CHRONOLOGY
Earth-2600 is one of the many realities in which the Sentinels won, at least initially. Like in Days of Future Past, the Mutant Registration Act was passed, which led inevitably into the rise of the Sentinels. They came for the mutants first, who were rounded up and massacred or imprisoned. Later, all other superhumans were targeted. Years went by with new alliances forming between different factions, though eventually all surviving mutants and any humans with mutagenic potential were rounded up and put in camps. The cost of this war desiccated the world, damaging the climate, with the remaining humans living in ruins of cities. Society was on the verge of collapse. Some incarnation of the X-Men and the Fantastic Four had existed, as Rachel Summers and Franklin Richards had both been born to Cyclops and Jean Grey and Reed and Susan Richards respectively. The two had a child of their own, David, but both parents seemed to die shortly after his birth, and he was imprisoned in a Sentinel camp in Florida.
By the time David was six, salvation came from outside of reality. The Exiles and Weapon-X were two groups of superhuman conscripts from different timelines, all under the control of an enigmatic being called the Timebroker. The groups were required to complete missions to correct realities. Initially, they were told to free David to save the world. They attacked in force. While they did not liberate the entire camp, they rescued David and 13 other mutant children. The children got their first taste of freedom and the two teams’ teammates celebrated. The group's leaders, Blink and Sabretooth, got clarification on their mission nearby, that they had to kill David Richards.
[Note: Blink and Sabretooth were both from the Age of Apocalypse timeline (Earth-295). Sabretooth in this reality had reformed and joined the X-Men. At a later point, he fostered Blink following the death of her family.]
David's powers would eventually allow him to take out the Sentinels worldwide, he would free the world. However, given his immense power, coupled with the trauma of the years of mistreatment, he would become a despot and enslave it. Ironically, the humans had brought into existence the very scenario they had created the Sentinels to avoid. Blink refused to comply with the mission and told her paramour, Mimic, what she had been instructed to do. The Vision, a member of Weapon-X, heard this, thanks to his cybernetic senses. He instructed the rest of Weapon-X to kill the child. Sabretooth, however, betrayed his teammates to side with Blink, who teleported the Exiles and all the children away multiple times in quick succession to try and fool Vision's senses. It didn't work and Vision managed to track them to their new location anyway.
Blink teleported the children out of range again while the Exiles and Weapon-X fought. The skirmish triggered a Sentinel attack, though Blink returned to rescue both teams. Luckily for David and the other children, the battle had tired-out Weapon-X, who were not immediately in the “killing” mood. During the detente, Sabretooth had come to a decision he had agreed with the Timebroker, that he would remain in the reality to raise David and the other children. He would turn them into an army and, under his guidance, David would become a hero, not a villain. Blink tearfully said goodbye to her father figure and wished him luck. [Exiles (1st series) #12-13]
20 years went by. Initially it was hard, as Sabretooth could only do his best to hide the children and prevent them being imprisoned or killed. As they grew and their powers developed, he trained them and they became a militia that pushed back against the Sentinel forces. He had grown to love David but was concerned that this would not be enough to prevent his turn to darkness. Still, he couldn't help but be proud as David came into his own, becoming a global leader of the mutant race, co-coordinating a decade plan to destroy all Sentinel factories. On the eve of their final assault, Blink was teleported back to Sabretooth's side. David was distrustful of her and seemingly jealous. He used his telepathy to read her mind to see if she was a spy. This raised alarm bells with Blink but she couldn't help but be impressed by David's sheer power and effectiveness. During their last battle with the Sentinels, he psi-linked all their forces and singlehandedly destroyed 84 Sentinels.
