EXILES III: Page 2 of 2

Image Work: 
Last Updated: 
23rd September 2020

Before

  • With her fellow surviving Exiles (Morph, Nocturne and Thunderbird), Blink established several new Exiles teams to repair the multiverse [Exiles (2nd series) #6]
  • Having established a new Exiles teams, Blink retired from reality hopping adventures. She took up residence on the 616 reality. [Exiles (3rd series) #1]
  • After killing the Watcher, Nick Fury was punished by the other Watchers to take his place. As the Unseen, Fury was forced to remain on Earth’s moon, watching the Earth and other realities, but never permitted to act. [Original Sin crossover]
  • Mojo had a history of creating extra-cute, pint-sized versions of the X-Men known as X-Babies. The originals were the actual X-Men affected by age-regression magic, but Mojo later created independent versions of the X-Babies in his lab. However, a rival producer named Mr. Veech created the even-more adorable X-Babies as counterparts to Mojo's creations. They were eventually banished from the Mojoverse to a distant dimension. [X-Babies #1-4]
  • Rebecca Barnes was a heroic figure created by Franklin Richards for his Heroes Reborn universe. Although she eventually died, Franklin recreated Rebecca as an archetype in other worlds he constructed, particularly after Secret Wars when he and the Future Foundation worked to recreate the multiverse. [Future Foundation #3]

Chronology

On the moon of Earth-616, the Unseen watched as a mysterious entity, dubbed the “Time Eater,” erased various realities from existence. Unable to act himself, Fury could only watch impotently. However, another version of Nick Fury mysteriously appeared, carrying an interdimensional travelling device known as a Tallus, before seemingly being absorbed by the device.

Meanwhile, Blink was connecting with her “family” (actually the universe #616 versions of her family) in the Bahamas, when the Tallus called out to her. Due to previously bearing the Tallus numerous times, she recognized the device’s signal easily and teleported to the moon to investigate. It was there that the Tallus bonded to her wrist once more and the Unseen explained to her the threat the Time-Eater posed to the universe. Unfortunately, the device whisked her away to a new reality before she could ask further questions.

Seemingly with a mind of its own, the Tallus carried Blink to a dystopian future, where they collected the aged Kamala Kahn moments before the Time-Eater consumed her post-apocalyptic reality. The Tallus repeated this process three more times recruiting a version of Iron Lad who never founded the Young Avengers, the Asgardian Valkyrie and her Pegasus Elendil, and most bizarrely, a cutsie cartoony version of Wolverine named Wolvie. Each time, the new recruit was rescued shortly before the Time-Eater, who was revealed to be a gigantic severed head of Galactus, erased their realty.

Once the Exiles were gathered the Tallus returned them to the Unseen, upon Earth-616’s moon and while the Unseen was elusive on providing answers, Iron Lad hypothesized that, while the Time-Eater had consumed their realities, it had yet to break them down. Unfortunately, before the Unseen could provide any confirmation, the group were interrupted by a group of Watchers, who had come to kill the Unseen for breaching their rules on non-interference. Blink and the Exiles saw Fury as their best shot at saving the multiverse and tried to defend the man, but a stray energy blast shattered the shard of the M’Kraan Crystal within the Tallus and threw the Exiles into the Multiverse. [Exiles (3rd series) #1-2]

Damaged and operating erratically the Tallus shunted the Exiles to a world apparently ruled by intelligent dinosaurs, moments before it was consumed by the Time-Eater. They were immediately shunted away to on a world consisting of hippie Atlanteans, where the team had a brief and confusing encounter with a young Nick Fury as he passed between portals. Fury seemed familiar with the Exiles, but provided them no answers as he fled to another reality. Later, Blink was surprised to cross paths with her old Exiles teammate Morph, who had been separated from his team. Blink’s joy at reuniting with Morph turned to horror when the Time-Eater arrived and devoured that reality, seemingly wiping Morph from existence right before her eyes.

