NEW EXILES #4 REVIEW

[Norbert C. Schwartz]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0408/NEWEXILS004_col.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0408/NEWEXILS004_colt.jpg " hspace=10 align=left alt="X-Men: Legacy #209"></a>Reviewer: Norbert Schwartz, Jantipa@gmail.com
Story Title: New Life, New Gambit!

“...different dimensions, same basic threats…”

Writer: Chris Claremont
Art: Tom Grummet
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Wilfredo Quintana
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Assistant Editor: Jordan D. Whiste
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)

I wanted to read a full arc of this series to be able to emit a solid opinion on Claremont’s new work. I admire Claremont's older work, I grew up reading his classic Uncanny X-Men stories, and I consider his literary skills of those times a standard to follow - and it is a very high standard. This last issue of New Eiles was better than the preceding, but still it lacks a bit.

Unlike his previous work in Exiles, Claremont seems now to be making experiments with more radical changes in the histories of the multiverse. A meteorite destroys half of the civilization in the sixties, instead of Professor X being evil. Bigger changes lead to bigger differences, and allow greater experimentation and diversity (and a lot of new characters). The ideas are good, and could lead to some good stories. I especially liked the changes in the solar system (Hera instead of the asteroid belt) and the planets terraformed by Stark. I could even say that I hope the Exiles visit this universe again.

But Claremont is still having problems with characterization in my opinion. He doesn't have the handle on most of the personalities (despite the fact that he created, at least in part, most of them) and their dialogue sometimes just feels strange. Take Sabretooth, for instance. I won't get into the unexplained adamantium skeleton he now sports… just take a moment to think of the life of this Sabretooth. He served as Apocalypse's general, murdered many humans, and eventually developed a moral concience and changed sides, joining Magneto's X-Men. At the end of his world, he died fighting… or so he thought. He was drafted to work for an interdimensional group of cutthroats (Weapon X) who murdered and maimed a lot of people to “enforce” the multiversal balance. His moral concience returned and he decided he didn't want a kid murdered. He stayed 20 years in that universe, helping a bunch of mutant kids to survive and teaching them. The kid turned out to be bad seed and Sabretooth killed him… And I'm skipping a lot of details… So with all that said, Claremont does present him with a lot of combat wisdom, but his moral character and attitude do not feel right for a person with his life experience.

And then there's this 'thing' between Sabretooth and Psylocke. I won't touch upon the age gap issue for long, given the fact that we are talking about universes where the (Marvel) law claims everything started seven (or nine) years ago… the famous sliding grid of time. And the fact that regardless of Creed's age (who probably is older than the 616 Wolverine) he has retarded aging and a healing factor. I can understand Sabretooth's feeling of attraction towards Psylocke, I can even suppose that he has reasons to flirt (though not very skillfully) with her. I just can’t figure out what must be happening in Betsy's head, considering that her own earth's Sabretooth mauled her at least twice, and once left her on the verge of death? And I suppose that's more traumatic than being assaulted and having your eyes poked out?

Morph has an easier history. Winnick made Morph a funny clown, a joker, but he had a lot of personality. He was almost the crying clown, the joker who jokes to hide his own tragedy. I agree that it´s not an easy character to write. Claremont tried in Exiles to follow the joking lead, and did it unsatisfactorily. Now he is trying to turn him into something else (which is not fully unjustified, given the Proteus presence…). Sometimes responsible and serious, sometimes irresponsibly riotous. And it does not feel like the 'Exiles Morph'.

And we know that This Rogue is not Our Rogue, she is different, at least in the powers she has evidenced, and in personality. Thankfully she is not whining all the time like the 616 Rogue, and she seems to have control of her absorption powers (if she has them). But her closed personality feels in some moments like a lack of development. I know Claremont likes to take his time with plots and characters, but in the world of the internet he needs to go a bit faster to keep the younger readers satisfied. The characters he created for the Exiles (Rogue, Mystique and Shadowcat) could be interesting, but if he drags the mysteries out for too long, they will lose the interest of the readers.

Claremont's dialogue doesn't feel natural a lot of the time, but it gets worse when he tries to sound cool and in vogue, like when voicing young characters. And sometimes the dialogue does not fit the character's personality (think of AoA Sabretooth saying: “We were so much in sync that the psychic shock of our punches hit her astral body with the force of physical blows” in issue 3).

