Exiles: New World (Marvel NEW)/Issue 3

The third issue of the Marvel NEW comic book series, Exiles: New World. Preceded by Exiles: New World Issue 2 and succeeded by Exiles: New World Issue 4. This issue was released on December 7, 2017.

Synopsis
''The team has finished their first mission, but their unity still stands weak. These new Exiles aren't developing as good as their predecessors. But then, things always change. And in their next mission, the Exiles will finally learn what it means to be a team. As always, expect every bit of possibility to happen. Especially of who they're going up against next: villains from a universe of imperfection.''

Continuity
This issue is set in the aftermath of Exiles: New World Issue 2, part of the Beginning story arc. This issue is not only the end of the said story arc, but also the start of the new story arc, Imperfect.

In the middle of the issue, Kang returns from a conference of sorts. This conference is actually shown in Thunderbolts X Issue 1, meaning that this comic is partly set after the said issue.

Plot
Continuing the last issue's final scene, the Punisher is seen heading towards the Panopthicron's dining room after continuing his War Journal. In his mind, he's thinking about whether he's gonna be whacked by Spider-Man or haunted by nightmares of him torturing Castle after he had demoralized him. Castle's mind is torn between the thought of him being guilty and the thought of him being correct. Nevertheless, he tells himself to just ignore what happened.

In the dining room, Castle examines its interior and discovers that there's not even a fridge there. He wonders to himself of how can a dining room exists if there are no food there. In an instance, from a microphone system that literally appears out of nowhere, Uatu tells him that he can just think of the nourishment he wants; no matter what it is, it will be provided. Punisher stays silent before Uatu advises him to believe in impossibility for a while.

Breathing heavily, Punisher then asks Uatu if he can "order" of anything. Uatu assures him, but Frank decides to just eat a ration he brought along right before he's teleported there. Thanking Uatu for his info, Frank sits down to eat and tries to control his mind. He reminds himself of Uatu's advice, what happened previously in both the Panopthicron and that alternate reality with an evil Timebroker of theirs. After doing so, Frank decides to just be quiet and eat his MRE.

While eating, Punisher suddenly hears heavy footsteps and sighs in disappointment, knowing who's coming. In a matter of seconds, Greenskyn Smashtroll is seen walking towards the dining room. The moment he enters the room, his eyes lock on to Castle's eyes. Punisher instantly remembers him as he was the one who he tried to kill the first time he's here. Cursing to himself in his mind, the two are seen staring at each other with dangerous looks.

After a while, Punisher awkwardly breaks the silence and tries to be friendly by asking him if he's hungry. Surprisingly, Greenskyn responds in a "friendly" manner by comically telling him that he hasn't had a good feast since he got here. He immediately sits down in front of the Punisher when suddenly nearly an entire banquet appears in front of him. Frank tries to continue eating his MRE, but he can't stop seeing the voracious troll attracting his attention.

A few seconds after Frank finished his MRE, Greenskyn himself finished his feast. After the troll blurped, Frank tries to start a conversation out of "fear" by asking him if he had a good meal. Greenskyn said that he's never experienced such great food since he rejoined Captain Avalon's Champions. Frank said that it's good to know, but what Greenskyn said afterwards terrifies the Punisher: the troll tells Frank that it's also good to know that he had a good shot back in the desert.

Immediately intimidated, Frank pretends to not know anything. Greenskyn however, calms him down by saying that it's all for nothing because in the end, everyone there was having a bad day and the two of them were no different. Frank continues by stating that he thought that he's just a brute. Greenskyn laughs and says that he's not anyone's common muscle. All he cares are good meals and good fights.

Frank is left without a reaction, telling himself that he has no idea of how to respond. Greenskyn however, strikes up another talk and asks him if he's ever seen a troll before. Punisher says that he's never seen anything like a troll, a goblin, an ogre, and others. However, he has seen monsters before. Greenskyn, intrigued by the saying, is interested in how his home was. He asked what kind of "monsters" he faced then; warlocks, ghosts, dragons. Before Greenskyn can continue the list, Castle interrupts him and says that they're not literally monsters.

Punisher explains of the "monsters" he fought: those whose intents are the darkest among humanity, with stained souls and remorseless actions. Soon, the two conversed over the matter like old friends, which Caste didn't even expect to do the first time. After Frank explained many things, Greenskyn asks him of why he chose such a life so horrible even for humans. That, is when Frank mentions his family.

