Storm

The weather-controlling mutant leader of the X-Men.

Ororo Munroe, known as Storm, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, she first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). Descended from a long line of African witch-priestesses, Storm is a mutant able to control the weather and atmosphere, considered one of the most powerful mutants on the planet. She is a member of the X-Men, a group of mutant heroes fighting for peace and equal rights between mutants and humans. She was one of the most prominently featured X-Men characters in the 1980s, when it was the best-selling comic book in America, and during that decade she acted as the acknowledged leader of the team.

Quick Facts

Publisher

Marvel Comics

Debut

Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)

Creators

Len Wein; Dave Cockrum

Species

Human mutant

Alliances

X-Men
Avengers
Fantastic Four
Swordbearers of Krakoa
Great Ring of Arakko
Brotherhood of Arakko

Also known as

Weather Witch
White King
Windrider

Powers

Atmokinesis
Flight
Ecological empathy
Temperature and pressure resistance

Homeworld

Harlem, New York City

Lore & Background

Born Ororo Munroe to a tribal princess of Kenya and an African-American photojournalist father, Storm was raised in Harlem, New York City and Cairo, Egypt. She was orphaned after her parents were killed when a plane crashed into their house, an incident that also traumatized her with claustrophobia she struggled with for decades. Under a master thief's tutelage, she became a skilled pickpocket. By coincidence, she met the powerful mutant Professor X, who convinced her to join the X-Men.

She later acted as the team's leader in the 1980s after Cyclops took a leave of absence in The Uncanny X-Men #139 (November 1980). During Claremont's 16-year run, Storm appeared in 4,155 panels and on 97 of 182 issue covers. In The Uncanny X-Men #173 (October 1983), Claremont and artist Paul Smith gave her a punk look with a black leather top, pants with spikes, and a mohawk. She was also married to Black Panther, becoming queen consort of Wakanda, though the marriage was later annulled.

Reader's Guide

Storm is a member of a fictional subspecies of humans born with superhuman abilities known as mutants. She can control the weather and atmosphere. She has been a member of teams such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, as well as the X-Men. She is the first Black leader of a Marvel superhero team and the first female leader of a Marvel superhero team. She is the second Black female superhero for Marvel, after Misty Knight, who was created two months earlier. In media, Alison Sealy-Smith voiced Storm in X-Men: The Animated Series (1992-1997) and reprises the role in X-Men '97 (2024–present) and What If…? (2024). Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp portrayed adult and young versions of Storm in 20th Century Fox's live-action X-Men film series (2000-2019).

Did You Know?

Storm was created as an amalgam of two Dave Cockrum characters: The Black Cat and Typhoon.
Editor Roy Thomas suggested making Typhoon, originally male, into the woman of the group to avoid an all-male X-Men lineup.
Storm's punk look with a mohawk in The Uncanny X-Men #173 was inspired by Walt Simonson shaving his beard and mustache.
Storm appears in 4,155 panels and on 97 of 182 covers during Chris Claremont's 16-year run on X-Men.