X-Men Monday #343 – Murewa Ayodele Reflects on ‘Storm’, ‘Rogue Storm’, and ‘Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant’

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

When the all-new, all-different Storm series launched as part of Marvel’s relaunched “From the Ashes” X-Men line, it was immediately apparent that this solo series was going to be unique. Beyond artist Mateus Manhanini’s striking covers weren’t the all-too-common, decompressed single issues that left you going, “I paid $5 for that?” Instead, writer Murewa Ayodele and artist Lucas Werneck were swinging beyond the fences — they were swinging for the cosmos!

Every issue of Storm, and later Rogue Storm and Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant, was overflowing with creativity. And whether the stories themselves always landed as gracefully as Ororo Munroe herself, you have to respect the resistance to “playing it safe.” It’s why I always loved when Murewa would stop by X-Men Monday. I knew I was in for an earnest conversation crackling with genuine enthusiasm for the comics medium.

And, it’s why when Storm received an Eisner nomination for Best Continuing Series (Mateus was also nominated in the Best Cover Artist category as well), I had to get his thoughts on this honor. It didn’t hurt that his time with Ororo was coming to an end with the release of Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #5. So, as I’d just completed a post-Cyclops conversation with writer Alex Paknadel, I asked if Murewa would be up for a similar Storm eXit interview — and he was!

Read on for Murewa’s reflections on his time with Earth’s Mightiest Mutant, answers to X-Fans’ burning Storm questions, and what could be next for him.

AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Murewa! And congratulations on wrapping a truly memorable Storm run that lasted 20 issues across three series. Since Storm #1 launched in October 2024, you’ve introduced multiple new concepts and characters to Ororo’s orbit, received critical acclaim alongside your Storm collaborators, navigated seemingly constant fandom drama on social media, and received an Eisner nomination for Best Continuing Series. There was obviously so much more, but my point is, Ms. Munroe herself couldn’t have created a better whirlwind of ups and downs. As you reflect on it all, how do you feel, and what has your Storm experience taught you about yourself as a creator and the comics landscape, in general?

Murewa Ayodele: It’s always good to be back, Chris. I’m going to miss our interviews. 

Firstly, I would like to publicly thank my collaborators, the fans, retailers, comic book journalists, reviewers and influencers, my editors, my fellow X-writers, and everyone who has supported this Storm run to become what it is today. All of these wonderful people have even shown emotional support at the highest and lowest points of my run. I’m grateful to the Eisner Awards committee and judges for the prestigious recognition of our work. I wish you all great success in your present and future endeavors. 

I have long held this philosophy. I believe a fool does not learn from mistakes, an everyman learns solely from their own mistakes, but a wise person learns from both their mistakes and the mistakes of others. For this reason, I try my best to keep myself receptive to input from all corners. If only I knew that by avoiding the mistakes of others, I would repeat a mistake of mine.

I joke a lot about how bad my results were in university and how worried I was that I wouldn’t even graduate in my final year. Well, a part of the story you may not know is that my grades placed me as one of the top students in my department in my first year. Heck, I still graduated with a Chancellor’s Award because of the software solutions I developed for my school as a student. So, I was definitely a bookworm in school, but why the bad grades towards the end?

I never took high school seriously. The culture in my high school was pretty laid-back. Get your Cs and be on your way, but suddenly, I found myself a top student at a notable university. Very quickly, the advice started flooding in — advice on how my grades could get even better. I was told how I needed to stop relying on foreign textbooks and rely more on classroom notes. I was told how I needed to use past questions as study guides. I was told how I needed to join this group and that group. I was told how I needed to stop sleeping all through the night and use that time to study, and so on. 

Long story short, my grades started slipping like crazy, but I was convinced that maybe I just wasn’t using these techniques I was introduced to hard enough. I kept intensifying my usage of these techniques, and my grades slipped even more. It got to the extent that I was getting so much anxiety in exam halls that I would forget everything that I had studied. I had once submitted an empty answer booklet after three hours of brainstorming, but couldn’t find an answer to a single question.

I felt so stupid when I graduated — when I was free from all the pressures. It became so obvious that when I was doing well academically, I was sleeping long hours, I wasn’t in any of the groups, and I relied heavily on those foreign textbooks that explained things in a language I understood better. I had no idea what was on the past questions, so there was never any pressure to cram for them. I changed what worked for me because everyone else claimed they knew what worked better.

It aches me so much because a similar thing happened to me while working on my Storm run. We had a critically acclaimed bestseller on our hands, but the unsolicited advice flooded in… from both the inside and the outside. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience working on Storm. I learnt so much from the experimentation. But I wish I had stayed truer to my original vision of the run. Because looking back, issues where I relied strongly on my sensibilities always performed better on all fronts. But that’s not even the point. My point is that no matter how any project performs, I never want to feel like I wasn’t true to myself when I look back at it. This experience has made me a much more confident creator who trusts his own voice and sensibilities.

