This article contains spoilers for Dark Ages #4.
The X-Men‘s Storm has a stunning new costume in Marvel‘s Dark Ages #4. Most superheroes tend to stick to the same costume design. If you look at a Captain America comic from the 1970s and compare his costume there to the one worn in the present day, there are only quite superficial differences – variations upon a theme. But that’s not the case with the X-Men, who tend to change costume with every relaunch and reboot.
Storm has been one of the most fashion-conscious of superheroes, changing her look every couple of years. That’s given artists a tremendous opportunity to creatively redesign Storm, and some of them have been particularly iconic; think Storm’s classic Jim Lee design, featured in X-Men: The Animated Series, or the recent outfit she donned for the Hellfire Gala – which was so loved by readers it seems to have become a common look for the Beautiful Windrider. Storm seems to be donning another costume in the upcoming “Destiny of X” era, although the modern X-Men have turned costumes into accessories, so she may wear a different outfit depending on her mood.
The X-Men’s love of switching things up naturally means artists working on What If…? style books get to have particular fun with the mutants. Take the example of Tom Taylor and Iban Coello’s Dark Ages, which has introduced a dystopian future where all technology has ceased to work. Storm has settled down in Wakanda with Black Panther, and she’s donned an absolutely gorgeous new gold and silver costume.
Aspects of the design are a callback to Storm’s original costume, which she wore when she first left Africa to join the Second Genesis X-Men team. But the color scheme is much brighter, with liberal use of golds to emphasize Storm as a Queen of Wakanda. The patterning is truly beautiful, making this one of Storm’s most sophisticated costumes, but also one of her most effective. It’s frankly a shame this is in a future timeline, and thus unlikely to be seen in the main Marvel timeline. The most interesting aesthetic choices are the Wakandan neck rings, which feel as though they’re loosely inspired by the MCU’s Dora Milaje.
It’s easy to imagine Storm sweeping through the skies in this costume, the gold creating an effect that makes her look like a streak of lightning. This Dark Ages costume would be useless for stealth, but clearly that isn’t Storm‘s focus. Dark Ages has turned the X-Men’s Omega-level mutant into a Queen, and royalty prefer to make a spectacular entrance.
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