EXODUS: Page 3 of 5

Publication Date: 9th Jul 2020
Written By: Gremlin.
Image Work: Gremlin.
Biography

BIOGRAPHY - PAGE 3

However, Exodus wasn’t going to let his Acolytes simply go their separate ways. Keeping a small band of his most trusted followers, as well as Fabian Cortez, at his side, Exodus decided to pursue his personal vendetta against the High Evolutionary and Quicksilver once more. Whilst Quicksilver and his daughter Luna were residing at Wundagore, Exodus sent a cadre of Acolytes to kill Luna and take the base. Things did not go as planned though and Exodus had to teleport down to take matters into his own hands. Whilst the Evolutionary managed to teleport everyone to safety, he had to abandon his base to Exodus’ forces. During the battle, Exodus learned of a secret the Evolutionary was harboring, one which had something to do with a substance called Isotope-E. [Quicksilver #1]

Intrigued over the mystery surrounding Isotope-E, Exodus decided to kidnap the White Tiger of the Heroes for Hire organization. Knowing that she was one of the High Evolutionary’s experiments, he presumed that she possessed the answers he sought and decided to rip apart her mind in a bid to gain the information he needed. Unfortunately for Exodus, the White Tiger’s allies, also captured at the same time, broke free and fought back. Worse, among their number was the Eternal called Thena, whose godlike power matched Exodus’ own. In the end, Exodus decided to let them all go, claiming that he had gotten the information from White Tiger’s mind. However, Thena scoffed at his claim and put it to him that he did not want to face losing to her might, something which Exodus’ ego dismissed. [Heroes for Hire (1st series) #8-9]

Having come to the conclusion that the High Evolutionary’s mutated-animal gang were an abomination, Exodus sought to wipe them out and plotted to destroy Quicksilver’s fragile alliance with the Inhumans in the process. During a time when the speedster was visiting Attilan, the city of the Inhumans, Exodus enlisted the aid of Maximus the Mad, a mentally unstable member of the Inhuman royal family and current prisoner of the same. His powers amplified by Fabian Cortez at Exodus’ command, Maximus manipulated Quicksilver into stealing some of the Inhumans’ precious Terrigen Mists. With the family distracted, Cortez also saw an opportunity to try again to kill Luna but was stopped by the rest of the Inhuman royal family.

While his plan in Attilan progressed, Exodus had another squad of mutants tracking down the Knights of Wundagore. Leader of the group was Pyro, who had recently become infected with the Legacy Virus, a deadly illness that targeted mutants. Exodus had promised the desperate mutant a cure once his mission was completed, but that in truth was a lie. Exodus had no intention of fulfilling his side of the bargain, partly because no such cure existed and also because he viewed mutants afflicted with the disease to be impure. His intentions were to kill Pyro and any member of his gang infected with the virus once their usefulness was over. [Quicksilver #4-6]

Exodus’ plans changed, though, when he found out where the High Evolutionary was residing by tracing the energy signatures of Isotope-E. When Pyro contacted him to give him an update on the torture of the Knights, Exodus was furious to discover one of them had been killed. He deemed the Knights to be very useful bargaining chips in the upcoming confrontation with the High Evolutionary. He sent Pyro’s gang and the Knights to rendezvous with some Acolytes at the Savage Land to take down the High Evolutionary. Exodus was further furious when he later discovered the Knights had escaped from Pyro and had travelled to the Savage Land themselves in a bid to protect their leader. Pyro and the Acolytes found the Knights but they managed to escape with the High Evolutionary and Isotope-E. [Quicksilver #8-9]

With Exodus now in charge of Wundagore Mountain, the High Evolutionary almost immediately set his sights on regaining his home, rallying his knights for the task. Anticipating his foe’s actions, Exodus located the Evolutionary’s current base of operations in New York and dispatched a team of Acolytes, both to lay waste to it and retrieve the Isotope-E. When the Acolytes arrived at the base, however, they found instead the Heroes for Hire, who were soon joined by Quicksilver. With the High Evolutionary gone, the Acolytes teleported away from the skirmish to tell Exodus the news. In the meantime, the High Evolutionary had been betrayed by one of his creations, the Man-Beast, who had stolen the Isotope-E and used it to empower himself. In the middle of their fight, Exodus arrived with his forces. While his Acolytes took on the Knights, Exodus took on Man-Beast. The Heroes for Hire and Quicksilver arrived to find the whole area a giant battleground. Just as they were figuring out what was going on, Exodus and Man-Beast announced they had decided to team up to share the Isotope-E.