Fortunately, the Tallus saved the team once more, taking them to a world in the final days of World War II. It was there they met Peggy Carter (that reality’s Captain America) and her sidekick Becky Barnes and were mistakenly recruited into a suicide mission to stop the Red Skull from detonating an atomic bomb in New York. While Valkyrie was eager for battle, the concept of killing was particularly difficult for Wolvie to grasp. With the advantage of their powers, the Exiles managed to stop the bomb without any loss of life, or so they thought. The group celebrated in New Jersey. Valkyrie in particular hit it off with Becky Barnes, and the pair kissed. The team started to form bonds, though Blink and Kahn still failed to see eye to eye on Kahn’s harsh demeanor and fatalistic point of views. However, while they celebrated, the A-bomb leaked dangerous radiation, before it suddenly detonated, seemingly killing everyone. [Exiles (3rd series) #3]

However, once again the Tallus rescued the team, shunting them to yet another reality, arriving in the West Indies of 1760. Still none the wiser about what their mission was actually meant to be, things became more complicated to the team when they realized Blink was no longer in possession of the Tallus. Iron Lad postulated the device was still in that reality, and was likely blasted loose due to the bomb explosion. After fighting some slavers, the Exiles allied themselves with the pirate Blackbeard (actually the time travelling Thing) and his anti-slaver fleet. The Exiles aided Blackbeard in taking down the British slaver Admiral Gyrich and his powerful living ship, the Juggernautical, in exchange for being taken to the Tallus in the heart of a rainbow water spout.

Reunited with the Tallus, the device immediately transported the team to an unfamiliar castle on a moon. Within the castle were hundreds of mirrors, which Iron Lad deduced were the remnants of the realities the Time-Eater had devoured. To make matters worse, they found the corpses of the Watcher, who had attempted to put the Unseen on trial. Things weren’t adding up; why would the disembodied head of Galactus need a lair? Why would it keep trophies? They didn’t have to wait long for answers, though, as they soon learned the “Time-Eater” was in fact a version of Kang the Conqueror, who had stolen the power of Galactus.

With all the power he had amassed, Kang was vastly powerful and shrugged off the Exiles’ attacks. He would have killed the team if not for the timely intervention of a young Nick Fury, allowing them time to escape. Fury explained that the he had been hunting Kang in the 1970’s when the Tallus has called out to him, drawing him through a portal to aid them. Iron Lad determined that, if they returned the Tallus to the “tipping point” where it was first brought to the Unseen, this could undo everything Kang had done. However, this would have some serious caveats; the Exiles would become severed from their timelines permanently, and someone would have to sacrifice their life. All the Exiles were willing to never return to their home realities, though Wolvie was upset at never seeing his friends again and ran away. Fury also agreed to carry the Tallus back in time, stating he felt it was something he was meant to do.

The team split up, with Blink and Kahn escorting Fury through various dimensional portals, towards the Unseen, while Valkyrie and Iron Land held off Kang. While passing through a frozen dimension, Blink was surprised to run across her former teammate and mentor Sabretooth, who had been separated from his fellow Exiles. Khan, however, was enraged to see Creed, as on her world a version of Creed had slaughtered her family. While Kahn wanted to kill Sabretooth, they were interrupted by a horde of Kang’s minions, and Kahn sacrificed herself in an explosion to save her allies. With that help, Fury was able to make it to the Unseen, while Blink got separated from him and Creed.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie and Iron Lad were overwhelmed by Kang and would have been killed if not for the timely intervention of Wolvie. Coming from a reality with physics more akin to cartoons, Kang found it impossible to kill to Wolvie, but still managed to capture him. Things looked bleak until Blink arrived with an army of alternate Blinks, along with allies they had collected during their recent adventures. While separated, the Tallus had sent Blink on a journey through multiple realities, gathering the help they needed.

Blink’s new army overwhelmed Kang, buying the time needed for Fury to complete his suicide mission: bringing the Tallus to the Unseen, closing the time look and erasing all Kang’s damage. With everything undone, the surviving Exiles found themselves back before the Unseen once more, with the Tallus returned to Blink. The Unseen explained that, while they succeeded in stopping the Time-Eater, time had been scarred by Kang’s actions, requiring more aid from the Exiles to fix them. The team agreed, but first they needed the needed to lay their friend to rest, and take a break. [Exiles (3rd series) #4-5]

After a week of recuperation in the Bahamas, Blink resolved she had to find her old teammates, whom she feared were lost in the multiverse. Together with Valkyrie, Iron Lad and Wolvie, they were able to reactivate the dormant Tallus, which immediately transported them to a wild west reality. Soon after, they came out on the wrong side of a conflict with that reality’s version of the Brotherhood, the Magnus Gang, who kidnapped Iron Lad. The Exiles allied with that reality’s Blank Panther, named King, who lead them to the Magnus Gang’s hideout. King himself had a vendetta against Magnus for killing his father in Wakanda.

