You know, I had a different topic originally planned for this week’s column. I did. However, after spending an entire afternoon watching Netflix, I stumbled upon a gem of an animated series and decided to clack about it — Wolverine and the X-Men. We’re going to do things a bit different this week. Change is good, right? Just ask Obama! Now, it is common knowledge among my friends that I’m a card carrying nerd and proud. To that end, I took pride in watching the baddies get taken down by the world’s coolest spandex clad mutants — especially my favorite one, Storm.
Call me a wannabe storm chaser, but I’ve always had a thing for Ororo Munroe aka Storm. Ever since I was a hyper little tyke, I always thought she was the coolest one. Sure, Cyclops could shoot red hot laser beams from his eyeballs. Of course Wolverine could heal himself and had the cool claws. Why wouldn’t Jean Grey be able to read minds and lift objects with her brain? Typical. No, the way I saw it was that it took a real hero to be able to manipulate the weather, and for a young boy who had aspirations of becoming a news anchor and weatherman — at least when I was a kid — that was just plain awesome.
What I like about Storm’s contribution to the X-Men isn’t that she’s of African decent. It’s not that she gives the team the extra diversity. It isn’t that she’s pretty. It isn’t that she’s a woman. No, what I like is that all of these things don’t really matter … at least not to me. The fact of the matter is that Storm is on the team because she’s a badass. Enough said. In fact, in practically every television incarnation of her character, Storm has always been tough. To that end, I wondered how she fared in each of the three X-Men cartoons from my youth. Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
Despite being in three entirely different television shows, the common denominator remains — Ororo Munroe is one bad behind chick. It’s just a pity that Halle Berry couldn’t do the role justice in the live action adaptations … but that’s a topic for another column. Still, it’s nice to know that whenever producers and writers decide to bring the X-Men to television, Storm is always chosen. It says a lot about her character, and being that she’s a woman of color could be the cherry on top of a very sweet sundae. When baddies go up against her, they know what they’re in for.
Nevertheless, perhaps that’s a storm worth weathering.
I know we’ve talked about her before, Jaylen, but I really love the 90s version of Storm. She had such a quiet strength that soon became a booming goddess of hail and lightening if you messed with her (I still laugh a little when I remember her shouting, “Fill the skies with rocks of ice!”). It was also pretty awesome that she spoke with an (I think authentic?) African accent. After re-watching a few other episodes recently, I also adore how well the relationship between Storm and Rogue was written. It’s a very genuine friendship that doesn’t feel forced at all… and they’re not always talking about boys!
As for Halle Berry… look, some of it was the writing. They really downplayed most of the female characters for the movies, which was a shame. But a lot of it was Berry’s acting.
*POST AUTHOR*
Katie, thanks for reading! Yes, Storm was awesome! I like the 90’s Storm as well. It was always interesting to see her in action, and I just get a kick out of hearing her declare what she’s about to do to an enemy — “Wind gusts of fierce speeds hammer down from above!” LOL That’s hilarious. It’s like she gives the enemy a heads up, but they never have time to run. Here’s a question for you — why do you think the 90’s Storm always announces what she’s about to do? LOL I’m curious.
I like Storm in the other incarnations as well. However, her appearance in ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ is by far her weakest. In regards to Halle Berry, I liked Storm a lot in the first X-Men movie. Hell, I even liked her in the second. That third one just ruined it for me. At least Berry tried to nail the accent in the first film.
Hey Jay, YOU ARE A GENIUS! I would have never thought you would have clacked in color on a cartoon character. This is how you think outside of the box. You always watched X-Men growing up and did a fantastic job writing about Storm.
I am looking forward to see who you clack about next week!
*POST AUTHOR*
Thanks, Mom! I appreciate the support! LOL
I think I like 90’s x-men Storm best. Storm iterating what she was doing just made it epic.
*POST AUTHOR*
Mike, you are awesome! I watched that clip and laughed for five minutes straight! Storm was just so epic! It was insane. It’s funny how all of the other X-Men have just grown accustomed to her speeches. If I were one of them, I’d just glance at my watch and wait for her to finish. LOL
I don’t think we’ve ever seen my favorite incarnation animated: the mid-’80’s badass Storm from the Morlock storyline who dueled Cyclops to lead the X-Men.