Exiles

The Exiles are group of time and space traveling characters that are charged with the duty of jumping across multiple parallel realities. In each reality they must resolve a certain issue before they can move on to the next one in order to save the Multiverse.

Name:

Exiles

Publisher:

Marvel

Aliases:

First issue:

Exiles #1 Down the Rabbit Hole

See at ComicVine

Origin

The Exiles were first brought together by a being that called himself the Timebroker, an entity that claimed to be composed of the collective consciousnesses of the group. These individuals were: Blink of Earth-295 (Age of Apocalypse), Mimic of Earth-12, Thunderbird of Earth-1100, Morph of Earth-1084, Magnus of Earth-27, and Nocturne of Earth-2182 were told that there was a disturbance in time that was cascading outward threatening the existence of all realities.

They were removed from their own separate realities in order to repair damage to various realities in the multiverse. Eventually, after repairing sufficient realities to restore their own, they would be sent home. If they didn't repair the realities, they would be sent home to skewed home worlds. These six heroes would become the founding members of the team. Blink, who would become their leader, was given a device called the Tallus, which would be used by the Timebroker to communicate with the group. He would usually give them some info on how to repair each reality, though often very cryptic.

Creation

The Age of Apocalypse storyline had just ended, and an obscure character called Blink had been a key player in the crossover and gained an unexpectedly large fan base. Marvel then began planning a Blink spin-off title, which went through several incarnations. One of the concepts was a Blink, X-Man, and Morph book.

However this didn't really click, and around the same time there was a poll regarding X-Men Millennial Visions 2000, a book containing nothing but alternate reality concepts. The poll was about which reality would get a mini-series, and the winner was Professor W's X-Men, a reality where Wolverine was crippled and led the X-Men. One of the members was Nightcrawler's daughter, Nocturne.

These two concepts were merged and alternate realities were introduced to the mix, X-Man was dropped and given his own title, Morph was changed to an alternate counterpart of himself. Marvel then published a Blink mini that had little to do with anything, but Nocturne and the desert landscape from Exiles #1 was introduced on the last page.

Team Evolution

The series begins where the Blink miniseries left off, with Blink suddenly being transported through a portal to a barren desert, where she meets Nocturne, daughter of Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch, Morph, Thunderbird, previously one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, Mimic, and Magnus, the son of Magneto and Rogue, who had all been removed from their respective realities. Although the group is initially confused as to how they got there and who brought them there, their questions are soon answered by The Timebroker, a mysterious entity who claims to be a construct of the team's collective consciousness. He explains to them all that they have become 'unhinged' from time, that new events in their pasts have transpired and altered each of the paths they now live. He goes on to tell them that the only way to fix each of their time lines is to travel to numerous alternate realities and fix what has gone wrong, hopefully putting it back to where it should be. This in turn, should then create a domino effect that will return their reality to how it should be. He goes on to give the team the Tallus, a communications device that will give the team their missions, and sends them on their way.

Major Story Arcs

First Mission: Find your greatest teacher.

The Exiles arrive on Earth-1805, a reality where all mutants and super humans were imprisoned years ago. They are then instructed by the Tallus that their first mission is to "find the one that would lead us", which the Exiles eventually deduce to be Charles Xavier, the leader of the X-Men in most of their home realities. The Exiles figure out where Xavier is being held prisoner and break in, successfully rescuing him. However, their luck suddenly changes as Xavier wakes up and attacks them, revealing to the Exiles that he is not the man he was in their realities, and is much different. In this reality, Magneto, instead of Xavier, was the one who wanted equal rights for mutants and humans, whereas Xavier wanted all humans exterminated.

After waking up from their attack, the Exiles realize the mistake they made by rushing into the situation without really any background information. After doing some research they track down Forge, who had helped build the prisons and in return was allowed to go free, and interrogate him. Eventually, after figuring out who they should have originally freed, they track down Magneto's location and attempt to free him, but discover the prison is set to explode. Realizing that they cannot possibly evacuate themselves and all the prisoners, Magnus sacrifices his own life in order to complete the mission and repair the timeline. After Magnus' death, the Exiles' new teammate is teleported in - Sunfire, a counterpart of Mariko Yashida - and the Exiles carry on to the next reality.

