Exiles: New World (Marvel NEW)/D-Day Special (2018)

The first special issue of the Marvel NEW ongoing series, Exiles: New World. It is published as a commemoration for those who have died in the dreaded Normandy Landings during the Second World War that happened 74 years ago. It is published around the 6th of June, 2018, the same the event happened. It is succeeded by Exiles: New World Issue 14.

Synopsis
''The Exiles have faced powerful villains, nuked the Avengers, fought many, many Hulks, and conquered some losses including some of their own. On this special occasion, they are deployed to a universe where the Allies lost their precious war in 1945... with a twist of its own! Can the Exiles defeat the forces of Hydra and their familiar, yet different leader? And how did a familiar face get into this world? Plus, why is the art style so vintage?''

Continuity
This special issue takes place after the events of The Hulk of Two Worlds and Exiles: New World Issue 13.

Plot
Some times after the tragedies that happened on Earth-9200, the team lands on a rural place in another reality. They land on their feet with the exception of an unfocused Ghost Rider who lands head-first, prompting him to briefly yell an otherwordly expression of pain before the Punisher shuts his mouth with his hands. The Exiles' vigilant leader, Rojhaz, notes of their landing position in a forested area with a village not too far from their position.

Going to the Punisher, the Punisher insults Ghost Rider by calling him a weakling despite his "powers". Rider apologizes, saying that he never gets his skull land on a rock at the speed of light. Castle realizes this when he sees the large rock where Rider is leaning on. Knowing this, he simply scoffs and tells him to get up. Nova asks where they are and Greenskyn guesses they're in a dark forest teeming with friendly goblins, warlocks, ghouls, and trolls.

Bull tells Greenskyn to think farther, pointing to the village at the distance clearly illuminated by electric lamps. Strange is interested by this and suggests they are somewhere in a world filled with magic. Nova, not intending to offend him, asks Strange why does he think electric lamps mean magic. Plus, being in a dark forest doesn't always mean a bunch of evil wizards will show up. Strange takes no offense and apologizes, saying that he's had a hard time thinking after last time's problem.

Reminded of this, Rider asks Rojhaz if he believes that Kang's not trying to kill them this time. Rojhaz answers by saying that this time, he trusts her although she doesn't really give the specifics of this mission other than it being more "relaxing". Rider wonders what "relaxing" is supposed to mean, and Rojhaz suggests for them to find the meaning in the nearby village. He remembers that Kang told him she and Uatu would reveal the true objective once they reach the first point of interest. Seems like the village is the first point of interest.

Before setting out, Strange asks Rider if he can turn off his "headlights" to not attract unwanted attention. Rider surprises most of his teammates by being able to do so, prompting Nova to say that she never knew Ghost Riders can voluntarily turn off their fiery heads without reverting to their human form. Ghost Rider reminds her that he's still "growing" and discovering what he can do. Punisher smirks, saying that he's got lots of tricks up his sleeve. Hell, he may even have more than Doctor Strange's. Realizing an implication of offense, Castle tries to apologize but Strange turns him down and accepts such possibility.

The team make their way through the woods to the village, they quickly discover that the village is empty, with only the indication of life in the area being the large mansion at the center of the village. Greenskyn asks if this is supposed to be the "point of interest" instead of the village itself, and Rojhaz guesses so. Under his lead, the team sneak around the mansion to peek through the windows. There aren't any guards outside the mansion's entrance, but it is locked with no way inside (they don't want to bust in without a reason anyway).

Bull, Greenskyn, and Nova managed to overhear an interesting chatter that sound quite familiar to them. Bull notes that a woman is speaking to someone brutish inside. The woman is heard expressing something about her "fondness" for strong men with a fondness for defending the weak. The other man says that he's pleased to hear that and confesses of his attraction to her. The woman reciprocates it, saying she doesn't want to be a victim to another "false patriot".

