[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5146691]See. yes. I just asked you a question in another post. I did not see this one first.[/QUOTE]
no worries beloved!!! this was the first thing I thought of when I read that line.
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[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5146691]See. yes. I just asked you a question in another post. I did not see this one first.[/QUOTE]
no worries beloved!!! this was the first thing I thought of when I read that line.
An all around wonderful issue, and it warms my heart to see Monet come up with and carry out the plans to save Storm. I'm living for two incredibly smart, powerful, and black women being given a platform for their excellence. Storm under Hickman has been solid and he at least has concrete plans for her and I can't wait to see where it leads.
Oh and everyone else was nice too...
[QUOTE=yogaflame;5146609]This issue essentially validated the Giant Size series as a whole, which had been rather lumbering and disjointed. Long after Hickman's run is over, and you can read it in its entirety, this series will be important(that TO virus being is foreboding). That said, it's clear that Hickman just isn't that into Ororo, even if this issue is well constructed. It is also clear that Dauterman loves her deeply, and as an artist showcase, this was a masterpiece.
I did enjoy the issue overall, particularly with smarty pants Monet coming up with the plan, but even with the esoteric feat(controlling the artificial World environment), Ororo was the least interesting character in it. As I suspected from his past work, he just doesn't really like her vibe. I'll give him some credit for being professional enough to recognize her importance to the franchise and do what he can to fold her in, but it is what it is.
I still look forward to XoS's world building. Hickman is a great writer, even if he's not really a Storm fan.[/QUOTE]
Yea Hickman has a particular profile of character that he seems to really be into and Storm just doesn't fit the mold all that well. He's amazing with characters that are stoic and while Storm is that, it's more in the serene Earth Mother way than the alpha "this is beneath me" vibe of Namor or Apocalypse.
His favorites tend to be arrogant and though Storm knows her worth as a mutant leader and goddess, she doesn't parade around her superiority like Magneto or Emma. She has a few good put me downs but she's not putting out disses like Monet or villainous monologues like Apocalypse.
I think there are elements to her that he likes such as her absurd power and the weight she carries among mutantkind, but overall I think he's more interested in characters that tend toward anti-heroism and fuckery, and Storm hasn't been that way in a long time. That said, he obviously respects the character and he seems more than willing to let creators like Vita and Gerry do great things with her and integrate their ideas.
[QUOTE=butterflykyss;5146657]she says on the panel that:
the environment in this world is very malleable and the small machines are vulnerable to this manipulation.
she is using the machines directly manipulating them to create wind as stated from her own mouth.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. The big thing for me is that storm took this planet's environment which being an artificial world was made out of machinery and controlled the primal forces that made up this environment, machinery, and altered it into what would be this world's equivalency of wind.
[QUOTE=butterflykyss;5146699]I totally see it as a referemce to Coates BP the placement and order of "mutant," "no," and then "goddess" was a dead giveaway for me. And outside of this reference I do not recall hickman ever referring to her as a goddess.[/QUOTE]
Right. I find it funny that Hickman can use this development of Ororo in BP to his benefit but not once, as far as I know, acknowledge her relationship. Smh.
[QUOTE=TraneTrax;5146635]Is she talking to us the audience in this panel?
Something about the way Ororo's words are phrased reminds me of the way she was speaking in the Shuri miniseries, when her Godhead was activated by cave mushrooms (or something like that). Anyone else notice that or am I trippin'?
Also, best panel ever![/QUOTE]
I agree with you. Also how she was in the sky was very similar. I peeped that too.
[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5146731]Right. I find it funny that Hickman can use this development of Ororo in BP to his benefit but not once, as far as I know, acknowledge her relationship. Smh.[/QUOTE]
Hickman has written them as a couple in both his FF and New Avengers. His T'challa is much better than his Ororo. It was in those stories that I realized he doesn't like her.
[QUOTE=jwatson;5146729]Exactly. The big thing for me is that storm took this planet's environment which being an artificial world was made out of machinery and controlled the primal forces that made up this environment, machinery, and altered it into what would be this world's equivalency of wind.[/QUOTE]
hmmm ok I think we are honestly saying the same thing. machinery or forces that comprise it would be electrical, mechanical, and well as electomagnetic i would imagine so it would not odd that those forces a part of this would would include magnetism.