And one of the most famous Claremontisms is still present: his loquacity, present both in his captions and in the dialogue balloons. The quantities of text he uses are more typical of other times (80's) and probably would be more useful with other, less capable, artists. Grummet's art is excellent, (well, maybe I could criticize the Exiles' uniform designs, but I am not sure they are totally his), and I don't feel that Claremont's descriptions are adequate for these times, or this artist. They stopped being 'necessary', and they are not likable for the younger audiences. This issue's ending also felt a bit rushed, but I suspect Claremont is planning to return to this universe later in the series, since he left a lot of plot points undeveloped.

He has been criticized for making the fantastic four an essential element of his stories. I think he is trying to make a point about the importance of the existence of the Fantastic Four (a concept that affects even Planetary over on Wildstorm). The existence of the first comic's family has strong consequences in the stability of the superhuman community (and I won't get into the argument of Marvel's Illuminati). Most of the universes Claremont has created in Exiles and New Exiles are dystopian because they lack the "proper" Fantastic Four.

As mentioned I like the art: crisp colors, nice compositions, clear depiction of the scenes. Grummet's drawings and Hanna's inks are also of an old style, but they do not lose any value because of that. He's been given a lot of characters to design, and has done it well. Curiously, it reminded me of the Gatherers, from the 90's Avengers, which were drawn by him too, and were an interdimensional band of heroes (kinda) in the 616 earth (perhaps they could recycle them?)

Claremont seems to be getting into a rhythm with this comic, and with its characters. I'm not into the infamous Claremont bashing, so I'm more interested in making the best possible objective evaluation of his work. I think that Claremont's actual work is not bad, as some on the internet claim it to be. I have read posts in several forums that go something like “I haven't read this issue, but I know stinks”. There is a negative attitude against his work, without objective reasoning to sustain it: and personally, I think that if Claremont's actual work was signed by another author, it would be evaluated differently. For instance, I personally do not find Brubaker's work on Uncanny X-Men to be better than Claremont's actual work on New Exiles. Perhaps Claremont's current work will always be compared to his older works, those that made him 'a star'. Nonetheless, I expect Claremont to keep getting better with his current work, both in New Exiles and the upcoming Genext.

So criticizing is very easy - being a critic while fundamenting the criticisms is not as easy. Being a writer or an artist, being in the spotlight and having your work evaluated by the general public is definitely not easy. I doubt that I would be able to write a comic, even a very bad one, and I admire and respect the work most writers and artists in the medium. However I expect to be given a certain level of quality in exchange of my hard-earned money. This is not the worst from Claremont, but very far from the best. Some things are good, some can be fixed, and hopefully Claremont may get a bit more editorial feedback, or assistance to help him with character development and dialogue.

RATING:
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Buy New Exiles at X-World comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2926&cat=NEW+EXILES)

[Kizmet]

I really like the more radical change; having the meteor smash into the Earth. But I wish CC wouldn't throw in random changes on top of that. I can't imagine how a meteor strike which occurred well after Namor's birth could have result in him being black.

For me AU's are about introducing a change in the marvel-verse's history then exploring the fallout from that change. I don't care how radical the initial change is, and the more far reaching the fallout the better. The twist with BP being a woman worked just great, because CC explained how the meteor strike led to this change from 616. On the other hand, there's absolutely no explanation for how the son of Sue Storm and Namor is Remy/Gambit. Namor being black felt like it was thrown in simply to allow CC to have the new BP to accuse him of being a race traitor, in case the parallel between Attuma's accusations against Namor and the current BP's logic behind killing T'Challa weren't obvious enough for the readers to catch. It's these are just random, unexplained changes cluttering the story.

[M-Angel]

Nice analysis on the importance of the FF.

But I must agree Claremont's characterization seems a bit off at times, particularly when it comes to writing people at the ends of the personality spectrums. He just cant write antiheroes or truly twisted characters. and regarding how he deals with younger characters...it's just sounds weird.

That's all I'm gonna say

[Soundwave]

Interesting review.

I agree with the following:
I know Claremont likes to take his time with plots and characters, but in the world of the internet he needs to go a bit faster to keep the younger readers satisfied. The characters he created for the Exiles (Rogue, Mystique and Shadowcat) could be interesting, but if he drags the mysteries out for too long, they will lose the interest of the readers.Some back-stories and answers are overdue -- and not just for the sake of "younger" readers.


Claremont's dialogue doesn't feel natural a lot of the time, but it gets worse when he tries to sound cool and in vogue, like when voicing young characters. And sometimes the dialogue does not fit the character's personality (think of AoA Sabretooth saying: “We were so much in sync that the psychic shock of our punches hit her astral body with the force of physical blows” in issue 3).

