Storm and her band of Arakki freedom fighters are on the verge of losing the Genesis War in this week’s X-Men Red #17. Al Ewing, Yildiray Çinar, Federico Blee, VC’s Ariana Maher, and Jordan D. White collaborate masterfully in this issue as the creative team sets the stages for the war’s final battles. Ororo Munroe’s heart has been tested, and in the wake of her choice about the Uranos trigger, Apocalypse offers an unexpected new opportunity.
The previous issue brought the Genesis War to a fever pitch, bringing a climax to Storm’s internal battle about how she chooses to define herself even in the midst of global conflict. Despite Uranos’ temptations, Ororo chose not to let the Mad Eternal loose on Genesis’ forces, and her determination gave way to the eerie recognition that Storm could do that job herself. Issue #17 elaborates on her decision, highlighting that those enslaved to Genesis or compelled to serve her via the Annihilation Staff deserve to be freed, not slaughtered wholesale alongside Ororo’s opponent.
While the story pacing eases up on the gas compared to the last few installments, Ewing fills that time wisely and ties developments from X-Men Unlimited and Storm and The Brotherhood of Mutants in with a smooth touch. Storm’s major co-stars in this part of the saga are Jon Ironfire and Apocalypse, with a special note on Sunspot, as his growing feelings of misplaced guilt seem to be leading somewhere. Ironfire splinters from Ororo to face down his lover-turned-enemy, and the regrets of Jon from the Sins of Sinister timeline hang ominously in the mind of the reader.
Moments later, -:A:-, the artist formerly known as Apocalypse, arrives at Storm’s camp. After the arrival of the Amenthi hordes and the fall of Port Prometheus, the final members of the resistance have made a slapdash base on the Autumn Continent. This land housed Magneto’s Autumn Palace before Vulcan’s fires rendered the entire mass barren. But now that -:A:- and Ororo have converged here, En Sabah Nur has a plan to bring forth something new.
Credit: Marvel Comics
-:A:- teases that “Ororo is the magic,” in the cold opening of the issue, and the final pages of X-Men Red #17 prove that to be the case. Apocalypse may be the architect of the spell; he is a co-element in it along with Vulcan, Sunfire, Redroot, and his familiar orc; and -:A:- may even be the co-caster. But Storm is the conduit: she is the other half of the spell-weaving duo. -:A:- uses mutant magic to prepare the way, Ororo walks the path and brings life to a new living mutant island in the mold of Okkara, Krakoa, and Arakko. She has created Kaorak, and together they march to face Genesis once and for all.
Çinar and Blee’s artwork in X-Men Red continues to dazzle. Vulcan opens the issue as the worst person in the star system who unfortunately happens to be kinda hot. Uranos’ interlude remains creepy, and their rendering of Apocalypse carries a gravitas and a sense of regality. Kaorak’s introduction on the final page is the best of all though, as their design is a lovely homage to Krakoa’s appearance in Giant-Size X-Men #1. Ewing also makes a brief visual contribution with another impactful collage. Where his previous one in X-Men Red #11 was an abstract depiction of the psychic battle between Storm and Professor X, this collage pulls from panels over a 60-year range to represent the elements of the spell being drawn into Ororo as Kaorak is born.
Ewing is able to weave Sunfire and Redroot’s journey, -:A:-‘s relationship with Rictor, and the regrets of SoS Ironfire almost seamlessly into the issue. However, in the leap from X-Men Unlimited #117 to X-Men #28, Sunfire’s journey into Otherworld was a costly success, as Shiro rips Redroot from his chest as they lay dying in a barren darkness. Apocalypse appears, gathers the weary pair, and promises to heal Sunfire in preparation for their work on Arakko. In X-Men Red #17, Shiro and Redroot are once more bonded in a state of symbiosis, and to break it would be fatal. This shift does not detract from the narrative, but it is a puzzling reversal from last week.
To call what Storm does in X-Men Red #17 Black Girl Magic would be an understatement of the highest order. After the battle has been lost, Ororo and Apocalypse’s mutant sorcery grant our heroes one last chance to win the Genesis War. It may be the Fall of X, but the mutants of Arakko might just rise stronger than ever before.
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