A major casualty of the latest AvX chapter: the marriage of one of Marvel’s premiere power couples. This ending means new beginnings for the two iconic heroes.
Spoiler Warning!!!
This Op/Ed reveals a major plot point of Avengers vs. X-Men #9
If you have NOT read AvX #9 stop reading.
Seriously
OK – Here it comes
Storm and Black Panther are over. Ororo fought with her fellow mutants but is switching sides now that she’s seeing how the Phoenix Force has taken over her fellow X-Men. It’s too late. Black Panther gave the Avengers refuge in Wakanda and now his country and people are paying the price after a Phoenix fueled Namor attacked. The relationship was already on shaky ground and the Wakanda tragedy was the final hit. T’Challa annulled their marriage. As the High Priest he can do that.
I say good for both of them. Let’s move on. I think Black Panther is being set up to rejoin the Avengers (under Jonathan Hickman) and for his own Marvel Films movie or appearance in an Avengers sequel.
Storm has always been divided and torn between her love and duty to T’Challa and to her fellow mutants. I believe Storm is being set up to take over the X-Men. Brian Michael Bendis will take over the mutant franchise with All New X-Men starring the original five students but I have to believe there will be another book featuring the current X-favorites.
I believe the era of Cyclops and Emma Frost will be over after AvX and it’s time for Storm to assume leadership of the mutant family again. There’s no better team to chronicle that than Brian Wood and David Lopez. The X-Men creative team just wrapped their first arc and I can’t rave enough about how Wood and Lopez write and draw Storm as the cool, commanding yet compassionate leader. Storm is one of my favorite characters ever and she’s a challenge to write but Brian Wood has succeeded beautifully and should continue in the Marvel NOW! era.
By Editor