Storm has found Magneto in the afterlife, but can she help him return to the living? Find out in Resurrection of Magneto #2 by Marvel Comics!

RESURRECTION OF MAGNETO #2

Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Luciano Vecchio
Colorist: David Curiel and Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Editor: Jordan White
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: February 28th, 2024

Previously in the Resurrection of Magneto: Orchis destroyed the nation of Krakoa, and Arakko was plunged into Civil War. Storm led her forces of Arakko against Genesis and won, but before she could return to Earth to help, she heard the cry of Magneto. Thus, Storm decided to try to find him to ensure he is safe and pull him back to the world of the living if he desires.

SINS OF OUR ACTIONS

Resurrection of Magneto #2 starts with a flashback where Magneto receives a key from a sea hag during one of his ocean adventures with Namor. However, in the present, he is surrounded by the names of many people who died both because of him directly or because of his orders or what he represents. Storm attempts to talk him out of it, but Magneto laments each and every name and even attacks Storm to leave him to his guilt. Throughout this fight, Magneto has bleeding closed eyes. Storm tells Magneto what is going on with Orchis and how bad the situation is. Magneto still wallows in his guilt, but Storm literally and figuratively opens his eyes to all the people he saved.

Magneto then takes out the key the Sea Hag has and opens a door, as this is the key to resurrection. There, he finds a dark shadow standing in the way of his exit.

THE PATH BACK HOME

Throughout this story, I see a lot of references to Jewish tradition. While I am not an expert on this particular subject, I think grappling with some of the familiar themes of that tradition provides a gripping light on the situation. Personally, I have a hard time seeing Magneto as anything other than a villain, and I wasn’t a fan that Resurrection of Magneto #2 tried to legitimize his actions by stating how many people he saved. He is such a good character because he is a person who takes things too far, and if we are trying to overlook that, then the character concept is weakened. But it is an engaging balance because Magneto isn’t forgiving himself even if the information is presented for the audience to ignore. This balance provides a unique interpretation for me, as a writing professor, and shows me how to handle characters like this, but I am unsure if the creative team found a balance that I felt satisfied with.

Magneto and Storm, however, look amazing on the page. Both have very dynamic character designs. Watching Magneto with bleeding eyes, kneeling on lava, and talking about the names of people he killed is embedded in my brain. Great work by the artist and colorist in this issue.

BOTTOM LINE: GREAT ISSUE

Resurrection of Magneto #2 is an excellent book that makes me think about the character and the creative writing decisions. However, it doesn’t fit the Fall of X event and feels like a background issue when it should take a little more spotlight. The attachment to the main event must be rigid to balance because too much emphasis on that, and you take away from Magneto’s dilemma. Consider that Resurrection of Magneto gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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