Marvel Just Made a Major Change to Storm

Marvel just made a major change to X-Men’s Storm – and in they did it in the most unlikely of places. Ororo Munroe has been regarded as many things – a leader of the X-Men, a goddess of the elements, a queen, an omega-level mutant warrior – but a magical sorceress has never been one them… until now. 

WARNING: MARVEL COMICS SPOILERS FOLLOW! 

Marvel’s Scarlet Witch #2 features a backup story that sees Storm pay a visit to Wanda’s new Emporium shop. Ororo is there on behalf of the X-Men to give Wanda the dark news about how her father, Magneto, died heroically in battle during the recent war between mutants, the Eternals, and The Avengers, which was fought across Earth and the mutant planet of Mars/Arakko. After settling that business, Wanda asks Ororo for the favor of accompanying her on a mission. 

Storm and Scarlet Witch’s outing takes them to a mystical island, where Wanda is hoping to harvest a particular flower during the light of a harvest moon. The mission also seems to have a secondary agenda: it helps Wanda demonstrate to Ororo that she is more than a mutant – she’s also a sorceress! 

Scarlet Witch pitches the concept of Storm being part of “The Sisterhood” of witches and magic users – a fact hinted at by the way Storm’s powers put her in tune with nature on a metaphysical level. Ororo is skeptical – until the pair are attacked by the water spirit that protects the island. At first, Storm counterattacks with her usual mutant power set – but when Wanda guides her to channel power through thoughts of her place in The Sisterhood, Storm taps into a distinctly magical kind of energy. The Water Spirit’s arrogance quickly fades as the mystical powers of both the Scarlet Witch and Storm bind it in place. 

Is Storm Really A Witch? 

This tweak to Storm’s character definitely makes a certain amount of sense, given the history of the character that Marvel has built. Ororo has evolved into more and more of an ethereal figure who is regarded as something greater than human or mutant. While her power set of weather control was kitschy in the 1970s era when it began; however, as the ideas of witchery and environmentalism have grown closer together, it only makes sense that Marvel at least explores Storm’s power from a mystical point of view. It also makes sense in this new “Dawn of X” era of X-Men, where sci-fi, fantasy, mysticism, horror, and classic superhero tropes are all mixed into one weird brew. 

Scarlet Witch is on sale at Marvel Comics. Storm currently stars in the series X-Men Red.