It was there they finally located Blink’s old teammates, Morph and Nocturne. Unfortunately, both they and the Magnus Gang were under the thrall of the corrupt Pastor Xavier. The pastor planned to indoctrinate King and the Exiles to his side also, but made the mistake of killing Valkyrie’s Pegasus Elendil. This drove the Asgardian into a berserker rage, which the pastor could barely contain by focusing all of his energies, accidently releasing his other thralls. King managed to end his vendetta by shooting Magnus before he could escape. With Nocturne and Morph’s help, Blink was able to kill Xavier, but not before he could lash out with his powers and kill Morph. Morose after the loss of the Elendil and Morph, the team barely had time to lick their wounds before they were abducted by the Watchers for their “crime” of aiding the Unseen. [Exiles (3rd series) #6-7]

Put on trial by a group of rogue Watchers for being accomplices to the Unseen, the Exiles were forced to recount their lives for the jury, their memories projected for all to see. Later, the Exiles were shocked to see Peggy Carter, Becky Barnes and King brought before the jury, as the Exiles’ “accomplices.” The team soon realized this trial was a farce and managed to escape, using Noctune’s hex powers to disrupt the technology holding them. With a mind of its own, the Tallus activated, and teleported the Exiles and their “accomplices” away. [Exiles (3rd series) #8]

The group found themselves separated into smaller groups and seemingly living out classic Arabic stories such as Aladdin, Sinbad and Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves. They eventually regrouped and rescued Nocturne, who was living out Arabian Nights and telling stories to Caliph Doom on their wedding night. Unfortunately for the Exiles, Caliph Doom came into possession of Solomon’s Ring, providing him control over the Djinn Mephisto. Blink managed to take the ring from Doom’s finger and, now freed from control, Mephisto dragged the Caliph to hell. Before he went, though, Doom made Nocturne queen and asked she protect his people from outside threats. Nocturne, who was tired of reality hopping, agreed and stayed behind while the other Exiles left. [Exiles (3rd series) #9-10]

Sick of being jerked around by the Tallus, with no discernible rhyme or reason, Blink focused on the device and asked it take the team home. Instead, it took them to reality #616, where it all began. Iron Lad calculated that this reality was equidistant from each of the Exile’s home realities, making it a sort of “hub.” Before the Exiles could ponder on that further, they were attacked by a surprise foe; Kahn and a rival group of Exiles.

Kahn lead a team of Exiles specially selected by the rogue Watchers to take the true Exiles down. In return, Kahn had been offered a reality where her husband and daughter were still alive. Each other member was plucked from a reality before the moment of their death. The two teams fought and Kahn’s team initially won the battle, only for Blink to teleport her team away. Kahn, however, thought ahead and took Blink’s Aunty Sandra hostage. While Blink was ready to surrender without fighting, Kahn’s team were hungry for a rematch and attached despite her orders.

This time, however, the Exiles won the day by working as a team and swapping opponents. Meanwhile, Wolvie convinced Kahn to stand down by making her realize she would be doing heinous acts to get her daughter back. As failures, Kahn and her team were whisked away by the rogue Watchers. Blink’s Exiles decided they had had enough, and it was time to take the fight to the Watchers.

Unfortunately for the Exiles, the rogue Watchers immediately trapped the team in their own personal dimensions of torment, which they thought was their own realities. Blink was the first to recognize she was trapped in a fake reality and teleported into Iron Lad’s prison dimension. Nate was able to deduce that they were trapped and, even if they escaped, they would be pulled back in. The only way to escape was for one Exile to stay behind using Blink’s Tallus, to which Iron Lad volunteered despite Blink’s protests.

The two friends expressed their love for each other in a final embrace and Nate shared how being on the team had made him a better person, before he freed the team. In a burst of light, the Exiles confronted the rogue Watchers once more, only to be interrupted by the true Watchers, who had finally deigned to deal with their errant compatriots. The rogue Watchers were promptly incarcerated, the Unseen returned to his post on the moon of Earth-616, and the Exiles were freed.

However, the victory was bittersweet. Iron Lad remained trapped in his prison dimension, where he spent his days believing he was Kang the Conqueror, Kahn was seemingly lost to oblivion, and Morph was still dead.

Back on Earth-616, the surviving Exiles held a tribute for Iron Lad, thanking him for his sacrifice. Later that night, Blink was visited by a vision of Kahn, who revealed that, when Nate had freed the other Exiles from their prison realities, he was also able to save Kahn from oblivion. Instead, he sent her to a reality where her husband and daughter were still alive, letting her be the person “she was supposed to be.” Nate also provided Kahn with a Tallus, which she passed on to Blink, replacing the one stolen by the rogue Watchers.

While tempted to return to “retirement,” Blink knew there would be other threats to the universe out there and proposed the Exiles continue. Captain America, Becky Barnes, King, Valkyrie and Wolvie as eagerly accepted. The Exiles would go on! [Exiles (3rd series) #11-12]