This victory was not enough for David. He wanted vengeance. He told his forces that the next day they would deal with the true disease afflicting the Earth. He then manhandled Blink, as Sabretooth told him to get off her. David hit Sabretooth with a psi-bolt, incapacitating him while forcing Blink to teleport them away. David and found a group of humans hiding in a bunker in Virginia. They had secretly been controlling the Sentinels and the camps. David wanted them punished and forced Blink to use her teleportation powers to torture them before killing them in gruesome ways. He kept her under his control for days, while forcing her to kill more and more humans. Sabretooth eventually managed to find them and, using an psi-inhibitor to hide himself, he was able to sneak up on David and rip out his heart. Sabretooth had loved David like a son, so doing this broke his own heart. [Exiles (1st series) #59]
Sabretooth and Blink became fugitives, though Blink was soon taken out of reality again to return to the Exiles. [Exiles (1st series) #37] Sabretooth was not so lucky and continued to run from his own students for an unspecified period of time. They wanted blood, as to them, David had been a hero cut down by “traitors.” However, Blink and the Exiles returned to Earth-2600 and Sabretooth left with them. [Exiles (1st series) #59] What will become of this world is unknown but, given that David simply perpetuated the circle of violence and hatred started by mankind, it seems likely that his followers will follow in his footsteps.
CHARACTERS:
X-Men: Cyclops, Jean Grey (deceased)
Likely members: Beast and Iceman (seen killed or imprisoned by the Sentinels, presumably deceased by modern day regardless), Blue skinned/green haired woman (possibly an incorrectly colored Polaris or Storm)
Unclear Status: Rachel Summers (deceased) – while her existence is confirmed, the X-Men may have been defunct before she had a chance to join [Exiles (1st series) #12]
Fantastic Four: Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman (deceased)
Unclear Status: Franklin Richards (deceased) – like with Rachel, the Fantastic Four was likely defunct before Franklin had a chance to join any incarnation. [Exiles (1st series) #12]
David's Mutant Resistance:
The core of David Richards resistance movement were the other 13 freed mutant children, as seen in Exiles (1st series) #12-13. However, as the children were depicted rather inconsistently even within those two issues, we will be focusing on their adult counterparts only.
Richards, David
First Appearance: Exiles (1st series) #12
Powers: Uncharted mental strength includes expressions of telepathy and telekinesis
Notes:
- While not expressly stated, David was likely an Omega level mutant.
- He had a lot of similarities to another child of Rachel Summers and Franklin Richards, the villain Hyperstorm.
- He appeared to manifest the Phoenix Force at some points, meaning the ability to self-resurrect may be within his purview.
Smokey
First Appearance: Exiles (1st series) #59
Powers: Flight and Pyrokinesis
Notes:
- Smokey attacked the Exiles when they journeyed back to Earth-2600. He was the only one of their pursuers who was named. He was just as angry as the rest of the mob and wanted Sabretooth and Blink's blood for David's death.
- He was seen among the mutants who took part in the final assault on the Sentinel forces.
- It was unclear if he was part of the initial liberated batch of children.
Brown haired flyers with white eyes
Powers: Flight
Notes:
- Neither character was named but, as they had the same hair color and clear eyes and seemed to have the same powerset (they could both fly), they may have been siblings/twins.
Brown haired man with elf ears
Powers: None displayed, elven appearance
Notes:
- He seemed to be leading the group after the death of David.
Blonde man with bat wings
Powers: Winged flight
Notes:
- He was seen taking part in the final battle against the Sentinels and was part of David's war council.
- He wore a visor. Whether this connected to an unseen ability or just for “fashion” is unknown.
Red Haired Woman
Powers: Flight, pyrotechnics?
Notes:
She took part in the final battle against the Sentinels and was part of David's war council.
She seemed to be a pyrotechnic and was seen shooting what appeared to be flames from her hands.
African American male
Powers: Flight
Notes:
- He was seen taking part in the final battle against the Sentinels and was part of David's war council.
Bull Headed Mutant
Powers: Had an animal form, presumably increased strength and durability
Notes:
- Seen taking part in the final battle against the Sentinels and was part of David's war council.
- Was presumably close to David during childhood, as he was shown playing with him.