The X-Men’s Storm is an Omega-Level mutant, and a fight with Doctor Doom gave her a Phoenix-level upgrade that nearly doomed the Marvel Universe.
The X-Men have plenty of Omega-Level Mutants at their beck and call. The classification refers to mutants whose abilities surpass any comparable metric, and are theoretically limitless in their potential. One of the most notable of these is Storm, a longtime member of the X-Men and a major leader within the mutant community. Her powers are vast enough that they can reshape entire worlds and potentially destroy them if they ever got out of control.
That very scenario almost came to pass early in her career, all because of one villain’s mistake. One of Doctor Doom’s first battles with the X-Men ended up revealing Storm’s own personal Dark Phoenix form. Even though she was only out of control for a few moments, this fully empowered Storm almost destroyed the entire world.
How Doctor Doom Unlocked Storm’s Phoenix Form
Uncanny X-Men #145-147 (by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, Joe Rubinstein, Josh Rosen, and Glynis Wein) focused on the titular team of mutant heroes finding themselves the target of Miss Locke, the deadly assistant of Arcade. After the villain was captured by Doctor Doom, Locke threatened the lives of their loved ones unless they could rescue their enemy safely from Doom’s grasp. While the majority of the team attempted to break into Doom’s dungeons to free Arcade or free Locke’s prisoners, Storm’s job was to distract Doom. Sharing a meal with the villain, Storm inadvertently left herself open to one of Doom’s traps which transformed her skin into a metal-like chrome.
The whole time though, Storm remained awake on a subconscious level trapped within her own body. Doom initially intends to leave Storm in this form, allowing her to remain beautiful while aging at a severely reduced rate. But this mental prison quickly proved horrible for Storm, with her claustrophobia acting up throughout the experience. As a result, her subconscious began lashing out. Storm’s Omega-Level control of the weather went haywire, causing massive storms across the entire planet. By the time her teammates could undo the effect of Doom’s trap, Storm was left in a state of elemental rage. It was only the memory of Jean Grey, and how she’d been corrupted into the Dark Phoenix and subsequently lost, that keeps Storm from fully lashing out.
Storm Could Have Accidentally Destroyed The World
Storm’s dark form is quite impressive, as her powers quickly spread across the entire planet and threatened to overwhelm one of Marvel’s most dangerous villains. But that dark form takes on an additional layer of menace in the modern era, as things have changed radically since the events of Uncanny X-Men #147. Since then, Storm has been reclassified as an Omega-Level Mutant. The limitless nature of her abilities means Storm is capable of destroying or rebirthing entire planets with her powers. She’s proven strong enough to hold her own with other Omega-Level Mutants and has been frequently shown to stand at the same level as Marvel gods.
Storm’s dark form could have become a Dark Phoenix-level threat, capable of shattering the entire world. It’s only after the battle that Doom recognizes just how dangerous Storm’s abilities really make her. Some timelines have even revealed what Storm could be like if she gave in to a Dark Phoenix-like state — with the ensuing version of Ororo Monroe more or less wiping out anyone in her way. Storm’s powers have always made her one of the most powerful X-Men, but it also makes her a particularly dangerous person, whose personal troubles left her vulnerable enough to an attack that almost set her on a very destructive path.
Comments are closed.