Exiles: New World (Marvel NEW)/Issue 9

The ninth issue of the Marvel NEW ongoing series, Exiles: New World (Marvel NEW). This issue is preceded by Exiles: New World Issue 8 and succeeded by Exiles: New World Issue 10. It is published on December 16, 2017.

Synopsis
''Split into two groups and sent to two different universes, the Exiles continue their missions in solving two Hulk-related problems. Problem? Both missions involve them killing the Hulks, and it's harder than what everyone thinks. How will the Exiles tackle their audacious missions, facing against the two of the multiverse's strongest beings?''

Continuity
This issue is set after Exiles: New World Issue 8, which transitions the previous Imperfect story arc to the next story arc which this issue is part of, The Hulk of Two Worlds.

Plot
After transporting the teams to their commissioned realities, Kang wonders whether or not they shall succeed their mission. Uatu says judging by how they performed previously, they should be able to tackle the Hulks. Kang reminds him of their most successful mission costing two valuable members, and that they're facing Hulks while no one in the team is as strong as the Hulk. Uatu reminds her back of Greenskyn, but she states that Greenskyn's only strong as far as he gets; Maestro is way stronger than him.

Uatu agrees with her opinon but assures her that the second team will have a good chance in beating Maestro since they have more variety in powers and numbers. Kang sighs in disappointment and informs him of Maestro having killed nearly all of Earth's heroes in his reality, even Thor. Nevertheless, Uatu advises her to be optimistic and he on the other hand is more concerned with the first team.

Asking why, Uatu responds by stating that the team's morale might prevent them from killing Earth-2081's Hulk since he's an old man. Kang says that it makes sense, but she thought that Dr. Strange managed to find a way to "kill" him without violence. Uatu heard of that, but he's not sure if he can peacefully set his soul free without triggering the Hulk's anger. Kang, out of interest, orders Uatu to continue watching alongside her. The Watcher agrees and we get to see what the teams are up to after they were teleported to Earth-2081 and Earth-9200.

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Team One: Earth-2081

Hopping out of the Bridge's portal, the team lands on a cliff overlooking a large, barren wasteland. Seeing the view, Punisher asks if it's just him or the view looks exactly like in one of those post-apocalypse movies. Rojhaz comments, saying that he didn't know the world's bloodiest vigilante watched movies in his spare time. Punisher denies, saying that he simply knows when he strolled upon the streets to hunt down his prey, seeing movie trailers on advertisement boards.

Frank's statement prompts Dr. Strange to ask him if he stopped to see the trailers but the vigilante shuts him up, telling them to stop asking him about freaking movie trailers. Looking at the wastelands, Rojhaz exhales and says that seems like they're going to have another thing to worry than Hulk himself: the Earth itself. Dr. Strange asks whether he's referring to the mutated cockroaches or the fact that they have to techncally traverse the entire planet itself to find the Hulk. Hearing the former statement, the Punisher repeats it.

After Dr. Strange confirmed his statement, Rojhaz asks of how can he know of mutated cockroaches existing on this Earth. Dr. Strange states that he can spot a swarm of them miles away using his mystical vision. Punisher asks him if they're heading towards them. Dr. Strange says that they're lucky as they seem to not be heading towards them. The mystic continues by asking whether he's afraid of cockroaches or not. Punisher says that he's not, but he's not comfortable with facing giant cockroaches.

Rojhaz then questions Strange of how are they supposed to find the Hulk. Strange firstly admits that he has no idea who the "Hulk" is, but says that it won't matter. Secondly, he asks if he has anything unique in particular. Rojhaz hears this and says that he thought Strange knew of his fellow Defenders. Strange says that he might be the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, but he has never heard of the names spoken by Rojhaz that include the Hulk himself, Namor, and the Silver Surfer.

Rojhaz looks at the Punisher, prompting him to ask not to look at him as he's not "smart" as well. Annoyed out of disbelief, the Captain then informs Strange about everything about the Hulk and his persona, Bruce Banner. After he finished doing so, Strange attempts to pin-point the location of the Hulk by finding his Gamma Radiation signature. It might be science, but magic can still do the job. After concentrating for a few seconds, Strange reveals that he has found multiple signatures of the Hulk.

