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THE EXILES #12
"Another Rooster in the Henhouse Part 1 of 2"
Recommended (7/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Mike McKone
Inks: Jon Holdredge
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Paul Tutrone
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
This issue is
the payoff to a hint dropped about six months back, that there was more than one
reality-hopping team in existence. Though the issue is heavy on dire portents,
it's light on providing any sort of conflict between the two teams, choosing
instead to focus on fixing another reality and throwing another curveball of an
ending. Given the world-shaking events of the last three issue story and the
strong character focus of the previous issue, this one feels a bit tame, but
there's certainly room for some interesting developments in the second part, and
the usual mixture of strong characterization and solid humor and art makes for
an entertaining issue, at least.
There are a lot of characters
this issue, and I felt like Winick had to spend a lot of valuable time making
introductions. I was also a bit disappointed in a fairly major disconnect
between script and art, as the newly-introduced Sasquatch claims she transforms
"without a stitch of clothes" and then is inexplicably sporting underwear. I
didn't have any particular desire to see Sasquatch naked, but it seems like a
less precise description of post-transformation clothing wouldn't have kicked me
out of the story.
Mind you, Winick and McKone
have already created several interesting variations on heroes in this book, and
the "Weapon X" team is no exception. Though we really only scratch the surface
of the team, their dialogue and the way they interact gives us a feel for who
they are, and the feel as real as the Exiles do. That's important, as I suspect
that a conflict is coming. Given the hints of a darker mission statement for
Weapon X, and also that I find it hard to believe Winick intends for there to be
hundreds of similar teams out doing the Exiles' work, I expect next issue to
come with a much darker and surprising revelation than the one that closes out
this issue.
In between the bonding of the
two teams and the enjoyable but ultimately fairly inconsequential action
sequences, there are some nice moments of characterization as always. T.J.'s
conversation with Sunfire is a good reminder to readers (and introduction for
new ones) to the pain she's dealing with, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's
more to her story than she's saying, given the hesitation in her dialogue. And
the bond between Clarice and Victor Creed is bound to cause problems when the
Weapon X and Exiles teams inevitably come to blows.
This book has built itself a bit of a reputation for doing the unexpected, whether it's killing off team members or doling out unhappy endings. That comes back to bite Winick and McKone a little this issue, as the story this time out is a bit too conventional, and the shock ending is one that I saw coming, given that I was waiting to find out what the twist is. However, Exiles remains one of
Marvel's most entertaining books for me, and I hope that the next issue will
bring more surprises.
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