Marvel Universe: Storm

By Denis del Callar

Presenting the X-Men's Storm from the Marvel Universe Series 17 toy line. Ororo Iqadi T'challa nee Munroe (Ororo Komos Wakandas), AKA Storm, AKA Wind Rider (Hmmm, haven't heard anyone call her Wind Rider in quite some time - Probably because till recently Storm took a backseat to Cyclops), AKA Weather Witch; Former Goddesss; 2nd in command of Cyclops' X-Men; Leader of one the X-Men teams; Member of Captain America's Avengers; former member of the Fantastic Four, Lady Liberators and Hellfire club; Former Leader of the Morlocks and reigning Queen of Wakanda by marriage to T'Challa, the Black Panther, and; One of the most influential and important African characters ever to be developed for comic books and the big-screen.

A Marvel Character with a history almost as colorful as Wolverine's.

Personally I was disappointed that she decided to stay with Cyclops despite the clash of values simply because Cyclops begged her that he needed her from a PR standpoint.

I was also disappointed when the Schism happened because there was a third option for leadership - Storm - who has led the X-Men for almost as long as Cyclops has (And kicked Cyclops' ass without powers for the leadership of the X-Men in a classic battle between the two in X-Men # 139, November 1980 - I was 7 at the time). But I suppose with the clamor for Rogue to come into a more prominent leadership position, two strong leaders with Wolverine seemed ill-balanced.

Storm's blister card reads: "The ability of Storm to harness the raw power of nature could easily make her an untamable force. Balanced by a gentle respect for human life, those powers have instead made Storm an authoritative presence in the mutant community and the world at large. Storm has evolved into a capable leader, commanding numerous strike teams while constantly influencing the destiny of the X-Men."



What's to like about Marvel Universe: Storm?

Storm comes finely articulated with a removable cape - if you pop her head off - and two clip on lightning.... well "bolts" is not the apt word...energy manifestations sounds better but that's not quite it either.

Her costume appears black in real life, but when exposed to harsh light and balanced out in Photoshop, Storm's color takes on a bluish hue as can be seen in almost all the photos.

She wears the tiara that she's been sporting since she first joined the X-Men - pre-punk era. and her eyes are colored white ( Which happens when she manifests her powers) - though if you look closely enough you can see a slight blue tinge where here her irises are - nice touch.

As mentioned, her over-all articulation is excellent and more on par with the articulation and pose-ability of Psylocke - almost the same body actually - rather than X-23.

Storm is one of those figures that would greatly benefit from a nice clip on stand. No true Wind Rider should be stuck on the ground. 

What's to like about Marvel Universe: Storm?

Unfortunately, though close, Storm's costume is not comic book accurate nor does it do her justice. If anything it looks like she draped a potato sack over a bathing suit which is a shame following the detailing that went into the costumes of other Marvel Universe characters like  X-23  and even Gambit and Thor. The image to the right is what her costume should look like now courtesy of her wiki.

There is definitely a lot of room for improvement and this is a perfect example of some of the inconsistencies that come from Hasbro's Marvel Universe line.

Further, as with  Psylocke , Storm does not come with a base like older variants of the Marvel Universe line. As previously mentioned It would really be nice if she came with a stand to help her fly.

This particular version of Storm was purchased at Filbars - a bookstore in Megamall in the Philippines for PhP 650 (US$ 14.77). She's available on Amazon for US$ 16.62 plus shipping (Roughly PhP 731.28)

We'll close this little visit on the Wind-Rider with a sign of things to come as the Avengers vs. X-Men (AvsX) is just around the corner: