Marvel will celebrate 50 years of Storm this April

‘Storm’ #7 by Murewa Ayodele and Luciano Vecchio will bring the thunder.

It’s been 50 years since the debut of Giant Size X-Men #1, which introduced us to several new X-Men, including Colossus, Nightcrawler and a weather-controlling mutant from Africa named Storm. With this year marking her golden anniversary, Marvel will celebrate with a special issue of Storm in April by pitting her against a whole legion of thunder gods, including Thor.

Writer Murewa Ayodele will team with guest artist Luciano Vecchio for the issue.

“Creative giants, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, changed the Marvel and mutant landscape with Giant Size X-Men #1. This year, we’ll do the same with Storm #7,” Ayodele said. “Bold words, I know. But that’s because I’ve read the illustrated issue.”

Storm’s profile in the Marvel Universe has certainly been raised over the past year with the launch of her ongoing series and her membership in the Avengers. But she’s always played a big part in not only the X-titles, but in the broader Marvel Universe.

“For the past five decades of publication, Storm has been an X-Man, Wakandan, Fantastic Four member, Avenger and so much more. As she steps into this new phase of her life, her role morphs into becoming one with the Marvel Universe as she faces soul-crushing, cosmic labors to protect all we hold dear. But first, a brutal brawl with thunder deities from powerful pantheons,” Ayodele said.

Marvel shared more details on what to expect from Storm’s throwdown with the Gods of Thunder:

Fifty years ago, Ororo Munroe made her debut in GIANT SIZE X-MEN (1975) #1 – thundering her way into our hearts! On this day, in her very own solo series, she will host a mix of debuts, reinventions and guest appearances of FIVE legendary thunder gods: THOR, CHAAC, SANGO, MAMARAGAN and SUSANOO! But first, a mission to Brazil goes horribly wrong. How much more can our hero endure?

“I approached the Thunder Gods designs in a two-steps process. First, by designing each God based on Murewa’s description and inspiration references, and reflecting the culture and real-world iconography each belongs to.” Vecchio said. “But this is the Marvel Universe, so the second stage was injecting some Kirby-like fantasy vibes, and incorporating design elements from the original Thor and Storm designs for a cohesive feel while keeping individuality. The goal is to make sure that, keeping the Marvel tradition, these are versions of the Thunder Gods that can only exist in the Marvel Universe.”

This isn’t Vecchio’s first time drawing Storm.

“I feel we’re assisting to a Storm renaissance, and I’m honored to join the dream team behind the series for these special issues. Working with Murewa’s script is a delight, and I love reconnecting with Ororo after drawing her in Resurrection of Magneto,” he said.

Tale a look at this issue’s variant covers by Gerald Parel and Marguerite Sauvage:

Storm #7 arrives in stores April 9.

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