Writer: Judd Winick Artists: Mike McKone (p), Jon Holdredge (I)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Plot: The book opens by showing us the arrival of another collection of characters that were brought together by the same mystery figure that formed the Exiles, but we see this group is lead by Sabretooth. As this group adjusts to the latest world they've arrived on we see them discover that they are not the only group sent to repair the damage that has been done to timeline on this parallel Earth, as they meet up with Blink's team. As the two groups compare notes we see that Blink & Sabretooth have been pulled away from the same Earth, and this creates an instant bond between the two groups. As the teams get their mission, they initially are lead to believe that they are suppose to rescue a young boy named David Richards, who is currently being held in a prison camp guarded by Sentinels. However, after the two teams smash their way into this camp, and manage to rescue the entire group of children that are being held there, we see the two team leaders discover that their real mission on this world is to kill David Richards.
Comments: I must confess this issue does have me a bit concerned, as we're only twelve issues into this series, and this is now the third time that Judd Winick has used the idea that super-heroes are being gathered up by the governing authority of the planet. Yes, each story has resulted in a different idea, but there is something rather disconcerting about his using the same springboard for three of the six stories that he's delivered in his opening twelve issues. Now I realize that about every second story involving parallel worlds in comics, has used some variation of this idea, as it makes for a rather exciting scenario to have your heroes placed on a world where they are public enemy number one, but Judd Winick is going to have to start exercising his creative muscles a bit more than he has, as I'm starting to get the sense that I've seen this story before in these pages. In fact the only real dramatic changes that this story has over the one that opened this series, is the inclusion of the second team of Exiles, and Charles Xavier's role is now being played by David Richards.
While I'll admit that the task the Tallus has called upon them to deliver is sure to create some fireworks among these characters, this is yet another example of Judd Winick playing a card that he's already dealt, as this time we can simply insert David Richards into the role that Charles Xavier played in the opening arc & Jean Grey played in the second arc. There's also something not quite right about Judd Winick using the Tallus device in this manner, as he's using it as way to provide an instant motivation switch, rather than a device that is suppose to clearly spell out the team's mission. I mean he has the device be deliberately obscure when he needs the team to make a grievous error that endangers the group, and this time out he even has the device resort of outright misinformation, as if the final mission was to kill David Richards than why did the Tallus device even bother to suggest that the mission was to rescue him? I can see why Judd Winick has the device act in this manner, but he's bending the rules a bit much for my liking.
Mike McKone is back on the book, and he's been given the ideal issue to showcase why this is such welcome news. While he may need a guest-artist to help out every about fifth issue, Mike McKone's work is strong enough that I'm willing to skip my regular rant about how a monthly book should have a monthly artist. His facial work is easily his biggest strength, as there are several emotional moments in this issue, from Blink's reunion with Sabertooth, to the scene where we discover TJ has lost her baby, and the art's ability to clearly convey the emotions of the character is a very welcome. The visual design of Sabertooth's group is also quite impressive, as while all the characters are instantly recognizable, Mike McKone does make slight alterations that allow one to believe these characters come from very different worlds than their Marvel counterparts. The action sequence is also a strong display of the two groups, as the characters tear into the Sentinels who amusingly look like street hoodlums, casing a potential target.
Final Word: Given half the members of the new Exiles are currently sitting on my top ten favorite Marvel characters list, I'll admit I quite enjoyed the opening sequence of this issue. The interaction between the two teams was also a lot of fun, and the scene where the two compare notes did make for an interesting sneak peek at the bigger picture. However, once we moved to the mission itself, Judd Winick did leave me a bit disappointed, as the plot does feel overly familiar to his previous work on this title. In fact, if we get another one of these super-hero prison camps, I do believe I'm going to leave this book on the shelf, as there's nothing worse than a writer with such a sweeping sandbox to play in, seemingly unable to come up with more varied ideas to play with. The drama of the team being forced to kill also created a sense of deja-vu, but hopefully the presence of Sabretooth's team will add a new element to the mix.
