Days of Future Past "By The Goddess!": The Official Storm Discussion - Part 6

[CB Fan]

Didn't someone say in down BTS stuff, that Storm didn't have bangs? I want to see that.

Its somewhere in the last Storm thread before this one or on the X1 blu ray I believe. I've seen it and Halle looked amazing (kind of scary) before they decided to butcher the wig.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

Its somewhere in the last Storm thread before this one or on the X1 blu ray I believe. I've seen it and Halle looked amazing (kind of scary) before they decided to butcher the wig.

She did look very scary and itimidating. For the life of me, I don't know why they didn't go for it. Storm's most identifying facial feature is her widow's peak. I understand that Halle doesn't have a widow's peak naturally but they could give her one as as easily as they give it to Rebecca's Mystique...if they wanted to. Without that widow's peak AND the blue eyes and head dress? Well, then all we have left is Halle Berry in a wig. The filmmakers just aren't getting that fact.

It's almost as if they're saying "Halle Berry is exotic/beautiful enough, we don't need to enhance her further." Storm is a damn MUTANT. She's not supposed to look like your average beauty.

 

[CB Fan]

Well the styling in these movies have never been that great to begin with...

 

[Majik1387]

LOL I have ice water in my veins. I live in chill, trust me.

Majik, I'm feeling this. Where is it from?

Made it in Photoshop last night.

 

[Double B]

The original wig:

Flawless.

 

[psylockolussus]

She looks really ferocious in those shots!

 

[Majik1387]

Honestly, they should have just given her side swooping bangs if they were adamant about having them.

 

[X-Maniac]

They probably used the bangs to try to cover up the edges of the wig. You could see the edges anyway when her hair flew back at the Statue of Liberty, but I guess they didn't have much money for post production retouching.

 

[Drab87]

There is nothing wrong with Storm in my opinion.

 

[JP]

The bangs seem to be a fix to a few problems I see with that wig. Not the best fix, but a fix none the less.

 

[OroroDaGoddess]

The original wig:

Flawless.

Mother of God! She looks so flawless in that first screenshot! This whole look is epic! They should have kept it.

 

[jaymes_e06]

It is flawless and is it just me or does the eybrows look light grey as well?

I loved how she looked there. It's a shame they didn't just stick to the more traditional look.

She actually looks like a goddess here.

 

[X-Maniac]

The hair looks good, so does the choker necklace and the red garment that we can partly see. The blue polka dot top is awful and not right with the rest of the look.

 

[Mad Ones]

I could see why designing Storm can be challenging, especially a Storm that was so undefined as Halle's Storm. We never do learn where she's from (or even that she's from Africa), which would make giving Storm any culture in her wardrobe hard.

I like Storm, but I have a friend from Zambia who hates the whole Goddess thing and finds it an offensive portrayal of Africans (She hates Storm for a lot of reasons, actually). In the X-movies they decided to just bypass it altogether, which I have no problem with. I hope in Apocalypse we can can get a smart and realistic depiction of Africa as we explore Storm's origins.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

The bangs seem to be a fix to a few problems I see with that wig. Not the best fix, but a fix none the less.

If they had given her the black headdress all of those issues could've been resolved. Her hairline would've been concealed, which would've allowed for an even fuller wig.

*sigh*

They're just so damned hard headed and blind in FOX's costuming department. Look at the comics for inspiration for Christ's sake--the s*** has worked for decades for a reason! It's like they're hellbent on NOT following the comics to the letter and as a result they complicate their own approach resulting in an inferior outcome.

 

[CB Fan]

Well you can't just blame the costuming department they only do what Singer allows and signs off on.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

Well you can't just blame the costuming department they only do what Singer allows and signs off on.

Oh, I don't. I'm an equal opportunity blamer.

However, it's their job to come to him with various options to approve and sign off on. So the creative cycle begins and ends with them doing their homework. I just can't understand why they've never had an issue giving Magneto his crazy looking (and comic accurate) helmet but would settle on Storm having an effed up looking wig and hairline. Her tiara would've fixed everything.

It's just insane.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I could see why designing Storm can be challenging, especially a Storm that was so undefined as Halle's Storm. We never do learn where she's from (or even that she's from Africa), which would make giving Storm any culture in her wardrobe hard.

