I’m starting to write this review before I’ve read this issue to give a little background. This is a bit of an impulse buy for me. I’ll state up front that I’ve never been a particular fan of Storm. It’s not that I had anything against her, but I’m not a huge fan of the X-Men in general. Growing up, I was mostly a DC Comics fan, and I didn’t start reading some X-Men comics until I was an adult. I got the complete runs of Grant Morrison, Joe Casey, and Joss Whedon because I liked those readers, and I enjoyed them, but it should be noted that Storm wasn’t on the main team during those runs. My biggest experience reading comics with Storm is probably when she was married to Black Panther and appeared in his title. But seeing this issue for sale on Amazon, I thought, why not give it a shot? I’ve always wanted to see more Black superheroes get the spotlight in mainstream comics, so let’s see how this is.

Since I haven’t been reading any recent X-Men titles, I’m only somewhat aware of some of the broad strokes of current continuity regarding the whole “Krakoan Age” storyline that ran through the past five years of X-Men titles and recently ended. So I’m going into this story pretty blind, as it were. I’m also completely unfamiliar with the writing of Murewa Ayodele or with the artist Lucas Werneck. So I don’t know what to expect from them either.

Alright, I’m going to read it now, and then I will give my thoughts.

Well, to start with, I can say that it is relatively new reader-friendly. I was caught up pretty quickly on what Storm is up to, I don’t know all the details of recent history, but enough is revealed here to follow along with this story. It opens with Storm about to give some big press conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where she’s opened something called The Storm Sanctuary, which is a big floating HQ with a mini jungle/zoo, complete with animals like giraffes and hippopotamuses inside of it. Nationwide, Mutant bigotry is down, and Storm, in particular, is seen as a hero/celebrity because of her actions during a disaster in Oklahoma.

The book then flashes back a week to show us this disaster. An explosion at a local nuclear power plant in Oklahoma has caused widespread devastation in the neighboring city, and Stom arrives on the scene, along with another mutant, a Black woman called Frenzy (whom I remember used to be a villain), to give aid. The two of them rescued as many citizens as they could, with Storm using her powers in some interesting new ways to contain the damage. Then Storm makes her way to the power plant and finds that the cause of the explosion inside was actually caused by the powers of a young mutant boy who’s powers manifested unexpectedly beyond his ability to control them.

Storm gets the boy under control, and a cover story is created that blames the power plant’s explosion on the fact that the workers there were using some kind of alien tech that malfunctioned. This is what led the public to consider aliens an even bigger threat to humanity than mutants and to praise mutants like Storm for being there to protect them against extraterrestrial threats.

But this also makes people blame the nuclear power plant workers for messing with alien technology beyond their control. This makes Storm feel guilty, as she thinks it’s a disservice to the memories of the deceased, but if she tells the truth about what happened, it could reignite anti-mutant bigotry even bigger than before, putting innocent mutants at risk. So, jumping back to the present, as Storm prepares to give her press conference to announce how she plans to use her Storm Sanctuary as a base to protect the planet, does she continue the lie or reveal the truth?

NO SPOILERS, READ IT FOR YOURSELF TO FIND OUT.

Storywise, Storm’s courage as she risks her life during the rescue mission in Oklahoma and the revelation about the moral dilemma she faces afterward are handled well. It’s early, but Ayodele seems to have captured Storm’s “voice.” Werneck’s artwork is beautiful. If this creative team can maintain and improve upon the level of quality that they display here, I think they’ll have a hit on their hands.

Chacebook Rating: FOUR STARS

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