“Storm” Comic Book Issue 12 “Chapter 12: Thunder War Ends” – Review

Writer Murewa Ayodele brought the electrifying ‘Thunder War’ arc in the Storm solo series to a satisfying conclusion while setting things up for another challenge for the Weather Goddess.

With Hadad having made his way to Earth, Storm issue 12 had Ororo face him alone for the fate of the Marvel Universe. While I had always wanted the battle to be a solo one, I liked how Ayodele justified Storm being alone in front of an incredibly OP villain. The Avengers were off-planet to aid Black Panther due to some Shi’ar mess. Manifold was still recovering while Maggott was (allegedly) dead. And the issue opened with Jericho being confronted by Death’s minions as part of her plan to start an all-out war (which I’ll get to at the end of this review).

Another thing I liked was how Ayodele handled Storm’s conversation with Hadad before they began swapping hits. Hadad tried to justify his actions by wanting to appeal to Storm’s annoyance over being forced to become Eternity’s host. But as Ororo put it, there’s nothing Hadad could say to make her step aside and let Hadad do as he pleased.

One of the things fans have been hoping for was a fight between Thunder Gods that didn’t solely rely on hurling thunderbolts at each other. And Ayodele, along with his artist Mario Santoro, delivered in spades. Due to this battle being for the fate of all existence, it got downright dirty with Hadad throwing incredibly powerful punches and Storm biting Hadad’s freaking ear off!

Seeing Storm take Hadad’s jaw-breaking blow and being strong enough to rip his ear off in her BASE FORM had me smiling as a fan. I don’t want to hear any comment about how Storm’s a glass canon during online character battle discussions.

With Storm and Hadad being busy on Earth, Eternity spent his time trying to bargain with The One Above All to stop Hadad again. However, things were different now. Eternity, in his mission to be indomitable, had made the grave mistake of killing Oblivion before their next confrontation. The One Above All was understandably furious over losing one of his sons. Ayodele did an impressive job of giving TOAA a personality that mirrored a grieving father. But unlike human fathers, TOAA was unable to fully express his emotions because doing so could put all of creation and existence in danger.

Another interesting thing during Eternity and TOAA’s interaction was the layers being exhibited by having two creator beings conversing. In a way, Eternity was the closest to TOAA in nature. Similar to his father, Eternity’s all about creating things. However, from my understanding, Eternity had an unquenchable need to keep creating and expanding, while TOAA was about meaningful creations. This particular need is related to Eternity’s need to be indomitable. He was so focused on winning against Oblivion, it led him to create beings capable of becoming not only greater than himself, but having the audacity to challenge TOAA.

Also, with Eternity wanting to create to keep expanding, he’s not emotionally attached to his creations as TOAA might be. To Eternity, his creations, as well as the beings created by those entities (Gods, mutants, etc.) were all resources to be exploited for his cause. That’s why he felt it was okay to use Storm as his host without having a conversation with her.

It’s TOAA who helped Eternity realize that he has created beings he should be proud of. Storm was one such creation, even though Eternity didn’t consider her his masterpiece. So, while TOAA wasn’t going to step in to crush Hadad, he was okay with Eternity deciding to do something about Hadad himself. It was time for Eternity to face what he had created, his masterpiece, instead of continuing to be afraid of him.

Such good writing!

Coming back to Storm vs. Hadad, Thunder Gods Beta Ray Bill and Sugaar appeared to offer Ororo a breather. While the two were quickly defeated by Hadad, Storm got enough time to tap into her Black Vortex form, which also healed her injuries.

I don’t know if Black Vortex Storm would have been able to defeat Hadad, but Eternity did decide to finally appear. However, this time around, he asked Ororo for her permission to work together to face Hadad.

If I were to offer a criticism, I would say that the conversation between Storm and Eternity could have been visualized better, instead of being primarily through thought bubbles. I would have liked for Eternity and Storm to meet each other on some kind of cosmic astral plane to come to a hasty agreement to stop Hadad. But oh well.

With Eternal Storm continuing the fight, we got quick panels of Galactus and Silver Surfer Soot aiding the Thunder Gods over at Hjem Spíti, while Infinity felt a warmth in her heart after sensing Eternity’s return. And while Eternity wanted Storm to stall for Jean Grey Phoenix, Infinity, Never Queen, and the Scarlet Witch to appear to offer much-needed support, Ororo was all about ending the fight on her own ASAP. According to Ororo, there was no need to put their “sisters” in harm’s way.

Again, not relying on thunderbolts, Ayodele decided to explain what was actually happening when Ororo went all street fighter against Hadad. The physical feats were more than just brute strength. Storm was manipulating cosmic elements. According to Ayodele, Thunder Gods were capable of keeping their opponents glued to the surface of the planet by increasing the gravitational pull to match a black hole cluster. They could accelerate their speed and senses by controlling the electricity running through their synapses. Each punch held the atmospheric pressure rivaling the sun’s plasma core.

Online character battle forums featuring Storm are going to be so awesome after this issue! I can’t wait to see the reactions!

With Hadad being pummeled bloody by Eternal Storm, Hadad’s final appeal to Ororo was breaking the 4th wall and stating how their lives were basically nothing more than comic books being written for the amusement of others. Hadad wanted to end it all.

I mean, I know Storm’s been shown to realize that there’s more to the reality around her. But I don’t think she’s ready to accept being a fictional comic book character. At least, not yet.

But yeah, before Hadad could continue his speech, Eternity, being freaking Eternity, decided to betray Storm and kill Hadad, going against his promise to never forcefully take over her body and her decision to send Hadad into a pocket dimension housing some of the other Storm Gods instead of ending his life.

Narratively, things don’t go as planned for Thunder Gods. Not only that, but there are numerous stories of Creators messing with their creations, especially in Greek mythology. So, yeah, Ororo being betrayed by Eternity wasn’t unexpected. Some cosmic beings will never learn.

In a move to regain her authority, Ororo rejected Eternity from her very soul. Again, I wish the rejection was visualized on some kind of cosmic astral plane. I want to see Ororo and Eternity play tug of war.

Storm’s never going to trust Eternity (aka the Universe) again, and of course, that’s going to open the door for more character development. In a way, Storm and Hadad shared similarities when it came to their relationship with Eternity. And now, apparently, her lightning has turned black.

With the X-Men titles getting ready for the ‘Age of Revelation‘ event, Storm will next be seen in Rogue Storm by Ayodele, in which Ororo has been driven mad due to dark magic and grief in the near future. Threatening to bring about a new Ice Age, Rogue has to put together a team to stop Ororo.

Once the 3-issue Storm Rogue is done, Ororo will return for the second season by Ayodele under the title Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant in early 2026. That’s the series that will focus on Death wanting to unleash ‘The War Above All’ with Jericho as the Avatar of Death and her Battle General, as well as Ororo’s interaction with the Scarlet Witch. Yeah, Death’s seeking revenge because the Living Tribunal has dealt no punishment for Eternity defeating Death’s brother Oblivion.

Ayodele taking on Ororo Munroe has been an awesome time for Storm fans. And I’m ready to see what he will have the Hadari Yao go through next!

What did you think of Storm issue 12? Are you excited about Rogue Storm?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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