Warning! Spoilers for S.W.O.R.D. #9 ahead!
Ororo Munroe, the longtime X-Men member Storm, was recently appointed to be the Regent of Arakko, the newly terraformed Mars that is now operating as an interstellar mutant haven and the Capitol of the Sol System. Storm continues to prove that she was Krakoa’s correct choice to become the new Voice of Sol on Arakko in S.W.O.R.D. #9, as she gracefully juggles vicious fights with dangerous Arakkan mutants while remaining a keen political player within the newly formed intergalactic Sol government. However, this is not Storm’s first time grappling with the ups and downs of royal power, as she was once the Queen of Wakanda beside King T’Challa, and she has clearly brought her experience with her to her new role.
Storm’s geopolitical knowledge and lived experience started for her as a baby, when she was born a Kenyan tribal princess to queen N’Dare, so it is only fitting that she has re-entered into a royal role as Regent of Arakko. Raised in Harlem and then Egypt until her parents were both killed in an Arab-Israeli conflict, Storm lived on the streets of Cairo where she met and befriended a young T’Challa, before being brought into Xavier’s School for the Gifted by Professor X. Years later, T’Challa and Ororo would rekindle their friendship, begin a romance, and eventually get married during the infamous Civil War event. Storm’s time married to T’Challa – before their divorce during Avengers vs. X-Men – and ruling alongside him as Queen of Wakanda has clearly prepared her for her current role in the complex Sol political climate.
S.W.O.R.D. #9, written by Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk) with art by Jacopo Camagni (Marvel Voices: Pride #1), dives into the continued political alliances that the new planet of Arakko are forming with the Galactic Council, as Empress Xandra of Shi’ar arrives on Arakko to establish the first Shi’ar embassy. Storm is not available, as she is still fighting Arakkan mutant contenders in The Circle Perilous to prove herself worthy of “the Seat of All-Around-Us,” although she has just brutally beaten Tarn the Uncaring. When the Shi’ar visitors are attacked by the new Lethal Legion, Storm arrives just in time to defeat Death Grip, saving Cannonball, Warbird, and Empress Xandra from certain death.
Without Storm’s time as Queen of Wakanda she might not have had the requisite experience to successfully handle the stress of engaging in major battle before saving an important geopolitical ally all while maintaining a positive relationship with a massive intergalactic empire. In the recent Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost #1, Jean and Emma entered into Storm’s mind after she was rendered unconscious. They found that her mindscape was primarily occupied by visions and memories of her time serving Wakanda as queen, showing that this time in her life still has a profound impact on her to this day. Storm has always been strong, confident, and cool under pressure, but being a high-ranking member of a royal family has given her the specific experience needed for her to fully come into her own as Regent of Arakko.
While Storm was Queen of Wakanda she joined the Fantastic Four with her husband, continued on as a member of the X-Men, and fought through multiple crises, all while maintaining her status as a beloved leader. In S.W.O.R.D. #9 it is clear that Ororo Munroe has never been more prepared to take on such a powerful and critical role in the newly formed mutant intergalactic government. The Black Panther, now King of the Wakandan Intergalactic Empire, once told his ex-wife, “You will always be a Queen,” and Storm continues to prove that to be true as she settles into her new role as one of the most important mutants in existence, and Regent of the new planet of Arakko.
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