Exiles #84

Background

The Exiles have spent a great deal of time and effort chasing after the reality warping mutant Proteus as he tried to find the perfect body to inhabit. Ultimately, he possessed Morph whose physiology made him immune to the parasitic aspect of his powers. The Exiles had a final standoff with Proteus, trapping him in Morph's body under the illusion that he IS Morph thanks to mind- altering technology from the world of the Squadron Supreme. Now, the team is re-dedicated to the mission for which they were founded, although a little wary of Morph's delicate condition.

CURRENT EXILES:

SABRETOOTH (Victor Creed): Enhanced senses and healing.

BLINK (Clarice Ferguson): Teleportation.

MORPH: Shape-shifting.

DR. HEATHER HUDSON: Scientist.

LONGSHOT: Agility and luck powers.

SPIDER-MAN 2099 (Miguel O'Hara): Spider-like powers and talons.

POWER PRINCESS (Zarda): Super strength and flight.

Story 'Back in the Saddle'

The story opens with a wise-cracking Longshot dodging the energy shield of a very furious (and naked) Power Princess. In her rage, she manages to slice Longshot right in half...just as Longshot and Heather enter the room. Realizing it's Morph, Zarda explains to the newcomers that he spied on her bathing. Morph's defense was the indoor ocean was hardly a private bath. Heather breaks them up, trying to keep the peace while she goes for a visit with her husband. The Timebreakers try to convince her not to, to warn that these little vacations put the world in peril, but she won't have any of it. Little do the Exiles know that the bugs have something up their sleeves.

On Earth 12, home of Mimic, Blink attends the memorial service with the X-Men for their fallen teammate. In the short time she's been there, the X-Men have come to like Blink just enough to invite her to join them.

On Earth 928, Spider-Man pays a visit to his brother to find out how the Public Eye has been treating him family since his unmasking on live TV.

On Earth 295, Sabretooth visits Magneto and Rogue to find out the status of a missing Wild Child, with no good news. The two mutants try to convince him and Blink to return home when the Tallus says another reality is about to die.

On Earth 3470, Heather and her husband James have made up for a lot of lost time. However, their happy reunion is about to be short-lived as Sabretooth is teleported right into their bedroom. He quickly explains there's trouble, and to round up both the Exiles and Alpha Flight. Gathered, Heather explains that the Cold War never ended on this world, making the Soviets more desperate. The Soviet Super-Soldiers, led by Darkstar, are trying to get an elder god named Chernobog to help them, which will result in the word being flooded by darkforce, smothering all life.

The heroes race out and engage the bad guys, just as the elder god is brought to reality. The Timebreakers suggest more Exiles are needed, and send Morph down to help. However, things are not going well. Longshot believes his abilities will change the odds in their favor, and he heads down to help. No sooner does Longshot arrive that the threat is eliminated and the day is won. Longshot is confused at how things played out, but everyone is just ready to move on home...until the Tallus disappears. The Timebroker hologram appears and explains that they've been deemed unreliable and thus fired.

Have a nice life, Exiles.

General Comments

The storm has definitely come after the calm. The Exiles want to enjoy a little down time, but their slave-driver "bosses" have other ideas. Of course, given that their decision-making skills haven't always been stellar (disrupting time, Weapon X...) it'll be interesting to see how this comes to bite them in the collective butts. Tony Bedard presents another character-driven story that at least allows the heroes to revisit their worlds that often go ignored in the scheme of things, while Jim Calafiore's art is on the mark as usual. You just can't beat this creative team.

Overall Rating

4.5 Webs. Great set-up for more complications down the road in an excellent character-driven story.

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: Longshot, chauffer, Dorothy (Wizard of Oz), tuxedo