Frank tells him of his motivation for vengeance and the will of punishing the cancer that plagues society: crime. He also reveals that he's not a vigilante solely for punishing criminals; he's also one to punish himself of the foolishness he had in being such a bloodthirsty man in a previous war. Greenskyn says that his story's interesting. In fact, it's more interesting than the story of Sir St'vaan (Captain Avalon) and the Lady of Liberty.

Frank has no idea of who St'vaan is, but Greenskyn tells him to imagine the "tall, fair man" (Rojhaz) in armor as him. After stepping away from St'vaan and Rojhaz, Greenskyn states that Punisher must've missed his family a lot. Punisher confirms and asks if Greenskyn has a family. Greenskyn gives off a surprise, revealing that he has a son that he intended to train after the Champions' war with the Minions of Evil is over. Hearing this, Punisher tells himself that he never expected to share lives with a giant troll that's not even supposed to exist.

After telling him that it's good to know, another Exile joins them: War Machine. Entering the room while muttering of his hunger, Rhodes is surprised to see the two together after they "pretty much screwed up". After accepting a surprising offer from Frank to sit down and just order anything he can think of, the three converse again, now with War Machine's origin being talked about. Rhodes didn't reveal much, but told them that a certain "blonde guy with a hammer" gave him the honor of being his successor.

In the next panels, more and more Exiles join the fray and they share their experiences, origins, stories, and such. Just because two former enemies got over their bad days, an entire team of heroes suddenly turn into comrades. Even Captain Universe and Punisher apparently didn't care of what happened. And after one moment they all laugh after hearing a quip from Ghost Rider, Kang bursts in to the room while saying that she just got back from a dreaded conference.

Seeing the newly arrived Timebroker, the entire Exiles turn to Kang and greet her in an awkward manner. Taken aback by the view, Kang greets back and says that the dining room being full isn't something she expected. She then informs them of a new mission coming up, reckoning that they'll like this better than the first one.

-

In the main room, the Exiles are seen sitting down to get briefed by the Timebrokers. Rojhaz asks Kang of how "better" the mission is compared to the previous one. Kang states that this time, they will get to fight villains, not assist them. Although it actually depends on how they see the "heroes" and "villains". Ghost Rider asks if that meant of "heroes" being villains and "villains" being heroes. Uatu says that it's something like that, but they'll know a distinct difference between who's good and who's bad there.

The main monitor then shows the universe they're about to enter: Earth-50701. Uatu tells them of how the universe was supposed to go and its current deviation. Their main objective in the universe is to defeat the man known as Niles Van Roekel and drive his forces off Earth.

The monitor shows of images of Van Roekel, who apparently looks human even if he's an alien. In the picture, several superhumans are seen around him. Kang informs them that the other individuals are known as the Imperfects, and they have one unique factor: they're unique. In other words, no other universes in the multiverse have versions of the Imperfects.

War Machine asks of why they're called the Imperfects. Kang answers, saying that Niles (their master/creator) have a certain affection for perfection. War Machine still doesn't get why, but leaves it to the madman himself. Justicer Bull assures War Machine that they're going to be as imperfect as their name suggests. Uatu warns Bull of her words, telling her that while she has fought a sizeable amount of superhumans, she must remember of the Imperfects' uniqueness. Bull says that Uatu's trying to tell her (and to an extent, them) that they can never be ready for them.

Uatu replies yes, but voices his belief of the Exiles making it out in one piece after the mission. Punisher, in a stern voice, asks Uatu if lethal force is authorized. Uatu first asks Punisher to not use such "official" language, even if he's a soldier, then says that they can use lethal force if things go wrong. As much as how dangerous the Imperfects are, Uatu encourages the Exiles to not kill them.

Kang goes on to explain that while the Imperfects are unique, some of the more famous superheroes have fallen under Roekel's control. The monitor then shows images of the heroes under Roekel's control, including Iron Man, the Thing, Spider-Man, Storm, and Human Torch. Ghost Rider, noticing the Thing and Human Torch, asks where are the other two of the Fantastic Four. Kang tells him that if he's asking about the original Fantastic Four, their whereabouts are unkown. But if he's asking about his version of Fantastic Four, he can see Spider-Man in the picture. Aside from him, Wolverine lived and became a member of the resistance force and the Hulk died in battle.