And one of the most famous Claremontisms is still present: his loquacity, present both in his captions and in the dialogue balloons. The quantities of text he uses are more typical of other times (80's) and probably would be more useful with other, less capable, artists. Grummet's art is excellent, (well, maybe I could criticize the Exiles' uniform designs, but I am not sure they are totally his), and I don't feel that Claremont's descriptions are adequate for these times, or this artist. They stopped being 'necessary', and they are not likable for the younger audiencesI disagree with this. I think his writing is fine. Words = good. Captions, thought balloons, descriptions = good. I didn't feel once that the text blocked Grummett's art or anything like that.
I agree that some of the costume designs are not quiet right though.


And I think I agree with this, too, to an extent.
This is not the worst from Claremont, but very far from the best.It wasn't bad, but also not his best ever. Bottom line, he still writes the best, in my opinion. His book is still the most entertaining and the only one, or one of two, that I still care about. He just needs to stop stalling with the mysteries, and start giving us pay-off to things.

I'm not sure I see a problem with his portrayal of Sabretooth. Also, Psylocke's past with the prime version was brought up and played in several occasions in both Exiles and New Exiles. I don't think that was neglected. She's also someone who had experience with alternative versions; a counterpart of her twin brother once tried to force himself on her.

[metalgorgomon]

Nice Review. A very balanced one, IMO.

And surprisingly I agree with almost everything that the reviewer said.
I really do think this arc is possibly his best work in Exiles so far. Hopefully, he'll get better and better.

[BlackSamurai]

...wish CC wouldn't throw in random changes on top of that. I can't imagine how a meteor strike which occurred well after Namor's birth could have result in him being black.

For me AU's are about introducing a change in the marvel-verse's history then ...
While I will also assume Namor's race tweak stems from a desire to introduce other conflict with the new BP, I will only express an opinion about the seemingly random changes. I think more than one divergence point could occur in a timeline. Specifically, if Namor is maintained to have been sired long enough ago to have been active in WWII then a divergence occurred regarding what race/and who his father was (safely assuming that 616 Namor's Caucasian features stem solely from his human Caucasian father's genes, since understandably his blue-skinned aquatic royal mother bore a very passably Caucasian son... with ankle wings). So, only the father changed, but the situations leading to this son being named Namor and being prince remained. Various other occurrences related to the times may have also been aftershocks.

Then later on a meteor hit Earth, and having had more significant an impact to the Earth on a whole, it is the only difference to 616 that these Exiles are concerned with. And what a significance it is since no such meteor hit 616 Earth, wiping out millions, garnering it the highest notoriety.

As a side note, this Remy/Gambit has neither the same mother or father or experiences and therefore is not the same 616 Gambit, despite his draw to a Rogue. Biologically the half difference with Namors is less consequential to the naming and upbringing than simply being conceived by a surface dweller; therefore, both were forged by experiences to be comparative Namors, whereas this Gambit is nothing alike in anything but name and is therefore not even really intended to be the alternate reality version. It should be taken only as two guys named Mike hanged out with the same girl called Rogue.

[Kizmet]

I will only express an opinion about the seemingly random changes. I think more than one divergence point could occur in a timeline.

There was barely time in the arc to adiquately address one divergent point, I think it's better if CC refrains from multiple divergences. One divergence with the ripples of that divergence thoroughly explored is much more interesting to me than lots of divergences with no particular exploration of the causes/effects.

It should be taken only as two guys named Mike hanged out with the same girl called Rogue.

Two guys named Mike who both like to go by the nickname Spike... There is no way in the world that CC wasn't thinking about the 616 Gambit when he named the new guy Remy and gave him the code name Gambit. This is fiction, CC figured largly in creating these characters and the fictional universe that they inhabit. While there is a silm possiblity of it being simple coincidence that two guy could share the same name, same nickname and be interested in the same girl in the real world, in this situation it is not coincidence that CC gave the new guy Gambit's name.

[BlackSamurai]

Oh, I am not saying the name thing wasn't intentional, but I am thinking of a technique the writer may be using (stress on the may a lot!) to strike up readers' expectancy of the old Rogue/Gambit dynamic. It makes us wonder either positively or negatively if the writer is going to go at this Rogue-Gambit drama yet again, leaving us with that question for as long as it is held off as a matter of keeping the characters/book in our mind. After all, in comics any character that is going to make it has to have a selling point.

