In comics, how long after your marriage ends should a character wait before getting back on the horse again? In "real life," people don't normally jump from one relationship to the next (well, some might, but it's not really the norm), but in comics things are a little bit different; things tend to move a whole heck of a lot faster. Case in point, Ororo (Storm) and T'Challa (Black Panther). For six years these too were married in comics (see BLACK PANTHER #18 from 2006); but that marriage came to an abrupt end during AVENGERS VS. X-MEN. The split lasted one panel, and there was no buildup and no discussion; just an annulment. Many Storm fans and fans of this pairing were outraged with the way things ended, so the fact that an entirely new relationship might be on the horizon for Storm comes as a bit of a surprise.
The final page of this week's issue of WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN (#19) reveals the addition of a new character to the series. For those of you that caught the news from Marvel yesterday about what to expect from the series in the coming issues, you likely already saw the panel featuring Storm. That's right, the newly-single Goddess of Weather is joining the cast of teachers at the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning. The news was followed by the reveal of the cover to WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #24 featuring Storm and Wolverine locked in an embrace. Okay, so comic book publishers do this sort of thing all the time. We see characters kissing on covers and oftentimes nothing ever comes of it. Yet, something tells us this time it might be different.
== TEASER ==
Think back to ASTONISHING X-MEN #51, the marriage issue written by Marjorie Liu and featuring art from Mike Perkins. Towards the end of the issue there is one moment that struck us as particularly interesting. It's clear that after the wedding ceremony everyone is celebrating, so why would Marjorie Liu choose to focus specifically on Ororo and Logan in that particular scene? Not only are the two exchanging some very flirtatious banter, but what Logan says in this scene is interesting.
"I'm remembering my own first dances, 'Ro, and the ones I never got to have."
Chris Claremont's X-Men stories are considered timeless classics. They are also thought to be the outline for many of the X-Men stories we see today. In them you might recall hints of the potential possible relationship between Storm and Logan, so although they never technically got together, some might argue that the implications were certainly there.
In Claremont's UNCANNY X-MEN #450 and #451 we see the softer side to the friendship between Logan and Ororo. In these issues the two take a night off and hit Broadway; and if we didn't know any better, we might call this a date. The two are obviously dressed up for the evening and they are out alone. Beyond that, though, is the dialogue. Comics don't always come right out and say what they mean, which sometimes forces us to read between the lines. In this scene it is clear that their dialogue and the back and forth is affectionate; particularly for Logan. However, these two have technically gotten together before.
In ULTIMATE X-MEN #51 we watched an alternate universe Storm and Wolverine grow very fond of one another. The story, written by Brian K. Vaughn, not only showed readers and fans flirtatious dialogue between the two characters, but also showed them fall in love (as much as Logan thought it was a bad idea).
It's clear these characters have history and that there have been references and hints made at the possibility of a romance between them, but is it too soon? After all, Storm just had her six year marriage to the Black Panther annulled (in a really humiliating scene, too), shouldn't she have some time to grieve? Also, are these two characters better off as friends than they are as lovers, or is this something that has been a long time coming?
Special thanks to CV user Age of Hurricane for help with this article.
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