The subtitle for this issue is “Punked” and I feel like I’ve been punk’d with this series so far. I didn’t sugarcoat my dislike of the first issue in this limited series and I won’t sugarcoat anything for Storm #2 either. I need to say this…I’m not quite sure how this series was allowed to happened. We’re 2 of 5 issues in (that’s 40% of the total story) and it has been a complete character assassination of Storm so far.

Storm #2 continues the theme of characters behaving unnaturally, from both the way we’d expect certain characters to behave today and the way characters behaved during the time period this story is set. There’s no better example than the depiction of Kitty Pride. She isn’t just a naive teenager, she’s a one-note, pettish child. Storm & Kitty have a long and complex relationship and the dynamic between the two characters so far in this series feels completely fabricated.

Storm’s character assassination continues with her lack of self-confidence when dealing with issues related to controlling her powers. The doubts sowed in issue #1 continue to run deep here and see Storm accept that she’s broken because a brand-new love interest convinces her? Are we really to believe that Storm would just accept this fact and not do something about it? Not a lightning bolt chance in a thunderstorm.

Sid Kotian’s art doesn’t save the book at all either. Somehow, the lines are as inconsistent as the characters’ actions. It is trying to play as an homage to the late 80’s style that was standard during the time period this story is set, but the hard-lines feel like an overly abrasive approach when we’re dealing with abrasive personalities we can’t relate to.

I’m not sure if this is the story that write Ann Nocenti intended to write or if influenced by the direction of a higher power, but someone should be have to answer for what Marvel is doing to this beloved character.

Rating: 3/10