While it was not necessarily thought out so in depth, it definitely was the Claremont's wish for us to automatically make a connection, while he figured at the same time to not make this entirely the same character. That is done in all manners with Gambit, because he is not the same person in any sense. Not the child of even just one of the two parents of the known Gambit, so he is not really 616 Gambit's alternate reality counterpart like the one that served on Sabes old squad. Neither did he have any 'forging the person' relation by experiencing the 616 Gambit's life to be any way a similar personality. It was always clear to me that it can't be Gambit, but in a realm where any number of divergences can cause infinite possibilities, the possibility exists that another guy called Remy can use the code name Gambit and encounter a gal called Rogue.

All of this said, I am not suggesting that this development was necessarily a good plan by the writer. In fact, it invites unnecessary scrutiny and can cause confusion in people already trying to wrap their brains around the concept of alternate time lines; but it serves its purpose to make a reference to a 'fated' or rather 'ill-fated' relationship, just like building a team and putting a character on it named Romeo and another called Juliet... one has to wonder if they'll hook up, even if this Romeo doesn't have a penchant for serenading at windows (or in this case, throwing playing cards).

There's also the possibility some creator will 'invent' (cause I already thought of it, and others may have too) a cosmic possibility, that certain people are fated to exist in some form or another in every possibility, even if the original template for them (i.e. parents) do not exist. But nothing such has been established or explored in this book so that is not yet a comfort if any.

Most may be more accepting of him as Gambit if his name wasn't also Remy since it is the sheer unbelievability of the coincidence that this totally different character is supposed to reference the Gambit we know. I too would have been more comfortable with him named something else, then just the Gambit codename, and I don't see anything wrong with just sticking to the Gambit we know but making a different, less pathetic story around them (than what fans hated about 616 Gambit and Rogue's stagnation), or introducing a whole new character for this Rogue to deal with. Truth be told, any number of reasons could have gone into the making of a new different Remy/Gambit, it might even be an intended slight, but we still have to remember that there has already been a Gambit on an Exiles team, so this is mostly about being different in yet another way.

[Norbert C. Schwartz]

I believe the original Gambit was intended by Claremont to be something like the "second season" of Longshot (hence the shining eye and the dexterity), and was later changed into a different character because of his success. Perhaps this is some meta-comment on how the essence of the characters can be changed by external factors (like editorial mandates or writing experiments). He has done this kind of meta-comments before.

[Allison Wright]

I believe Claremont did say that this Gambit is intended to be more like his 'original' concept of Gambit was going to be. Not sure how this will work yet...

There was barely time in the arc to adiquately address one divergent point, I think it's better if CC refrains from multiple divergences. One divergence with the ripples of that divergence thoroughly explored is much more interesting to me than lots of divergences with no particular exploration of the causes/effects.
Eh, I've got no problem with 'multiple divergences', I don't really need to know the details of why Namor is black (anymore than I did Heather.) Frankly, I think it's more fun and the divergences that aren't so important to to the plot, don't need much 'explanations'. They can just 'be'. ;)

[BlackSamurai]

...wish CC wouldn't throw in random changes on top of that. I can't imagine how a meteor strike which occurred well after Namor's birth could have result in him being black.

For me AU's are about introducing a change in the marvel-verse's history then ...
While I will also assume Namor's race tweak stems from a desire to introduce other conflict with the new BP, I will only express an opinion about the seemingly random changes. I think more than one divergence point could occur in a timeline. Specifically, if Namor is maintained to have been sired long enough ago to have been active in WWII then a divergence occurred regarding what race/and who his father was (safely assuming that 616 Namor's Caucasian features stem solely from his human Caucasian father's genes, since understandably his blue-skinned aquatic royal mother bore a very passably Caucasian son... with ankle wings). So, only the father changed, but the situations leading to this son being named Namor and being prince remained. Various other occurrences related to the times may have also been aftershocks.

Then later on a meteor hit Earth, and having had more significant an impact to the Earth on a whole, it is the only difference to 616 that these Exiles are concerned with. And what a significance it is since no such meteor hit 616 Earth, wiping out millions, garnering it the highest notoriety.

As a side note, this Remy/Gambit has neither the same mother or father or experiences and therefore is not the same 616 Gambit, despite his draw to a Rogue. Biologically the half difference with Namors is less consequential to the naming and upbringing than simply being conceived by a surface dweller; therefore, both were forged by experiences to be comparative Namors, whereas this Gambit is nothing alike in anything but name and is therefore not even really intended to be the alternate reality version. It should be taken only as two guys named Mike hanged out with the same girl called Rogue.

