We kick off this week with Exiles #20, and the first part of the "Legacy" storyline.

Here's the high concept this time round.  On this world, Warlock tried to save Cypher from dying of the Legacy Virus by merging their bodies together.  But things went horribly wrong and the result was a race of techno-organic "Vi-Locks."  Now humanity lives in fortified cities as the creatures overrun the world.

Now, is it just me or have we been here before?

We've had a world overrun by Sentinels.  We've had a world overrun by lizards.  We've had a world conquered by Skrulls.  We're only on issue #20, and two of those were multi-part stories.  And now here's yet another variation on "humanity hides from the terrifying monsters who control the planet."  It's getting a little tired.

Judd Winick is showing signs of the logic which plagued What If? - because it's an alternate reality and you can get away with changing the entire planet without interfering in other books' continuity, therefore you should do the most sweeping changes possible.  The law of diminishing returns is kicking in.

It doesn't help matters that the Exiles themselves serve as largely generic heroes in this story.  The Vi-Locks (not a great name, incidentally) aren't just backdrop, they're the story.  We're really supposed to be interested in yet another batch of world conquerors, and I simply can't bring myself to care.  Yes, it's quite cute to play off the Warlock/Cypher routine from the 1980s, but really, is there a point to any of this that wasn't in the last few "villains conquer the world" arcs?

We're back to Jim Calafiore on art, and he does a reasonable job with the notoriously difficult techno-organic design.  Warlock was a character design by Bill Sienkiewicz, and one of his most bizarre at that.  Most artists struggle to get the hang of it, but although the yellow colouring is a bit much, Calafiore incorporates it quite effectively into his style.

Nice looking, but the idea barrel is looking worryingly empty.

Rating: C

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