I love this part of one of the Pak interviews:
And I’m sure I would kick myself and my readers would kick me if I didn’t ask a quick thing about Storm.
Which is, maybe not for the entire Marvel Universe yet, but, at least among the X-Men, Storm is kind of their Superman. She’s this leader figure who doesn’t have the baggage of Cyclops or Wolverine. She’s immensely powerful and kind. What do you think are the differences of switching from this kind of metaphorical sun god to this very literal weather goddess and do you think that Storm has any of the issues that Superman has had with being kind of pinned down into these roles?
That’s a great question and I have thought about this. I mean, Storm and Superman are similar also in that, y’know, Storm is the daughter of an American journalist and an African princess, so she’s also bicultural, y’know, she’s got her foot in multiple worlds. She’s also someone who grew up without- I mean, her- she lost her parents at a very young age. And, yeah, as you say, she’s incredibly powerful. She has an instinctive and ingrained sympathy for the underdog, which comes out of her- her own experiences, I think and is also…well, and this is also true about just about every superhero, somebody who struggles to figure out how to use these ridiculous powers in the right way without hurting people. So, those are all things she has in common with Superman.
I think there’s- there’s some interesting contrast which is a lot of fun writing both these characters. I think Storm is probably, just by nature, a little more dangerous than Superman. She probably cares less about hurting the feelings of jerks, y’know what I’m saying? Like, Superman is- I mean here’s something I’ve thought about a lot: Superman is invulnerable. Essentially, I mean there’s certain things that can hurt him, but just walking down the street he has zero fear of anybody he’s going to encounter. So, he could literally turn the other cheek to everybody he meets and never hurt. And if he didn’t do that, he’d be a massive jerk. Y’know what I’m saying? It’s like if you are literally invulnerable, what kind of monster are you not to turn the other cheek at every opportunity?
Storm is, for all her power, she’s flesh and blood. Like if she’s shot with a gun she will die. I think her reactions on that level are- I think she’s more like…us, the average person, in that kind of a way. There’s a certain amount of natural self-preservation that factors into her existence. I also think that, as a person walking through life, she’s somebody who’s encountered more wretchedness than Superman has.
Superman lost his parents at a very young age, but then immediately he had the best adoptive parents you can imagine. I mean, the Kents were amazing. And they have this child who was incredibly powerful and frankly dangerous and they loved him and taught him to be a good person and believed in him and gave him this incredible support and, Storm was out- when her parents were killed she was out on the street. I mean, living as a runaway, as a homeless child street thief. And eventually she hooked up with, with a ‘tutor’ who taught her how to be a better thief and all of that but she was- But she was still-
Still a very different experience-
Yeah, exactly, and then eventually, when she sort of came of age and found her powers as a very young woman, she went out into the desert and pretended to be a goddess! Like that- there’s something about this crazy life she lived that, I mean, that’s frankly unhinged, y’know what I mean? Like that’s- that’s not what a normal person who has a strong support network and family does.
So, I think Storm has had to deal with a lot more trauma. And has just another kind of level of- I think she’s- I mean, Superman is very smart and he’s not the Boy Scout that- he’s not the stereotype of the Boy Scout, but he is a little more innocent in his heart than Storm is. I mean, Storm has this incredible capacity for empathy, but she also, I think, has a fierceness in her that’s born out of this… this life of hardship that can be dangerous in a very interesting way, so I’m having a blast writing her and I love- I love her, y’know what I mean? I love those nuances and that conflict. Y’know, that desire to help while also that while also dealing with that fierceness inside is just a great- It’s a great thing to be able to write. So, I’m having fun.
