The Wolverine/Storm relationship, in all its facets, is one of the most complex and longstanding in the entirety of Claremont’s run, focusing on his two most foregrounded characters as they mutually support each other’s development and growth as characters and as people #xmen 1/7
The pair is defined through mutual respect, intimate trust (something that does not come naturally to either), romantic subtext, and an implied casual sexual relationship that gets interrupted by circumstance, but could easily have been happening the entire time, off-panel. 2/7
Author Miles Booy argues that in early portrayals, Wolverine is symbolic of a primitive masculinity (through “ferocity”) while Storm symbolizes, in contrast, “feminine grace” through her primitive closeness to nature (26). Sort of Adam and Eve of the X-Men. 3/7
Through direct influence on each other, the pair evolve and mature toward each other with Ororo cultivating her primitive ferocity, self-assertiveness, and the respect of her peers, while Logan cultivates grace through patience, nurturing others, and community. 4/7
When Claremont seeks to establish Storm’s capability as a leader, he has her stand up to Wolverine. When Wolverine experiences doubt, or needs to be called out on something, it’s Storm who has to do it, the one he respects the most. 5/7
Toward the end of the run, it is, arguably, Storm’s relationship to Gambit that spurs Wolverine to initially despise the newest X-Man and to enter into a traditional masculine rivalry with him (despite having arguably outgrown such behaviour at this point). 6/7
Through it all, Claremont foregrounds the Ororo/Logan relationship as a resolute foundation of the collective, arguably the core of the X-Men themselves, particularly in the later years. 7/7
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While the circumstances of Rogue’s absorption of the Carol Danvers persona are surreal and supernatural, they nonetheless provide an intriguing example of the concept of “restorative justice” in a manner that makes a compelling story at the same time. #xmen #rogue 1/9
Restorative justice is a system that focuses on “providing an opportunity for the parties directly affected by the crime – victims, offenders and communities – to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime” instead of simple punishment. 2/9
Though more recently popularized, RJ was commonly practiced by First Nations communities in North America, forming the basis of entire judicial infrastructures (where most Western justice systems, up until recently, focused on the familiar penal structure). 3/9
As a collaborative medium, comics are sometimes denigrated for their committee approach to character-building, but a closer look at the 'committee' behind Wolverine shows how a character like Logan offers a multifaceted connection to creative genius. #xmen #wolverine 1/10
As noted by Marvel historian Sean Howe, Wolverine was first “named and conceived by Roy Thomas, who detected a need to exploit the Canadian market” before being “developed further by Len Wein and John Romita” ahead of Logan’s debut in “The Incredible Hulk.” 2/10
Throw in Claremont, and the pedigree is quite impressive already. Thomas is perhaps best known as the greatest writer of Conan comics, a character that later artists would draw from quite directly in their interpretations of Wolverine. 3/10
In UXM #220, Claremont takes a moment away from a chaotic era to touch back upon the longstanding, well-evolved relationship between Storm and Wolverine, giving readers another character-revealing scene between this iconic X-Men duo. #xmen #wolverine #storm 1/9
The scene initiates a journey of self-discovery for Ororo, one of many throughout the series but this one will specifically create the rising action for the “Fall of the Mutants’’ event. She has to go alone, but someone has to lead the X-Men in her absence. She recruits Logan 2/9
The power dynamic is foreshadowed in the simple fact that Wolverine (an archetypal hunter) has literally scaled the highest mountain to be alone, but it doesn’t matter. Even without her powers, Ororo has tracked him down. 3/9
In an introductory essay penned in 1980, John Byrne recounts his personal perspective on Jean Grey and her transformation to Phoenix. His candid account paints a less grandiose view on the cultivation of the character within the series than we normally hear. #xmen #JeanGrey 1/7
“I’ve never liked Phoenix. There, I said it...It’s not that I don’t like Jean Grey. I have an abiding fondness for readheads, and have been in love with Jean since we first ‘met,’ about a millions years ago when I was 13.” 2/7
“Granted that her power were not nearly as spectacular as Cyclops’, or Angel’s, or even Iceman’s, but she looked real good in a tight uniform and could – and did – serve to get the X-Men out of tight places.” 3/7
Placing Kitty Pryde into the position of viewpoint character has to represent one of the most groundbreaking decisions within the entirety of the Claremont run – a move that ultimately impacted the series, comics as a whole, and even Western media in powerful ways. #xmen 1/10
The Claremont run begins with Cyclops as the main viewpoint character. Kitty joins the team right at his departure and soon enough takes over as a main viewpoint character for the rest of her tenure, as reflected in our data (noting that Kitty’s only on for 70ish issues). 2/10
At the time of her arrival, Claremont had already executed a turn toward more adult-oriented stories (something that becomes even more pronounced after the death of an X-Man in DPS). It’s therefore perhaps odd to bring on a teen protagonist. 3/10
Despite having all manner of characters (good and evil) express romantic interest in her, Storm’s first canonical love is Forge, a possibly counter-intuitive choice. But this might be the point, as Forge can better connect Ororo to her humanity. #xmen 1/10
Storm is routinely courted (or abducted – or both) by the wealthiest, most powerful beings on the planet/cosmos. She could be a queen, a goddess, a vampire, you name it, but she rejects all of these suitors out of concern for her own independence. 2/10
When asked in interview why it took so long for Storm to receive a relationship partner, Claremont would often reply “because nobody was good enough for her.” 3/10