Which Goddess Does Storm Worship?

[RLAAMJR.]

That's how the African people worshiped her, as a Goddess and no, she is not one

I think if you think about it, she can be considered a real goddess, she's just not immortal.

To think that she has powers to control the weather and people seek help from her, she is a goddess at all.

[t hedge coke]

Is it left up to the reader why? Did they humor her because they could not believe in spirits? Did they humor her because she was not affiliated with a political power organized religion? Did they humor her because she was a woman?

Probably because Storm was young, and full of herself.

[yogaflame]

Probably because Storm was young, and full of herself.

If you didn't have the word 'mutant', didn't know about genetics and the x-factor gene, and you had strange physical characteristics and could control the forces of nature at a whim, 'god' or 'goddess' isn't too far off the mark, and certainly not overselling ones self.

[DDD]

Sounds sexist to me. She can't get the title despite being more efficient than any deity's been in 1000s of years. Knocked down a peg right before she's offered in marriage to Black Panther.

[t hedge coke]

If you didn't have the word 'mutant', didn't know about genetics and the x-factor gene, and you had strange physical characteristics and could control the forces of nature at a whim, 'god' or 'goddess' isn't too far off the mark, and certainly not overselling ones self.

Yes and no. It's a word where artificial men who radiate flame had been a public thing for, with the sliding time scale, over fifty years.

Sure, she could be a goddess. If goddesses can have mortal births, mortal parents, and a rap sheet for petty theft, which, since "goddess" doesn't really mean much other than "worth worshipping," could be true. But, she's as much a "goddess" in this context, as originally presented, as Captain America was an Inuit god, in early Avengers. "Them heap dumb savages without newspaper."

People worship what seem, to me, perfectly normal people, or special men and women who may never have existed, right now. You can worship anybody, and find a reason to. You can deify anyone. But, in context of those old stories, that's not what was happening and I'm glad it got written off.

Sounds sexist to me. She can't get the title despite being more efficient than any deity's been in 1000s of years. Knocked down a peg right before she's offered in marriage to Black Panther.

It's the Marvel Universe. "Gods" are plentiful, many are just super-strong aliens or bored genetics experiments. This world had recently known a variety of gods, many in contemporary times. Venus, "we" thought, had come to Earth to be a superhero. Thor's helping the Nazis and forty years later, he's an Avenger. There's a kid in upstate New York who was born with a fistula in his chest in the shape of an inverted pentagram. People are praying to and receiving boons from Poseidon and Agamotto. Panther, himself, and many of his people have verifiable proof of their god and how far that kind of ultraterrestrial power goes. What qualifies as a god is a matter of where you set the bar, but even at that time in the MU, that bar could be set very, very high, because the world did have active demonstrations of powerful figures and entities.

It's not sexist to not believe a kid, born to mortal parents, on her own, in a world that's had Namor, Whizzers, and Miss Americas in it might not actually be a god just because she can make it rain.

[DDD]

Jesus had a rap sheet too. *crosses arms*

[t hedge coke]

Jesus had a rap sheet too. *crosses arms*

I'm sure he was a good thief, too. Like in the night and all that. But, if it came down to a knife fight, I know where I'd put my money.

[yogaflame]

You have to look at Giant Sized X-Men without applying the later stories of Chris Claremont. Mutants have only been publicly known in their world since Magneto's attack on the Cape in X-Men#1, which according to the sliding timescale only is 10-13 years ago from present, so as of Giant Sized #1, we're talking a few years. If you think every scientific advancement is well understood by every single person in the world in a matter of years, that's just not realistic. There are uncontacted tribes spread around the world to this day, without any knowledge of corporate news media, or anything beyond their own lives. Not many, but there are some.

Even if the word/concept of 'mutant' had spread across the world, that doesn't mean everyone is going to accept it as a fact, contrary to thousands of years of cultural interpretations. Even in the upcoming Apocalypse movie, CIA Moira says that since Mystique/Beast/Magneto were revealed on tv 10 years ago, some people see mutants as a second coming or some other sign of God and have formed cults around them. Think about homosexuality in the real world. Some still think it is the work of the Devil, or a choice, or a sin, instead of the more widely accepted idea that is just another variation on the human condition with genetic origins.