On another side where Rojhaz, Castle, and Rider are eavesdropping, Rider informs Captain that the big guy's voice sounds familiar. Rojhaz asks what time did he remember it and Rider claims that the only possible choice is no other than Maestro's world. The panel switches its focus to the mansion's interior later, with Strange seen meditating to project his astral form to see the mansion's contents. Inside, Strange exclaims in surprise at what he sees: a group of captured villagers, a whole host of mafia gunmen armed with energy weapons, and the main center of attention: a man with the unmistakable look of a certain jolly green giant and a normal woman without any apparent distinctions.

Concerned, Strange returns to his physical form and informs the group that they have another Hulk problem. This immediately puts a grim expression on the faces of the previous second team except Ghost Rider. Rider remains optimistic, asking Strange if there's only one' Hulk there. Strange assures him that this Hulk is small and yes, there's just one Hulk. Greenskyn wonders if the small Hulk the one he knew in the Arena. Strange clarifies that he is not human-sized "small", but he's not as big as Greenskyn himself.

Justicer asks Strange if there's anything he can describe, and he adds that this particular Hulk wears a red bandana. Immediately, Bull's mind flashes back to the last time she threw a Hulk across the desert of Maestro's world. Bull instinctively remembers that the Hulk she threw wore a red headband. Realizing this, she curses out and identifies the Hulk as Boy-Bob Banner.

Upon hearing her, Rider asks if that's the Hulk Nova threw across the desert last time. Nova, taken aback, asks if that's truly the same Hulk that Bull ordered her to dispose of. Although Strange doesn't know, it seems that he has heard the "mysterious" Hulk proving his might to the woman by mentioning that he survived getting thrown across the Sahara. Hearing this, Nova and Bull immediately agree that this is Boy-Bob and inform the others of this.

Rojhaz is surprised at how Boy-Bob coincidentally ended up in the same universe they're tasked to save next. Punisher asks if Nova literally threw him out of the old universe and of course, she denies this. Besides, she's not that powerful. Greenskyn asks Rojhaz if the other team (not his, not Rojhaz's) didn't clean up the entire universe. Rojhaz believes that the Thunderbolts must've thought that the only Hulks they have to clean up are the ones in the city.

Nevertheless, the team is forced to take action when the woman asks Boy-Bob to prove his love by massacring the villagers. The hear of the villagers' despair can be heard all the way to the entrance, the Punisher reacting as if he's drunk with rage. He asks Rojhaz to let him at them, but the Captain orders him to wait for his signal. Somehow overcoming his instinct, Punisher holds his tactical shotgun back, albeit with an itchy trigger finger.

The Exiles gather around the door, with Greenskyn taking the honor of breaking down the gates. However, Rojhaz orders Greenskyn to stand down and let them see what trick Strange brews for them. Greenskyn respectfully joins his teammates and Strange thanks him, saying that they won't disappoint. But first for this magic trick, he needs his fellow newcomer's audience.

Nova giggles and asks him what she has to do. Strange simply orders her to "shoot", before the scene switches perspectives to Boy-Bob and the woman laughing together. While doing so, a door knock is suddenly heard. Bob asks if she's expecting any guests and she says no. When she asks the same thing, he also says the same thing. The gunmen know what to do and in their own language, most of them wait at the door with their guns up while one of them goes to respond the door.

Slowly opening the door with caution, the mobster asks who's at the door by saying "ciao". At the doorstep, a beggar-disguised Doctor Strange asks him in English if he can help him. Upon hearing his English vocabulary, the mobsters rudely tells him to f*ck off and insults Strange as a lost immigrant. Standing in the shadows beside him, Castle turns to Rider and tells him that this is why he killed the Sicilian Mafia.

Although professionalism is one thing to make this act succeed, Strange is actually offended by the mobster's words. Deciding to ignore him, he continues his trick and assures him that he is not worth the troubles. In fact, he's just out to give him a present. In a split second, the mobsters suddenly get hit by violent refractions of energy that Strange contains from Nova, unleashing it at the right time. Surprised, Boy-Bob orders "Valentina" to get behind him as he seemingly realize who this is.

