In honor of her 50th anniversary, CXF writers talk about what makes the X-Men’s Storm great

This year — and this week’s Storm #7 by Murewa Ayodele and Luciano Vecchio — marks the 50th anniversary of Ororo Munroe’s first appearance in Marvel’s Giant-Size X-Men #1. To celebrate the character’s cultural impact, CXF contributors Latonya “Penn” Pennington and Jude Jones held a roundtable discussion on the iconic Windrider.

ComicsXF: As a character, Storm has a long history in comic books and other media. When did you first encounter her as a character? 

Latonya “Penn” Pennington: I first saw Storm in the video game X-Men vs. Street Fighter, in ’97 or ’98. I have a fond memory of visiting some of my cousins and beating the boys with Storm. She made an impression on me with her typhoon and lightning attacks. As a kid, it was fun to play as such a powerful Black woman.

Jude Jones: I wish I had an answer that showed I was always some kind of comic savant; that I was introduced to her by some secret handshake, with some iconic storyline as my introduction. 

But, alas, my introduction to her was on the cover of Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s X-Men #1. My first real interaction with her was on Fox’s X-Men cartoon. I learned about her in the most pop way possible, which is why I’m forever an advocate of accessibility. Whatever gets characters into people’s hand quickest is best, (sometimes) adherence to canon be damned. 

CXF: Despite the fact that Storm was created by two white men, she has become one of the most well-known Black superheroes in comic book history. Why do you think she resonates so much with other Black comic book fans?

Penn: She’s a powerful Black woman with complexity. Her weather manipulation abilities make her an incredible person who is sometimes worshipped as a goddess, but her humanity grounds her. 

One of my favorite takes on Storm is Maya Glick’s Storm fan film. It was inspired by Ororo’s ’80s punk incarnation. Glick wrote and starred in it herself and does a great job demonstrating Storm’s myriad abilities and her intricate character.

Jude: Comics are, often, power fantasies. Superman for an immigrant; Batman for the orphan. In a society which does not always hear or revere Black women, you have this beautiful, empathetic, powerful woman who acts on her own agency for her own people. It resonates with Black fans because they can see the power they — we — want to have personified. 

CXF: Throughout her comic book history, Storm has been depicted and written in various roles: leader, goddess, street thief, to name a few. How do you think Storm could reach her full potential as a character?

Penn: I would love to see Storm use magic more. We’ve seen bits of it in titles such as X-Men Red and Scarlet Witch, and she has a magical ancestor named Ashake. I would love to see Storm tap into her latent magic abilities more fully.

Jude: “Full potential” is kind of a trap. I tend to read that as “What would you like this character to do?” and honestly what I like, others might hate. So I don’t think there’s a particular thing she needs to do, save this: always be written with thoughtfulness, agency and power. I don’t care if she’s the most powerful being, but I don’t want to see a symbol of Black power neutered. I don’t want a Black woman not to be able to speak for herself on page. I want her actions to spring from logic (to the degree that comic logic is real logic). 

Really, I don’t need her to do anything in particular; I just need her to be written with love and care by people with talent. 

And no straight-haired mohawks. 

CXF: What do you feel is Storm’s most iconic moment as a character?

Penn: In Eric Jerome Dickey’s Storm, there is a scene where she finally takes ownership of her mutant abilities after doubting herself for a while. This book shows her coming-of-age as she meets T’Challa and learns her own worth. Seeing her start to step into her greatness was poignant for me.

Jude: Knife fights with Morlocks notwithstanding, I’d argue Resurrection of Magneto #1 — the entire issue — was iconic. All the things I mentioned before — thoughtfulness, agency, power — she exuded in spades. Just an amazing piece of work. 

CXF: If you could have Storm team up with any Black comic book character, who would it be and why?

Penn: I would love to see Storm team up with Stranger Comics’ Niobe. She’s a Black half-elven, half-human young woman destined to defeat her father and save the world. I feel like Storm could be a source of guidance for Niobe in terms of staying in touch with herself and the world around her.

Jude: All of them (ha, imagine Storm x Spawn!), but three come to mind. I think her and Oya/Temper would make for a great mentor/mentee relationship; I think her and DC’s Vixen would be fast friends, and I can’t really think of a time when we’ve seen her having joy with a peer; and finally, ending on controversy, I’d like to see her reunited permanently with her ex-husband. I think there’s a desire to see a healthy, healing Black relationship on page, and, if done well, it can be additive without making either character dependent on the other.

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Latonya Pennington

Latonya "Penn" Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others. Follow them @wordsfromapenn.com on Bluesky.

Jude Jones

A proud New Orleanian living in the District of Columbia, Jude Jones is a professional thinker, amateur photographer, burgeoning runner and lover of Black culture, love and life. Magneto and Cyclops (and Killmonger) were right. Learn more about Jude at SaintJudeJones.com.