Sabretooth & The Exiles #5: Creed vs. Creed

SABRETOOTH & THE EXILES #5 is the pinnacle for sacrificing story quality for future quantity. Retroactively, it null and void the merits of the first four issues are null and void. As a finale, it isn’t enjoyable in its efforts to wrap up the series and its many plot lines. are

The series had led up to the reveal and return of Graydon Creed, who’d been pulling the strings behind the series’ central conflict. There was a lot of potential here for a reformed Victor Creed to face his now villainous son for a moment of true reconciliation, but all that is thrown away for the appearance of multiple multiversal Sabretooths (Sabreteeth?), which resolve the conflict almost instantaneously in a well-drawn but nearly superfluous action scene that holds no weight in the grand scheme of things. It had nothing to do with the story and is only here to lead directly into the confirmed third return of Sabretooth & The Exiles. It’s disappointing, convenient, and downright dreadful. Nanny gets some great moments to shine, but the entirety of the team has little to do besides spout needed narrative dialogue or dress up the panels. The Exiles themselves get a couple of pages to resolve their story regarding the Stations and gaggle of mutant children they rescued. Still, even then, the resolution is rushed and unfocused. It ends with Nekra threatening to kill Victor if he returns to harm the kids, which makes no sense as in the last issue, he rallies them together for inspiration.

It writes over his potential development to secure whatever the next mini-series may be, which is detestable. The multiverse and sacrifice of quality resolution to keep feeding the masses with content have grown into a detestable trope that is diluting the quality of big two comics across the board. This isn’t to say Lavalle is a lousy writer. He injected a lot of quality themes and character writing for Victor and the rest of the Exiles throughout this series, and to see it all thrown away at the finish line is irritating beyond belief. That being said, some quality art is behind the narrative, provided by Leonard Kirk’s pencils and Rain Beredo’s colors.