AIPT: Thanks for sharing all that. A frustrating experience to go through, but I’m glad you’re coming out of it with greater confidence in your abilities. And speaking of your abilities, before we jump into X-Fans’ questions, I do want to know how it feels to have a series you wrote receive an Eisner nomination in a category alongside Absolute Batman, comics’ most talked-about title! 

Murewa: It’s hard to explain how awkward it feels to me. Storm is nominated in a category of comics that I’ve been following and enjoying. I’m nominated in a category alongside creators I look up to and constantly learn from. It’s oddly enough not scary. But it is a weird combination of it feeling unreal — like a practical joke being played on me by the entire industry — and just being happy to be included. 

AIPT: Do you plan to attend the ceremony next month in San Diego?

Murewa: I would love to attend the San Diego event and get to meet these beautiful minds, but there are many limitations beyond my control that would prevent me from attending the event.

AIPT: OK, on to the Storm questions! X-Fan Matin says, hello, Murewa! Matin already congratulated you on Twitter, but wanted to say a huge congratulations again on the well-deserved Eisner nomination! Matin’s really fascinated by the vast cosmic scope of Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant. What initially inspired your vision for the fight between Oblivion and Ororo? Matin is sad we didn’t get to see it come to reality. Additionally, you’ve mentioned your appreciation for cosmic entities like the Never Queen and Eternity, Wanda and Ororo, plus your plans to include them throughout this arc originally. What did you initially have in mind for this arc?

Murewa: Thank you, Matin. I appreciate the well-wishes. 

I’ve always wanted to tell an Oblivion story. I’ve always wanted to tell a Storm-as-a-thunder-god story. Discovering Storm’s link to Eternity during my research, it wasn’t hard to fuse the two stories into one. 

I’m also sad that we didn’t get to see the clash between Oblivion and Storm. It was supposed to come after the War Above All arc. It was why we established that Oblivion’s body was with the One Above All in the House of Ideas in Storm (2024) #12 – teasing a potential resurrection.

I knew I wanted to bring Never Queen into the story because she’s Eternity’s lover, and I felt she would be disappointed by what Eternity had done. I wanted to mirror that dynamic in Storm and Wanda’s relationship. As virtuous as Storm is, I wanted her to make a decision that Wanda couldn’t fully support. What interested me was exploring how humans and abstract cosmic beings would approach the same problem differently. Storm and Wanda would represent one perspective, while Eternity and Never Queen would represent another.

AIPT: X-Fan Bonnie says the whole purpose of Storm becoming Eternity’s host/champion seemed to be for their fight against Oblivion and Hadad, the first storm god. Both were ultimately defeated, yet even afterward, Eternity remained desperate to keep Storm as his host and maintain control over her. Why was that? What bigger picture or ongoing need drove Eternity’s insistence on this bond?

Murewa: Eternity still needed Eternal Storm to quell Death’s rebellion, Bonnie.

AIPT: X-Fan Blondechyna says hello and thank you for your work on such an iconic character. And not just Storm, but you truly made Maggott, of all characters, a true standout who’s quickly upping the ranking on Blondechyna’s X-Scoreboard. Blondechyna truly hopes to see your work on Storm continue, but also has to know if you were implying that Storm might be Death’s new avatar. Like her brother Eternity did before her? Finally, Blondechyna needs the War Above All!

Murewa: Thank you, Blondechyna. Maggott is a favorite of mine, so it was an honor to get to work with the character. 

I, many times, try to introduce red herrings into my work, but I was indeed nursing the idea of Storm rejecting Eternity and willingly choosing to be the host/avatar of another primordial entity. However, that entity I was thinking of was not Death, but Oblivion. Their fusion was supposed to be called the Oblivion Storm. To be fair, it was supposed to be in the final issue of my run, but I wasn’t sure if I would pull that trigger or not. I just felt Storm would have sympathy for Oblivion. 

AIPT: That’s interesting. Why do you say that?

Murewa: Firstly, our version of Oblivion is not necessarily evil. Yes, he wants the universe destroyed so he can be reunited with his twin sister, Death. But this goal only seems evil to us because, well, the universe is our home, and destroying it would mean destroying us too. Storm’s most potent superability has always been her empathy. I believe she would find a way to empathize with Oblivion.

Secondly, our Oblivion’s story is a story of migration and how it separates families. Storm understands the constant separation from home and family, born from migration. She was separated from her mother’s family in Kenya when her parents moved to the United States. She became separated from her father’s family when they moved to Egypt. After her parents died, she found a new adoptive family in Kenya, then got separated from them when she moved back to the United States to join the X-Men. 

From Kenya to America, from Wakanda to Arakko, Storm has never stopped being a fish out of water. Again and again, she has had to build new families, communities, and support systems for herself. Because of that, she understands what it means for Oblivion and Death to be separated by a “cosmic” migration. Ororo is more of a rebel who will fight for the disenfranchised rather than the institution that wants to maintain the status quo. 

AIPT: X-Fan MysticalMe saysEégún was one of the most intriguing parts of the series. Where did the inspiration for him and his three war generals come from?

Murewa: Akujin was inspired by Spiral, MysticalMe. The other two war generals are variations of Akujin. 