[AdamWarlock]

The problem with this arc wasn't the number of divergences... The main problem with this arc was that it was nothing but 3 issues of setup with no conclusion. We spend 3 issues exploring a world and being introduced to a bunch of random characters with hazy motivations and a plot that just sort of meanders from introduction to introduction without any moving of a story around...

BP is evil and wishes to rule the world? Why? we don't know.
Storm is good and is friends with Namor both of whom wish to stop the panther. Why? we don't know.
Attuma who was Namor's blood enemy, is suddenly his best friend. Why? because one of his daughters is convienently sleeping with him.
Amara is president of Earth yet resides on a space station. Why? Do we even care anymore?

The last issue is the worst of all... with nearly half of it devoted to a massive infodump on the solar system and a bunch of other useless information for this arc.

All of that is greater than the Gambit problem, which is much more complicated and less beleivable than two people named Mike liking the same girl. This is two people named Mike who like the same girl who both happen to have the nickname of "Hairy" and both speaking with a Brooklyn accent despite one being born and raised in South Africa.

"Valeria" also suffers the same problem... especially considering it was Dr. Doom that named the 616 version after his lost love, not Susan.

The arc has no real conclusion. Instead we get a long drawn out explanation that could have entirely been avoided by transporting the new recruit to the palace and explain that he was needed.

[BlackSamurai]

The problem with this arc wasn't the number of divergences... The main problem with this arc was that it was nothing but 3 issues of setup with no conclusion...

...The arc has no real conclusion. Instead we get a long drawn out explanation that could have entirely been avoided by transporting the new recruit to the palace and explain that he was needed.
Thanks for that Adam, I got so caught up in trying to explain the folly around Gambit that I forgot the most glaring thing about all of this arc... it was a very contrived way to say the automated computer systems were guiding them to a world mainly for their new recruit; wherein we get 3 issues of unrevealed motivations leading to an unresolved exit. It feels more so like the creator(s) abandoned the story in favour of doing something else. We are left to think that maybe they will revisit this world to solve it's problems later (which is some sort of alignment with how the rest of the worlds the Exiles left were promised to be fixed at the end of their service to the 'Broker).

The story internally had enough drama and twists to have me interested in the fate of the characters, but it did nothing for me as an arc.

[Allison Wright]

CC has said there is supposed to be 'link' between both 'Gambits', so he's got something planned. The danger is in the sub-plot getting axed before it 'happens', not in that there never was one.


BP is evil and wishes to rule the world? Why? we don't know.
Storm is good and is friends with Namor both of whom wish to stop the panther. Why? we don't know.
Attuma who was Namor's blood enemy, is suddenly his best friend. Why? because one of his daughters is convienently sleeping with him.
Amara is president of Earth yet resides on a space station. Why? Do we even care anymore?

1. Some people are like that you know. :P
2. Because she's evil and they don't want her to rule the world. Seems self explanitory. ;)
3. I haven't been to the LCS yet, so can't comment on the last two. :D


"Valeria" also suffers the same problem... especially considering it was Dr. Doom that named the 616 version after his lost love, not Susan.
In this alternate world, Sue really likes the name 'Valeria', she read it in a book somewhere. :P

Not saying, you guys dont have any valid points, you do, but some things seem kind of nit picky.

[Kizmet]

1. Some people are like that you know. :P
2. Because she's evil and they don't want her to rule the world. Seems self explanitory. ;)

She's evil because she's evil, how much more boring can you get?

[Allison Wright]

And if/when they come back to this world and Black Panther is a major 'focus', she will need more 'fleshing out'. At this point though, it wasn't neccessary. :)

[Kizmet]

Black Panther was replaced by a woman and she's evil in this world - Why'll be fleshed out more if we come back.

Storm and Namor are good - Why'll be fleshed out more later.

The son of Sue Storm and Namor is somehow Gambit - how this guy is Gambit will be addressed later.

Sue and Namor's daughter Valeria is dating Atuma - More later

Amara is the pres of the solar system, several other planets/moons have been terraformed - more later.

This arc was all set-up and no pay off. What was the focus of this arc? Boring fights with Bloodstorm and crew where we get told yet again how indomidable Pyslocke's will is?

All the way back to XXM I've felt the CC does a fine job of setting up plot-lines and a wonderful job of characterization. But almost no pay off on any of it. Marvel changes the status quo until his storylines are irrelevant, moves him to a new book so he has to re-setup the story in the new title, or he has to wrap up the story line quickly because things are changing again. I'm sick of CC stories that might have been good if they had ever reached a payoff.

