Marvel Comics has many female characters that have been adored by fans. One of the more prominent ladies is the mutant Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm. This powerful yet graceful X-Man, or X-Woman rather, was created to inject new life into a series that was nearing cancellation. Her debut in the pages of Giant-Size X-Men #1 was accompanied by several other characters, all of whom became quite popular. This experiment worked as the X-Men grew to become one of the most beloved franchises in the realm of comics.

Ororo held the leadership title of the mutant team for several years. She served in Cyclops’ place when he left the team. When the X-Men were split in two teams, the blue and gold teams, she was the leader of the latter. Storm would become leader of the underground mutant group, the Morlocks, after defeating their leader, Callisto, in combat.

Storm’s mutant powers basically allow her to control the forces of nature. She has complete mastery over the weather. One of her more common moves is the summoning of lightning bolts. Because of these abilities, she has often been referred to as “weather witch” and “wind rider.” She has lost her powers on at least one occasion and still proved to be the capable leader and combatant. She possessed many skills that weren’t rooted within her mutant abilities, such as being a skilled thief and her proficiency in hand-to-hand combat.

She began suffering from claustrophobia as a youngster after being buried under rubble with the bodies of her parents when they were killed. Over time, however, she was able to better control her fear. It was mentioned in an issue of the ongoing adjective-less title, X-Men. Outside of this reference, it has not been an issue for some time.

A major aspect of Storm’s life in recent years was her marriage to the king of Wakanda, T’Challa, who is also known as the Black Panther. While she did become Queen of Wakanda, her membership with the X-Men remained intact. Since their marriage, she has in fact operated with her original team and performed her royal duties as Queen. Many Wakandans did not take lightly to an outsider becoming their queen.

Her marriage to Black Panther hasn’t been examined that extensively. Hopefully Marvel can get back to that as there is much to be explored with the couple. Their union is one of this writer’s favorites and as such is called one of my Marvel power couples.

Storm has a vast history. This also includes her serving as a great example of a character of color. She is not built on a foundation of stereotypes like many others. She is also a strong female portrayed quite positively.

Having been around for over 30 years, there is so much more to this magnificent mutant than can be listed. She has appeared in numerous issues of the various X-books, most notably Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, and within her husband’s series Black Panther. She has starred in several of her own mini-series, two of them titled Storm, and another titled Ororo: Before the Storm. If you’d like to check out some of the weather mistresses adventures, those are all great places to start, but there is always more.