After the mobsters are all knocked unconscious, the Exiles enter the building and the first one that attracts Bob's attention is Nova. Bob mutters "no" as he remembers her as the one throwing him to the other side of Earth. The first Exile to throw down some words to him is Bull however, greeting him so calm he freaked out. Bob immediately tries to run (much to Valentina's shock) but is stopped by Strange who assures him that no pain will come.

Rojhaz proceeds to walk towards Boy-Bob alongside the Punisher to interrogate him after he has ordered the others to get the civilians to safety and guard the woman. He goes on to ask Boy-Bob what he is doing in this reality after his teammates reportedly already beat him in the previouis reality. Boy-Bob tries to act tough by threatening him but Nova teases him with a throwing gesture. This prompts Boy-Bob to reveal that after getting thrown by the Rocket Girl, he woke up to see his "boss" asking him to serve her one more time.

Even though it's quite impossible, at first hearing the Punisher assumed that the "boss" was this woman he "loves". Rojhaz actually thought the same until Uatu informs him that this is the time they know what's going on in this reality. Rojhaz allows him to speak away, attracting Boy-Bob's toughness once again to not speak up about the truth. The Punisher shoots a buckshot at his head to stop his stubbornness.

Uatu goes on to explain that the reality he's in will be quite an interesting matter for Rojhaz, identifying it as Earth-697064. This reality revolves around a version of Rojhaz himself who is no other than the universe's Captain America. Uatu informs him that his famous exploit during World War II and stand-off against the Red Skull exist, but not in a way he'll ever expect. Uatu apologizes in advance for not revealing the identity of the Red Skull, but Rojhaz luckily says that he doesn't mind and doesn't care whoever the hell is behind the identity.

Anyways, Uatu informs him that although the Red Skull exists, Hydra doesn't. And how a version of Hydra could end up here is unknown, alongside the fact that the reality's history has been somewhat rewritten. Originally, the Captain America of this world managed to defeat him and his daughter that resulted in their untimely deaths and the survival of the President of the United States, Thomas Kimball.

Problem is, the presence of an extra-universal Hydra somehow causes a shift of power within the universe and changes history entirely. Now, Captain America failed in defeating Red Skull and his daughter. Before Uatu can finish his words, Rojhaz assumes that President Kimball is now dead and the US is now a Nazi puppet state. Uatu reacts gleefully and asks him that the interesting story isn't over yet.

Uatu reveals that Kimball is still alive, well enough to still lead the United States as a puppet state of Fascist Italy. Upon hearing Italy, Rojhaz is confused and asks how. Before reveallng anything else, Uatu asks Rojhaz if he's expecting an entirely familiar story. Rojhaz answers no, but says that he's never known how different this universe could be. Uatu laughs and continues to explain.

Firstly, Uatu states that he likes to keep things as a surprise. He assures him that it's not life-threatening this time around and Rojhaz trusts him. Uatu goes on to ask Rojhaz a breaking question: What if he told him that the woman sitting on that couch is actually Red Skull's daughter? Most of the Exiles (except Punisher, Strange, and Greenskyn for obvious reasons) react to his revelation by looking at her in disbelieve. Rojhaz himself can't believe that fact and slowly walks towards the woman.

Staring at her, Rojhaz says that everything makes sense now. He then turns to his teammates and dramatically state that this world's Red Skull is Italian. Punisher responds in confusion by asking him what's wrong with him being Italian. Rojhaz realizes his overreaction and apologizes, saying that all this multiverse stuff is beginning to crush his mind. Nevertheless, Rojhaz asks what mission are they in for then. Uatu says that for this mission, killing won't be necessary but by all means they have to put Hydra out of commission. However, the deaths of Red Skull and "Valentina de Santis" must be ensured.

Rojhaz receives Uatu's mission and cuts off the connection. After severing the connection, Nova comments on the matter. She says that Uatu claimed that Red Skull and his daughter died when they're "defeated" by Captain America. If what she heard is right, does that mean Captain America actually kill in this universe? In response to her question, Valentina reveals that he did kill her, and she remembered the moment he "accidentally" took her life out. But now that her father has found new allies and a new source of might, none can oppose the power of the New Reich.

