Storm and Magneto must navigate a land of shadow selves and Shadow Kings in this week’s Resurrection of Magneto #3. Guiding us through the dark night of their souls is the team of Al Ewing, Luciano Vecchio, David Curiel, Jesus Aburtov, VC’s Joe Sabino, and Jordan D. White. Ororo and Max have left the Sphere of Judgement, but threats both internal and external remain before they can return to the land of the living.
Serving as the limited series’ penultimate issue, Resurrection of Magneto #3 also solidifies certain stylistic choices into patterns, giving the audience a better insight into the form of the book as a whole. For example, the series begins steeped in tarot imagery as issue 1 reaches from the material plane into the afterlife. Overt tarot references become less frequent in the second issue, and the third really only has one direct send-up to the major arcana. Vecchio poses our heroes as the Lovers before the Shadow King, adding another layer to the implicit sexual intimacy of Storm and Magneto’s mutant circuitry.
As Resurrection #3 illuminates Vecchio’s artistic trends within the book, Ewing similarly uses this installment as an opportunity to evolve the narrative format in his own ways. Specifically, issue #1 is entirely Storm’s point of view, and issue #2 is all from Magneto’s. Issue #3 maintains the pattern by narrating from Ororo’s perspective, but Max’s scenes are largely happening elsewhere, which has the effect of making the issue’s POV feel more distributed between them both. The story is still primarily Storm’s but ample time and attention is given to both leads in the realm of Shadow.
Separated from Magneto, Storm finds herself facing a legion of evil shadows. La Bete Noir, the Adversary, the Shadow King, Annihilation, the First Fallen, and the Goblin Force stand before Ororo in this shadow realm she’s fallen into. Some of these foes she knows better than others, but each of them is a cosmic or mystical force of grand evil, each a unique shadow cast in opposition to the light of the Phoenix. Their traps for her are many, as the shadows throw her own ego, her sense of responsibility, and even the opportunity to banish them away from Earth all to trap and kill her. But Ororo is willing to see her shadow and take it to task, and she is strengthened by not having to do so alone.
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Magneto’s opposition in this issue is a singular entity, but the Shadow King doesn’t limit himself to a singular visage while tormenting the Master of Magnetism. He taunts Max with versions of Xavier he left behind or rejected as well as the megalomaniacal rage of Silver Age Magneto, whom many post-Claremont creators have struggled to integrate with his current characterization. But our man won’t be trapped either: he accepts that Magneto is who he is, even as he strives to be Max Eisenhardt. The rage he let rule or fought to repress is the core of his shadow, and Magneto is determined to honor his righteous anger, sublimating it into a new path forward when he returns to life.
Resurrection of Magneto #3 further cements what a tour de force this book is for Vecchio, Curiel, and Aburtov. Until the final pages where Storm and Magneto return to life, the setting is an empty void. However, through expert paneling and usage of color, the reader does not lose the sense of time, geography, or fulfillment as the duo battle their shadow foes. Of special note is Vecchio’s pitch-perfect reference to Uncanny X-Men #146 in Storm’s refutation of the First Fallen’s static perfection.
I would be lying if I said anything about this issue was dissatisfying or unimpressive. The continuity nerd in me would enjoy a version of Resurrection of Magneto #3 where Storm’s encounters with La Bete Noir and the Goblin Force and their relation to the other shadows were teased out. In fairness, that story likely belongs in a future Defenders/X-Men epic that Ewing hopefully will get to pen. As it is, this issue is bursting at the seams with perfection.
The last epic hurdle between Storm and Magneto and the land of the living is at hand in Resurrection of Magneto #3. The Shadow King and his legion of shadows have been defeated, but the definitive story that either character has had in years still has more in store next issue. Her name means Beauty. He is Power. Men call them Storm and Magneto.
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