[QUOTE=yogaflame;5146754]Hickman has written them as a couple in both his FF and New Avengers. His T'challa is much better than his Ororo. It was in those stories that I realized he doesn't like her.[/QUOTE]
Yeah the only place i would want to be if the world was ending but not telling her the world was ending was like "really bro"
we are basically saying the same thing we are just seeing it in our minds differently. but i'm pretty sure we agree. lol my mind just doesn't delve into magnetisum and instead goes into depth into how storm's weather powers could be in a way terra forming an artificial life. I thought it was small but kind of cool because it made me think of the Trion dimension and how Storm's powers work where she goes to a new world and it adjusts and she adjusts to be able to use her powers to affect whatever the primal forces of any world is. In the World those primal forces just happened to be machinery. Everything there was machinery so these where phenoms she was creating based on her attunement with this completely technology world and we saw how she analyzed it's bits. It could have huge ramifications for the phalanx or other technological enviornments. She can be a virus to machinery.
[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5146731]Right. I find it funny that Hickman can use this development of Ororo in BP to his benefit but not once, as far as I know, acknowledge her relationship. Smh.[/QUOTE]
Yes in the hickman xmen era I think their relationship was only very lightly alluded to by Hodari
The art was amazt. Every page. They really paid alot time attention to her. Nothing but lips cheekbones and hair. I mean from the first page and seeing the T.O in her eyes. Perfect.
I wonder what modification and ideas Emma was talking about?
I laughed at Storm footing the bill to save her own life, and kinda impress she has the bucks to do so.
The action seem to happen off panel which was a bummer, but we got alot of Monet and Cypher.
I love how the Aim looked just like me in my apartment. And stayed behind like I would have.
Storm prove why shes the Goddess of Life and Balance with her reasoning to not simply be resurrected.
Gifting wind to the world, was just....(insert lost for words here)
Each splash page was worth is.
I also thought of the Trion feat.
[IMG]https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5522b3c2de2f7f5e0e16c0ea89817bd7[/IMG]
[IMG]https://66.media.tumblr.com/a1ab618c361fb1d8c6d352aa205c0402/tumblr_nqqcwccpgv1sde1x1o5_1280.jpg[/IMG]
My problem with this part was that Ororo spent a whole 'year' with Logan in the World when they were dating. She was even worshiped as a goddess-queen by the natives. Her powers didn't seem to be altered in that story. The fact that everyone can interpret the feat differently, and that it doesn't really jive with previously established canon, makes it a bit clunky.
[IMG]https://worldofblackheroes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/wolverine-and-the-x-men-8-1.jpg[/IMG]
It was decent, after reading the four previous giant-size issues I had a good idea of how this would turn out so I can't say I was disappointed, it met my expectations. My fear of the other characters taking focus away from Storm was somewhat realized, but I like Monet and Doug, so that softened the blow. Even Ned was funny, although ultimately pointless. Ororo performed some amazing feats, and her monologue felt very wise and powerful. I loved her acknowledging herself as a goddess. A small part of me was hoping that something unexpected would occur, that Storm would come out of this adventure with an elevated status or power level. Instead, everything went exactly as planned, no twists or turns, and the solution was very straightforward. It's obvious that the subplots about Doug and Warlock, the TO virus, and Fantomex's brother are going to be more important in the long run than anything that happened to Storm. All of the beautiful art of our girl from Dauterman was definitely the highlight.
[QUOTE=Saturius;5146599]I thought this was underwhelming, but like some others, since the previous Giant Sizes were so flat and dull, I just didn't really care how mediocre I found it. Fantastic art though. I still don't see how this was setting up a new direction for Storm in the X-books. I am not seeing anything that hints at something greater.[/QUOTE]
I thought this part hinted at something greater for Storm:
"The problem with how this machine works is, in this case, you're leaving behind a pure technological construct that's been exposed to the same temporal forces that Storm was... There's no telling what it could become if it expanded at will"
The virus was majorly warped by temporal forces. Storm should have undergone major changes as well. Hopefully, they follow up on this during XoS.
[QUOTE=butterflykyss;5146786]Yes in the hickman xmen era I think their relationship was only very lightly alluded to by Hodari[/QUOTE]
Yea that's about the most he's done so far. I don't think he's a big fan of the relationship so much as he kinda needs to use it depending on the story. His FF Black Panther arc was about T'Challa becoming King of the Dead, and outside a tender moment between the two of them, Storm (as well as Shuri and Sue) was irrelevant.