The Punisher, dumbfounded, asks of the fact that there are more Hulks on this planet. Strange says that it quite possibly be, but then the Timebrokers said that the Hulk is the last living person on this Earth; the many signatures of Gamma Radiation could be leftovers of the amount of radiation Hulk left when he ventured to the said places. In other words, out of the three most significant signatures Hulk left, one of them could be his own location.

Rojhaz thanks him for finding the signatures but wonders how can they go to those signatures without wasting time. Dr. Strange tells him and Frank not to worry, as they can teleport them instantaneously. Frank responds by saying that they better be going now then. Strange agrees and orders the two to stand near him. After chanting out a teleportation spell of his, the team goes on to their first destination: Las Vegas.

Teleporting the team to the ruined Las Vegas, the team examine all the destruction caused there. Punisher asks if all these debris and such are because of the Hulk. Dr. Strange says that while he admittedly knows nothing, it seems that the Green Giant no longer cared for property destruction after the apocalypse. Besides, the nukes could've destroyed things first.

Rojhaz agrees with Dr. Strange, stating that all but most Hulks want nothing but to be alone, and he must have gone to a quieter place. The Punisher, examining the rubbles, discovers the skeleton of a child and shows it to the two. He asks if he's really sure of his statement. Rojhaz says that the Hulk would never kill children. Punisher rebuffs, telling him that this isn't his world's Hulk. Strange agrees, but tells him judging from what he said about the Hulk, his world and this world's Hulk seem the same.

The Punisher reluctantly agrees and drops the skeleton, asking what actually caused this nuclear war. Rojhaz simply said that men are the cause. Humanity never had the penchant of loving peace. And for whatever reasons (the Timebrokers didn't tell) pushed this war, humanity doomed themselves.

The Punisher shrugs and says that this world's Punisher must've worked harder to kill whoever the hell's behind all of this. Corrupt politicians, a terrorist organization, or even a supervillain. Rojhaz asks who could guess. Besides, they don't know what's up with this world's Punisher. After putting aside the topic, Dr. Strange asks the two if they can get to the next location. They comply but found Dr. Strange kneeling on the ground, examining something.

Approaching him, Rojhaz asks of what he found. Strange, muttering interesting, says that he has found remnants of flesh there. They're particularly green in color, prompting Rojhaz to say that it must be the Hulk's flesh. Punisher says that he thought he's supposed to be "the strongest one there is". Rojhaz confirms, but says that you don't have to be as strong as him to wound him. Strange is curious and asks what could've torn his flesh apart.

Punisher guesses that the mutated cockroaches he mentioned earlier could have done that. As the Punisher said that, Strange then suggests them to get going then, as there's no telling what the cockroaches could do to them if they could do something to the Hulk. The Punisher says that Strange himself could've repelled them if they approached them, until Strange states that he found possible remnants of the Hulk's intestines. The discovery prompts Frank to walk back a step, agreeing with Strange.

Afterwards, the three teleport into their next destination. And to their surprise, the next trace of the Hulk's Gamma Radiation brings them to Costumed Adventurers Memorial Park. Seeing the sign's name, the Punisher can't believe the government really named this place that name. Half-smiling, Rojhaz suggests PUnisher to not complain about the name and see the statues. In an instance, Punisher turns and notices the many statues of these "costumed adventurers", better known as heroes.

Seeing the statues, the Punisher asks if these were the heroes that the heroes that should have been in his universe. Rojhaz says perhaps, but he can assume that most other universes have these kinds of heroes. War Machine, Spider-Man, Daredevil, only to name a few. Punisher states he doesn't dig these heroes. Rojhaz says that he can't disagree more; he understands of his reality's condition where he's the only hero there, or anti-hero at least.

Punisher grins and says that there may not be any superhumans in his reality but there is still one vigilante on his planet that's on the same caliber as him. Rojhaz, curious, asks who that is. The Punisher faces and assures him that he won't recognize him on his Earth. However, the Punisher drops a hint that he's quite a foolkiller.