I love that Ororo had a different experience of her mutation. I love that instead of hating or fearing her, her community was actually very pragmatic and celebrated the life-sustaining gifts she brought to them. Ororo using her powers to help the humans around her is the very crux of Xavier's dream. So what if they called her a goddess and offered her gifts(which she refused)? What does that say of our culture then? Where we worship and deify(and make rich with our financial supplications) celebrities whose greatest gifts may be physical attractiveness and the ability to read a script?

I think some are just disturbed by the idea of a black female being deified. Or of pagan spirituality in general. In and of itself, Ororo's story should be uplifting and celebrated as a triumph of humanity, not derided as a farce and framed as belittling the people who praised her true, tangible contributions to their lives.

[DDD]

Not only did Storm had to get through a rock blocking her tomb, she was also chained:

[t hedge coke]

I think some are just disturbed by the idea of a black female being deified. Or of pagan spirituality in general.

Who?

You drop a thing like that in here, back it up.

[yogaflame]

Who?

You drop a thing like that in here, back it up.

Please. For thousands of years, huge swathes of the world population has been brainwashed(with violence in many eras/places) that a white man is God. I need not prove there are still racial or gender inequities or prejudices in the world to this day. Even if most people would not admit it, it is certainly a subconscious feature of the global consciousness.

[RLAAMJR.]

Not only did Storm had to get through a rock blocking her tomb, she was also chained:

ROFL. :-)

You are awesome DDD.

[Cold Water]

I think some are just disturbed by the idea of a black female being deified. Or of pagan spirituality in general. In and of itself, Ororo's story should be uplifting and celebrated as a triumph of humanity, not derided as a farce and framed as belittling the people who praised her true, tangible contributions to their lives.

Who are "some", though?
The writers? Fans? People in this thread?

[Habis]

I think some are just disturbed by the idea of a black female being deified. Or of pagan spirituality in general. In and of itself, Ororo's story should be uplifting and celebrated as a triumph of humanity, not derided as a farce and framed as belittling the people who praised her true, tangible contributions to their lives.

I'm tired of how people keep trying to use accusations of racism or sexism as a way to disqualify other people when they say something they don't like. If I deny that Oprah is a goddess will you accuse me of sexism and racism?

And again, what the heck has worshipping a flesh and blood woman anything to do with pagan spiritualism? Bast is a goddess in the MU. Isis is a goddess in the MU. Mamalu is a goddess in the MU. Ezili is a goddess in the MU. Ororo Munroe is NOT a goddess, she is a mortal woman. She needs to eat and drink and breath and sleep. She ages and gets sick, and one day she will die of old age. Paganism is NOT about worshipping a mortal that impress you.

And what the hell, I think it is quite disrespectful towards real-world religions to compare their deities with Marvel's. I think any Ásatrú or Itan or Shinto or Hinduist believer will get angry is you were to imply that their deities are the same as Marvel's.

I can say that Marvel's version of Odin or Thor suck ass, and that doesn't mean any disrespect towards the believers of Ásatrú, because the Thor in Marvel Comics isn't the same as the Thor they worship. However, if I were to say that their Thor is the same as the comic character, that WOULD be disrespectful, same as Christians would get offended if I were to say that Garth Ennis's Preacher's God is the same as the Christian God.

[Cold Water]

Please. For thousands of years, huge swathes of the world population has been brainwashed(with violence in many eras/places) that a white man is God. I need not prove there are still racial or gender inequities or prejudices in the world to this day. Even if most people would not admit it, it is certainly a subconscious feature of the global consciousness.

Not to speak FOR t hedge coke, but I have to put this out there:
Before you go any further with this stuff, you should know that you are preaching to the choir.
t hedge coke is well aware of these things.
As am I.
As are most the people posting in a Storm thread, on the X-boards.