Whilst Quicksilver and the Heroes were taken prisoner, Man-Beast analyzed the Isotope-E to see what he could really achieve with it. When Exodus informed him that he intended to destroy it to put a stop to any more mutated abominations from being created, Man-Beast, as a mutate himself, offered Exodus an alternative. He could use the Isotope-E to devolve the heroes of the world into beasts, after which there would be no one to stop him from imposing Magneto’s will on the world. Exodus contemplated this suggestion but began to question the power of the isotope, as he was sure Man-Beast would have used it on him if he were able to do so. The debate was rendered moot when the two were interrupted by Quicksilver and the Heroes for Hire, who had escaped their shackles. When Quicksilver gained possession of the Isotope-E during the battle, Exodus moved to stop him, but was too late. Quicksilver used the isotope on himself and had become more powerful than Exodus in the process. Finding himself outmatched by the speedster, the exhausted Exodus could do nothing to stop Quicksilver from knocking him out and gloating that he was the one true heir of Magneto.

Things took a surprising turn when the High Evolutionary reappeared, even more powerful than before. The Acolytes were forced to team up with Quicksilver and the Heroes for Hire against the forces of the Evolutionary and his Knights. Seeing that they were losing, Exodus reluctantly teamed up with Thena and Man-Beast to combine their mental abilities in a bid to assault the High Evolutionary directly. The plan worked and, as Quicksilver kept him distracted, the three telepaths attacked the Evolutionary and reverted him back to his usual power level. More fortuitous for Exodus, though Thena and Man-Beast were knocked out, he was just as powerful as ever. With the High Evolutionary at a disadvantage, the maniacal Exodus prepared to finish him off, only to be stopped by the Black Knight. To Exodus' surprise, the Black Knight revealed that it had been he who had originally fought Exodus all those centuries ago. Looking into the Black Knight’s mind, Exodus saw to his horror it was true. He unleashed a massive attack against the Black Knight but it was to no avail and he was knocked out by the hero. Exodus was spared death and instead was sealed away in the tomb in which he had slept for centuries. [Siege of Wundagore crossover]

Despite the barriers placed on the tomb, Exodus somehow gained his freedom, though the whole ordeal had had a profound effect on him. He renounced the teachings of Magneto and instead encouraged humans and mutants to join together. Disguising himself as Magneto, Exodus took control of his Acolytes once more and set up a new base on the mutant haven of Genosha. Under the guise of his former master, Exodus founded a regime based on peace and harmony between the various factions that lived on the island. Naturally, this sudden change gained the attention of the X-Men, who began to investigate Magneto’s apparent change of heart, as well as his rule over the island. In doing so, Wolverine discovered Forge had been captured and his powers being exploited to create machines that enhanced Exodus’ already powerful mental abilities to subdue the island’s inhabitants. The now freed Forge destroyed his machine and Wolverine confronted Magneto, revealing to everyone that he was really Exodus in disguise. Without the machines imposing Exodus’ will on them, the islanders reverted back to their usual animosity and the unstable country once again descended into civil war. [Uncanny X-Men Annual 1999]

Seeing how quickly the humans turned on the mutants snapped Exodus back to his old way of thinking and he became firmly committed to ridding the world of humans. Abandoning the Acolytes, he decided to set up his own Brotherhood of Mutants and drafted some of the X-Men’s most notorious villains. Also added to their ranks was a new arrival to the world, Nocturne of the Exiles. Their first attack on Philadelphia didn’t exactly go to plan, as the X-Men had somehow been tipped off. Afterwards, Exodus decided to attack the X-Men directly in their home and, with the aid of the apparently-traitorous Juggernaut, who was currently living at the mansion, they intended to gain access to hidden passages into the Institute.

Though the X-Men discovered Exodus’ group before they could attack, this time the Brotherhood proved too much for them and the X-Men were beaten. Exodus took his group and laid siege to the school, catching the students there off guard. However, the X-Men managed to regroup and came back stronger than ever, thanks to Juggernaut and Nocturne revealing their true allegiances to the X-Men. Not giving up, Exodus kept up the assault until he found himself faced against X-Men’s newest member Xorn, a young mutant who possessed a black hole for a head beneath his helmet. Wishing to end the conflict, Xorn removed his helmet and sucked Exodus and his entire Brotherhood into another dimension. Juggernaut and Nocturne re-appeared a short time later, informing the X-Men that the Brotherhood had landed on Mojoworld. How Exodus escaped from Mojo’s clutches remains to be seen. [X-Men (2nd series) #161-164, Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #460]