X-Men: Worlds Apart

Writer: Christopher Yost; Pencils: Diogenes Neves; Inks: Ed Tadeo

Rating 2.5 out of 5 stars

This should really have been billed as a Storm solo series, since the rest of the X-Men barely appear in it. But I suppose Marvel thought the X-Men name would sell more books.

Worlds Apart focuses on how Storm deals with the dual roles of X-Men member and wife of the Black Panther. The conflict is how she can be both one of the leaders of the American mutant team and the queen of the African nation of Wakanda.

Now, honestly, I don't see too much of a problem. Storm's teammate Wolverine is a member of the X-Men, X-Force, Avengers and he has numerous solo adventures around the globe. If he can handle that level of multi-tasking, then surely Ororo can manage her schedule well enough to split her time between the X-Men and her husband T'Challa. Yeah, it's a long commute between the United States and Africa, but considering Storm can fly, and she also has access to supersonic aircraft, I bet she could make it quick enough if needed.

But, if we go along with the story's premise, Storm has serious doubts she can fulfill the obligations of both roles. And apparently, on a subconscious level, so did the Black Panther. Those hidden doubts allow the Shadow King to take mental control of the monarch of Wakanda.

I've never been a huge fan of the Shadow King. Unlike the Devil, the Shadow King doesn't tempt you. No, if you have even the slightest unconscious doubt or fear or hidden darkness, he can simply take mental control of you. Which means he's technically able to manipulate almost any human being on the planet. After all, in the end we are all potentially capable of evil. While that means the Shadow King is in theory extremely dangerous, dramatically he is very boring. Near-unlimited mind control makes for a dull story, since there's no internal struggle between good and evil within the characters.

Nezhno, a Wakandan mutant Storm previous taught at Xavier's school, is caught on camera committing murder. Storm quickly realizes Nezhno is not responsible, that he's a victim of mind control. Ororo has Nezhno's released, but the order is countermanded by the Black Panther, who declares his wife a traitor. And while Storm is reeling from this, the Shadow King makes his presence known to her on the astral plane, revealing he is in control of T'Challa.

My problem is that the Black Panther should not be possessed so easily. His mental fortitude is phenomenal. Writer Christopher Yost states the fact that the Panther is unable to kill Storm in combat is evidence T'Challa is fighting the Shadow King's mental control. That seems a half-hearted excuse. Yost also explains the only reason Storm isn't under the Shadow King's control is the mental static in her brain. How very convenient. At least Yost is not the only writer to use that detail. Chris Claremont supplied it as an explanation in X-Men Forever for why Ororo's mind cannot be read. At least there's some consistency here.

In any case, Storm is left trying to free not only the Panther, but also Cyclops, who the Shadow King has taken control of and sent to kill the rest of the X-Men. The challenge, which reinforces the narrative's central dilemma, is can Storm save both her husband and her teammates, when the two are half a world away.

Obviously Storm resolves both conflicts, and decides she can indeed be both an X-Man and a queen. At least the story did end with her finding closure. After all, Marvel went to the trouble of marrying Storm and the Black Panther. So they might as well run with it, and see what stories they can tell, instead of breaking them up. Just because it was a sales stunt doesn't mean that it didn't open up legitimate storytelling possibilities. After all, Peter Parker and Mary Jane's wedding was originally a stunt, too. Um, well, hopefully that does not mean twenty years from now Marvel won't undue Ororo and T'Challa's marriage via demonic intervention!

As for the Shadow King, lazy narrative device or not, at least Yost is going with the original intention of the character was originally Amahl Farouk, a corrupt telepath whose body died during a mental battle with Charles Xavier, but whose mind survived on the psychic plane. I much prefer that to the notion the Shadow King is some evil from the dawn of time that hops from body to body, as some other stories have proposed. The Shadow King is at least a little more acceptable as a villain if he is a human evil rather than some cosmic darkness.

There was a brief moment at the end of Worlds Apart that I wish Yost had expanded upon. Emma Frost, who is romantically involved with Cyclops, thanks Storm for saving him. Ororo, in turn, thanks Emma for making Cyclops happy. Storm and Emma Frost started out as the bitterest of enemies, way back when Frost was the ruthless White Queen of the Hellfire Club. Seeing the two of them finding common ground and respect for one another deserved more than just one panel. But at least Yost touched on it, however briefly.

The artwork by Diogenes Neves & Ed Tadeo is perfectly serviceable. It's not really my cup of tea, but they do a good job drawing all the action sequences. It's dramatic, but at the same time nondescript. I just found it a bit generic, too similar to a lot of other styles out there at Marvel and DC nowadays.

Generic also applies to the covers by J. Scott Campbell, David Yardin, Mike Deodato, and Stephane Roux. As pin-ups, they are very good, but as covers that inform us of the contents of the issues, they fail. Really, I blame editorial for that, since for years Marvel's had these pin-up type covers on many of their books, rather than covers reflecting the actual stories.

Also reprinted in the Worlds Apart trade paperback is the original story by Chris Claremont, John Byrne & Bob McLeod from Marvel Team-Up #100 that established Storm and the Black Panther as having a history. I've never read it before, so I was glad it was included.

Additionally, the trade paperback has a reprint of Black Panther #26, which I believe had the first meeting of T'Challa and Ororo since the Marvel Team-Up story. This issue was from the groundbreaking run written by Priest, and illustrated by Sal Velluto & Bob Almond. It was Priest who developed the character of T'Challa and the nation of Wakanda to a degree never seen before. Priest's work on that book is a foundation for a significant part of the stories Yost, Reginald Hudlin, Jonathan Maberry and others have been doing with T'Challa over the last several years.

Really, I wish that Priest's run on Black Panther would get the trade paperback treatment. His rich, intelligent writing on the book was brilliant, and the art team of Velluto & Almond was amazing. At least we get one issue of it in the Worlds Apart collection. But Marvel out to be reprinting more of it. At the very least, the entire "Sturm und Drang" arc from Black Panther #s 26 to 30 ought to be issued as a trade paperback.

In the end, X-Men: Worlds Apart is a really mixed bag. An examination of Storm's conflicting duties and self-identity had potential, and at times Yost does some good work with the character. But the story suffers from having such a dull villain. In the end, it's entertaining enough, but unremarkable. I think it's significant that the bonus material written by Priest and Claremont & Byrne is stronger than the main story.