Since he was first sighted by the government-sponsored incarnation of X-Factor, Exodus, who may have lived for several hundred years, has acted as an unquestioning follower of Magneto and fanatic leader of the Acolytes, a remorseful peacemaker seeking to end the Genoshan civil war and, finally, as the leader of a group of mutant criminals with a grudge against the X-Men. Throughout all of his varied incarnations, Exodus has displayed a fragile psyche, as well as a fundamental disregard for the lives of regular humans. Exodus at one point held his own against the combined forces of the Avengers and the X-Men, in spite of not yet having realized his full potential. Presumed to be one of the most powerful mutants on Earth, Exodus' mental instability and lack of morals make him an unpredictable, extremely dangerous individual.
The Beginning
Bennet du Paris was a Frenchman who fought alongside Eobar Garrington, the Black Knight of the 12th century and warrior in the Crusades. Bennet and Eobar were close friends, but they parted ways when Bennet set out to explore a legend of the lost pharaoh in Egypt. Bennet found himself tested by En Sabah Nur, the immortal mutant also known as Apocalypse, who helped unleash Bennet's own mutant powers. Apocalypse christened him "Exodus" and made him his servant. Apocalypse tested Exodus by setting him against the time traveling
Avengers Sersi and the
Black Knight (Dane Whitman) possessing the body of Eobar. The Avengers convinced Exodus that he was little more than a pawn to Apocalypse, and he turned on his master. Apocalypse punished him for his foolish mistake by imprisoning him in the Swiss Alps.
The Savior Appears
Exodus remained in his stasis prison until recent years when the mutant supremacist Magneto revived him. Exodus gave himself over to Magneto's cause with intense fervor. As Magneto took control of the space station Graymalkin, renaming it Avalon. Exodus was sent to gather mutant followers. Among those assembled were a group called the
Acolytes, a sect of mutants who worshiped Magneto but they had been deceived by their traitorous leader
Fabian Cortez into thinking that Magneto had perished as a martyr. When Exodus revealed Magneto's survival and Cortez's duplicity, the Acolytes abandoned Cortez. Eventually, the
X-Men sent a strike force to Avalon to halt Magneto's ambitions. They teleported Exodus off the station to prevent his involvement. As a result of the battle, Magneto's mind was destroyed by
Charles Xavier, leaving him comatose.
The Servant Becomes the Master
Exodus assumed leadership of the Acolytes, claiming to speak on Magneto's behalf, even indulging in one-sided conversations with his master. When Fabian Cortez helped incite civil war amongst the mutants of Genosha, Exodus confronted and slew Cortez. Exodus then became engaged in battle with the X-Men and Avengers while simultaneously surrounding Genosha in a force field and inciting the mutants of Genosha to war, claiming vengeance upon the nation for its mistreatment of mutants within its borders. He also sought to kill Magneto's human granddaughter Luna for being a stain on Magneto's name. He was finally defeated when Xavier rendered the Black knight immune to Exodus' senses, allowing the Black Knight to strike him down from behind. Exodus returned to Avalon.
Enter the Evolutionary
Avalon was eventually destroyed by the mutant
Holocaust (the son of an alternate reality Apocalypse), and Exodus was cut off from both the Acolytes and the still-comatose Magneto. While seeking to hold on to leadership of the Acolytes, he raised some of their numbers from the dead, including Cortez. At one point, his leadership was threatened by Joseph, a clone of Magneto who was thought by many to be the real Magneto. Joseph rejected leadership of the Acolytes. Exodus later sought Isotope E, a creation of the
High Evolutionary which could master the evolutionary process. Allied with the High Evolutionary's nemesis the
Man-Beast, Exodus fought
Quicksilver and the
Heroes for Hire. He was eventually defeated by the Black Knight.
Mind Control
Magneto had since become the master of Genosha, but during his absence, Exodus stepped in and masqueraded as his one time master. No longer certain of which cause he believed in, Exodus forced
Forge to enhance his psychic powers to end the struggle between humans and mutants within Genosha by controlling their minds. The utopia Exodus fashioned came at a cost of the Genoshans' free will, and the X-Men finally forced him to abandon his mission. Later Exodus and his Acolytes allied themselves with
Mister Sinister's team of superhuman assassins the Marauders. During a confrontation with Emma Frost, Exodus was severely wounded by
Dust.
Divided We Stand
After the events of Messiah Complex, the mutant Exodus, along with his team of Acolytes, escaped with the critically wounded Xavier from the battlefield. Realizing that he would have to break Xavier's will in order to salvage his psyche, Exodus used his psionic abilities to strip bare Xavier's mind. When Xavier slips into a coma as a result, Exodus calls on the one man he knows can help rouse him. His former master, the depowered Magneto. After Magneto and
Karima manged to revive Xavier, he was attacked by
Frenzy. Magneto managed to defeat her by firing a high intensity laser into her brain and saving Xavier's life. Exodus became infuriated with the now human Magneto, and attacked him. Xavier challenged Exodus, thus saving the life of Magneto. Only time will tell who will win their battle.