Continuing to look around, the Punisher discovers a surprising sight as he discovers a statue dedicated to himself in the park. Seeing the statue's plaque, he tells himself that seems like he's gone forever, but remembered for good. Unlike him: remembered, but for all the atrocities he committed. But then, Castle reminds himself that all he did was for the safety of all the innocents. Unexpectedly, a voice responds to his thought and says that while he has no idea whatsoever of his methods, he believes that he's still a good person.

The voice turns out to be Dr. Strange, who has just finished examining a statue of his. Punisher advises Doctor Strange to not intrude someone else's mind next time; it ain't polite for someone as civilized as him. Strange takes it and asks the Punisher if he considers himself uncivilized, and the Punisher responds by telling him he's not sure. Every day and night he goes to hunt down the darkest souls humanity has produced, cleansing them so that all those who are innocents stay safe.

Strange assumes that he mercilessly kills those "souls" he referred to. Punisher undauntingly confirms, telling him that every bit of crime has to be cleansed of Earth. Dr. Strange simply says interesting, but the Punisher responds by asking him why does he refer everything to as "interesting". Strange informs him that ever since he's recruited into the Exiles, he's been taking interest in everything about each and every one of the members. In other words, he strives to know better of them.

While it's not his business and that they're together only to safe universes, Strange admits that he doesn't want to feel alone in the team even if he shouldn't be long there. Hearing this, the Punisher thinks to himself of the fact that now he "befriends" with a wizard. After considering the odds for a while, the Punisher raises his head up to Strange and tells him, "Welcome to the club."

Rojhaz approaches the two men, seeing them facing each other. Rojhaz wonders if a wizard has allied himself with a gunner now. Strange smirks and tells him that he's just familiarizing with the vigilante. Punisher tells him to shut up, in which Strange complies with friendliness. He orders the two to stand near him in order for him to teleport once again. Unfortunately, before he can teleport, Rojhaz tells the team that he heard buzzing sounds in a distance.

Hearing this, the Punisher curses in anger as he asks why does it matter. Strange tells him that it matters because they are coming in fast. In an instance, a swarm of flying mutated cockroaches. Seeing how big they are, Rojhaz and Frank's eyes widen with the latter cursing once again. After Strange stopped Frank from cursing anymore using a spell and calming down Rojhaz, he proceeds to take on the swarm. Creating a force-field that surrounds the two, Frank asks what is he doing. Strange tells them to let him handle this as they're going to be torn to shreds the moment they come in contact with them.

Rojhaz yells that he's crazy, but Strange assures him that this isn't out of arrogance but of concern. He continues by advising them to believe him as they witness the power of magic. Frank tells Rojhaz that he'll kill himself. Hearing this, Strange once again asserts himself over them and tells them to stand back and stay safe. As the swarm begins to approach Strange, he conjures a personal shield and charges up magical energies on his hands. And as the swarm begins to envelop Strange, all the readers can see are the faces of Rojhaz and the Punisher, screaming in terror.

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Team Two: Earth-9200

In Earth-9200, the second team is seen already on the reality's Earth, disguised and venturing through a vast, metropolitan city. Walking and blending in with the crowd, Ghost Rider voices his opinion: he thinks that they're supposed to outright go to Maestro's palace and beat him. Nova agrees, asking Bull if this is necessary. Bull informs her that they have to make contact with the local resistance cell. Ghost Rider asks her if she's sure that there is a resistance cell on this Earth, because it seems that everyone's kind of fine with Maestro's rule here.

Bull tells him that there must be one, stopping and turning to the youngster. Unfortunately for Bull, her statement might have been wrong as she sees a public execution taking place. The team sees the execution, with the executioner saying that these are the last persons to defy King Maestro's rule. As the executioner begins killing them one by one, Greenskyn comments that maybe Lil' Rider is right. Besides, he's been wanting to smash this funny-sounding "Maestro" ever since the big bosses told them about him.

After a brief argument, the team goes to an alleyway where Bull attempts to explain a plan she formulated earlier to take down Maestro. Displaying her hard-headed, assertive nature, Ghost Rider "complains" that he prefers Rojhaz as a leader over her. Feeling offended, Bull chokes Ghost Rider and tells him of all the ways he can beat the everliving hell out of his bony ass.

