X-Men Writer Chris Claremont Didn't Like Storm/Black Panther Marriage

In the grand tradition of superhero comics, the marriage between Ororo Munroe and T'Challa was an event. Not only was it an X-Men marrying an Avenger, but it was king finally finding a queen.

While it was a big event in the pages of Marvel Comics and had an impact on both characters moving forward, one prolific creator was not a fan of the move.

Prolific X-Men writer Chris Claremont, who helped make Storm one of the most popular characters in Marvel's pantheon, spoke with io9 about his problem with the marriage to Black Panther.

"Well, the problem I have with it is, who gets top billing? Because that's the function of a king's wife is to produce little princes and pricessees, right? The first thing that Charles and Diana did was have a child," Claremont said.

It's kind of an odd issue to take with the marriage, but it makes sense from a storyteller's perspective, as he goes on to explain.

"Their job was to have babies and be guarded and I think the challenge with any marriage relationship in comics—but especially a marriage of leading characters in comics—is answering the question: 'What comes next?'" Claremont said. "Does Ororo become a supporting character in T'Challa's book? Does T'Challa become a supporting character in Ororo's book? How do you strike a balance between them?

"What do you do five years down the line? Because the practical reality is that the audience gets older, the creator gets older, but the characters can't get older and the moment you bring a child into it, that automatically marks time."

The marriage, which was established in Black Panther #18 in 2006, was not meant to be — like most every "permanent" change in cape comics. The two characters were broken up six years later as part of the Avengers vs. X-Men event. The 2012 maxi series saw battle lines drawn between the two super teams as the Phoenix Force returned to Earth for a mysterious purpose.

Black Panther and Storm have remained amicable toward each other after the event, even making up a new version of the Crew as part of the current run of T'Challa's solo series. And while they might have a one night stand here or there, they're unlikely to tie the knot again.