“Storm” Comic Book Issue 7 “Chapter 7: Serpents, Salamaders, and Storm Gods” – Review

Ororo had to face a bunch of new enemies while on a retrieval mission in Brazil in Storm Issue 7.

From writer Murewa Ayodele and artist Luciano Vecchio, with Ororo having dealt with Xavier during the ‘X-Manhunt’ crossover, it’s time to go back to focusing on her as a character and the continuing battle occurring in the cosmos. Yes, things were getting tougher for Ororo on Earth, but the universe wasn’t faring any better. There’s something huge happening and I can’t wait to see Storm fully participating in it.

Celebrating the iconic character’s 50th Anniversary, the seventh issue opened with the Silver Surfer getting a power-up by using Surtur’s Twilight Sword to transform into the Silver Surfer Soot. It needed to be done, because the Ender named Black Winter was making its way to our universe. Vecchio did an amazing job of visualizing the sheer scale and eeriness of said cosmic beings. Again, while I’m excited about Ororo being pushed toward fighting Oblivion because of Eternity selecting her as his host, I’m also a bit worried about what else Ayodele will be putting her through. Ororo got freaking jumped by a bunch of Storm Gods in the current issue and you know the stakes are only going to get higher. Ayodele! Let Storm sip some warm tea in peace!

Storm and Maggott traveled to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil because Tony Stark needed a favor. A man carrying the Super Soldier Serum got devoured by a giant snake. Ororo’s mission was to retrieve the samples as well as the man’s body so his family could give him a proper funeral. Not only that, but the area was experiencing unusual weather patterns. Having used tech to counter the weather anomaly and failing to contact Thor, Tony had to turn to Ororo, a Weather Goddess, to handle the issue.

Ororo and Tony’s interaction inside the Storm Sanctuary added a moment of levity to an otherwise dark and action-packed chapter. Ororo continues to find Tony annoying. And I don’t blame her. I find him annoying, too. With the chapter titled ‘Serpents, Salamanders, and Storm Gods’, I get that there was a literal giant snake involved in the story. However, with Tony being revealed to be sneaking into the Storm Sanctuary, was he supposed to be a metaphorical serpent entering Storm’s garden/home to get her to do his bidding? Hmmm.

Tracking down the giant snake that was being powered by the Super Soldier Serum samples allowed Ororo to showcase a scene where she flash-froze a specific area to put the snake to sleep. However, Ororo failed to collect the dead man’s body because the snake was fried to ash via a surprise lightning bolt. Thus, serving as the entrance for the Storm Gods in the story.

The past promotional materials for Storm issue 7 featured the cool designs for the Storm Gods. They looked even better in action as they worked together to attack Storm. We got Mamaragan, Sango, Susano, and Chaac. Not only did Ororo have to face such adversaries by herself, but she also had to make sure Maggott (who recently got a boost from Eternity) was out of harm’s way. Yes to seeing Ororo create a water whip to lasso her partner and throw him away from the battlefield.

I have no idea why the Storm Gods were after Ororo, but I understood why she wanted to retreat from such an encounter. Even though Ororo’s an OP character in Marvel Comics, at this point of the story, 1 vs 4 was unfair. Eternity didn’t step in to lend a hand either. So, maybe, just maybe, the Storm Gods had been influenced by Oblivion to start seeing Ororo as a target and Eternity didn’t want to involve himself yet. Whatever the case, I’m here for Ororo showcasing her skills without being forced to tap into her Eternal Storm form. She countered Sango’s mouth-released icebeam with her own icebeam, making for a nice panel to show to people who might bring up how Ororo could only unleash such an attack as Eternal Storm. She also tanked a Thunder Clap from Susano.

A major moment in issue 7 of Storm involved Chaac pulling Ororo by her hair and the Weather Goddess needing to chop it off to escape (very Sakura Haruno vibes from Naruto). Ororo’s white hair holds ancestral significance. Having to use a sword to cut her hair in such a manner wasn’t a light decision. Ororo’s rightfully angry over what the Storm Gods put her through and with Thor showing up to lend a hand at the very end, I can’t wait for the two fellow Avengers to hunt down some Gods. Yay for the Thunder Cousins!

The second major moment dealt with Ororo having to tap into her magical ancestry. Ororo’s the descendant of Ashake and shares blood with Agamotto, the First Sorceror Supreme. Brother Voodoo had warned her about there being a time when she would need to call upon her magical heritage, especially when her weather-controlling powers weren’t an option.

Having Storm’s eyes turn black instead of the iconic white when casting a spell was an awesome creative decision. Also, yes to her first proper spell being powerful enough to push down three Storm Gods.

The art team did an impressive job of playing around with shades of white and black against dark backgrounds to emphasize the electrifying nature of the characters involved.

Due to Storm being forced to give up control of her body due to Eternity’s messy shenanigans in the past issues, I’m here for a more angry and determined version of Storm. She needs to get to the bottom of what’s happening and she needs to do it ASAP.

The manga influences are obvious in the Storm solo, with the lead character being put through numerous trials and tribulations that help strengthen our lead as they progress. Retreating and getting ready for an inevitable rematch is such a manga thing. So, I wasn’t surprised Ororo didn’t stand her ground against the Storm Gods.

My only gripe would be that the pacing in manga series is bearable due to a majority of them being weekly releases. However, a similar type of storytelling and pacing kind of rubs me the wrong way due to the Storm solo series being a monthly release sans additional pages. Also, as the 50th Anniversary issue, this one should have been a longer book. Just saying.

What did you think of Storm issue 7? Are you excited about Storm and Thor’s team-up?

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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