Bull mocks her, saying those words came out from a lone woman whose affection only goes for Nazis and lives in a singular mansion in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany. Valentina unsurprisingly gets angered and tries to strike her, only for Ghost Rider to hold her down. Punisher asks Rojhaz what should they do to these guys then. Rojhaz says that while Valentina's death is ordered alongside his father's, he doesn't think the time has come. For Boy-Bob Banner however, seems like they have to spend a night with him for some answers. Hearing this, Banner is utterly scared as Nova is seen smiling at him.

-

Switching perspective to the icy wilderness of Alaska the next day, the team set out to find the frozen body of Captain America who Boy-Bob claimed to have actually been re-frozen by the Red Skull's new power. In the cold environment, Strange casts a protection spell for the Exiles except Rider for obvious reasons. The team successfully discover the Captain's whereabouts and Greenskyn digs in to bust him out.

Upon unearthing the block of ice that contains Rojhaz's counterpart, Nova tells Strange that this is exactly how the Avengers found their future leader. Rojhaz corrects her by saying he's not really the leader; he's only an inspiration. Strange sarcastically voices his belief that the Avengers couldn't have pulled him back from the ice by having their Hulk smash through all those ice.

Punisher suggests Ghost Rider to melt the ice already to free him, but a brief argument soon comes about whether Nova or him is better for the job. Thanks to Greenskyn's straight and logical advise, both of them melt the ice within minutes. After freeing the Captain from his icy prison, Rojhaz kneels and tries to see if he's alright. He attempts to wake him up by calling out his name and at Bull's suggestion, slapping his face, but Rider notices three holes on his stomach.

The heroes take notice of this and Rojhaz realizes that he is forcefully iced after getting stabbed by someone. In addition, although he has been iced for years, it's a bizarre occurence that those three holes on his chest suddenly bleed out once again. Rider tries to cauterize it but finds himself unable to burn it with his hellfire. Strange casts a temporal barrier that halts the injury but also identifies the wounds' nature as being "beyond magic".

Rojhaz knows that they have to act fast as Strange can't hold the spell for long. Rider asks what they're supposed to do now, and his answer suddenly comes from the Captain himself in his dying breathe asks them to take him to Maria. Rojhaz asks if he's alright but Captain America answers that they don't have much time. After hearing his plead, Strange decides to shut down the Captain's nervous system while maintaining the spell to prolong his lifespan.

Nova thought that Strange has killed him, but Bull says that magic can never be predictable. After assuring them that he's fine, Strange asks Rojhaz who this "Maria" is. Punisher states that last night's private interrogation between him and Boy-Bob gave him a name named "Vaselli". Perhaps, this woman he mentioned of is Maria Vaselli. Frank assumes that due to their parallels, Rojhaz should recognize who Vaselli is. Unfortunately, Rojhaz states he has never heard of such name.

Rider suggests he try to pry open the information from Rogers' head, and Bull comments on how versatile his abilities are. Nova agrees, saying that all the legends she heard about Ghost Riders never mentioned of "telepathy". Punisher guesses that this may be the reason why he's in the team despite his young age. Rider is flattered but proceeds to do his thing. After staring deep into his soul, Rider informs the team that Maria Vaselli is an Italian scientist who gave Captain America his super-powers. From this, Rojhaz knows that Maria is Abraham Erskine's female counterpart, even noting a parallel between both of them originally coming from an Axis nation.

When he is asked of her whereabouts, Rider says that the Captain's memories of her location are nowhere to be found and Strange once again offers his service by trying to find her energy signature similar to how he tracked down the Hulk. Greenskyn asks how can he do virtually anything but can't kick a Hulk's arse and he calmly responds by claiming that what he face is different than what he knows. Green simply grunts and nods in interest.