Second Mission: Kill Jean Grey.

The team lands in a new reality (Earth-8649) on a Shi'ar battleship during the Trial of the Phoenix Force. In this reality Jean herself became the Dark Phoenix, and the Exiles goal this time is to make sure that she dies, otherwise she will destroy the galaxy. The mission does not bode well with most of the Exiles due to their feelings towards Jean in their home reality and Nocturne and Mimic refuse to take part in the mission. Blink tries to convince them that it must be done, feeding them information that the Tallus is telling her but they refuse to listen. Eventually the Tallus puts an end to the debate by showing them the worst of what Jean will go on to do, making it so real that they almost feel it.

The Exiles disguise themselves as a distant race of aliens whose home planet had been destroyed by The Phoenix and the Shi'ar allow them to take place in the Trial, fighting on their side. Later, Mimic admits to Blink that he doesn't believe he's good enough to lead the team and that her past experiences gives her a better chance. Although reluctant, she eventually agrees to take the leading role. Trouble occurs when this reality's Wolverine recognizes Mimic's scent and confronts him about what he's doing here, and the two get into a fight. Mimic manages to defeat Wolverine and Nocturne possesses him after the fight so that he won't tell anyone what he saw.

Once the trial begins the Exiles quickly get to work, already knowing what will happen, and subdue several of the X-Men. Nocturne battles her father, Nightcrawler, and defeats him easily, although she feels remorseful for doing it. The battle continues until the Dark Phoenix emerges from inside Jean Grey, and she murders several of her teammates. The Exiles try to fight her, but are all discarded swiftly until Blink comes up with a plan to distract Phoenix, so that Wolverine and Angel can come in from the other side and kill her. Once the mission is over the Tallus immediately sends the Exiles to the next reality. By the end of the second mission it is already clear that some of the Exiles are becoming increasingly frustrated by the position they've been placed in.

Third Mission: The Hulk

Next, the Exiles are sent to Earth-901237, and land in Canada . Almost as soon as the Exiles arrive they run into the Hulk and a fight ensues, which the Exiles lose quickly. It's also revealed that Mimic cannot be in close proximity with the Hulk due to his absorption powers, which meant he was absorbing Gamma rays which were making him violently sick. After the fight they then meet up with Alpha Flight, lead by Wolverine, who question what the Exiles are doing on their territory. After the Exiles explain their situation Alpha Flight agree to let them stay with them until their mission is complete. However, the Exiles had still not been informed as to what their mission in this reality was and it wasn't until halfway through a team briefing on the Hulk when the Tallus informed Blink what the mission was. It explained to her that three months ago the Hulk and a creature known as VOXON fought and caused the deaths of three people and the destruction of six city blocks. The Hulk then went on a rampage, bringing chaos with him wherever he went and Alpha Flight was left responsible to deal with the monster. However, the Tallus went on to explain that a fight between the Hulk and Alpha Flight would lead to the deaths of all members of the team, and the Exiles had to stop this from occurring. Blink talks to Mimic later that night about what the Tallus told her and the two flirt, and eventually kiss.

However, the Exiles are not alone in this reality and it's revealed that there is another group of Exiles, named Weapon X - made up of Blink's father figure - Sabretooth, Deadpool and Kane. They are shown to be watching the Exiles from a distance and talk about how they'll be the ones to bring down the Hulk.