Eégún, on the other hand, is a hodgepodge of various characters like the Lich from Adventure Time, Statue of God from Solo Leveling, Joker from DC Comics, Shadow King from X-Men comics, and real-life African masquerades. 

AIPT: X-Fan ConcernedFan asks if you could clarify the status of both Armor and Maggott, as both of their endings felt ambiguous.

Murewa: They are both alive, ConcernedFan.

AIPT: I kind of loved how you ended Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #5 with the simple caption, “Storm wins.” A more cynical reading could lead someone to think you simply ran out of pages and needed to wrap it all up. But honestly, it reminded me of New Mutants #7 from early in the Krakoan era, where we go from gorgeous Rod Reis fight scene art to a text-heavy Jonathan Hickman data page detailing the fight (something I remember folks getting up in arms about at the time, while I found it brilliant). We’ve all read comics — of course, Storm wins! But was this indeed you playing with the comics form, or something else?

Murewa: Some of the endings that have stayed with me the longest and had the most impact on me are open-ended conclusions – ones where the audience’s imagination is activated to wrap the story up neatly. A strong example for me is the movie, No Country for Old Men. But I am also aware they are not for everybody. 

The ending of Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #5 is partly born from keeping things open-ended because when writing it, I wasn’t sure if there was going to be an issue #6 or not. But it was mostly structured this way because this is the type of ending I like the most. 

In other words, your read was correct. It’s a play on the comics form. The first panel of the last page literally starts with a character reading the issue in our hands.

AIPT: As we wrap up, something I appreciated about your run is how much it referenced what’s come before. In Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #5, alone, there are notes calling back to X-Men #78 and X-Treme X-Men #10! Now, you’ve introduced so much for future creators to mine and play with. As you reflect on your run, is there any one contribution you’re particularly proud of?

Murewa: The specific assignment I was brought in for was to equip Storm with everything she needed to be a solo hero in the vein of Spider-Man, Daredevil, Thor, etc. For that reason, we gave her a headquarters (the Storm Sanctuary), a rogues’ gallery (FBI, thunder gods, Eégún, Man in Spacesuit, Akujin, Galacta, etc.), supporting cast (Jaden, Maggott, etc.), and a Gandalf (Doctor Voodoo, Gateway, Scarlet Witch, etc). We played around with multiple tones and genres (cosmic thriller, mystical crime, superhero fiction, sword and sorcery, political drama, etc.) to see how well she would work within them to figure out what stories would best feature Storm in the future.

One contribution I am particularly proud of is getting to re-establish Storm’s fashion sense.

AIPT: Finally, as we look to the future, X-Fan Joel Santiago asks if you have any more Storm stories to tell, X-Fan Daisy Trella wants to know if there are other Marvel characters you’d like to write, and I’m just curious what’s next for you.

Murewa: Yes, Joel, I would love to tell more stories with Storm, but one that has nothing to prove and is not burdened to be a sequel to a past story that I’ve told with her. I would like to tell a story where I just get to have fun with the beloved character. That said, I don’t think the time is now.

As for Marvel characters that I would like to write… right now, I don’t think I have any. My current headspace is more interested in building worlds and a collection of characters in the Marvel landscape — rather than a single one. 

As parting words, I’m grateful to Marvel Comics (especially Tom Brevoort) for trusting this young writer with such a great character, an awesome title, a rock-steady marketing team, and wonderful creative collaborators. 

As you have supported me, everyone (fans, retailers, influencers, etc.), please continue to support the future creative hands that will guide Storm in the future. Let Storm be a safe space where powerful minds can manifest powerful ideas and tell deeply emotional stories that will move us for ages. 

I love you all. 

AIPT: Thanks for sharing all these thoughts and reflections with us, Murewa. And thank you for all the great Storm stories and best of luck with whatever comes next in your comics career!

Speaking of next, as we don’t have any upcoming issues of a Storm series to tease, how about some concept art Murewa was kind enough to share? Check out these never-before-seen (I believe) designs from artists Lucas Werneck and Federica Mancin for characters that appeared across Murewa’s Storm saga.

And for more of Murewa’s thoughts, revisit his past X-Men Monday appearances:

• X-Men Monday #266 – Murewa Ayodele Talks ‘Storm’

• X-Men Monday #287 – Murewa Ayodele Talks ‘Storm’ and ‘X-Manhunt’

• X-Men Monday #291 – Gail Simone and Murewa Ayodele Reflect on ‘X-Manhunt Omega’

• X-Men Monday #300 – Giant-Size Anniversary Spectacular

• X-Men Monday #302 – Murewa Ayodele Talks ‘Storm’, ‘Thunder War’, and ‘Rogue Storm’

• X-Men Monday #328 – Murewa Ayodele Talks ‘Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant’

Next X-Men Monday – TODAY!

That’s right, X-Fans — you get two editions of X-Men Monday today! Stay tuned for an interview with writer Jed MacKay about the upcoming X-Men-Fantastic Four DNX event series!

Until then, X-Fans, stay eXceptional!