She was T'Challa's wife so she had to be in the story. In New Avengers I just think he didn't want T'Challa to go back to Wakanda to face his family before the incursion so he had him hook up with Storm. But I don't think he has any particular dislike for their romance either.
[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5145903]All of this: "Rounding out the artistic team is Wilson on colors. He handles the different settings with care, bathing Krakoa in golden light to make it the paradise it’s been described as and featuring a fuchsia-colored sky for the World. [B]Most importantly, he gives Storm’s skin the rich dark hue it needs. Ororo Munroe is a dark-skinned African woman, and very few colorists seem to remember that; thankfully Wilson is among the ones who do.[/B] He also gives the proper weight to her weather powers, especially her lightning-it hits with the full force that you’d expect actual lightning to."[/QUOTE]
I don't think Storm was ever dark dark like Naomi Campbell but I think she was more brown skinned like maybe Janet or just a little darker brown like Angela Bassett. Now I only wonder when it comes to movie time will they finally give our queen blue eyes.
[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5146731]Right. I find it funny that Hickman can use this development of Ororo in BP to his benefit but not once, as far as I know, acknowledge her relationship. Smh.[/QUOTE]
He referenced the relationship in X-Men 04 when Xavier, Magneto and •--[A]--• were at the World Summit.
[QUOTE=yogaflame;5146808]I also thought of the Trion feat.
[IMG]https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5522b3c2de2f7f5e0e16c0ea89817bd7[/IMG]
[IMG]https://66.media.tumblr.com/a1ab618c361fb1d8c6d352aa205c0402/tumblr_nqqcwccpgv1sde1x1o5_1280.jpg[/IMG]
My problem with this part was that Ororo spent a whole 'year' with Logan in the World when they were dating. She was even worshiped as a goddess-queen by the natives. Her powers didn't seem to be altered in that story. The fact that everyone can interpret the feat differently, and that it doesn't really jive with previously established canon, makes it a bit clunky.
[IMG]https://worldofblackheroes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/wolverine-and-the-x-men-8-1.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
I try to forget that story but then one could also say that may have been thousands or even millions of years ago in world time.
The trion thing really stood out to me because i felt this issue showed why storm is an omega. The universe is an environment. Be it technological or natural ororo's powers are to bend those rules to create forces of nature. It was a very simple yet deep view at her powers like the trion thing for me.
so it makes me think what happens if Storm enters the phalanx environment or the environment of some other civilization, once she knows the fundamentals of how it is built and organized to support it's environment, she can wrest control of it.
[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5146678]Glad you got a copy. I had to cut out the stress, a while back, of getting physical comics. Now, I simply buy online. I had mine on my Kindle app right after it dropped EST. I'm too impatient to do what you did today.[/QUOTE]
see I have to have physical copies. They could be worth something in the later years
[QUOTE=chief12d;5146858]Yea that's about the most he's done so far. I don't think he's a big fan of the relationship so much as he kinda needs to use it depending on the story. His FF Black Panther arc was about T'Challa becoming King of the Dead, and outside a tender moment between the two of them, Storm (as well as Shuri and Sue) was irrelevant.
She was T'Challa's wife so she had to be in the story. In New Avengers I just think he didn't want T'Challa to go back to Wakanda to face his family before the incursion so he had him hook up with Storm. But I don't think he has any particular dislike for their romance either.[/QUOTE]
I guess the marauders issue will gives us some insight as to Hickman's thoughts on the relationship.
I can't imagine reading this and think hickman doesnt like ororo, like honestly im sorry but I can accept criticism to the structure of the series and the book itself, but let's not create a bias that isn't there.
Ororo hasn;t had a positive showing like this in the x-books in YEARS, even if it's a low bar I consider this issue a prime example of storm at her very best , ever since the ressurection ceremony I felt that his storm was very good, grasping at all aspects of her character, showing her as comptent, powerfull and charismatic.
And now in the meta context of his current run, she just defeated one of the most insidious and dangerous manifestations of the mutant nemesis aka technology, she pretty much spit on the concept of inevitable defeat at the hands of machines, even if in a more self contained way.
"we always lose" well not ororo and not the people she choses besides her.
[QUOTE=metalclouds;5146974]see I have to have physical copies. They could be worth something in the later years[/QUOTE]
True, but the storage space is a killer, though. I had to stop.
