Exiles #45

Background

Mimic was infected by an alien Brood egg which took him over and twisted him to its will. The Exiles were barely able to stop him, and Sunfire paid the price, resulting in the return of Blink to take her place. The Exiles met up with Gambit from the alternate team Weapon X where he tells them about Hyperion's takeover of this world's New York City and the mission that 6 of the misplaced heroes must die in order for the rest to move on. The Exiles figure out a way to accomplish the mission with no fatalities, but Magik has other ideas and tries to switch sides which results in her death by Hyperion's hand. This sends Morph into a frenzy after a bonding moment they shared, and he engages Hyperion in a one-on-one battle.

CURRENT EXILES:

BLINK (Clarice Ferguson): Teleportation

MIMIC (Calvin Rankin): Mimics the powers of 5 mutants at a time.

NOCTURNE (TJ Wagner): Hex bolts and body possession.

MORPH: Shape-shifting.

SUNFIRE (Mariko Yashida): DECEASED

SASQUATCH (Dr. Heather Hudson): Super strength and senses.

MAGIK (Illyana Rasputin): DECEASED

GAMBIT (Remy LeBeau): Charges objects with kinetic energy.

Story Details

Blink, TJ and Gambit try to figure out what to do about Heather, her having saved TJ from a treacherous blow by Magik's sword. TJ decides to try to possess her to activate her transformation into Sasquatch so her healing powers might help.

Elsewhere, Morph prepares to take down Hyperion; a taste for blood in his mouth. Mimic tries to stop Morph from effectively committing suicide, but he doesn't want to hear it. Hyperion tries to nail them with his energy beams, which Mimic quickly counters with his own resulting in an explosive backlash. They regroup and Morph tries to attack, by Hyperion easily swats him off letting Mimic take a crack. Mimic gets ready to try again when he's attacked by Hyperion's teammate Ms. Marvel. Hyperion easily bests Mimic, boasting all his past victories and how no one could stop him. That's when Blink sends a possessed Sasquatch down from above him, delivering a massive blow.

TJ separates from Heather to allow her time to heal while Blink and Gambit join the fight. However, Hyperion just as easily takes all three down. He approaches Blink, gloating away as he unleashes his eye blasts. Blink was ready for him, and blinks the path of the beams back right behind him, effectively crippling him. Gambit, with a charged Magik's sword, tells Blink to go as he'll finish things. He strikes the sword down into Hyperion's new weak point, killing them both with a massive explosion.

While the Exiles regroup, Morph is pulled out of the result of his fatal fight with Ms. Marvel. The Timebroker appears to him and tells him it's time to go home, while explaining all the confusing happenings as of late. Morph is excited at the prospect, until the Exiles find him. He then realizes that he is home and declines. Morph and Mimic make their peace while the Exiles get 24 hours to rest. A rest well deserved.

General Comments

A good conclusion to a good story. The only grip here is Mimic's "you're not still mad at me, are you?" line. That just seemed a very immature and out of place thing to say to Morph. The reconciliation between them was handled much better after that, but that one line just sticks out like a sore thumb. Also, more lack of mourning for their fallen comrades as it's seem to be swept under the rug. Plus, what the hell ever happened to Sunfire's body?? Other than that, it was a clever way to defeat Hyperion and a nice end to the reign of Weapon X. For now.

Overall Rating

3 Webs. Some story flubs, but otherwise a great read.

Footnote

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: winged monster, stone hands, Superman, clown