X-Men’s Storm is dark skin and that is always how I perceived her.

Storm of X-Men is probably the first Black woman superhero I embraced. In fact, I know she is. I would watch the X-Men cartoons in the 90s and marvel (pun intended) at her presence and pristine cadence. Such a queen she is! I would try to write her speeches down after every episode because she always dropped some knowledge. When I got older, the thought of her coming to a big screen excited me. Halle Berry was cast and while I wasn’t hating the decision, I remember not being that thrilled at the choice either. This isn’t a diss to Ms. Berry because she was kickass in John Wick and I hope she plays more action roles, but I never believed her as Storm. One of the main issues I had was the way I saw Storm in my head. I see Storm as a tall, dark-skinned woman with striking features and an unforgettable tone to her voice. Halle Berry didn’t give me that and I am not sure many could but there’s still hope. Anybody can work on their inflection and voice for a role, right? So that is something that can be worked on, too.

The controversy behind Storm

However, it seems to me, that casting directors and showrunners are ignoring the fact that Storm is a dark skin woman. She is African and she is dark!  Ligh skin and ambiguous-looking Black women and women of color can land roles over their darker peers but this intentional erasure of Storm’s aesthetic is disrespectful. Even some comic book artists seem to forget that Storm is Black and want her to look mixed-race for some reason. Just FYI, Storm’s mother and her father are African American. Storm doesn’t need to look light skin or look like an exotical to be appealing. Colorism ( and racism) hurts entertainment especially comics because of whiteness.

If Hollywood can’t give me a dark-skinned Storm, I don’t want her.