Later, T-Bird and Alpha Flight's Shaman, who were both versions of John Proudstar, went for a walk together. T-Bird found it hard to be around this version of himself due to the drastic differences between the two and saw Shaman as a version of himself he could never become. However, he also found it comforting to be able to be with someone alike to his brother as well, whom he missed. During the walk, the two bumped into the Hulk and although things were calm to begin with and they were able to reason with the Hulk, Weapon X's interference by shooting the Hulk in the head lead to a fight. T-Bird managed to best The Hulk this time and when the Hulk was defeated Weapon X decided it was their time to move in. However, they were stopped in their tracks by the arrival of the other Exiles, Blink included. Sabretooth immediately recognised Blink and watched from a distance but Weapon X was then teleported out of the reality, even though they had failed their mission. After the Hulk had been defeated Nocturne congratulates T-Bird and the two go on to talk about James Proudstar - Nocturne's boyfriend and T-Bird's deceased brother. T-Bird tells Nocturne how much he misses him and the two then kiss, something they don't mention to their teammates. The Exiles spent one more night in Canada, unaware that they had come so close to meeting Weapon X.

Galactus

After enduring numerous more mission in alternate realities the Exiles are then sent to an Earth that had been taken over by Skrulls years ago and the planet was under complete control by them. Humans had been exiled to the outskirts of society and superhumans had been forced to take part in gladiator style games, often to the death. The Exiles are caught by surprise when they first arrive and Thunderbird, Sunfire, Mimic and Nocturne are all captured whilst Blink manages to teleport herself and Morph away from danger. The captured Exiles are forced to take part in the Games and due to their backgrounds fighting crime, excelled in their battles against the other competitors. However, they were exhausted and were quickly running out of hope. Meanwhile, Blink and Morph attempted to rescue the others several times but failed and they eventually seek out help from Reed Richards - Mr Fantastic. However, before he could help the Exiles, the Skrulls evacuate the planet as they had received information telling them that Galactus was coming to feed on the planet. It was then revealed to Blink that their mission was to make sure Galactus didn't destroy Earth.

Following the Skrull's evacuation, the cells holding all of the superhumans are opened and when Galactus' Herald; Terrax arrives, their combined effort manages to defeat him. The captured Exiles and the others reunite and Blink and Mimic kiss. They then form a plan to defeat Galactus which involves setting off a bomb from inside Galactus' armor, which would need somebody with amazing strength to pull off. However, before the plan can be carried out

T-Bird reveals to the team that Nocturne is pregnant with his baby, and tells them that she shouldn't have to take part in the mission. Nocturne argues with T-Bird, telling him that she's fine and the team needs her, which they agree with. The two share a quiet moment together but are soon called for duty. Galactus arrives on the planet and the battle begins, and with most of the Exiles' preliminary attacks failing they resort to their original plan. Although it was to be the Hulk whom would deliver the blow to Galactus originally, T-Bird is the only one left to do it and the attack almost kills him. Galactus flees the planet but T-Bird is left in a coma. When Nocturne is informed of T-Bird's condition she is distraught, and even more so when the Tallus tells Blink that they're moving on from this reality, without Thunderbird. The Exiles are the joined by new member Heather Hudson - Sasquatch.

Post-Galactus

Nocturne sobs over losing her lover as the rest of the team can only look on sadly. Morph barges into her room, trying to cheer her up and convince her to join the rest of the team having fun. She curtly responds no, and Morph lets her know that she's not the only one who misses T-Bird and that the offer to join them is always good. He leaves. Nocturne looks at the roses in the room and remembers about when she had a talk with T-Bird during when they had to kill Phoenix. She teased him that he didn't seem to like flowers, he compared himself to Ferdinand the Bull, meant for fighting but always wanting something else. Later, in their Alpha Flight mission, TJ and John spoke about Nocturne's home world. Morph comes up in the conversation and Nocturne tells T-Bird that Morph thinks T-Bird hates him. John admits he does, but then says he only envies him because he's free.

In a mission to Savage Land Thunderbird suggests they stop their relationship, even though Mimic and Blink are okay with it. He wants to face it and not seek refuge with Nocturne, to which TJ storms off angered. On a world where Tony Stark was president he tried to make amends with the break up, and always wondered how a beautiful women like TJ would love a "twisted" man like him. She kisses him and tears roll down her cheek and says she wouldn't want anyone else. Back to the battle with Galactus, she tells him that she's pregnant with his child, but it couldn't have been a worse time since their fighting. He couldn't be happier. He was going to be a father, and was determined to fight to stay alive to teach his child about Ferdinand the Bull. Back in her hotel room, Nocturne clutches the flowers to her chest and tells the empty room that she can't fight without Thunderbird, and falls back onto the bed sobbing.