[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5147008]True, but the storage space is a killer, though. I had to stop.[/QUOTE]
I don't own many comics so i'm good. I own all Storm solo issues except the last one and i have a couple of other random marvel comics. Mostly xmen
[QUOTE=metalclouds;5147021]I don't own many comics so i'm good. I own all Storm solo issues except the last one and i have a couple of other random marvel comics. Mostly xmen[/QUOTE]
Sounds like a great collection. Perfect for a Storm fan. Very nice. :)
[QUOTE=Ferro;5147002]I can't imagine reading this and think hickman doesnt like ororo,[/QUOTE]
Hickman is a very talented writer, but you can tell when a character excites him, and when a character is more of a professional objective. When I read his Avengers run, this was made apparent. When he's writing the shady Illuminati cast, his pen sings. When he's writing the more morally upright heroes in Avengers, it's more 'by the books'. He imported Sam and Roberto and clearly had fun with them, but people like Cap, Black Widow, or Thor, he just phoned in. We can see this in his X-Men work too. Emma, Mags, A, all amazing. Jean, Scott, Ororo? Not so much.
Like I said, I still liked the issue overall, but it just seems to me that Storm just doesn't 'do it' for him.
[QUOTE=yogaflame;5147064]Hickman is a very talented writer, but you can tell when a character excites him, and when a character is more of a professional objective. When I read his Avengers run, this was made apparent. When he's writing the shady Illuminati cast, his pen sings. When he's writing the more morally upright heroes in Avengers, it's more 'by the books'. He imported Sam and Roberto and clearly had fun with them, but people like Cap, Black Widow, or Thor, he just phoned in. We can see this in his X-Men work too. Emma, Mags, A, all amazing. Jean, Scott, Ororo? Not so much.
Like I said, I still liked the issue overall, but it just seems to me that Storm just doesn't 'do it' for him.[/QUOTE]
Yeah I don't see it for anyone but jean but shes a dishwater level of boring so I don't blame him, I think you're just creating a made up narrative that isn't really proven in the pages to make your opinion seem more "righteous".
Because ororo has had a showcassing here at the level of magneto: the world is canonically a hellscape that rarely loses (fantomex issue praticaly reminds the readers of that) and she grabbed it by it's scalp and made it say "yes maam"
If you don't personally like it just say so, but creating this pretend bias without any evidence can create unecessary toxicity and negativity in this mini community.
I don't presume to understand your motivations, please indulge me the same. I have read all of Hickman's Marvel works; he has a signature style with pronounced strengths and weaknesses, like all writers. If you don't see what I see, so be it, but don't tell me I'm making stuff up for some agenda. :confused:
[QUOTE=yogaflame;5147169]I don't presume to understand your motivations, please indulge me the same. I have read all of Hickman's Marvel works; he has a signature style with pronounced strengths and weaknesses, like all writers. If you don't see what I see, so be it, but don't tell me I'm making stuff up for some agenda. :confused:[/QUOTE]
Preach. It’s pretty clear Hickman loves his morally grey antihero types like Mags and Apocalypse, but cant give the heroic characters like Storm, Cyclops or Jean a distinct voice. It’s just one if his major weaknesses. For all his world building, I don’t particularly care for how he writes most of the characters I have grown up with.
I enjoyed this review of GS: Storm. He is a big storm fan and he shares a lot of questions I have:
[video=youtube_share;LR4jCDdBL0E]https://youtu.be/LR4jCDdBL0E[/video]
Yawnnnn, his storm is great get off your preconceptions and read the title, if she doesnt have a voice im not sure who does, just don't create a victimization narrative that isnt based around her treatment in mauraders, k tnx.
I have read it too and I cannot for the life of me understand why you think he doesn't like her and it's to me just a way to make your opinion seem more worthy by creating a narrative of false bias, and it's anoying because other people bring up concrete things that they disliked, not some assumptions witout any basis on the actual title.
[QUOTE=Ferro;5147216]Yawnnnn, his storm is great get off your preconceptions and read the title, if she doesnt have a voice im not sure who does, just don't create a victimization narrative that isnt based around her treatment in mauraders, k tnx.
I have read it too and I cannot for the life of me understand why you think he doesn't like her and it's to me just a way to make your opinion seem more worthy by creating a narrative of false bias, and it's anoying because other people bring up concrete things that they disliked, not some assumptions witout any basis on the actual title.[/QUOTE]
Why are you so upset and argumentative over people's opinions and interpretations...
