Is Storm able to carry her own solo ongoing for multiple years? Why not before?

[The Lame Ugly Looking Joke]

Why has she not done so beforehand? What has prevented her from managing to do so before?

For those that think she can, what qualities unique to her do you feel enable to carry her own book long-term?

If you feel she CAN'T carry her own book long-term, what changes do you feel need to be made to the character in order for her to be able to do so?

[Rift]

If you feel she CAN'T carry her own book long-term, what changes do you feel need to be made to the character in order for her to be able to do so?

Sshe would need to have a more recognizable and clear power. Instead of vague weather and energy or whatever, she should have telekinesis. A simple power with a lot of uses, and a power most people are familiar with. She could even have her own energy signature to make its use more visually striking. Instead of having Jean's pink energy, she could have green.

[The Lame Ugly Looking Joke]

Sshe would need to have a more recognizable and clear power. Instead of vague weather and energy or whatever, she should have telekinesis. A simple power with a lot of uses, and a power most people are familiar with. She could even have her own energy signature to make its use more visually striking. Instead of having Jean's pink energy, she could have green.

But has this helped Jean herself (and other telekinetics) in terms of her chances of carrying her own book?

[X-Logan]

No, She can't. Marvel has already tried and failed not only with her but also with every single one of the most famous x-men. The truth is that there is only character of the entire x-franchise (you know who,right?) that IS capable of that.

Or two if you considered Deadpool.

[JB]

Yes, I believe she can. The key for me would be the backdrop of Arakko and the intergalactic side of it all. I don't know if Storm will continue to be on Arakko in the new era but if she is I believe she can be taken even farther out to the stars and beyond.

[Nyssane]

Yes, she can. She just needs a strong creative team and a cohesive vision. Her last few solos have been unremarkable, and unremarkable won't sell for a female-led solo title sadly. But look at how beloved X-Men Red has been with Storm at the forefront.

[Cyclone_Ablaze]

Why has she not done so beforehand? What has prevented her from managing to do so before?

For those that think she can, what qualities unique to her do you feel enable to carry her own book long-term?

If you feel she CAN'T carry her own book long-term, what changes do you feel need to be made to the character in order for her to be able to do so?

1. Storm requires a skilled writer who can truly grasp her voice, history, and powers. While many have struggled to grasp these aspects, Chris Claremont, Al Ewing, and to an extent, Coates, have succeeded.

2. Storm has long surpassed her roles in the X-Men and Black Panther narratives. Her connections extend beyond the X-Men and T'Challa to the broader Marvel Universe. Crafting stories with her and Dr. Strange shouldn't be difficult, considering Storm's history is intertwined with Oshtur, the very entity from whom Dr. Strange derives his magic. It's hard to believe that no one can make a story with such rich potential.

3. I can understand why some believe she can't carry her own book. But that's only the X-Office and Marvel to blame because they spend TOO MUCH time on Wolverine and Deadpool. Two people whom I don't find interesting at all.

Sshe would need to have a more recognizable and clear power. Instead of vague weather and energy or whatever, she should have telekinesis. A simple power with a lot of uses, and a power most people are familiar with. She could even have her own energy signature to make its use more visually striking. Instead of having Jean's pink energy, she could have green.

Storm's powers are not overly complex.

She is an Atmokinetic, possessing the psionic ability to control the energies that create weather. However, since the Planet X-Men storyline, Storm just makes her own weather now. What makes her an Omega is that her powers are not limited to Earth alone. She can utilize them in any environment, and they adapt to the surroundings she finds herself in. Add on the fact that she knows Magic makes her very OP then she already is.

[JamJams]

In my opinion Storm is too 'big' for a solo comic because her character is too big. As someone said earlier with "she needs a simple powerset". She also needs more of a simple background but she is by far the most vast character background person in the X-Men.

She's a goddess, she's a thief, she's a leader, she's a seductress, she's a motherly figure, she's a nudist, she's a future vampire queen, she's a magic-user, she's an ex-wife, she's a former Wakadan Queen, she's fierce, she's gentle, she's loving, she's vengeful, she's fearless, she's claustrophobic. You can't take ALL of those character traits and condense it down into one solo comic because there are fans of each of those aspects of Storm and when it's left out they will say 'This isn't Storm". The same can even be said for her hairstyles.

She's just too good of a character to fit into a solo book at this point. You'd almost have to intentionally say "We are doing a solo book but its specifically set in this time period". So the readership knows that you're using that version of Storm but you're still going to alienate the segment of fans that like the other eras of her more but from a writing standpoint you at least have a narrative focus for which Storm you're dealing with.

[yogaflame]

She totally could, but I'm not sure Marvel is prepared to do the things that would help her succeed in this market. If Claremont had spun off a Storm solo series back in the 80's, like he did for Wolverine, and Excalibur, etc, she definitely could have had a long solo series back then, which would have set the tone for later runs(and conditioned the buyers/marketplace). But they didn't, so, to try to do so now will be far more challenging.

