Originally Posted by
chief12d
That's the point I'm making. It was an arbitrary narrative decision that Skybreaker had to be the sword that broke Death's blade. We have no frame of reference for how strong his sword was prior, so I ask, who's to say that there wasn't a sword besides Skybreaker that could handle what he dished out lol? Most of the swords in this event can cut through metal and stone with ease, so I could easily argue Muramasa could've done what Skybreaker did. And considering she seemed to be outfighting Death anyway I'm under the impression she could've disarmed him altogether, meaning she wouldn't need a blade as strong as Skybreaker anyway. Just one that Death couldn't destroy lol.
But Storm wasn't asked to get Muramasa, she was told to get Skybreaker, which conveniently ended up damaging her relationship with T'Challa. It's relevance and cohesion to the plot is irrelevant because that's not what it was created for. Though I agree it was better than AvX and that there was no way to break them up without some controversy. That said, I highly doubt that many Storm fans would've complained about Storm getting a huge power display with wind and lightning, but channeled through her sword. I think that's what most people were expecting at least until a week before the event turned into an irreverent fairytale contest. Would some have complained, sure, but I think we would've gotten a more compelling and emotional fight out of it, though I respect people thinking it was a great duel.
The fight between her and Death not being as compelling as I anticipated kinda reflects how I've felt about her depiction throughout the event. It's not outright bad, but it's not great either, and that's not comparing it to peak Storm of the 80's or anything. Like I said, it's basic "big gun, mother goddess" Storm with some added sass since this is a rather quip-heavy event. It's what I expect on a consistent basis and because that basic expectation is finally being met I hesitate to call it anything more than "fine". It's like her solo book, a lot of greatest hits, not much new or exciting. We've seen thief Storm, we've seen badass powerless Storm, and while I'm happy to see it, it's the basics and it's serviceable for what it is.
I get why people liked the Adversary battle. He'd been shown to be an actual threat (defeating most of Wakanda's conventional and superpowered defenses) and his defeat fueled Storm's development as a character. It solidified her reconciliation with T'Challa and created a spiritual connection to Wakanda that opened up new storytelling possibilities. She also accepted a piece of herself that she had long been unaware or disinterested in exploring and had a moment where she overcame great (if a bit cliche) mental hardship to rise to the occasion in a way she hadn't in a long time. It was a brief battle but the emotional buildup was substantial. I find it a stronger moment than what she had with Death both in terms of actual scale and narrative pay-off.