Hickman doesn't need a knight, he's a big boy he can handle any form of criticism, hell he doesn't even know these comments exist.
Does it matter that she's not in his top five favourite characters? Going by the last decade of stories and appearances she's not been on any X-writer's top ten list. For all the complaints here that Marauders is lacking and Storm is wasted over there...this is clearly a delightful gift.
She being a "favourite" is mostly irrelevant anyway...this is not the Claremont era of writing and story telling. (And I mean that in a good way)
[QUOTE=Ferro;5147002]I can't imagine reading this and think hickman doesnt like ororo, like honestly im sorry but I can accept criticism to the structure of the series and the book itself, but let's not create a bias that isn't there.
Ororo hasn;t had a positive showing like this in the x-books in YEARS, even if it's a low bar I consider this issue a prime example of storm at her very best , ever since the ressurection ceremony I felt that his storm was very good, grasping at all aspects of her character, showing her as comptent, powerfull and charismatic.
And now in the meta context of his current run, she just defeated one of the most insidious and dangerous manifestations of the mutant nemesis aka technology, she pretty much spit on the concept of inevitable defeat at the hands of machines, even if in a more self contained way.
"we always lose" well not ororo and not the people she choses besides her.[/QUOTE]
The Xavierfiles article that someone posted earlier made a really great point about how Storm kinda has the least personality and voice out of everyone in the issue (until the last couple of pages).
At the same time I don't think this proves that Hickman dislikes Storm. I also don't think that she's one of his favorites and if Dauterman wasn't a huge fan of the character I'm not sure we would have gotten anything from Hickman that utilizes the character this much.
Personally...those "articles" should always be read with a pinch of salt, as they're just one opinion usually based off of preconceived expectations, that may or may not ring true to someone else reading the issue. (It doesn't ring true to me)
[QUOTE=Ferro;5147002]I can't imagine reading this and think hickman doesnt like ororo, like honestly im sorry but I can accept criticism to the structure of the series and the book itself, but let's not create a bias that isn't there.
Ororo hasn;t had a positive showing like this in the x-books in YEARS, even if it's a low bar I consider this issue a prime example of storm at her very best , ever since the ressurection ceremony I felt that his storm was very good, grasping at all aspects of her character, showing her as comptent, powerfull and charismatic.
And now in the meta context of his current run, she just defeated one of the most insidious and dangerous manifestations of the mutant nemesis aka technology, she pretty much spit on the concept of inevitable defeat at the hands of machines, even if in a more self contained way.
"we always lose" well not ororo and not the people she choses besides her.[/QUOTE]
I think he likes Storm, I just don’t think he loves her in the way he clearly does Magneto or Apocalypse. Which is perfectly fine, plenty of characters that I like but wouldn’t put anywhere near my top fives. He seems to have a good enough capture on her voice but overall I don’t think it’s this substantive or compelling investment in her personality/role (other than her embracing her godhead in a single sentence).
Which is fine. What’s more important than writers having favorites is that they’re professional. Hickman may not love Storm but he has no issue working with people who do like Vita and Dauterman. He’s not threatened by the role she could play in Dawn of X and seems to be working with them to elevate and showcase the character. He’s giving her the space to be prominently used under them which is more than can be said for most X-writers, so I count Hickman as someone in Storm’s corner.
[QUOTE=Devaishwarya;5147394]Personally...those "articles" should always be read with a pinch of salt, as they're just one opinion usually based off of preconceived expectations, that may or may not ring true to someone else reading the issue. (It doesn't ring true to me)[/QUOTE]
Oh I totally agree that it was just opinions, but some of the points brought up were interesting. I personally find myself in the middle of both camps in that I found the issue really entertaining but I'm always down for more of her voice.
Review [url]https://comic-watch.com/comic-book-reviews/giant-sized-x-men-storm-1-the-ghost-in-the-machine[/url]
First of all, the art was absolutely beautiful. Dauterman’s art is truly delightful. It’s nice to see women with distinctive features, in comics — especially Storm, who is often absolutely whitewashed. Storm, Emma, Jean and Monet all look like individuals. All though they’re all terribly beautiful, they don’t all look like the exact same Platonic Ideal white woman who’s been given slightly-different skin tones, and that’s something that should be absolutely standard and not at all praiseworthy. Yet, in comics, this is a perishingly rare quality for an artist to have. So, yes, I will praise Dauterman excessively for doing his job.
