Comic Book Reviews (Week December 17, 2025): Rogue Storm Issue 3, Exquisite Corpses Issue 8, and More!

Hey, folks! I’m here with my comic book reviews for the week of December 17, 2025. I read Rogue Storm issue 3, Exquisite Corpses issue 8, and X-Men Book of Revelation chapter 3. Let’s dig in!

Of course, I have to open with Rogue Storm issue 3 by writer Murewa Ayodele. Serving as a 3-issue tie-in with the current ‘Age of Revelation’ event, the story is set 10 years in the future, featuring a very dark version of Storm as she prepares to face off against the evil Eegun. The ‘Rogue’ part of the title relates to Ororo tapping into her Rogue form as well as the role played by Rogue Red.

Fans have been wanting a Marvel writer to explore Ororo Munroe’s rich magical heritage, and Ayodele kind of delivered. I say kind of because there’s only so much that can explored in just three chapters of a tie-in book. However, you can tell that seeds have been sown for Ayodele to return to some of the current ideas in his upcoming Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant solo series in February 2026. That particular story will have Ororo fighting Death’s War, and you know she needs to polish up her magical skills to ensure victory, or at least survival. The current issue had Ororo vastly improve upon the Sands of Nisati, increasing the limit of the spell for three minutes to a whopping 60 minutes. So, Ororo’s got it in her to change the nature of magic.

The finale jumped around three timelines to bring everything together. We got to see what led to Ororo swallowing Eegun after 10 days of constant battling in the past and then proceeding to imprisoning herself to keep Eegun under control. We got to see Rogue Red’s final wish as she realized her imminent death after helping Eegun escape. And we got to witness Ororo enacting her plan to fight the devilish being in a mindscape where magic couldn’t be used.

I mean, would I have liked to have seen Ororo and Eegun duke it out by casting numerous spells at each other, with both trying to find the slightest opportunity to gain the upper hand? Yes, I would have. But then again, there’s only so much that can be accomplished in three issues with a bunch of pivotal characters to handle.

However, that’s not to say that Rogue Storm issue 3 lacked in action and blood. There was indeed plenty of gore as Ayodele connected Ororo to her magical ancestry, which included Oshtur (Founder of the Vishanti), Ayesha (the First Sorcerer Supreme), and Ashake (who refined the Shadow Path magic system). Ororo’s ancestors have been scattered across multiple books through Marvel history. So, kudos to Ayodele for putting in the much-required work to connect the dots and lay the groundwork for future Marvel writers wanting to explore Ororo as a character.

Due to her “mutant” abilities being stolen by Rogue Red, Storm focused on embracing her Godhead via magic, specifically by using the Shadow Path. It’s a magic system that allowed mortal beings to tap into the power of Gods. The panel of Primal Storm engulfed in flames, standing tall amongst the bodies of her enemies… amazing!

Major points to artist Roland Boschi and color artists Neeraj Menon, Fer Sifuentes-Sujo & Rachelle Rosenberg. This isn’t a conventionally “pretty” comic book. And that plays in the favor of such a dark story. There’s so much death! I loved it!

As for expanding on Eegun. Apparently, as long as there’s conflict and evil in the world, he will continue to exist. His power levels are off the charts. I can’t wait to see what Ayodele does with him next. Ororo was in dire need of such a threatening adversary.

One of the core concepts of Storm as a hero and a Goddess is her protective nature and wanting to preserve life. Though she turned toward a dark path, her intentions were to defeat Eegun. I liked how Ayodele explored Primal Ororo without throwing away her humanity. Even during her final moments, she still served her role as a Goddess who answered prayers, specifically Rogue Red’s dying prayer about her wanting more time with her loved ones.

While I don’t particularly care for Gambit and Rogue Red, I appreciated how their relationship dynamic connected to Storm’s battle with Eegun. As Ayodele put it, “The greatest Gods offer themselves as living sacrifices,” and Storm is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest Gods in Marvel Comics.

Does it have queer characters? No.

Recommendation: PICK IT UP!

X-Men Book of Revelation Chapter 3

From writer Jed MacKay and artist Netho Diaz, X-Men Book of Revelation Chapter 3 had Revelation and Elbecca come face-to-face after a whole bunch of twists and turns. I wasn’t expecting Elbecca to be revealed to be a spy in the previous issues. That’s why I was very excited to see how her story would play out during the finale. And I have to say that MacKay didn’t disappoint.

