by Matt Fraction (writer), Mike Deodato, Terry Dodson, & Rachel Dodson (art), Justin Ponsor & Christina Strain (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)
The Story: The ultimate showdown between the X-Men and the Dark Avengers/Dark X-Men.
What’s Good: It’s really nice to be surprised every now and then. With every issue of this crossover ranging between mild and complete suckage, I couldn’t help but expect this final double-sized issue to be a total catastrophe. Shockingly, what I got was actually pretty damned good.
Fraction still keeps it simple, but this time without falling into chasms of vacuous stupidity. This issue is nonetheless one giant action scene, but you really get a feeling that this time, all these fights actually mean something; the reasons for the giant brawl make sense.
The action is explosive, bombastic, and well-plotted out. The pairings are all logical and hence are quite fun. The fights between Daken and X-23 and Hawkeye and Archangel were particular favourites of mine.
I also greatly enjoyed the use of the Sentry this month, with Emma’s entrance to his mind being a definite highlight. Going into his mind, it was very different seeing a Bob that was completely sane and dressed like an ordinary guy (I’m talking a t-shirt clad, short-haired Bob that is pretty much unrecognizable from the golden god we’re used to). For once, the vulnerability that we so often see in Bob’s dialogue actually manifested itself physically– sort of.
I guess Fraction’s greatest achievement though is finally grabbing a hold of characterization in a way that he hadn’t managed thus far. Osborn sounds like the frustrated, tantrum throwing villain and Scott sounds like the intelligent, heroic leader. Both characters finally felt engaging and true to their roles. Moreover, I especially liked how Scott essentially takes a tactic Norman has been living off of since the beginning of Dark Reign and uses it against him.
That said, I’ve saved the best part of Exodus for last: the art. This crossover has been very uneven art-wise, but make no mistake, this book is absolutely gorgeous. There are so many images and splashes here that will have your jaw dropping. Sentry leaving the planet was a highlight for me, as was Mimic’s battle with Iceman. Just beautiful, glittering superhero action that pushes both Deodato and the Dodsons to their maximum potential. The art transcends “summer blockbuster” territory, delivering something that feels utterly enormous and breathlessly explosive. It’s hyper-detailed, bright, and features some dynamic panel layouts. One would worry that splitting art between Deodato and the Dodson’s might be disastrous, but it’s actually put to good use, with each artist getting whole separate scenes and not interspersed panels.
What’s Not So Good: The very first scene of the book is abyssmal. If it had taken place in the first issue of the crossover, it may have worked, but at this point, it feels rather pointless. What’s worse is that it was accompanied by a caption advertising a future tie-in book. Yes, this issue essentially began with a promo for another book.
A minor complaint, but while I enjoyed the Sentry this month, I’m not entirely sure if Fraction’s treatment of the Void makes sense. Seeing the Void in physical form is a little weird and I didn’t realize that the Sentry thus far has essentially been the Void the entire time, with Bob unaware of everything. It completely goes against those great conversations between Osborn and the Sentry in Dark Avengers.
Conclusion: I actually enjoyed this! Quite a bit! For once, I got the “everything has changed” vibe I’m supposed to get out of a crossover, and in a way that actually has me excited for what’s to come.
Grade: B+
-Alex Evans
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Alex Evans, Beast, Comic Book Reviews, comic reviews, Cyclops, Daken, dark avengers, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1 review, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus review, Dark Reign, Dark X-Men, Emma Frost, Exodus, Marvel, Matt Fraction, Mike Deodato, Norman Osborn, Scott Summers, Terry Dodson, The Sentry, Uncanny X-Men, Utopia, Weekly Comic Book Review, Wolverine, X-Men, X-Men
They are definitely hitting the crossover/event thing hard ending 09 and heading into 2010 though. Necroshia, Second Coming, Seige…
It’ll be interesting to see if Marvel takes back what it’s lost.
This was the only proper event Marvel planned this year other than Messiah Complex and they got lazy. DC regained some market share with another companywide event, Blackest Night.
Okay I dropped Uncanny because of Utopia if Exodus is that good should I try to it again. Thoughts?
I myself dropped Uncanny just at the beginning of the Sisterhood arc, but am probably going to hop aboard again…but don’t take that as any indication regarding what you should do.
I really liked Exodus, but you also have got to keep in mind that the rest of the crossover was truly rancid. That said…a large part of its suckage WAS due to its being a crossover.
I’d say give Uncanny another shot. Exodus was promising and hey, who doesn’t love Magneto, right?
The only problem: the return of Greg Land. If you can choke down Land’s pornographic, tracing nonsense, I say pick up the next two issues of Uncanny.
Exodus is EASILY the best thing about the whole Utopia crossover. While it doesn’t make up for the other eight chapters of the Utopia story, it definitely gets the job done. Great review Alex, couldn’t agree with it more.
-Kyle
The Void in control of Sentry was something i speculated about after the events in Secret Invasion. Basically Bob has a nervous breakdown, and the Void takes over.
However there has being no real mention of it since….
@omegar
Thanks for the comment! I guess i can see it’s possibility….were it not for the conversations Sentry/Bob had with Norman during Dark Avengers. If Bob was really that non-existent this entire time, those conversations would have been impossible.