Team Roster

Blink

Clarice Ferguson - Earth-295

Joins team in Exiles #1

Absent from team between Exiles 22-37, quits in #100, rejoins before Exiles vol. 2 #1

Mimic

Calvin Rankin - Earth-12

Joins team in Exiles #1

Possessed by Proteus in Exiles #71, dies in #73.

Morph

Kevin Sidney - Earth-1084

Joins team in Exiles #1

Possessed by Proteus since Exiles #80, Merged with Proteus in New Exiles Annual. Currently serves as the Timebroker.

Nocturne

Talia Josephine Wagner - Earth-2182

Joins team in Exiles #1

Left behind on Earth-616 in Exiles #48, reunited with the Exiles in X-Men: Die by the Sword #1, quits in Exiles 100, rejoined in vol. 2.

Thunderbird

John Proudstar - Earth-1100

Joins team in Exiles #1

Ends up in a coma in Exiles #10, rejoins team in #97, quits in #100

Magnus

Magnus Lehnsherr - Earth-27

Joins team in Exiles #1

Sacrifices self to save team in Exiles #2

Sunfire

Mariko Yashida - Earth-2109

Joins team in Exiles #2

Dies in Exiles #37

Sasquatch

Heather Hudson - Earth-3470

Joins team in Exiles #10

Possessed by Tanaraq in Exiles 57, purged from Tanaraq in #58, leaves in #95

Magik

Illyana Rasputin - Earth-4210

Joins team in Exiles #22

Killed by Hyperion in Exiles #44

Namora

Namora - Earth-2189

Joins team in Exiles #46

Killed by Hyperion in Exiles #64

Beak

Barnell Bohusk - Earth-616

Joins team in Exiles #48

Returns to Earth-616 in Exiles #71

Tanaraq

Tanaraq - Earth-3470

Joins team in Exiles #57

Exiled in Exiles #58

Sabretooth

Victor Creed - Earth-295

Joins team in Exiles #59

Current deceased.

Holocaust

Nemesis - Earth-295

Joins team in Exiles #60

Killed by Hyperion in Exiles #62

Longshot

Longshot - Mojoverse

Joins team in Exiles #74

Returns to Earth-616 in X-Men: Die by the Sword #5

Spider-Man 2099

Miguel O'Hara - Earth-6375

Joins team in Exiles #76

Returned home in Exiles #99

Power Princess

Zarda Sheldon - Earth-712

Joins team in Exiles #78

Returns to Earth-712 in Exiles #90

Proteus

Kevin MacTaggart - Earth-58163

Joins team in Exiles #82

Brainwashed into thinking he is Morph since Exiles #82, Merged with Morph in New Exiles Annual.

Psylocke

Elizabeth Braddock - Earth-616

Joins team in Exiles #90

Somehow returns to Earth-616 after X-Men: Sword of the Braddocks.

Shadowcat

Cat Pryde - unknown earth

Joins team in Exiles #98

Is killed by Madame Hydra in New Exiles #18

Mystiq

Raphael-Raven Darkholme - Earth-797

Joins team in Exiles #99

Current whereabouts unknown.

Rogue

Anna Raven - Earth-1009

Joins team in Exiles #99

Quit the team and stayed behind on one of the worlds the team were visiting in New Exiles #18.

Sage

Tessa - Earth-616

Joins team in X-Men: Die by the Sword #5

Merges with the Panoptichron in New Exiles #?

Gambit

Remy McKenzie - Earth-6706

Joins team in New Exiles #4

Son of Namor and Invisible Woman. Quit the team and went back to Earth-6706 in New Exiles #18