[Soundwave]

Psylocke's defenses are not a function of her will; it was Jamie that made her immune. But I agree on too much set-up, not enough pay-off.

[Allison Wright]

Black Panther was replaced by a woman and she's evil in this world - Why'll be fleshed out more if we come back.

Storm and Namor are good - Why'll be fleshed out more later.

The son of Sue Storm and Namor is somehow Gambit - how this guy is Gambit will be addressed later.

Sue and Namor's daughter Valeria is dating Atuma - More later

Amara is the pres of the solar system, several other planets/moons have been terraformed - more later.

This arc was all set-up and no pay off. What was the focus of this arc? Boring fights with Bloodstorm and crew where we get told yet again how indomidable Pyslocke's will is?

All the way back to XXM I've felt the CC does a fine job of setting up plot-lines and a wonderful job of characterization. But almost no pay off on any of it. Marvel changes the status quo until his storylines are irrelevant, moves him to a new book so he has to re-setup the story in the new title, or he has to wrap up the story line quickly because things are changing again. I'm sick of CC stories that might have been good if they had ever reached a payoff.
Well, the way I see it, i didn't mind everything not being explained in details if it doesn't 'effect' the story. Obviously, there's not time to do a full socio-polictical analysis of every world, nor do I think that's what you really want. For example. Black Panther. We got the basic explanation of who she was, T'Challa's 'evil' cousin'. That pretty much what the story needed. She's the 'bad guy' in the war. If some future arc focuses on her, and her 'side' then she 'should' be given more fleshing out as part of that arc. In this arc, she didn't particularly need it. She's not a nice person (from her little 'speech' to Namor, she might have a bit of a Magneto vibe,) but she is clever and dangerous. If CC was planning on explaining her more but marvel changes things and he can't, this story still doesn't 'suffer' for that. Same thing goes with Storm and Namor, they are basically 'good' and don't 'need' much beyond that. Their reasons for being against BP are obvious.

Gambit 'origins' I don't think actually hurt the story in and of itself, but are 'jarring' to readers (I've been more 'lenient' due to the alternate reality nature of things, but would like to know, sooner rather than later.)

The Valeria thing was a bit dues ex machina with her appearing at the last minute to save everyone. But it was actually te opposite problem. There was no 'build up' to it (or her relationship with Attuma) and it came up rather suddenly. (OT question, does Attuma always look that silly? Or is this reality's version of him just a horrible dresser? :P ) Same with the government in space. (Although one wonders if this points to more problems with the Exiles computers, as it didn't tell them about any of that either.)

[Kizmet]

So what WAS the focus of this story?

If it wasn't BP as a villain, Strom and Namor as heros or the socio-political structure of the world (IMO setting up the socio-political structure of this world WAS what most of this arc was dedicated to, but CC didn't actually DO anything with the world he set up), or how the new guy is Gambit, then what was it?

The story was all over the place. The climax, such as it was, was a fight with a bunch of boring, generic bad guys on a world were we don't really know what anyone is fighting for.

[Allison Wright]

I thought most of the fight scenes were pretty good. :P But I can see your point about lack of a more coherent focus. My opinion, the 'focus' of the story seemed to be Gambit trying to find and rescue his family, which was one thing that got completed at least. :P The Exiles themselves didn't really know what they were supposed to be doing, because of the computer 'issues.' As a consquence, they were 'improvising' most of the time. As to what everyone was 'fighting' for, Black panther wants to take over, everyone else, not so keen on that idea. I don't have a problem with that 'reasoning' because it's been the rationale of like half the warlords in history, they want more power and more terrority.

[Drunk]

The Exiles as a whole have lost thier focus. Before they would go to a world a "fix" something. They always had a mission. Now they seem to just drop into a world, proclaim they are heroes, and then do whatever they want. This world had a lot of problems, but nobody knew why they were even there. That has been the main problem with Claremonts Exiles, the Exiles are not present in thier own stories. There was no true interaction between Psylocke and Sabertooth since they were being "manipulated." Mystiq was missing the entire time. Nothing really happened with Rogue other then she touched Gambit without draining him.
It looks like Gambit is supposed to be this worlds Gambit. It is probaly Claremonts way of saying that alternate versions of characters can appear as anyone or anything. The entire issue felt like he was introducing one twist after another without any true payoff.