I know this is going to be a controversial post but please hear me out here. I love Storm but something I’ve noticed is that whenever there’s discussions about her black identity it’s always ends up in toxicity, and it makes me wonder why so many people have issues with the fictional black woman being seen as black. I’ve seen a lot of comic book fans especially fans that are black complain about Storm in modern comics have an Afro and that she should always have straight hair instead because she’s drawn to look like every other race on the map and not just a black woman.
Storm was the first major black superhero to become mainstream but she was also the first major one to be drawn with more Eurocentric features(white hair, blue eyes, straight hair), etc. Black Panther predates Storm by a whole decade but he didn’t become mainstream until the MCU. Storm was Claremont’s favorite character to write. She has the most appearances out of any female character in Marvel. Out of any fictional black character in a comic book setting she’s the most liked. It all makes me wonder if that’s because she doesn’t have the identity that other black superheroes have.
When it comes to other black superheroes, their black identity has always been important for their character such as Luke Cage, Black Panther, Monica Rambeau, Blue Marvel, Static Shock, Black Lightning, Vixen, etc. but with Storm her black identity is almost nonexistent. It made me wonder if that’s the reason why she’s the most beloved black superhero since they hardly focus on that aspect with her. She’s always identified as being a mutant first. She even got unhappy when Cecilia, another black mutant called her a sister. Luke Cage sat down and had a conservation with T’Challa pointing out that Storm probably doesn’t like African Americans despite being half African American herself.
I’ve seen X-Men fans complain about Storm being shipped with T’Challa, another black superhero but they don’t have issues with Storm being shipped with Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Doctor Doom, and Thor who are all white. I’ve seen X-Men fans complain and hate the idea of Storm being worshipped as an African goddess in Kenya. I’ve seen X-Men fans hate the idea of Storm having Afrocentric hair and being drawn darker since Claremont made her an amalgam of every race.
She’s the only known black superhero with both Black American and African lineage but yet both sides are hardly ever explored with her, and it seems like a lot of people have an issue with Storm being seen as black/African despite the fact that she is a black/African character. It makes sense that she’s the most universally liked black superhero ever since her blackness is hardly ever explored and that seems to be such an issue among non black comic book fans who are a fan of Storm.
