X-Men fans have been infinitely disappointed in each cinematic rendition of one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Comics Universe: Storm. With her high-level list of feats, one would have thought it would have been relatively easy to translate all her kick-ass awesomeness onto the big screen, but they’ve failed miserably in each offering.
First, it was Halle Berry’s laughable accent, then it was her overall power level in the next few films. And let’s not forget how young Ororo was rendered completely useless in X-Men: Apocalypse.
With the outrageous success of Wonder Woman, easily the best superhero movie ever inspired by DC Comics material, the dichotomy between who knows how to direct a kick-ass woman superhero movie, and those who’re still hung up on antiquated troupes of fragility and emotional instability is apparent.
The Shadow League ranked Storm No.1 on our list of the Top 25 Illest Black Superheroes of All-Time list back in 2015.
So, without further ado, here are our top three reasons why a properly made Storm movie should be at least as good as a Wonder Woman’s movie vehicle, and why it hasn’t happened so far.
Storm is an Omega Level Mutant. That means her power set is in the same category as Jean Grey, who herself is stated to be the most powerful telepath in the MCU. With that beings said, why has it proven so easy to defeat Storm in just about every X movie? Poor writing and a lack of intimacy with the subject matter, I would guess.
Storm’s origin:
Storm was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum and made her appearance in Giant-Size X-Men #1 in 1975. From the very beginning it was made perfectly clear that Ororo Munroe was to be respected as a Queen, if not a goddess.
These are revolutionary ideas when we consider the time period in which she was created and the people who created her. The daughter of Kenyan tribal princess NDare and her American husband David Munroe, young Ororo grows up in Harlem before moving to Egypt with her parents. When they are killed during the military strife surrounding the Suez Canal in the ’70s, she is left an orphan on the streets of Cairo.
Yet she doesnt become food on the streets and does a great deal of eating herself as an expert pickpocket and skilled thief. She wanders into sub-Saharan Africa as a young woman and finds herself on the Serengeti. It is there that she is worshiped as a goddess when her ability to control the weather awakens.
Professor X recruits Ororo for his second team of X-Men, which actually turns out to be his third team of X-Men, when his first team is captured by Krakatoa the Living Island; but it is retroactively mentioned that Xavier ran into young Ororo when she was a street thief. Most of Storms early existence was written by Chris Claremont and he never disappointed – a rare feat for white people writing Black characters.
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Storm is one of the top hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel Universe, once defeating Morlocks leader Calisto in a knife fight for leadership of the underground group of mutant castaways without her powers. She also defeated Scott Summers aka Cyclops without her powers. Yet, in the movies, she’s ineffective without her abilities. Not even remotely canon!
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Storm was the headmaster of the Xavier Academy for Gifted Youngsters. That means she is held in esteemed company within this realm due to her intelligence, her resilience, and her overwhelming power set. Yet, Ororo hasn’t lead the X-Men missions in the films even once.
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For her leadership abilities, for her unstoppable power set and for her understated regality, Ororo Munroe should be easy to translate to the big screen for anyone with a true appreciation for the character. Past renditions have largely failed to properly translate to the big screen.
We hope that changes real soon.