Hearing the Hulk's death, Captain Universe says that they still can't possibly match the Exiles. Punisher reminds him to not get cocky, prompting the others to remember what Punisher did to Parker the first time in the same room. Parker however, responds in friendliness by telling him that death can't stop him now. Frank responds by giving off a smirk.

On the other hand, Greenskyn, who heard the same thing, said that his death must've had been caused by his counterpart's weakness. Everybody on the room looks at Greenskyn in puzzled faces, with Ghost Rider saying that he technically insulted himself. Greenskyn delivers a slight laugh, saying that at least he's a troll and he is a dead giant. Greenskyn bursts out in laughter, but no one else in the room follows his laughter. Captain Universe whispers that now everyone knows that Greenskyn likes dark humour.

After the troll stopped laughing, Rojhaz says that it's time for them to go. Uatu agrees with the Captain and opens up the portal towards the the Bridge, where they would be transported to Earth-50701. Before getting to Earth-50701, the Timebroker wishes them good luck and will give them more information if they need them through the Tallus.

-

The Exiles, transported to Earth-50701, end up in a ruined, war-torn Manhattan. Through Rojhaz's Tallus, the Watcher guesses that they must've landed in the middle of Manhattan. Rojhaz confirms and asks him of what to do. Uatu asks him if he remembered how they accomplished their mission back on Earth-267. Rojhaz acknowledges, prompting Uatu to stop speaking and let the Exiles do their mission.

Rojhaz informs the Exiles that they have to make a contact with the resistance group the Timebrokers said. Afterwards, the Exiles carefully place their steps to try and find the resistance. After walking for a while and exploring the ruined city, the Exiles encounter survivors in a ruined building: a family that consists of a father, a mother, and a daughter.

Intimidated and provoked, the father warns them to back off. Rojhaz assures them that they're here to help, and they have to trust them. He rejects his offer, telling him that the heroes were once here to help, until they suddenly turned bad and made life a living hell. Rojhaz explains the reason of their conversion (Roekel), but the father relents and tells them to just leave them alone. The daughter, trembling within her mother's arms, slowly turns to see the Exiles. The sight of the team slightly scares her, but when she sees the Punisher she screams out.

Noticing the Punisher on the team after calming down the daughter, the father says that the Punisher died long ago when Roekel's forces invaded. The Punisher tells him that he's been a dead-man-walking for many times, but he assures him that he's not from "here". In fact, none of them came from "here". Justicer Bull briefly explained the family of who they are before the family finally trusts them.

-

After trusting them, the father asks them of where they're going. War Machine says that they're going to meet the resistance. The mother informs them that they heard of the resistance in this city, keeping refugees alive while actively fighting back Roekel. However, in the past months they have been dormant and no one's ever spotted a single member of them on the streets.

Bull says that being dormant doesn't mean that they've lost. She asks them if they, by any chance, know of the resistance's headquarters. The father says that they heard of the resistance being based under the city's rail network, keeping them safe and mobile with trains that are supposed to move in month after month. But as he said, there were no trains whatsoever that passed through the stations for months, and they checked them all one by one.

The Captain Britain then assures her that they'll try and find the base, no matter what's in their way. Besides, it's more dangerous up in buildings and on the streets than underground. The family agrees and proceeds to move out with the Exiles. However, when they're about to move, Peter's Spider-Sense begins tingling as he feels a burning sensation behind him. And when his Spider-Sense goes wilder than ever, Captain Universe warns them all to get down. And before he can even finish his sentence, the entire building suddenly goes down.

-

The Exiles end up being trapped under debris, with a group of unknown persons talking about the unidentified beings in the building and what should they do. Under the debris, Greenskyn is seen holding up the debris while Spider-Man forms a force-field to protect the recovering family and Exiles. After hearing the conversation for a while and waiting for the Exiles to recover, Greenskyn breaks them out of the debris and the Exiles are back on the surface with the family.

With dust covering the area, Rojhaz asks Spider-Man of what happened. Spider-Man informs him that someone attacked them and he swore that he heard people talking up above. Greenskyn supports him, telling the Exiles that he heard a bunch of ugly-sounding people when they're down below.

In an instance, an unidentified voice calls them out, asking them if they are the ones they're looking for. Immediately, the Exiles turn as the dust clears out, revealing the ones that attacked them: the Imperfects.