Comic Review – “Exiles Vol. 4: Legacy”

This was Judd Winick’s last pair of story arcs before temporarily
turning the title over to Chuck Austen. (Winick returns as writer
with issue 31, released later this month.)

General Information

Title: Exiles Vol. 4: Legacy

Author: Judd Winick

Illustrator(s): Mike Calafiore and Kev Walker

Original Publication Date: 2003 reprint of material first published
in
2002-2003

ISBN: 0-7851-1109-3

Cover Price: $12.99 US, $21.00 Can

Buy from: Amazon.com
or Amazon.ca

Premise

In the first story arc, (Legacy, issues 20-22) the
Exiles
deal with a new variant of the Legacy virus. That’s the one
Colossus
sacrificed his life to stop in the regular Marvel continuity.

In the second story arc, (With an Iron Fist, issues
23-25)
the Weapon X team is on a mission with the Exiles nowhere in
sight.
Weapon X is sent to help Iron Man defeat the Inhumans, his last
opposition to total world rule.

High Point

Morph calls in the cavalry.

Low Point

The complete absence of the Exiles in the second story arc. I
don’t
mind when the title characters are used sparingly if it serves the
story, but why write a story where they are completely absent?

The Scores

This set shows again how much freedom this title has. Any team
member
can be lost at any time. Any major Marvel character can be
used and
defeated in battle if it’s appropriate. The variations on past
events
in the Marvel Universe can be extreme, as we see in With
An Iron
Fist
. This helps the title maintain a fresh and
original feel. I give it 4 out of 6.

The artwork by Jim Calafiore is excellent. He’s got a
great
handle on the characters, and on Winick’s storytelling style. The
work by Kev Walker, however, leaves something to be desired.
The
other Kev Walker work I’ve seen is in The Eternal.
In that
case, the smooth woman but hardened men is appropriate to the
setting
and characters, so I thought it was a deliberate artistic choice.
Instead, it just seems to be his style; the men are all hardened,
while the women are soft and smooth. I definitely detracts from
the
finished package, especially since the story would demand that
Tony
Stark’s appearance be much softer than the Invisible Woman’s.
I give
it 4 out of 6, averaging three issues from Calafiore (5 out of 6)
and
three from Walker (3 out of 6.)

The stories that are told are well told. The pieces fit
together with the past in ways that wouldn’t necessarily be
confusing
to new readers. My only complaint is that a new team member
was
introduced right before a story arc that didn’t involve the leads, so
I still haven’t seen what this version of her is like. (It’s possible
that it was deliberately written like this so that Chuck Austen could
define her in his contribution, but I don’t have to like it.) The
Weapon X story arc is entertaining, but lacking the leads. (Why
couldn’t the Exiles have come to help Sue Storm’s little mission?)
I
give the stories 4 out of 6.



The characterization is well done, again. Mimic’s
growth
continues what it started in volume 3. Morph shows why he’s so
highly
respected in his own dimension. (He outsmarted the Tallus for
Pete’s
sake!) We also learn of Blink, of the Weapon X team, and of the
altered versions of the familiar heroes they are brought in contact
with. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was excellent
through
the first story arc. The second story arc was hampered because
I kept
expecting the title characters to show up, and they never did. I
give
it 4 out of 6.

The flow is smooth and compelling. The action is
very easy
to follow, and it can get hectic in this title due to its short story
arcs. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a good set of issues. Had the Exiles
appeared
at all in the second story arc, I would have been far more
satisfied.
As it stands, that’s the only major disappointment. I give it 4 out
of 6.

In total, Exiles Vol. 4: Legacy receives 30 out of 42.

Additional Notes and Comments

The next Exiles review will be of volume 5 in
September,
followed by reviews of the issues from 31 on. The next comic
reviews
will be later today.

5 replies on “Comic Review – “Exiles Vol. 4: Legacy””

  1. Current X-Men continuities
    Here’s a plea for help from an old time X-Men reader. I’ve been out of the loop for about 2-3 years and am about to jump in again. When I left, there were two “main” X-Books (Uncanny and Adjectiveless) both set in the same continuity (well, Exiles had just started up using the old Malibu Ultraverse but that team was populated by villians shunted over from the main continuity)… It looks like things have changed quite a bit in a couple of years. Now there are:

    Ultimate X-Men (in the Ultimates universe?)
    Exiles (still in the Ultraverse??)
    Regular continuity (Uncanny, X-Treme and Adjectiveless?)
    New X-Men (Morrison in his own world or is it regular continuity?)

    That doesn’t even get into the X-Men Evolution universe and the X-Men movie (do any of the comics “live” in either of those)??

    Oh, and please no spoiler on the “main” continuity, I’d like to find out as I read. Don’t care so much about the new universes.

    • Re: Current X-Men continuities
      New X-Men replaced X-Men. It is part of the main continuity along with Uncanny X-Men and X-treme X-Men.

      Exiles is a continous What if? style story with X-Men type characters from various timelines.

      Ultimate X-Men is in the ultimate universe which is a relaunch of several titles starting over at the beginning in modern times. The ultimate series have been excellent and are a reccommended read.

      The movier adaptation is just that, a comic version of the film. Completely unrelated to anything else in the Marvel Universe. X-Men Evolution was cancelled a while back, it was a comic book adaptation of the tv series.

      Otherwise you have a few other X-related titles that take place in the main continuity: Weapon X (the program), Soldier X (formerly Cable), Agent X (formerly Deadpool), Wolverine and X-Statix. I don’t think I missed any, but it’s hard to keep track of them all sometimes.

      • Re: Current X-Men continuities

        Otherwise you have a few other X-related titles that take place in the
        main continuity: Weapon X (the program), Soldier X (formerly Cable),
        Agent X (formerly Deadpool), Wolverine and X-Statix. I don’t think I
        missed any, but it’s hard to keep track of them all sometimes.

        X-Men Unlimited is also out there, as an anthology series that probably
        won’t impact continuity, although it technically is in continuity. Weapon
        X and Agent X are both cancelled, although they still have issues to
        publish, and there will be a combined Cable/Deadpool book out later
        this year. New X-Men will be restored to the original title of
        X-Men in the relaunch after Grant Morrison’s departure
        next year.

        There are reviews of Uncanny X-Men, Exiles,
        and Ultimate X-Men on this site which can be found
        through the “search” link. Of those three, Exiles is my
        current favourite, and Uncanny X-Men is at the bottom of
        the list under Chuck Austen’s pen. Popular opinion seems to be that
        either Morrison’s work on New X-Men or Claremont’s work
        on X-Treme X-Men is the best of the bunch, but I haven’t
        been reading either, so I won’t comment.

        • Re: Current X-Men continuities
          So X-Factor, X-Force and Generation X are all gonesville? Intersting.

          Thanks for the help!

          • Re: Current X-Men continuities

            So X-Factor, X-Force and Generation X are all gonesville?
            Intersting.

            Thanks for the help!

            X-Force was replaced by X-Statix. Otherwise,
            yes.

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