-

Skipping several hours later, the team found themselves landing in front of a military complex. Unfortunately for them, they don't land in an exactly good spot and end up literally dropping themselves over a guard patrol. Immediately, a fight breaks out and the base's alarm blares, alerting every fascist guardsmen and robots there. After he snapped the neck of a guard, Castle asks why the f*ck did Strange drop them here. Strange, slicing a robot's head in half with a sword construct, says he has no idea that an energy barrier actually prevents them to reach her exact location.

The Exiles successfully fend off the guards and drive the remaining soldiers to the base. When Nova informs the team that the energy barrier Strange mentioned is preventing their entry, Greenskyn orders them to stand back and let a physical barrier handle it. With a single punch, Greenskyn shatters the force-field before charging through the steel gate beyond it.

Fighting their way to Maria's location, they finally found her in a sealed lab where she's seen treating a man to what undeniable is the Super-Soldier Serum. Seeing the window bordering her lab, Rojhaz yells out at her but she keeps doing her work to the man without any kinds of expression. When Greenskyn tries to break it open, he ends up hurting his own hand before an unknown assailant suddenly stabs him from behind and attacks the Exile.

Bull eventually fends off the assailant by successfully throwing him away, asking who he is. The attacker identifies himself in as Venger, the Greatest Hero-Hunter. Armed with an oriental sword and a hybrid between a crossbow and an M4 complete with an underslung grenade launcher, he seems to be a formidable opponent backed with his own statement. Greenskyn doesn't believe him to be even a decent hunter because he's more of bandit to him.

Venger informs them that what their green friend just punched is a vibranium-weave mirror similar to those of the Black Panther's suit. In addition, it's a one-way mirror and no sound can come through the room. In other words, Maria is forced to work by herself in utter loneliness. While she calmly continues her work, the Exiles are seen fighting Venger without her awareness.

Her solitude gets broken the moment Ghost Rider angrily knocks him out by kicking through the lab's door, tearing it off its hinges and sending Venger flying through the lab in agony. The young man enters the lab and terrifies Maria with his flaming skull, prompting her to scream out while forcibly abandoning the subject. Rider tries to calm her down until Rojhaz steps in, asking if she's Doctor Maria Vaselli.

Seeing Rojhaz's familiar face, Vaselli confirms and in turn asks if he is Captain America. Rojhaz says he is not her Captain America, but his Captain America does need some help. In an instance, Dr. Strange summons Captain America's body from a space between universes. Seeing this, Vaselli quickly orders them to put him on the operating table. Rider points out that there's still a man there and she reacts in a way nobody expects.

After hearing Ghost Rider, Vaselli immediately pulls out a gun and shoots the man's head. The sight of her actions and the sound of her large-caliber magnum firing its titanic bullet put the Exiles without a sane reaction, appaling them. Vasseli reveals that she was forced to turn this pedophile Nazi into a Super-Soldier, and she sure won't stop herself from doing the right thing.

Rojhaz ignores her murder and decides to trust her. He orders Greenskyn to put the Captain's body on the operating table after he has disposed of the to-be-Super-Soldier. Upon examining the Captain's wounds, Vaselli informs the team that these wounds come from a brutal clawed man who attacked him before the Red Skull turned everything to hell. Hearing the words "clawed man", Nova asks Rojhaz if it's Wolverine but Ghost Rider says it could be Sabretooth. Rojhaz confirms that it's Wolverine by reminding her to match the wounds with Wolverine's claws.

Strange asks Vaselli how to stop his bleeding because even with his magics, he can't stop it even by one bit. Vaselli reveals that this is all because of the Red Skull's doing and the only thing they can do is cover it up. The blood will not stop flowing but it can be slowed. Strange decides to put a Crimson Band of Cytorrak to cover the wounds. As for how to knock him conscious, Maria says they need to re-apply the Super-Soldier Serum to him. However, the Serum that she was trying to apply to the dead man was all but a mass-produced variant which means that it's not potent.

Rojhaz asks her if transfusing the Serum to him could work. Maria asks that could work if any of them have it anyway. A brief silence ensues until Maria looks at him, asking if he really has it in his veins. He confirms although it's not exactly from her in his world. Maria ignores the last statement and goes on to do a blood transfusion between the two captains.

