Reviewer: Jesse Baker
Story Title: Unnatural Instincts Part 1
Written by: Chuck Austen
Penciled by: Clayton Henry
Inked by: Mark Morales
Colored by: Transparency Digital
Lettered by: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Raicht
Publisher: Marvel Comics
I’m not a fan of the Exiles. I followed the book for just the first year before dropping it over the lack of any sort of coherent storyline for the book and the fact that the “I am so perfect and live a perfect life on my earth†Mimic seemed to get the bulk of the spotlight. So when Chuck Austen was announced to be doing a fill-in arc on the book and that his run would crossover with Uncanny X-Men, I figure I would give the book a second chance.
Set in-between “Holy War†(Uncanny X-Men #423-424) and the current “Sacred Vows†arc in Uncanny X-Men (Uncanny X-Men #425-426), the Exiles learn that Havok is going to get accidentally slashed up by a student at the Xavier Institute and flatline, allowing the evil Mutant X Universe Havok to return and usurp control over his body from the regular Marvel Universe Havok. The Exiles are sent in to keep Evil Havok from killing two kids at the school, a kid who looks like a mini-version of the Spiderman villain Vermin and Psycho Nurse Annie’s kid. Sadly the Exiles (who take time out for their own psycho-chick, Evil Magik, to slap around Mimic for being a smug, self-righteous piece of crap) arrive too late to stop Havok from getting slashed and flatline. So when Mutant X Havok nails Psycho Nurse Annie’s kid, Evil Magik has to go and bring Angel in to save the kid’s life…
Meanwhile we get follow-up from the “Dominant Species†storyline as Angel learns that the Dominant Species worked for his evil uncle. As Angel and Iceman ponder this revelation, the Dominant Species launch a surprise attack on the X-Mansion and threaten to kill Mini-Vermin and Husk. Magik, who needs some of Angel’s voodoo blood to save Annie’s kid shows up, and Magik, who obviously is in a hurry to get back to her own world, tells Angel to just hand over some blood or else and because she doesn’t care about Husk, his family problems, or the Dominant Species.
