Fugitive Charles Xavier seeks refuge in the Storm Sanctuary, Ororo Munroe’s floating home in Atlanta, and the Alaskan X-Men take notice. Will Storm and the X-Men join forces with Professor X to prevent his return to prison, or will they fall victim to opposing views that will send X-Men against X-Men in a bloody brawl to the death? Storm #6 is written by Murewa Ayodele, drawn by Luciano Vecchio, colored by Alex Guimaraes and Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettered by Travis Lanham.
It comes for us all, like a thief in the night. Slowly at first, with disappearances at the margins of our understanding. Bit by bit, little by little, until one day, we awake and realize:
We’ve lost our cool.
We are out of touch.
We are old.
I worked at a high school 10 years ago. In previous years I could bond with students over shared culture and music, but now? They liked people and things I had no interest in, if I even knew them. And I, raised by the Soulquarians, had interests that they deemed, well …
Old.
Now, of course, old doesn’t mean bad, and many of us older folk would do well to realize that new doesn’t mean bad either. But differences are differences. Some things, while perfectly good, might not just be for us.
And that’s OK.
Storm #6, if nothing else, reminds me of those waning days of cool. Yes, of course a floating sanctuary (that apparently only has farm animals and the Zulu mutant Maggott acting as zookeeper?) that transforms into a spaceship is cool. Spaceships are cool, transforming is cool, and, well, Zulus are cool. (I’m from New Orleans, and I’m writing this on Mardi Gras — different Zulus but still.)
And Storm! Storm is cool, even when she’s making guacamole for an on-the-run Charles Xavier. She looks amazing in her natural state, relaxed as she coyly promises to aid the professor after he broke out of prison. Prison breaks are cool! Aiding the (not so) wrongly incarcerated is cool! Suiting up in a new black armor? Amazingly cool!
As is du jour for X-Men comics in the “From the Ashes” era, of course there’s an intra-mutant fight with Cyclops’ X-Men, hellbent on keeping Xavier locked up. And of course it looks cool! Luciano Vecchio may be one of Storm’s best character artists. His illustrations, especially the fights, look amazing, well laid out, energetic and frantic without being confusing.
This all looks so good. So cool!
And when Eternity, sensing Storm is on the brink of losing (likely because she’s holding back to spare hurting her friends) takes over, it all looks (you guessed it) cool! She peels out of the armor and immediately overwhelms her competition, freezing Cyclops’ eyes, cracking Juggernaut’s helmet and pushing the X-Men (save for Beast, hidden away in the annals of the ship’s engine room) down to Utopia.
Man, this was cool!
Too bad I’m not cool anymore.
One of the things I appreciated about the best of Krakoan era comics was the more you thought about them — the more you peeled back the layers — the better the comics were. Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men, Victor LaValle’s Sabretooth, Vita Ayala’s New Mutants — all series that combined the cool of pop comics with dialogue and themes that invited larger discussions and endless thought.
I wouldn’t advise thinking too much here.
Because if I think, then I ask questions. Like did Xavier apologize directly to Storm, given he forcefully tried to assault her mind without her permission during Krakoa? Did he admit he was wrong? Did he — doesn’t he — owe more than a few quips if he’s going to ask for a favor? Doesn’t Storm deserve to ask for more if she’s going to go to war for him against her own mutant brother and sisters?
And this sanctuary — why is it so empty? We know mutants are again “hated and feared,” so why have we not seen more mutants — or more anyone — in this space the size of a few city blocks? Only Moo Deng (all my homies hate Moo Deng). If it can move, then why has it not moved to where it’s been needed, as opposed to hovering over the capital of the New South?
And as the matron of a sanctuary, and a practitioner of community, why is Storm’s first reaction to fight? If no one else understands the danger of Xavier like Cyclops, she does. Why does she not lead with words, but with fists? (Because fists and lightning bolts and optic blasts look better on page, I know.)
I understand that characters speak with fists in comic books — trust me, I get it, and in many ways I like it. I understand that the X-Manhunt miniseries is meant to bring the X-Men into conflict with each other as they all ruminate on Xavier’s place as a leader and person worthy of respect.
But here, the concept feels regressive and repressive: Storm, an object, not a subject, barely articulates her feelings or motivations. She is simply a means for power to be executed. The X-Men feel one note, with opportunities for discussion and comparison overlooked. As Xavier was to Cyclops, Storm is to Temper (I hate that name); and yet that interesting, previously set up (See: Avengers) comparison and conflict was eschewed for a rote laser beam fight.
Then again, maybe I’m looking at this wrong. Maybe rote laser beam fights are the point.
A few days ago, I caught an interview from a burgeoning musician. The son of a well known rapper, he was explaining why he chose rock as his preferred genre, as opposed to something more hip-hop adjacent. After watching Bohemian Rhapsody, he was inspired to learn more about Freddie Mercury, and from there, he decided he found his passion.
Sometimes simplicity is enough. Sometimes accessibility supersedes story.
At ComicsXF, we do not give comics a numerical rating. Rather we judge them as they are, for what they are. I try to use Roger Ebert’s metric for giving stars: You judge the work based on what it’s trying to be, not against the entirety of what has been.
All to say Storm is a beautifully illustrated comic that shows a strong Black female character as its lead. It’s easy to follow, easy to understand and allows an audience only vaguely familiar with X-Men comics an accessible entry point for both the X-line and the genre. It does what it needs to do, and it does *that* well.
But as a fan of cerebral, dialogue-first works, as a fan of character autonomy, as a lover of Krakoan-era community and continuity, I continue to find this work frustrating — not because it’s bad, but because the seeds of something much better are visible.
And because those seeds are visible, that means they’re not planted.
And because those seeds are not planted, they will yield no fruit for me.
Thus, while I freely admit this comic is cool, I must also bluntly admit that I’m cool on the comic.
Two things can be true simultaneously: A work can be good for some, and disappointing for others. Unfortunately, I am “others.” Yet I will continue to read in hopes that those visible seeds are planted and watered, yielding a comic that will be just as cool for the intended audience as it will be for me.
Buy Storm #6 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
A proud New Orleanian living in the District of Columbia, Jude Jones is a professional thinker, amateur photographer, burgeoning runner and lover of Black culture, love and life. Magneto and Cyclops (and Killmonger) were right. Learn more about Jude at SaintJudeJones.com.