After doing so, the universe's Captain America finally wakes up panically, grasping and trying to take his breathe. Rojhaz managed to calm him down and Captain America ends up looking at his surroundings. He sure doesn't know who most of the Exiles are, but he still recognizes Rojhaz as the one who heeded his words. Rojhaz introduces him to the Exiles but he doesn't bother explaining about what they're supposed to do. Captain America deduces that they're here to stop that new Hydra people and whatever the hell the Red Skull has in his hands now.

His answer correct, Captain America goes on to explain what happened prior to him getting frozen once again after thanking Dr. Vaselli for her efforts alongside the Exiles. The Captain recounts the moment he managed to distract the Red Skull using a tape recorder and nearly defeat him. However, when he thought he had knocked him off a cliff, suddenly he heard the villain's laughter behind him. And there he was, holding an unknown object in his hands.

Thinking that it's a new WMD he had kept hidden from him, he tried to attack him but suddenly men in green suit appear and ambush him. These green men mentioned themselves to be Hydra, claiming that the Captain won't succeed this time. In an instance, an unknown man with claws suddenly stabbed him and when he's let go, he couldn't stop the bleeding whatsoever. The Red Skull blabbered for some time in front of him, his bleeding not letting him focus. Nevertheless, he's suddenlly blinded by a flash of light and all he felt was the same cold that kept him from the world for decades.

Hearing the story, Rojhaz asks if he knows what the weapon the Red Skull holds right now. Captain America calls upon his scattered memories but can't remember anything. Apparently Ghost Rider was right, his memories of such information were wiped out. Bull suggests they hit the Red Skull's hideout immediately, asking Maria of where the Red Skull's base is. Maria says she can tell them of it, but she's not sure they'll be up to Hydra's challenge. She reveals that she has been forced to create more super-soldiers for Hydra, including those in this base. Punisher looks at her, asking if she's sure about that. Vaselli reminds that she administered the mass-produced variant. The soldiers they fought in this base had a fraction of the true Captain's powers. If anything's "powerful" about them, it's their numbers. Punisher nods in acknowledgement and comments that getting through the Skull's base will be easy, then. Rojhaz advises him not to be overconfident but agrees that they should punch through their base now.

As for the unconscious Venger, Strange suggests another trick from him so they can use him in infiltrating the base, but Greenskyn says it's boring trying to sneak in the base when they're supposed to kill every Hydra heads there and the red-headed man, anyway. Rojhaz says that the Timebrokers haven't said anything about Hydra's fate.

-

In a castle miles away from what's known as Omaha Beach, a man and woman garbed in Hydra uniform are seen walking through a long hallway to another room. Other Hydra soldiers are seen saluting at them in respect, signifying their position. The man asks her if it's the right time to strike. The woman says that Valentina's just gone missing with Boy-Bob and it's just a matter of time before Skull snapped. The man agrees and asks her if she's sure she'll tell him of what happened. The woman assures him that all will be well and this world will be their starting point.

Entering the room, the duo is revealed to be the lovers Susan Storm, the Empress of Hydra and Wolverine of Hydra. There, a man stands beyond the shadows behind a long, rectangular table. By now, readers know who he is but the Red Skull's face is yet to be unveiled. Susan informs him of the deaths of one of their men and his daughter. Red Skull reveals that he is well aware of their setbacks thanks to the power they presented him with. Susan proceeds to guess that he's aware of what he's about to face, then. Red Skull giggles, also revealing that he's also well aware of their incoming betrayal.

Empress Hydra seems unsurprised, as is Wolverine. Red Skull turns to them, still veiled by the shadows, asking if their contingency plan of wrestling his control of the weapon is taking effect now. Sue tells him that doesn't matter and perhaps it's time for them to tell him what they're up to. Unfortunately, Red Skull apparently also knows of that. Wolverine begins to get unsettled as he asks Sue if this is supposed to happen. Sue admits that this is not supposed to happen but she assumes the best course of action now.

TBA