Ghost Rider tries to apologize, but before he can do that Greenskyn forces her to drop him down. Nearly causing a fight, they're then broken up by Nova who tells them that while Bull's not a better leader than Captain America (Rojhaz), she's the one with the best idea for them all to survive and depend on.

After a brief commotion happens between the members, they then agree on Bull's plan to meet up with the resistance (if there are any), gather up their combined strength, and attack Maestro; just like how Rojhaz planned it out in Earth-50701. If there aren't any resistance cells at all, they'll go straight for Maestro.

Unluckily for the team, the same executioner and members of Maestro's police force heard their entire conversation and tell them that whoever they are, they're not in a good place and time to plot against Maestro. In an instance, a huge battle erupts between the Exiles and Maestro's forces, with the Exiles successfully beating them.

After the battle, Greenskyn laughs loudly  as usual and asks if they're the best Maestro can send. In an instance, a hail of lasers rain down upon the troll, knocking him down. Apparently, more powerful reinforcements have come to apprehend the Exiles and bring them to justice. The Exiles end up escaping under Bull's orders, telling them that they have to regroup somewhere.

Chased by the soldiers, a hot pursuit then happened on the rooftops of the city, with the Exiles being surprisingly overwhelmed by the soldiers even though they have the immensely powerful Greenskyn Smashtroll and Nova on the team. While escaping on his motorcycle, Ghost Rider yells out to Bull that things would've gone differently if the entire team's here. Bull acknowledges but gets shot in the back, weakening her. Ghost Rider immediately uses his chain to grab a hold of Bull, putting her on the backseat of his motorcycle.

While returning fire, Nova asks where the hell are they supposed to go to. To the team's surprise, Greenskyn orders the team to move away somewhere safe; he'll hold them back. Nova says that he's crazy but Greenskyn responds by saying that he's been called worse; now they have to get off him while he smash those buggers off their trail.

After blocking a bunch of laser fire and a small argument that's shut down by Greenskyn yelling one final time, the team reluctantly leaves Greenskyn to deal with the soldiers. While riding away from Greenskyn, Ghost Rider turns back and sees Greenskyn faring well against the soldiers himself. However, he's gradually overwhelmed by their numbers and end up getting knocked out.

Muttering no, Ghost Rider follows Nova in trying to find a good spot to hide. However, when they do so, an unidentified person suddenly knocks them out in the middle of a market with a type of gas. In Ghost Rider's perspective, his vision is seen blacking out while he feels his flames fading once again. He tries to comprehend what just happened, but he is knocked out quickly but not before he managed to get a glimpse on who knocked him out: a big man with dark skin.

-

Skipping hours later, Ghost Rider is seen on an operating table inside a mysterious base. He was seen laid down silently, until his flames suddenly ignite and he gets up in an instance. After getting a hand of his situation, he hears a voice that congratulates him for waking up first. Enraged, Ghost Rider asks who he is and where are his friends. The voice orders him to calm down, as he means no harm. He has seen he and his "Exiles" in action at the city today, and admits that this is the first time he sees an "Exiles" get in action.

Hearing this, Ghost Rider immediately concludes that this "voice" knows of the Exiles. The voice goes on to inform him that the Exiles have saved him once by telling him of a dire threat. But the "Exiles" that he's a part of is different than the one he saw. Ghost Rider, puzzled, tells him to just cut the crap and tell him who he is.

The voice is amused by him and accurately guesses that he's young. Ghost Rider responds by increasing the size of his flames, prompting the voice to laugh. He assures Ghost Rider that the moment he sees him his flames won't burn as high. Ghost Rider challenges him, saying that he's not afraid of anything. Once again laughing, the voice then turns on the light after welcoming him to the "resistance".

As the light turns on, Ghost Rider looks to the person who spoke to him, standing right in front of him. And after he saw the person, his flames dim and he muttered of impossibility. The person tells him that he guessed he should've asked his Timebrokers for more details. And while the person said that, his true identity is confirmed... as Maestro?