, he would become a dangerous man in time and enslave the world. The people would have traded on oppressor for another, and there aren't many left who could even hope to defeat David and survive. Blink tells Mimic about their mission before Creed can stop them, and the Vision hears and announces it to the others. The Exiles immediately shoot down the idea, but Weapon X is all for it; especially Deadpool, irritated with Creed already being stranded for months because he wouldn't let them kill Gambit, which they had to do eventually.

Nocturne tries to stop him, but Creed puts her down. Blink tries to understand the situation when Creed tells her this isn't a rabbit hunt from back home. Little do the others suspect that this is actually a code between the two of them. But, they soon learn as Creed breaks Deadpool's neck and grabs the kid. Before Weapon X can react, Blink blinks them all and the children away. Creed tells her to keep on going to keep out of Vision's sensor range. Mimic eventually stops them before she kills herself, and learns that rabbit hunt was code for her to evacuate everyone back home.

The Timebroker appears and essentially tells them to finish the mission or be stranded forever, until their altered realities eventually call them back without repair. He departs, explaining Vision has tracked them down and they're on their way. The heroes ponder what to do as Morph spies their replacement for Deadpool: a beefed-up Iron Man! Creed tells Blink to get some distance between them and the kids while they hold them off. Reluctantly, she goes.

The two teams fight, the skill of the Exiles matched by the ruthlessness of Weapon X. Just when things couldn't get any worse, Vision is taken out of the fight with the appearance of the advanced model Sentinels from this world. They scatter as the Sentinels attack, easily taking down Iron Man and Hulk. It all seems hopeless until Blink blinks them all away.

While the teams recover, Creed tells Blink his plan of staying behind on the world to raise the kids, and David; trying to rewrite intended history. Blink, however, is less than happy hoping that one day they could be together after all this craziness has ended. Creed tells her there are other worlds, and they found each other once, they will again.

General Comments

All-out action that make this book worth every cent. The only negative parts about this issue were some confusing panels during the fight and the sudden and abrupt ending. We get introduced to the modern Sentinels, the teams only dealing with slightly older models the last time, but their fight is a quick couple of pages and then the heroes escape. Now, if the world was as infested as it was described as being, there should have been at least one more confrontation or an expansion of it. And the fighting, a lot of the close-ups made it hard to determine exactly what was going on in the action. And despite the touching moment at the end, it felt a bit rushed which added to the abruptness. This story would have benefited from at least one more issue.

Overall Rating

3 Webs. Confusing panels, Sentinel tease, and an abrupt and rushed-feeling end. Enjoyable, however.

Footnote

For the first appearance of Weapon X, check out Exiles #5.

In every issue, Morph takes on some familiar and unusual forms. Here, we'll try to chronicle as many as we can in a section we'll call: MORPH'S MORPHS!

Morph's morphs: Timebroker, a boxer, a rocket, an octopus, Rocky the rooster from Chicken Run suit, Nocturne, a mouse