The cover for the recently released A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment may have given a huge clue to the cosmic importance of the longtime X-Men leader Storm, as Ororo Munroe is depicted with a fiery aura and flames for hair, hinting her Celestial potential may soon be unleashed. This vision of Storm, already an Omega-level mutant, as an incandescent being of pure power, reminiscent of those who claim the Phoenix Force has only been seen once before, during the 2015 Black Vortex storyline.
A.X.E.: Judgment Day is an upcoming Marvel crossover event that will see Druig's Eternals assaulting the mutants of Krakoa and Arakko in an attempt to wipe out their "excess deviation," while Ajak's Eternals are seemingly reawakening the Progenitor Celestial, leading to the Eternals, Avengers, and X-Men being "judged." With the vicious assault by the Eternals just a week or two away, it would be a huge boon for the X-Men if Storm was able to somehow claim a type of Celestial godhood power, perhaps enough to defeat the Eternals.
Black Vortex, another crossover event, saw the X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy teaming up to stop the Black Vortex, a powerful artifact created by the Celestials eons ago that acts as a mirror, showing the viewer their ultimate potential and giving them that power if they accept, or succumb to it. Storm, when presented with her ultimate potential of becoming a true Goddess of Thunder capable of destroying whole worlds with her power, rejected the temptation of the Black Vortex, proving again how level-headed and value-driven Ororo is and always has been. Now, in the cover for A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment - illustrated by Carlos Pacheco - depicts Druig and other Eternals looming over some of X-Men's major players, including Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Magneto, who recently became the co-leader of Storm's new Brotherhood of Mutants in the pages of X-Men Red. While all of these X-Men are depicted in their normal Krakoan outfits, Storm looks remarkably different, still sporting the iconic new X-Men Red costume designed by Russell Dauterman, but now with a fire-like aura around her and a gorgeous head of fiery hair.
While this new fiery look for Storm does seem similar to the vision the Black Vortex gave Ororo when it showed her ultimate potential, it is also similar to how Marvel characters appear when imbued with the powerful Phoenix Force, such as Jean Grey, Rachel Summers, and the newest Phoenix holder the Avengers' Echo. Storm wielding the Phoenix Force would not make a lot of sense, seeing as Echo only recently gained the power of the Phoenix in Enter the Phoenix and is playing a significant role in Judgment Day, but Marvel has promised that the event will resolve many of the open-ended questions related to Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. Of course, there is also the chance that Pacheco simply decided to draw Storm this way, highlighting how powerful she has become as Regent of Sol, but it wouldn't make a lot of sense to do this with Ororo and none of the other X-Men present. Perhaps in the upcoming X-Men Red #5 Storm will somehow reclaim the powers of the Black Vortex, seeing as how she was recently approached by the Guardians of the Galaxy's Nova who was present for and changed by the Black Vortex, which would give the X-Men a powerful cosmic edge over both the Eternals and the Celestials.
While it is still unclear whether Storm will actually gain this bold new look and power during Judgment Day, it would be awesome to see Ororo elevated to an ever higher level of X-Men godhood, as she fights for the future of mutantkind against their many enemies.
A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment is available from Marvel Comics now!