Beyond that, the landscapes were impeccable. The World looks like an impressionist painting that was put down on paper while the artist was on five tabs of acid, and that’s exactly what you want for a micro-universe developed in what is essentially a teapot. Visually, this story was a pleasure to read.
From the perspective of the writing, Hickman is an extremely limited artist. There are, perhaps, ten characters (out of the entire X-Men pantheon) who he can write with any sense of believability. He is a misogynist who can only write women when they are submissive or in the traditional ‘bitch’ vein. It takes what amounts to a miracle for him to write nuanced characters like Jean or Storm with any believability. That miracle occurred, in this issue. Jean shows compassion, but she isn’t a housefrau banished to the land of rubber gloves and male service. Storm is very firm about who she is, and what she wants (it was nice to see Hickman address why, exactly, this matters when she could just be resurrected: it’s important, to her, that she fight to remain who she is) and she gives one of her patented Goddess Speeches without coming across as ridiculous.
Hickman has always written Emma and Monet well (even if he only tends to hit one note for them) and having Money describe Cypher as ‘the Bambi of the X-Men’ was absolutely perfect.
In short, this issue was very enjoyable. The resolution seemed a little easy, and I don’t really see how this will define her story for ‘years to come’ unless Storm’s story turns out to be based in her resistance to resurrection. If that’s the case, the next couple of years could be extremely interesting.
[QUOTE=GuiltyPleasure;5148231]Review [url]https://comic-watch.com/comic-book-reviews/giant-sized-x-men-storm-1-the-ghost-in-the-machine[/url]
First of all, the art was absolutely beautiful. Dauterman’s art is truly delightful. It’s nice to see women with distinctive features, in comics — especially Storm, who is often absolutely whitewashed. Storm, Emma, Jean and Monet all look like individuals. All though they’re all terribly beautiful, they don’t all look like the exact same Platonic Ideal white woman who’s been given slightly-different skin tones, and that’s something that should be absolutely standard and not at all praiseworthy. Yet, in comics, this is a perishingly rare quality for an artist to have. So, yes, I will praise Dauterman excessively for doing his job.
Beyond that, the landscapes were impeccable. The World looks like an impressionist painting that was put down on paper while the artist was on five tabs of acid, and that’s exactly what you want for a micro-universe developed in what is essentially a teapot. Visually, this story was a pleasure to read.
From the perspective of the writing, Hickman is an extremely limited artist. There are, perhaps, ten characters (out of the entire X-Men pantheon) who he can write with any sense of believability. He is a misogynist who can only write women when they are submissive or in the traditional ‘bitch’ vein. It takes what amounts to a miracle for him to write nuanced characters like Jean or Storm with any believability. That miracle occurred, in this issue. Jean shows compassion, but she isn’t a housefrau banished to the land of rubber gloves and male service. Storm is very firm about who she is, and what she wants (it was nice to see Hickman address why, exactly, this matters when she could just be resurrected: it’s important, to her, that she fight to remain who she is) and she gives one of her patented Goddess Speeches without coming across as ridiculous.
Hickman has always written Emma and Monet well (even if he only tends to hit one note for them) and having Money describe Cypher as ‘the Bambi of the X-Men’ was absolutely perfect.
In short, this issue was very enjoyable. The resolution seemed a little easy, and I don’t really see how this will define her story for ‘years to come’ unless Storm’s story turns out to be based in her resistance to resurrection. If that’s the case, the next couple of years could be extremely interesting.[/QUOTE]
some are speculating that the sentient being forming will eventually be a storm clone. doesn't sound interesting to me but hey lol
Oh, I did enjoy this review. [url]https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2020/09/review-giant-size-x-men-storm-1-shes-strong-but-im-tired/[/url]
With every crackle of thunder, every bolt of lightning, and every wind-gusted strand of hair, Russell Dauterman expresses how important Storm is to him. I wish I could say I felt the same about how Jonathan Hickman has been writing Storm.
Following up on Emma Frost and Jean Grey’s psychic journey to rescue their friend/frenemy, Storm is now awake and learning the bad news: she has been infected with a machine virus that’s left her with 30 days to live. Worse, Jean says consoling her, there’s nothing more anyone can do for her because all of the brilliant minds on Krakoa have turned up blank. Emma, in her coldly dismissive way, suggests that it shouldn’t matter since Storm can simply be resurrected, perhaps with some of Emma’s recommended alterations, but Storm isn’t yet all about that resurrection life just because she’s about to die.
