Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1 – Heavy Is The Crown

After the events of Thunder Wars, Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant stands at a crossroad that would break lesser heroes. Betrayed by Eternity and having taken back her own agency, Storm now wields new power. After tea with Susanoo, Storm finds herself on a path that may have long-reaching implications for her status and power. With the return of the Omega of Omegas, anything less than two reviewers would be insufficient, so this week Megan and I are both reviewing Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1.

Creative Team

Writer: Murewa Ayodele
Artist: Federica Mancin
Color Artist: Java Tartaglia
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

Writing

Megan: Continuing the incredible writing of Murewa Ayodele, Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1 gives us what I can only describe as the darkest that Ayodele has gone with Storm. We get a fantastic look at Storm, who sticks to her morals no matter what’s asked of her. Storm is asked something of her that directly goes against what she believes in, so she handles it in a way that she would soon regret, with a tea ceremony. Pulling the wool over the eyes over Susanoo, Storm is under the impression that she made the right call. What she doesn’t know are the impacts that are soon to come afterwards.

Storm has always been someone who holds her values close, and does what she thinks is right to preserve life of all kinds. This is something that Ayodele is able to perfectly communicate with the audience, showing how strong Storm is in many ways. However, we also see the discourse following her doing what she can to stick to her morals, and to say it’s devastating is putting it lightly. Ayodele continues to prove that he truly understands Ororo Munroe inside and out, and is expertly able to show her complexity that’s often overlooked.

Shawn: As good as Rogue/Storm was, I have been waiting on this, and man, did Ayodele deliver. After treating us to a brief recap of the Thunder War in Storm #12, we roll right back into the action. Readers are treated to a surprise appearance hinting at either a partnership or conflict in future issues. Ayodele has mentioned before that the Eternal Storm Saga Season One as he labeled it (Storm 1-12) focused on the complex dilemma of Storm refusing to sacrifice the individual to protect the collective being compared to Eternity always willing to sacrifice their champion to protect the collective.

Ayodele begins to deliver another complex dilemma for readers in this issue, forcing Storm to really consider what makes her true and what comprises her moral code. The interactions are beautifully crafted by Ayodele, whether they be a conversation between Storm and Susanoo or a French superhero and her children. Every word feels important and impactful.

Art

Megan: The artwork of Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1 is as stunning as the story itself. Federica Mancin and Java Tartaglia bring all the heat to the pages of the comics with their gorgeous talents. Mancin shows Storm in all her weather goddess glory, showcasing her powersets and her strengths. Tartaglia’s use of vibrancy juxtaposing darker colors makes her powers practically pop off the pages. Travis Lanham brings all the artwork together with his fantastic work on the lettering, that brings so much depth and emotion to the pages. All in all, the artists knocked this out of the park!

Shawn: Federica Mancin crafted beautiful images to accompany this debut issue. If this is how “Season Two” of Storm is starting off, I can’t wait to see what is to come. From crafting the details of a cell phone screen, to detailing blood spatter across the scene, Mancin shows a keen eye for detail in the lines and shading that any comic reader could appreciate. Travis Lanham blew me away with lettering in this issue. There was a wide variety of techniques on display and some of the decisions with lettering worked perfect for the panels they were deployed in. Java Tartagila does a great job really making scenes pop with great color choices.

Final Thoughts

Megan: 10/10. When I say that Murewa Ayodele brought the heat to this comic, I am not sugarcoating it. You’ll be glued to the pages and left wanting to read the next issue immediately. Full of emotion and excitement, this is a perfect issue!

Shawn: 10/10. Ayodele continues to craft narratives that make every word feel important and free from filler. The artwork is absolutely stunning, moving from a recap of previous issues to surprise appearances to a peaceful tea ceremony with beauty. Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant stimulates both the mind and the eyes with a great combination of writing and artwork.

This is the perfect debut issue for this run and does such a beautiful job of not only building on the work of Ayodele’s previous Storm run, but also makes the narrative story and choices from Storm 1-12 even more meaningful. Ayodele continues a string of strong first issue debuts from the author as well as Marvel Comics in general.

Overall Grade – 10/10

You can check out more reviews from Megan and Shawn!

Don’t forget to check out Megan’s review of Storm # 12 above or catch up on Storm 1-12 with the trade paperback for Storm in Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Are you happy Ororo Munroe is back? Let Megan and me know in the comments below