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The Complete Series all reviews by wil |
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A blank canvas of desert. Suddenly, six figures appear out of nowhere, one by one. As each introduces him or her self, it is revealed that they are all X-Men, but each is from a different reality. A mysterious figure known as a Time Broker shows up, and reveals why they have been brought together. Each one of them has become unhinged from their reality, and in order to put things right, they must fix what has gone wrong in other realities. Sometimes, the goal is as easy as freeing an old enemy from prison, but sometimes it's as difficult as killing an old friend. Every reality is different, and must be put right in the way that it belongs. Failure means being sent back to their flawed realities, where they may end up comatose, crippled, or even dead. Given minimal clues to their objective each time, the group struggles against their own definitions of right and wrong, good and evil, and friend and foe to do what must be done to move on, and hopefully, eventually, go home. Judd Winick took the idea behind the hit television series, Quantum Leap, and applied it to the X-Men universe, with excellent results. Even if you don't know them, you find yourself caring about each of these individuals, these self-named Exiles. Down the Rabbit Hole is the first book in the Exiles series. |
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Continuing the tale of the Exiles, the group finds themselves in the wilderness of Canada, facing off against a Hulk gone mad. Meeting up with the Canadian mutant force known as Alpha Flight, led by Wolverine, they discover that their mission is to protect the lives of their would-be teammates, which means bringing down the Hulk by themselves. Mimic finds himself benched due to his inability to keep his body from mimicking the Hulk's radioactive nature, and Thunderbird takes time to reflect upon his nature as a human being with an alternate version of himself. We are also introduced to the mysterious Weapon X, another team of reality jumpers with an alternate set of goals that happens to collide with the Exiles'. The second reality in this book has the majority of the team captured by Skrulls, an alien race who have conquered the earth, and now use mutants and superheroes as gladiators in games of mortal combat for their own amusement. Only Blink and Morph are free, and struggle to devise a plan to free their friends, and the entire world. Everything gets set aside though, when a larger problem arrives from the far end of space...Galactus, the eater of worlds. Now, the surviving remnants of anenslaved planet must work together to bring down a monster greater than any of them have ever faced. A World Apart continues the excellent writing by Judd Winick. Each reality the Exiles experience has elements that feel like home in the X-Men universe, and combined with soap-opera relationships forming among the regular crew, you'll find yourself wanting to pick up the next book almost as soon as your done with this. |
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When last we heard from the group of "unhinged from time" X-Men known as the Exiles, they had been forced to abandon a teammate in a coma after a battle with Galactus, and taken on the new member, Sasquatch. Now, set down on an Earth where mutants are imprisoned from birth, they meet the other group of unhinged mutants, Weapon X, and are given a task that goes against their nature as heroes. Most of Weapon X accepts the mission as just another chore, as it is their nature to do the dirty work the Exiles are too compassionate to take on, but Mimic, Blink and the rest refuse their orders, and with the help of an unlikely ally, attempt to find an alternate solution. The party never ends when you're an Exile. After putting up with endless natural disasters at the hands of land-walking men, the city of Atlantis has decided to wage war against the country of Latveria. The Exiles' job in this reality looks easy enough... stop Prince Namor, the leader of Atlantis, but as is often the case, looks can be deceiving. An impenetrable forcefield protects the city, and only Mimic can reach the power source to bring it down. At the same time, the rest of the group must work with an intolerable comrade, the arrogant Victor Von Doom, and protect the population of Latveria. The third and fourth realities are relatively short in comparison to most Exiles' adventures. In one, the Exiles face off against the mad Dr. Connors, aka The Reptile from Spider-Man, while the other had them fighting a television-crazed being called Mojo, who abducts Morph and tortures Nocturne. A short side story devoted to Nocturne's bereavement for her lost love is thrown into to remind us that there's some serious coupling going on here, and even though they're mutant superheroes fighting through crazy, different realities, they're also human beings deep down, and need the same things we all need... companionship. Judd Winick continues to find a good ground between serious drama and light-hearted comedy, and he never lets up on the action. The story of the "Mojoverse" is a slightly awkward way to end the book, leaving the reader with no cliffhanger to encourage them to continue on to the fourth, but overall, Exiles: Out of Time continues the tradition of quality we've come to expect. |
Exiles:
Down the Rabbit Hole (Volume 1)
Exiles: A World Apart (Volume 2)
Exiles:
Out of Time (Volume 3)
copyright Robin Brenner 2002-2004