The Giant-Size X-Men stories follow the Marvel Method of storytelling wherein the artist is given the broad strokes of a story, allowing them to shape it as much as the writer as they plot out panels and placements, with the words added in later. GSX: Storm holds to this format, but in earlier interviews, Dauterman explains that much of the plot here was already clearly defined by Hickman, leaving little room for Dauterman to interject story elements. He did suggest adding Monet to the mix, which turns out to be very helpful, because, despite “every genius on the island” taking a crack it, Monet apparently wasn’t consulted. Thankfully, she did hear about Storm’s predicament and shows up a few pages in with a deus ex machina for Storm’s machina problem. Monet then gathers Doug, who also wasn’t consulted on a technovirus issue for some strange reason….
But let’s back up. Like I said, the story opens with Jean consoling Storm, informing her of her fate and the efforts that have been made to help her. The implication here is that Storm has played no active role in these efforts, not even being there to get the answers first hand. [B]She’s basically sitting in a waiting room to hear what her prognosis is. And she just accepts it, aside from the scowl aimed at Emma’s insensitivity, Storm’s just like, oh well, I guess that’s it then about this whole situation.[/B]
Because if there’s one thing we know about Storm, she always gives up and takes what fate gives her, especially when it comes to situations of lifedeath. Yes, I am being sarcastic, but I am not the least bit surprised by this portrayal of Storm. Though the story moves on to give her her triumphant conquering the odds moments, the beginning pages, the previous issue, and Storm’s overall role in House of X/Powers of X and now Dawn of X continues to leave me heaving a deep sigh of resignation. I keep hearing a promise that Hickman has Big PlansTM for Storm, with this machine virus plotline being part of them, but I have yet to see anything that makes me excited to find out what those plans are.
Instead, I see a Storm that leaves me feeling exhausted. Thankfully, I can count on Dauterman, with the help of Matthew Wilson’s colours, to ensure that Storm looks like the African-American goddess she is, but the writing of the character has left me wanting so much more. Her appearances of late have been fleeting. She most often seems to be marched out to display her powers at opportune moments as a plot device or serve as a momentary counterpoint or support to other, more prominent characters, like Kate Pryde and Emma Frost in Marauders. [B]She carries no major story arcs herself in the main series and hardly plays an active roll in this one that is supposed to be centred on her due to this machine virus. She was a damsel in distress in the Emma and Jean GSX that focused on the telepaths’ relationship. Here, I had to stop myself from counting how many panels she actually got to appear in an issue given her name. Having resigned herself to sitting around hoping, Storm doesn’t get up until Monet takes the lead, and, as the issue description reads, it’s Fantomex who — in relation to his own GSX story — gathers the rest of the team to find a cure, not Storm taking her fate into her own hands.[/B]
That cure takes them to a high-tech laboratory called the World, a place where Gravity Fall‘s Bill Cipher likely owns a summer home. Somewhere along the way, Storm gets tired of letting everyone else take the reins. “Follow my lead,” she commands, then promptly vanishes from the battle for two pages, save for a tiny pic of her in the corner. [B]She returns to douse the World in wind and lightening in a stunning display of her abilities, which is all she gets to do these days. A goddess reduced to providing special effects.[/B]
Thus far, GSX books have not impressed me, save for a few moments here and there, and Emma and Jean’s issue, which featured the kind of character beats, relationship play, and depth that made me fall in love with mutants through Chris Claremont’s Classic X-Men stories. Given that Dauterman apparently had a greater role in shaping the Emma and Jean story and the characterizations, I feel like I should be giving him most of the credit for making their issue as enjoyable as it was, despite my frustration over Storm’s role within it — or lack thereof. Those kind of deep character moments are what I was expecting from GSX. The Storm issue briefly attempts this, with some moments of introspection where Storm says words that imply that she’s taking back her agency. In a few pithy lines, I was drawn back to moments like an emaciated Jean stubbornly telling a celestial entity that she didn’t want to die, or Storm taking a leap of faith and pure joy from a cliff when her powers are returned. But there really wasn’t any build-up to that moment of goddess returned here. Not when we started with a very atypical Storm who doesn’t seem to want to put in any more effort than the people writing her.
Aaaand then the story about Storm promptly flips back to focus on Fantomex and Doug and their important decisions and discoveries instead.
Storm's face is covered in a machine virus patterns. "Did it work?" she asks
No, not really.