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.
Exiles, vol. 2: A World Apart
Available in: Exiles Ultimate Collection, vol. 1
ISBN: 9780785138877
by Judd Winick
Art by Mike McKone and Jim Calafiore
Marvel Comics, 2009 (collected addition)