Reviewer: Kevin S. Mahoney
Story Title: World Tour: New Universe Part Two of Three
Written by: Tony Bedard
Penciled by: Paul Pelletier
Inked by: Rick Magyar w/ Drew Hennessy
Colored by: Wil Quintana
Lettered by: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Continuity can be a burden. Certain things are nigh impossible for the casual reader to comprehend. These things include: the Summers’ family tree, the full timeline and plot for the Clone saga, and the exact identity and number of fighting styles mastered by Batman. A now and then perusal of the appropriate titles (X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man, Batman) might introduce someone to these conundrums, but only a long term exhaustive research campaign would yield anything but the most preliminary solutions. There is just too much ground to cover to do it quickly or efficiently. Continuity also acts as a restoring force to keep drastic change from occurring with any regularity. Superman might be vulnerable to Kryptonite, but the odds of him eating a K-bullet into the afterlife in a run-of-the-mill in continuity Super-book are (sadly) nonexistent. Superman (and by extension any entrenched in continuity character) is too valuable to his titles and his universe to ever simply pass beyond the pale, barring an eventual return or ret-con. One of the attractions of independent or isolated series is that the potential for dramatic change is limited only by the intestinal fortitude of the comic’s writer.
This is one of the issues of Exiles that proves Tony Bedard has nigh infinite grum-bahs*. A major character, a longstanding team member, dies horribly this issue. While this title has been known to save its heroes from near death situations every so often, the manner of the murder as well as the reactions from the surviving Exiles point to it being a permanent non-gimmicky demise. A death done well, one that has gravity, permanence, and may even be a surprise, doesn’t get to happen in an enmeshed title. It’s a morbid point to harp on (groan!) but this is the sort of thing Exiles does that 99.99% of Marvel and DC titles can never dream of doing.
Admittedly, a lot more happens between the covers of this book than the death of one of its mainstays. The evil House of M Proteus continues to wreak havoc on its new adopted hunting ground. The New Universe heroes encounter the Exiles, with interesting if mixed results. Heather Hudson (still hilariously referred to by her insectile minions as Exiles casualty five) is hatching a plot with a recurring X-Men 616 foe for some extra-dimensional aide for the team. There’s even a short scene from X-men and Power Pack at the end of the book. The highlight of the issue is still the death of (NOT TELLING). The World Tour has claimed its first victim, and the tension and excitement of the arc have ratcheted up accordingly.
The art here exemplifies energetic long underwear action. The battles have the polished and ferocious look that Pelletier can carry off with ease. The reality bending effects caused by Proteus are particularly inspired, i.e. creepy. The bright colors chosen by Quintana underscore the seriousness of the events through direct contrast; any artist who refrains from hamming up a maudlin moment deserves big style points. Despite there being very little new info revealed on the New Universe, enough happens specific to the locale to prevent it from looking generic or plain. This installment is gorgeous.