Ultimately, as a black woman, the character is facing an uphill battle in a marketplace dominated by white male characters/buyers. If you look at all of comicdom, successful female-led books are pretty rare(even Wonder Woman hasn't had a smooth ride, and books like She-Hulk and Dazzler had their big runs loooong ago). Successful Black female-led books are basically non-existent.

In order for a Storm solo book to thrive, the following would have to happen:

-first and foremost, you need an incredible writer who understands the character, isn't afraid of the scale of her powers, and is able to tap into the various aspects of her personality to present engaging stories. That's a tall order already.

-second, you need an incredible art team who can make her simultaneously sexy, dignified, and dynamic. The balance of those aspects is crucial. I think underplaying her attractiveness was one of the biggest faults in that Pak Storm series from a decade ago. That and the boring colors.

-beyond those obvious two, you'll need to flesh out her supporting cast and rogues gallery, which could heavily draw from established fan favorites(like Jean, Betsy, Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Black Panther, and Thor, for example), but would also need newer, book-specific characters just for her.

I would say that the treatment Storm is getting in X-Men '97 is definitely a step in the right direction, priming a large audience with great feats and engaging characterizations, and the books Lord Ewing wrote with her in his recent run were dipping a toe in the waters, largely having been stealth Storm solos. That said, I am nervous to see what this upcoming Storm solo will bring to the table. I'm not sure Brevoort is going to pull it off judging from the X-Book previews coming from him so far, but I hope even if that book doesn't thrive, they don't give up. Considering how many relaunches Captain Marvel has had in recent times(with essentially NONE of them actually clicking), I hope they keep trying. I do love Storm as a part of the X-Men, but it would be amazing to see her carve out her own corner of the Marvel Universe and tackle some of the long underdeveloped aspects of the character(such as her mother's culture, more stories with Ashake and Ayesha, their ancient dealings with the Shadow King, the Acanti, and magic/mysticism, just to name a few).

If they managed to serve up a balance of cheesecake fantasy, superheroics, and insightful social commentary, there's potential for a perfect Storm book, one that could weather many moons in a volatile market.

[DragonsChi]

Yes, but it would have been easier if Marvel had pushed it in the late 80's.

In the height of her popularity, just based of merch and name recognition, Storm could have been the defacto lead Woman of Marvel. But squandered opportunities.

[MVComics]

We will soon find out

[Zero Hunter]

When a character is created as a part of a team from the start it is very hard to ever go solo. This is especially true when those characters have ridiculous power levels that are not well defined. Storm powers don't translate to being a solo character nearly as well as a Wolverine, Gambit, or Cable do, plus those characters were all created as loners before they became a part of the team.

Honestly once a character is given that stupid "Omega" title they are pretty much ruined because they are just too powerful. It is hard to find interesting things to do when a character is god level.

[staptik777]

The truth is that there is only character of the entire x-franchise (you know who,right?) that IS capable of that.

Oh I know, I know

Cable am I right?

[yogaflame]

Power fantasy is the core of superhero comics, so I don't think that's the main issue. Thor and Wonder Woman, for example, ARE gods and have always been presented as such, and have solo runs stretching back to the beginnings of comics. People LOVE feats of power. Look at how Cyke's 'superhero landing' and Storm's 'ancients sands' feats captivated audiences in '97. The entire internet was blown away.

[MRP]

What do long running solo series have in common?

-ability to tell varied stories that don't just turn on the power set of the character

-a strong supporting cast that is not just powered individuals to ground the character in the world they inhabit

-interpersonal relationships that don't rely on their powers to be the basis of the relationship (which helps to get stories that qualify for the first point)

-a strong rogues gallery unique to that character that can also lead to stories about the relationship between the protagonist and the antagonists to help build and define the character of the protagonist

-the ability to act and have stories that are independent of other characters in the shared universe i.e. stories that are uniquely about the protagonist and not about their group affiliations, to be able to carve out a space intendent of the shared universe they inhabit so that the stories feel uniquely theirs, and so when the protagonist does interact with the shared universe it feels like a natural progression but not a necessity for the character to be interesting. A character that cannot stand by itself outside its shred milieu cannot support a long running solo book. Shorter series that tell a particular story with its beginning, middle and end, sure but not a prolonged, sustained series of stories about that character.

Storm is a strong character, but for as long as she has been around, she has not developed some of those key components all long running solo books have in common. Could a writer do that? Sure, But, especially with X-characters who are so tightly and intricately woven win the weave of the X-universe, it's hard to to pull them out of that without unravelling what makes the character unique. It's a coincidence that when Wolverine got his first solo mini and in the early issues of his ongoing, that the stories being told were separate from the larger X-universe of the time. Some ties to it, sure, but separate enough that they were able to carve out a unique place to tell stories about Logan that weren't dependent on the X-universe or the large X-cast. Once that had been established, it was possible to weave in those X-elements more without eroding the foundation Logan needed to be able to stand on his own. No one has really been able to do that with any of the other X-characters, and thus none of them have had successful long-running solo series. Some have done well telling particular stories featuring a character solo, but few have achieved that first bullet point which is necessary for sustainability.

-M