“Storm” Comic Book Issue 4 “Chapter 4: A Flame in the Wind” – Review

Storm issue 4, titled ‘A Flame in the Wind’, made Ororo go through her highly telegraphed “death” in an emotionally packed dinner with Doom.

With Doctor Voodoo having made a deal with an ancient spirit to cure Storm’s body of radiation poisoning, I was hoping to learn more about said ancient spirit. The latest chapter opened with a recap to share the spirit’s name. It was called Eegun, and Ororo better not use her mutant abilities for seven days or else the pact would break and Eegun would demand payment.

Of course, with Ororo accepting Doom’s invitation to have dinner at his castle on the seventh day, you knew something was going to force Storm to use her weather-manipulating mutant ability. And that’s exactly what happened. Writer Murewa Ayodele has been quite forthcoming about Ororo’s “death” and “transformation” due to Eternity in the current Storm solo series. So, kudos to him for still adding a whole lot of tension to the pacing, even if readers were well aware about what’s to come for the Weather Goddess.

I enjoyed how Ayodele handled Ororo’s interactions with Doom. This wasn’t the first time the two have had dinner, and each time the friction has been palpable. I liked how Ororo readied herself by hiding two knives under her dress. She’s right to not trust Doom, especially when an egomaniac like him was now the Sorcerer Supreme.

As for Doom’s demeanor, even when he complimented Ororo, he somehow made sure it was also a compliment to his greatness. Something that is to be expected of him.

I was curious about what Doom wanted to talk to her about, and he got to it while dessert was being served. Doom mentioned how he related to the discrimination faced by mutantkind, being Romani. He felt a kinship to mutantkind and that’s why he had decided to make mutants his people. It would also mean that anyone declaring war against the mutant race would mean being at war with Doom. So, he wanted Ororo to be his Mutant Ambassador.

I liked how Ororo called him out. Where the heck was Doom when Orchis attacked? There was no way mutantkind would accept someone like him as their ruler.

Another layer that added to my enjoyment of their interaction was how Doom knew from the start that something was up with Ororo. She flew to the castle on his bird instead of basically teleporting to the location (I liked this little callback to Ororo’s often-forgotten ability to ride lightning). Ororo threw knives at the Doombots to save the pastry chef from being decapitated instead of sending them flying with strong winds. And she didn’t like the dessert that was tailormade for mutant tastebuds.

Now, I get that someone as smart as Doom would have easily suspected Ororo was going through something related to her powers. However, I do think his deduction about her not liking the dessert was wrong. From what I could understand, the deal with Eegun was about Ororo not using her powers. The spirit hadn’t shut down the X-gene. It was on Ororo to be careful about not using her powers. So, yeah, I think Ororo just didn’t like the dessert meant to be delicious to every mutant. That particular moment showed a major flaw in Doom’s desire to rule mutantkind. He didn’t understand mutants because he was looking at them as a monolith; as if a single dessert would be perfect for an entire global community.

Drawing real-life parallels, the moment was about how certain people think of underrepresented communities as one entity instead of unique individuals. It was about how virtue signaling can come down to “one-size-fits-all” solutions instead of addressing individual needs.

With Doom holding down Ororo with magic, she didn’t have a choice but to tap into her mutant abilities to break free. I liked seeing yet another example of Ororo’s mutant powers being able to counter magic. We previously witnessed it during the Avengers vs X-Men era where Ororo used a lightning bolt to break free from Doctor Strange’s Crimson Bands of Cyttora. I continue to be a fan of scenes depicting how Ororo’s X-gene was linked to her mystical heritage.

Of course, with Ororo using her mutant abilities, Eegun came to collect. I liked how quick Ororo’s death was. It was as if the spirit couldn’t control its excitement to kill the descendant of Ashake. And Eegun wasn’t going to stop there. For “reparations” (as he put it), he was going to kill the planet next.

Again, kudos to Ayodele for quickly showcasing Eegun’s strength through a single page. Apparently, it had devoured a Sorcerer Supreme and was holding its own against the likes of Doom and his Doombots.

With Eegun vs Doom occurring in the background, the narrative focused on Ororo’s reunion with her father. I wasn’t expecting the two to meet in the spirit realm but I’m glad they did. Being orphaned at a very young age, the scene allowed Ororo to be open about her emotions in front of her father, who was extremely proud of how much she had accomplished. She brought up the X-Men and how her marriage to T’Challa allowed her, a Princess, to become Queen of Wakanda. As someone who liked T’Challa and Ororo together, I appreciated Ororo bringing that up.

While Ororo’s parents would have loved to be with their daughter, it wasn’t her time yet. The Mutant Weather Goddess had so much more ahead of her. According to her father, Storm was a flame in the wind that refused to be extinguished. She was the kind of fire that used the wind as her fuel. Ororo was the Hadari Yao (another moment that made me smile as a fan).

As for Ororo’s reunion with her mother, I think that will happen down the line and it will allow the narrative to bring up Ororo’s magically-blessed ancestry.

With Eternity favoring Storm, her rebirth led to a magical girl transformation sequence to transform her into the Eternal Storm. She immediately impaled Eegun with a bunch of lightning spears and I can’t wait to see how Doom will respond to witnessing such a metamorphosis. This wasn’t the first time Doom had witnessed Storm going into Goddess mode. As Ororo said decades ago, Doom was right to fear her.

The art by Lucas Werneck and colors by Alex Guimaraes and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo continue to deliver. Storm is undoubtedly one of the most visually stunning books out there. Also, according to her origin, Ororo Munroe is supposed to be the most beautiful woman in comics. Werneck is one of the few artists who does justice to that aspect of Ororo’s character.

On a more personal note, Ayodele’s letter in Storm issue 4 shared how he went through “rebirth” himself as a young child, mentioning how his mother must have made a pact with an entity to bring him back to life after a particular surgery and how his personality changed afterward.

The Storm fandom is lucky to have someone like Ayodele telling Ororo’s story. He seems to be personally invested in her and I can’t wait to read more of what he has in store for the Omega-Level Mutant Weather Goddess and how his narrative will push as well as test Ororo as a long-running character loved by numerous people across the globe.  

Did you read Storm issue 4 ‘A Flame in the Wind’?

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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