Storm and Erik Face the Shadow King in “Resurrection of Magneto” Issue 3 – Review

Writer Al Ewing had Storm and Erik face the Shadow King in the penultimate chapter of the Resurrection of Magneto mini-story.

This has been a great week for Storm fans. Not only was Ororo Munroe showcased impressively in the two-episode premiere of the X-Men ’97 animated series on Disney+, but she demonstrated an amazing feat during the Resurrection of Magneto issue 3.

With rumblings about Storm’s possible future in the upcoming post-Krakoan era making me nervous, I’m going to try and enjoy what I can get before the incoming changes that are set to take place across the entire X-Men comic book line later this year. In a sense, no matter what the X-Office decides to do with Storm in a couple of months, I’m grateful for Ewing concluding Ororo’s current arc on a high note.

After helping Magneto understand the importance of choosing life (the world needed him!), the previous chapter had Storm and Mags come face to face with the Shadow King. Already a formidable foe, facing him in the Astral Plane wasn’t going to be easy. Storm and Mags have telepathy as their mutant gift. But what they do have is a whole lot of willpower and conviction that can make certain telepaths sweat.

Storm has demonstrated incredible resistance against psychic attacks over the years and Mag’s can put up a fight too. So, it was nice to see how Ewing played to their individual strengths to counter the Shadow King, who was opting for trickery and other mind games to get the two leads to succumb to the darkness.

Shadow King’s battle with Erik took the shape of a game of chess with the enemy appearing as Charles Xavier. I really liked the point Ewing had Erik make about why he decided to name his team the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to push a certain point about oppressors applying labels to the oppressed. Their conversation led to Erik facing the extremist version of himself from the past.

As for Storm, the Shadow King had her face… get ready for it… Adversary, Annihilation, Le Bete Noir, First Fallen, and the Goblin Force. Let that sink in. Ewing had Storm face a version of cosmic-level entities (not only comparable to the Phoenix but certain entities being oppositional forces to the Phoenix) all at once by her freaking self!

The Omega-level Mutant Goddess really is the Omega’s Omega. She’s in a league of her own.

Of course, being Ewing, Storm’s battle was both a physical and a mental one, with her refusing to be caged by the First Fallen and defeating Annihilation’s OP persuasive voice.

Erik’s victory was cemented with him accepting his past self and looking forward to creating a better future for everyone while Ororo’s victory was about seeing through the Shadow King’s traps and realizing that she doesn’t have to face all of the world’s troubles alone.

Ewing’s narrative during his X-Men Red comic book series has been about Storm highlighting the importance of teamwork and how everyone has a role to play to the people of Arakko. That particular narrative thread continued in the Resurrection of Magneto with Ororo teaming up with Erik to face the Shadow King. As Storm put it, terms like teamwork, solidarity, friendship, and love were considered weaknesses to demons. But not her.

Again, take note, Storm can do a whole lot on her own if need be. However, Storm’s character is about finding balance and uplifting everyone around her. 

Ororo and Mag’s attack against the Shadow King called back to the mutant circuit they created during X-Men Red with Storm feeding her life force to him. The same mutant circuit again came into play when Erik fed his life force to Ororo to help her return to the physical realm alive.

As for the Shadow King, beings like him can never truly die. But it was still fun to see the two Omega-level mutants taking him out of the picture for a bit.

With how the chapter concluded, I take it the fourth and final issue will be about Mags and Storm entering the battlefield to take on Orchis. And after that will begin a new era for the X-Men line. Whether said era will do justice to Magneto and Storm… well, I don’t have high hopes.

As for the art. The pencils were by Luciano Vecchio with colors by David Curiel and Jesus Aburtov. The art team did a good job of visualizing the Ororo and Mag’s various facial expressions and the impact of their powers. The black background of the panels made the blue lightning and electromagnetic waves pop.

Now, I get that certain readers have brought up criticism about the current story being predictable. And while I’m all about twists and turns, I’m okay with the story being predictable in this case. I mean, the entire premise of such a mini-story is Ororo bringing Magneto to the land of the living. Of course, they will be victorious against whatever challenges they face.

Anyway, what did you think of the Resurrection of Magneto 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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary