58 Hook 12.5 Length 15.5 Breakpoint Shape

Manufacturer’s Intent: “As we move forward with the technology in the Modern Marvel, we are looking for a stronger, yet controllable, ball motion that will fit a variety of bowlers and lane conditions, and one that yields a consistent motion throughout the entire lane,” says Matt Martin of Storm. “Prepped with 4000 grit Abralon to match the ‘modern’ environment, the Modern Marvel provides an optimum amount of traction... just enough glide through the heads without over-skidding, and enough back-end to verify you are, indeed, throwing a Storm bowling ball.”

Core Design: The Modern Marvel shares the Centripetal symmetric core with the Prodigy (August 2010), Marvel Solid (March 2011) and Marvel Pearl (August 2011). This is a fast-revving core with plenty of flare and resultant hook. The RG is low at 2.48 and the Diff. strong at .050. The shape produces a predictable early-rolling motion for most bowler styles.

Coverstock: The coverstock is Storm’s R2X hybrid formula, finished with a 4000 Abralon pad. The R2X cover supplies slightly more traction in oil than the R2S formula. Both covers provide quick and strong response when encountering friction areas. The colors are a blending of ale pearl and red and black solids. The scent is a sweet, calming “aromatherapy” concoction. Our Ra reading was 4.7, which is relatively aggressive.

Test Results: With so many benchmark-type balls currently on the market, it’s easy to see how one could get lost in the shuffle. This will not be the case for any of the Marvel series balls. They provide three coverstock options while sharing a fast-revving, release-friendly, heavy-flaring core. The Modern Marvel will handle heavier oil volumes with ease, and also suit players with above-average ball speeds. The smooth, controlled, yet hard-arcing response off friction areas makes this ball easy to read on tougher Sport shots and through transitional phases. We saw our best looks on patterns where the mid-lane oil held up, and on patterns laden with nasty oil carrydown.

When to Use: Use confidently when looking for a smoother move down-lane than from balls with Storm’s asymmetric core designs. The aggressive factory surface prep can be smoothed or polished to increase length, reduce oil traction and quicken dry lane response. For layout junkies, we saw little motion difference between our 5-inch pin layouts above or below the fingers.