X-Men 2010 movie should take ideas from the fans

by Damon Leo
(Billings, MT, U.S.A.)

Since I first read about a new X-Men movie production in 2010 from this site I was thrilled. I am a big time fan of the X-Men, particularly of Storm. I don't have the comic book insight or background knowledge other fans possess that I commend, but I have a sort of risky idea of a possible new character. It is something that I hope the writer or director would take into consideration. I, by no means, am trying to offend the views or mess with the story-line and foundations that have been established through the many years and comic-book pages set by the X-Men creator(ers). As a forewarning I have already conveyed the fact that I have no or very little knowledge of the original plot(s) depicted in the X-Men comics.

Well, of the little information I do harness to counteract any of my ignorance I know that Storm more formally known as Ororo Munroe, was a victim of a terrorist attack that resulted in the death of her parents. "Her mother, N'Dare was the princess of a tribe in Kenya, and was descended from an ancient line of African priestesses, all of whom had white hair and blue eyes. Her mother married an American photojournalist, David Munroe, and moved with him to Cairo, Egypt." Five years after, a terrorist bomb destroyed their home, killing Ororo's parents and leaving her trapped beneath the rubble. The ordeal traumatizing in itself left the orphan with a condition she still suffers from to this very day. "Buried alive with her dead mother's body,she was just a child, and yet she managed to survive,"she carries the scars of that time in her severe claustrophobia."

"Orphaned at the age of five and a half, Ororo went through a pickpocket stage thanks to Achmed el-Gibar until the age of twelve when she decided to 'travel back to her mother's ancestral home, the Serengeti Plains." There she would utilize her extraordinary "mutant" powers, manipulating the weather at will and fulfilling her commendable divine appointment. "There, in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, she utilized her newly emerged mutant power over the weather to help local tribes, who worshipped her as a goddess. Ororo remained there until Charles Xavier invited her to join the second generation of X-Men. Xavier gave her the code name Storm, and to begin with, she was an innocent character, unfamiliar with Western ways. In later years, her personality went through a more combative phase, and she adopted a Mohawk haircut and leather outfit. Today, she has returned to her long hair and flowing cape. During her years with the X-Men Storm has grown into a formidable combatant. She has served as the team's leader and remains one of the X-Men's most valuable members to this day."

My idea would be to somehow elaborate on her lineage to come up with a long lost relative, for example, a great nephew or cousin, that has the inherited white hair (possibly blue eyes, as seeing in the X-Men trilogies Storm's eyes remained the normal brown shade) and same "mutant" power, the "mutant X" gene derived from the same ancient bloodline, powers over the weather that are linked to the "mutant's" emotions. I did a little research of the languages in Kenya and come up with potential names. Dhoruba, meaning storm, Umeme, meaning lightning, and ngurumo, meaning thunder in the Kenyan language Swahili. Given the uncertain direction and vague details of this upcoming film it would give the writer and director a fresh opportunity to introduce a new face with the "mutant" ability that I believe people would miss if they left out the wrath of Storm. I would be so ecstatic if they took some potential movie ideas from X-Men fans. Personally, I would be even more overjoyed, if Josh Schwartz even considered this idea. Lastly, it was just an idea that I have been going over and over in my head and thought why not? How come this idea can't be incorporated in the film? I just needed to let it out and hopefully see how far one idea can go.