THE SABOTAGE OF THE CENTURY Part 1

BLACK PANTHER & STORM 

A post racial Comic Book union that is ironically comical

 

 

OUR FEATURED PLAYERS

The Black Panther (T'Challa) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and pencil-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). He is the first black superhero in mainstream American comics.

 Storm (Ororo Munroe) is a fictional character that appears in a number of comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)




 Established as having met when children. RE:  Marvel Team-Up #100 (Dec. 1980) A young Storm observed Prince T'challa fighting off a band of mercenaries hired by Andreas De Ruyter. This event is significant for a number of reasons; 

1)--being that it is the first time Ororo uses her mutant abilities to fly.
2) It is the first time T'Challa and Ororo met. ( and not the last) 
3) T'challa and Ororo travelled together and it was Storm's fondest and happiest moment--giving her a brief respite from the tragedy of losing her parents and enslavement from the Shadow King.

NOTE: Some Bloggers and Readers have asserted that Storm and T'challa started a somewhat inappropriately aged relationship when in fact Storm was 12 and T'challa was not yet 13. He is still a prince, and did not become King until after 13. In panel 4 ORORO clearly establishes that T'challa is not much older than she.

Storm definitely remembers T'challa years later

 Their Initial meeting was expounded upon by Christopher Priest 
in Black Panther #26
 

Clickable LINK---> BLACK PANTHER STORM RELATION by Christopher Priest

SAMPLE:




A well crafted tale on par with Chris Claremont's seminal masterpiece  X-MEN 186 in which Storm falls in love with Forge, a Native-American mutant with a creation powerset of the technical variety. 

Sounds good so far doesn't it??  It did not seem so to many X-fans who regarded the pairing with her former acquaintance as an abomination. Ignoring the year long build up to the "Marriage" the plot literally thickened with venomous animosity.

It began with the retconning of their first meeting. In Marvel Team-up 100--Storm saved a young T'challa from danger. In Storm's 2004 Mini-series the story was changed so that a young Black Panther saved Storm from harm and they both consummated their growing affection with some Bowchicka Bowwow.

 

That did not go over well with X-readers.  Ignoring of course that the Original 5 X-men's assemblage has been retconned reworked, retold and changed numerous times. That was beyond the point.
SEE the link below.
X-men First Class


To me it appeared as though similar stories were lauded as superb as long as they featured other characters. But the moment Black Panther enter the equation instant hostility ensued.

Each subsequent issue enraged.  It was of little consequence that the books featuring the couple went unread by its harshest critics, not to mention the editors of the X-titles that took snoddy glee in shooting holes at the storyline from afar.


CONTRAST -----The Marvel Universes depiction of the Couple VS the X-universes.



MARVEL UNIVERSE aka Avengers Territory.

X-UNIVERSE DEPICTION

I should probably mention that during the Storm/Panther marriage which began in 2005 until the annulment around august 2012 the Black Panther/Wakanda was featured in a handful of video appearances in various X-titles.  But after the Marriage was over, all of a sudden Storm was free to mention T'challa ad nausea. Albeit in a negative tone..

 

While reminiscing about the annulment I was struck by the ferocity in which it was initialized by Storm.  It  a literal drag-down tooth and nail fight. Although it seemed to be more about Storm's displeasure with T'challa for no apparent reason. At least none was given.

The choice of saying how horrible a Husband T'challa was in AvX was very telling considering Cyclops killed Professor X with the aid of the Phoenix Force. Scott Summers was also responsible for numerous mutant deaths, the creation of a mutant assassination team. Not to mention he chose Storm's most hated nemesis as his consort namely EMMA FROST, who belittles her every chance she gets and Ororo seemingly had no problem staying by his side.

Furthermore, the AvX panel is odd given the fact Storm married another man in another dimension. And unlike other alternate reality stories this one featured displaced X-men who would then return to their correct universe and have to be mind-wiped to forget the experience.


As the Images below dictates--during, before and after the annulment heap upon heap of desolation found T'challa an the Wakandan people. 

And to top it all off---Storm decides to sleep around.

Here Wolverine seems giddy and content to Bang a somewhat grieving Storm every chance she gets.