X years later, as a result of the actions of Rogue Red and Storm, an ancient evil has been let loose upon the world. Sorcerers are meeting their brutal ends. Magical defenses from many Marvel mystics prove futile. With the help of the disgraced sorcerer Daniel Drumm, Rogue Red and Storm will face the ancient evil one final time. Rogue Storm #3 is written by Murewa Ayodele; drawn by Roland Boschi; colored by Neeraj Menon, Fer Sifuentes-Sujo and Rachelle Rosenberg; and lettered by Travis Lanham.
In the age of the ever prevalent, omnipresent self-diagnosis, it feels like almost everyone thinks they have ADHD, including me. I’ve never had a proper diagnosis, much less any formal treatment, but that’s besides the point: We say we have these maladies to explain and excuse our quirks and behaviors, not to change them. For change would require real introspection and work, and who wants to do that?
Not me. Maybe not Ayodele either. Not that anything’s wrong with that.
As we close out the “Age of Revelation” sidestory of Rogue Storm, we’re faced with the same issues we saw in Storm’s eponymous solo series: too much going on and too little time to explain it all.
There’s also lots of death: We have dead X-Men (well, dead X-Force), a dead Daniel Drumm, a dying Rogue, a bunch of dead magicians hanging from stakes, a possibly dead demon, and maybe a dead Storm.
The macabre aside, the nonlinear storytelling employed here doesn’t help matters at all. The time changes, the use of “X years from now” — all this feels a bit unnecessary. I’m a writer, so I get it: Sometimes we get a great idea, and we just have to see if we can execute it. It’s a challenge to ourselves to see if we can do it, and to Ayodele’s credit, he pulls it off. But to paraphrase a wise movie scientist, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Rogue Storm would have benefited from a more streamlined cast and narrative device.
Still, Rogue Storm #3 has more than a few great moments: The opening salvo, where we see Ororo’s magical might coming though in full force, is wonderful, seamlessly connecting established Marvel gods with that of West African lore to provide Storm with powers both unexpected and destructive. The art throughout blends well with the jittery narrative, providing enough surrealism to illustrate petty and destructive gods alongside mournful and sorrowful humans. Rogue Red’s story feels a bit extraneous here, and I’m not sure there was enough space to make the clone Rogue Red feel different from her core Rogue Green (better names would help). Still, her moment with Gambit felt earned, and at least she was able to get some modicum of closure.
That’s more than I can say for Storm.
Again, we see her wrung through the gauntlet. Again, we see her serve her body up for someone else’s benefit (this time Rogue Red). Again, she’s off to face a god who took her humanity, though we never really get enough sense to make her feel human in the text. I get that her story likely has to be wrapped up in the final “Age of Revelation” story, but still, it’s a shame we get so little resolution for her here at the end of her story. With so much going on, would it have been too much to give her a more definitive (and maybe even kind) conclusion?
“Age of Revelation” as a whole feels underwhelming and unnecessary. These stories aren’t really great, and their short arcs don’t give any potential greatness time to breathe. It’s almost certain none of these events will stick into the new year, and none of them feel memorable enough that I’d yearn for them to do so. Still, there’s a place for fun character explorations; alternate universes and timelines are fodder for figuring out new and inventive ways to twist what we know about characters. So I guess it’s most disappointing that everyone we see here acts exactly how we’d expect them to, be it a bold Rogue or a selfless Storm.
Still, though it’s very busy and maybe not very permanent, Rogue Storm does some interesting things in a visually appealing way. Though a lot is going on, the core of the story, familiar as it is, is still worth reading. I just hope your ADHD allows you enough focus to peer through the extraneous to see that core. That kind of focus isn’t a given.
Just ask me.
Buy Rogue Storm #3 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
