Warning: This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
With the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the various X-Men presumably waiting in the wings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, now might be the perfect time to introduce the MCU’s version of Storm, the weather-controlling mutant whose real name is Ororo Munroe.
We’re taking a stab in the dark that Storm, alongside many other X-Men characters, will likely be rebooted in the MCU. However, it’s entirely possible they may tap past actors who have played the character, such as X-Men’s Halle Berry or X-Men: Apocalypse’s Alexandra Shipp (after all, Hugh Jackman has been confirmed as returning as Wolverine in the MCU’s Deadpool 3). And even though we have much respect for both those actors, a certain mid-credits scene in Wakanda Forever strikes us as a great opportunity to reboot the character and bring in one of the long-term storylines from the comics.
Spoilers to follow.
Director Ryan Coogler chose to make Wakanda Forever a loving homage to his friend who tragically died of colon cancer — Chadwick Boseman — who played King T’Challa in the first film. T’Challa dies from a mysterious illness in Wakanda Forever, leaving behind his significant other, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia.
During the mid-credits scene for Wakanda Forever, it is revealed that the late King T’Challa and Nakia have a son, the child-age Toussaint (Divine Love Konadu-Sun), whose Wakandan name is Prince T’Challa II.
In the comics, Storm becomes friends with T’Challa when they’re both still children. In some storylines, Storm later marries T’Challa and becomes the Queen of Wakanda. So why not introduce a child-aged Storm now who becomes friends with Prince T’Challa II and essentially brings this storyline to the MCU with a different spin? Why not take this opportunity to make both Storm and Prince T’Challa II child-age characters who we see grow up on screen and come into their own as adult heroes later down the line and eventually get married as the franchise goes on? As the publication Black Girl Nerds explained,
“According to comic book history, T’Challa and Ororo first met as children when young Storm rescued T’Challa as a boy from kidnappers. The pair had instant chemistry and became friends. Unfortunately, they went their separate ways, as T’Challa later joined the Avengers, and Storm joined the X-Men, with their busy schedules and world-saving events keeping them apart most of the time. In 2006’s Black Panther Volume 4: #14 and #15, T’Challa proposed to Storm, and she said yes. The couple married in Black Panther Volume 4: #18, during the Civil War Cease-Fire Event, with most of the Avengers, X-Men, and even some notable villains showed up to help commemorate their nuptials.”
Clearly, Toussaint in the MCU is the rightful heir of Wakanda since he’s T’Challa’s son. Therefore, if he married Storm later in life, that would seemingly cinch her as becoming the advanced civilization’s Queen, just like in the comics.
However, since Winston Duke’s M’Baku has seemingly taken over as King of Wakanda due to challenging the throne of Letitia Wright’s Shuri, maybe the succession of Toussaint is not so straightforward. Might we see a fight between M’Baku and Toussaint at some point? Only time will tell.