Exiles #98 - Marvel

This one is written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Ronan Cliquet. And both do a superb job. We're still dealing with the Fantastic Four story-line. Part of our team has fallen in league with Doom and his Four Fantastics. The rest, Blink, Morph and Longshot, have found their way to Reed's hideout. They are starting to finally understand what's really wrong with this world. And what Doom has done to put a stranglehold on it. Yes he's brought peace. But at what price? What about individualism, and growth and evolution? Other than that? The book is one big battle. As far as this version of Earth goes that is. Back in the Crystal Palace, Betsy's had a few revelations of her own. First she was told by 2 god-like beings, that the Exiles are supposed to take over for them as the watchers of the Universe. Secondly, Kitty Pryde has shown up from somewhere, for some purpose. And finally, the Palace has been invaded by a team of Doom's shock-troopers. They've been sent to find out where these Exiles come from, how they access multiple universes, and how Doom can use that information to conquer all of them for himself. But things aren't going as planned because Thunderbird has been brought out of stasis. At just the right time. And he really is a one man wrecking crew. After which Betsy tells them, " . . we're not X-men any longer. We're Exiles! We're not here to save the world. Like it or not, want it or not . . . our responsibility is saving all creation." And then Reed pulls out his master plan. If he can't defeat Doom and save the Earth, then he'll take it all down with him. And then the Earth explodes! "The Earth the team was visiting, it isn't there anymore. I've still got a lock on that dimension. It's just the Earth that's gone. It blew up. I got a solid contact from the team, from all of them, they'd just begun their transit, then everything blew up. There's to much interference, I couldn't sustain the link. And now I can't find them. I think they've been scattered across the dimensions." Like I've always said, that's what I truly love about this book . . . the only thing that's constant, is the change. And this one seems to be on the path to be really shaken up before issue #100. Who knows where this team will be then.