I like Storm, but I have a friend from Zambia who hates the whole Goddess thing and finds it an offensive portrayal of Africans (She hates Storm for a lot of reasons, actually). In the X-movies they decided to just bypass it altogether, which I have no problem with. I hope in Apocalypse we can can get a smart and realistic depiction of Africa as we explore Storm's origins.

What are the other reasons your Zambian friend hates Storm? I'd think they'd be overjoyed to see that comicdom's most well-known character of color is written as their countrywoman.

 

[Mad Ones]

I also thought that. But she hates that her hair is naturally straight and white, and that she has blue eyes. She says her clothes and accessories are usually a mishmash of different styles in different African countries, and designed by creators who don't know anything about Africa. In the cartoons and video games Storm is always shown in small villages, which is treated like the entirety of Africa. Storm being treated like a Goddess is offensively similar to how the first white imperialists portrayed themselves as gods when they first came to Africa.

Not saying I agree with all points. I think Storm is extremely important for being the most well known African woman in comics, and is one of my favourite X-men. Obviously her points are controversial and I'm sure a lot here don't like that, but I'm not from Africa, so...

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I also thought that. But she hates that her hair is naturally straight and white, and that she has blue eyes. She says her clothes and accessories are usually a mishmash of different styles in different African countries, and designed by creators who don't know anything about Africa. In the cartoons and video games Storm is always shown in small villages, which is treated like the entirety of Africa. Storm being treated like a Goddess is offensively similar to how the first white imperialists portrayed themselves as gods when they first came to Africa.

Not saying I agree with all points. I think Storm is extremely important for being the most well known African woman in comics, and is one of my favourite X-men. Obviously her points are controversial and I'm sure a lot here don't like that, but I'm not from Africa, so...

Hmmmm. Interesting. Storm is a mutant. Of course her eyes and hair could be different in contrast to her complexion. This is why the African children in her village picked on her so much--which goes along with the "protecting those who fear and despise you" theme. But I've never...in 30 years...seen Storm as an offensive note to Africa itself--just the opposite actually. And while my family hails from Cairo, I consider myself an African American (bi-racial) man who is quite proud to have Storm representing "us" in the comics.

 

[Mad Ones]

I think she feels that with Storm there's been too many concessions to white audiences by white creators. And that Storm's Africa is not reflective of my friends experiences growing up, and just homogenizes Africa and perpetuates stereotypes.

I think it's a problem faced by a lot of non-white, non-male, non-straight characters created by straight, white men. But now that they've been established I think its important to work on these characters and make them more representative. I think Storm has met that challenge to some degree of success.

Different opinions for sure! I'm not from Africa and I'm white, so I'm just summing up a discussion I had with her about Storm. (A discussion sparked by the unlockable video in X-men Academy that depicted African villagers bowing and worshipping her).

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I think she feels that with Storm there's been too many concessions to white audiences by white creators. And that Storm's Africa is not reflective of my friends experiences growing up in Africa, and just perpetuate backwards stereotypes.

I think it's a problem faced by a lot of non-white, non-male, non-straight characters created by straight, white men. But now that they've been established I think its important to work on these characters and make them more representative. I think Storm has met that challenge to some degree of success.

That's truly unfortunate and short-sided thinking on their behalf. And I will tell you why.

Marvel's vision of Africa is sophisticated. And the comic line's view of black characters matches it. Storm is Marvel's answer to Wonder Woman herself. And she continues to be THE preeminent female face for Marvel. Marvel's answer to DC's Batman is none other than a King who rules the world's most technologically advanced and futuristic city, Wakanda. Storm was at T'Challa's side as the Queen of that Kingdom. So if anything, Marvel is trying to change the negative views and stereotypes perpetuated against Africa by casting the country--and its nation--in a positive, upbeat light way ahead of its time.

 

[Matt.S99]

Man, that looks wicked. Except the second picture. That looks horrifying.

 

[KidxMikexMcfly]

Yes, I hope we get a similar look in the next movie.

 

[RLAAMJR.]

If they had given her the black headdress all of those issues could've been resolved. Her hairline would've been concealed, which would've allowed for an even fuller wig.

*sigh*

They're just so damned hard headed and blind in FOX's costuming department. Look at the comics for inspiration for Christ's sake--the s*** has worked for decades for a reason! It's like they're hellbent on NOT following the comics to the letter and as a result they complicate their own approach resulting in an inferior outcome.

Indeed. They could have had her wore her iconic tiara.