For years, Ororo Munroe aka Storm has been referred to as a goddess. Murewa Ayodele has been putting that claim to the test in his Storm series, showcasing Ororo literally being empowered by Eternity. In Storm #7, he shows the fallout of this, as Ororo is called upon to conduct a search and rescue mission in Brazil by Iron Man. But it’s not that simple; strange thunderstorms have also been striking the area, heralding the arrival of a set of thunder gods who wish to challenge Ororo.
These gods arrive from different pantheons and have unique designs thanks to Luciano Vecchio’s artwork. Susanoo, the Japanese god of thunder, looks like he’s actually made out of lightning and carries a sword cracking with thunderbolts. Sango is a muscular man clad in red robes who spits lightning as easily as you or I might draw breath. And Chaac, a Mayan thunder god, is clad in the armor of the people who worship him. If these thunder gods’ appearances weren’t impressive enough, the action sequences featuring them sure are.
Vecchio draws thunderbolts crackling the earth, weapons literally cleaving the air, and a chase scene involving Ororo and a giant snake. (It makes sense in context.) Every page feels immense in its weight, even a conversation between Ororo and Iron Man which is laced with thorny dialogue. Alex Guimares and Fer Sifuentes-Sijo also deserve shoutouts for their color work; the night skies of Brazil are alight with bluish white lightning, and each of the Thunder Gods has an obsidian sheen to their clothing or skin. Ororo stands out throughout the book due to her snow white hair and the golden accents lining her uniform, not to mention her use of the elements. You haven’t lived until you’ve read a comic where Storm literally lassos someone using a thunder cloud. Vecchio and letterer Travis Lanham also have a fun use of sound effects, including phrases like “God Slam!”
Ayodele’s script continues to leap between past, present, and future, teasing the trials ahead of Ororo. Case in point: Storm #7 doesn’t open with Ororo’s battle with the other thunder gods but with the Silver Surfer facing off against a massive Lovecraftian deity. It immediately grabs the reader’s attention, as they’ll probably keep picking up the book to see how this pays off. I also appreciate Ayodele for exploring the way Ororo’s acension to godhood has drawn in other gods. It calls back to his work on Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, which took a similar approach in humanizing gods. These beings might possess immortality and immense power, but they carry all the flaws we humans have, magnified by infinity. The only question is, will this affect Ororo?
Storm #7 is a showcase of perfect timing. Not only does it arrive at Ororo Munroe’s 50th anniversary, but it shows her living up to her declaration of being a goddess…and shows that godhood isn’t as easy as some people might think. It also has a final page that teases Ororo’s battle with the Thunder Gods isn’t over yet.
