I wasn't at all taken with Chuck Austen's earlier efforts on this title, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to his return. To my surprise, he offers up a strong new story here that examines the "rules" that have been in place since the series began. The greatest strength of the story is its dark cynicism about the human soul, as the majority of the main characters here act solely out of self-interest and even hedonism, not something one is accustomed to finding in a super-hero book. The gritty quality of Calafiore's pencils suits that darker tone in the plot, and as always, the diverse array of alternate characters makes for a fun, colorful read.
Weapon X, the group of reality-hopping metahumans that serves as an unethical mirror to the Exiles, finds itself on a world where there are only 10 mutants left alive. Among the survivors is Magneto, and he plans to annihilate the Earth and the human race, leaving them behind to guide his handful of mutant followers to find a new home in the stars. Weapon X learns that its mission is to kill all of the remaining mutants -- even the altruistic Professor X -- so that the Earth may live. But the team's newest and most powerful member, Hyperion, has other ideas.
Calafiore's works quite well with this story, but I'm most impressed with his alternate designs for familiar characters. Wolverine's new look is wonderfully understated and dark, and Ms. Marvel's is a nice mix of her classic, 1970s/80s design with a more modern, darker look. And Forge, though glimpsed only briefly, is deliciously alien in appearance. The penciller also does an excellent job of conveying the intensity and overwhelming nature of Hyperion's powers, and that makes the plot work.
I've had about enough of these generic, pinup-like covers that have graced the exterior of this title for several issues now. I like cover artist Mizuki Sakakibara's style; it reminds me of original series artist Mike McKone's style. But these covers tell the reader nothing of the character in the spotlight and nothing of the story to be found within.
The inclusion of a not-so-nasty version of Colossus in this group of superhuman scoundrels strikes me as interesting. We've got a mean-as-hell incarnation of Magik running around with the goodie-good Exiles, and a soft-hearted goliath hanging with their opposite number. Looks like the two characters got placed in the wrong teams. Mind you, there's no cue for new readers, just as some of the appeal of this script -- for example, recognizing Forge in an altered form -- will escape those who aren't as up on mainstream Marvel continuity.
The Exiles and Weapon X are both instructed by the Tallus as to what their missions are, distasteful or intimidating as they may be. The "heroes" are promised with a return home to restored timelines, but Austen asks an interesting question here: what if these dimensional champions simply choose not to play along? What's to stop them from turning these circumstances to their advantage? Therein lies the potential and promise for an interesting science-fiction/super-hero story arc.