Turns out that Elbecca, or Virta the Subtle, was sent to Earth to infiltrate Revelation’s inner circle on Apocalypse’s command. Her objective was to sow a seed to open an Arakko gate for Apocalypse and his army to attack Revelation. Even though most of the comic book was focused on a conversation between Revelation and Elbecca, it was a very intriguing conversation, showcasing MacKay’s talent to portray Cypher as a well-written villain.

We all know that Cypher isn’t the most powerful mutant out there. Even he knows that. And he’s okay with it. However, what he isn’t down with was allowing the warrior mindset of the Arakki mutants about wanting mutant supremacy, including killing mutants deemed weak.

Even though I haven’t been keeping up with the main titles in the ‘Age of Revelation’ event, I think X-Men Age of Revelation was enough to help fill the blanks for me. I don’t know if Cypher’s ultimate goal was shared in the main titles or not, but the current issue gave me what I needed to see what he was up to.

From my understanding, Cypher’s inspired by Ego the Living Planet. According to him, Ego the Living Planet was the perfect example of how the weak and strong could live together. Cypher was working toward connecting every living being inside of himself, serving as the only host of whatever’s left alive after the upcoming war. It’s not the most original idea for a villain, reminding me of how certain alien species are into absorbing organic matter. However, I wasn’t expecting Cypher’s grand plan to be something similar. Having said that, I can understand why he came to such a conclusion when wanting to enact his notion of creating a possibility where the weak and strong lived in harmony.

With Cypher expecting a mole, of course, he had a plan in place to counter someone like Elbecca. Seeing her be injured by Cypher was kind of sad. At least, she’s not dead. Yet.

It looks like I just might have to buy the ‘Age of Revelation’ finale to see how Cypher’s stopped, especially with Apocalypse and his warriors having entered his realm.

Does it have queer characters? No.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Exquisite Corpses Issue 8

From writers Pornsak Pichetshote and James Tynion IV along with artists Adam Gorham and Michael Walsh, Exquisite Corpses issue 8 forced some of the civilians of Oak Valley to finally fight back against professional killers to ensure their survival.

The previous chapter ended on a fiery cliffhanger, causing a whole lot of chaos. Chapter 8 opened with the rich families asking the Gamemaster to get the cameras working again. They wanted to know which families were still in play. I liked how the Gamemaster was worried about his life. Yes, he was “running” the show. But he was quickly made to realize that if the tournament didn’t continue as expected, the rich families weren’t above killing him.

As for the twists, I wasn’t expecting the Lone Gunman to die. He was kind of set up to be a player who could have made it all the way to the finale, while helping some of the civilians along the way. So, yeah, I definitely went “WTF?” when I saw an injured Lone Gunman asking Laura to take his gun and do what she could to stop the killers. Another “WTF?” moment was how Laura was revealed to be an army medic. I mean, in hindsight, that would explain her (more or less) keeping her cool during such a dangerous predicament. I’m here for it.

Exquisite Corpses has been exploring Laura as a character and issue 8 wasn’t any different. We got to learn about her wanting to be bigger than Oak Valley and how she was her father’s daughter, when it came to her connection to the town and being prepared to do what was necessary to end things. I highly doubt she can make it all the way to the rich families. But hey, even surviving the killers still left in Oak Valley would be an impressive feat at this point.

Along with Laura becoming proactive, we got to see Audrey being forced to murder a killer while searching for her kid. I want to see more people taking it upon themselves to attack the killers who wouldn’t give a second thought to striking them down.

A visually interesting moment featured Pretty Boy surviving the blast but not without a lot of burned skin. He’s not “Pretty Boy” anymore and I liked how frustrated he got about his current state, especially after being a character who seemed to have kept his cool, compared to some of the other killers.

As for the queer romantic couple Xavi and Craig, we had Xavi running into the corn maze in search of Craig. He did find his boyfriend, but it was too late. Craig had succumbed to his injuries. Yet another moment I wasn’t expecting. I mean, I was prepared for at least one of the boyfriends to be killed, but I wasn’t prepared for one of them to die without the other being nearby and the two sharing a final goodbye. I still have my fingers crossed that Craig will somehow return. Maybe Xavi was unable to detect a pulse because of the intensity of the situation? I can hope!

With only a handful of major characters left on the board, let’s see who makes it out alive once the sun rises.

Does it have queer characters? Yes.

Recommendation: PICK IT UP!

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Which comic books did you read this week? What did you think of Rogue Storm issue 3?

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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