Exiles #17 has the same flaw we've come to expect from this book.  The team are nicely characterised, they're attractively drawn, they banter endearingly, and they seem completely disconnected from this month's arbitrary plot.

This month's alternate world is a planet where the US west coast has been overrun by versions of Spider-Man villain the Lizard.  None of these characters seem to have any particular connection with the Lizard, so they just wander around chatting to one another, achieve the mission and go home.

The ostensible connection with the characters is that Curtis Connors gets to do an emotional speech at the end, to the effect of "I only wanted to help, why has my life gone so horribly wrong."  This is supposed to play off the Mimic's disillusionment subplot.  And it does, but in the same way that a thousand other disillusioned characters would also have done.  It isn't really enough intersection with the character plots to avoid the criticism that the plots in this series are becoming an increasingly desultory background element seemingly cranked out by a random character generator.

It doesn't help that this particular world has decided credibility problems.  Within my Marvel Universe suspension of disbelief, I'm prepared to buy that humanoid lizards have overrun the west coast.  But I'm looking for a rather better explanation of where all the buildings went and why the entire landscape has turned into jungle.  In fact, I'm looking for any explanation.

The art is pretty good, and there's an amusing scene with Morph trying to pull that gets four entertaining pages.  It's not a bad story, but I can't help feeling that this book is not firing on all cylinders. 

Rating: B+

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