Entertainment

Whose Side Is Storm On In 'X-Men: Apocalypse'?

The newest X-Men adventure is almost here, and X-Men: Apocalypse is set to introduce a bevy of new mutants into the franchise. While some of these newbies are characters who have not yet had a proper on screen introduction, like Psylocke and Jubilee, others are younger versions of fan-favorites like Cyclops and Jean Grey. Fitting into that latter category is Storm, played in the film by Alexandra Shipp. But fans are confused since the weather-controlling mutant appears as a villain in the trailer, instead of the hero they know and love. So is Storm good or bad in X-Men: Apocalypse ?

It seems like she may be a little of both. What is known from the trailers and from the synopsis of the film is that Storm initially joins forces with the evil Apocalypse as one of the villain's Four Horsemen; along with Magneto, Psylocke, and Angel. As one of the big baddie's top followers, Storm is led into direct conflict with the X-Men. Fans know this since she is seen fighting Cyclops in the trailer for the movie, with her lightning meeting his optic blast on the battlefield. But fans of the character shouldn't be too worried about their fave X-Men member being turned into a villain, because there is ample evidence that Storm switches teams before the end of the film.

The first major clue that Storm will end up teaming up with the X-Men arrived courtesy of Empire Magazine , who released a photo depicting the X-Men in their new uniforms posing in a promotional still for the film. They included Beast, Professor X (now bald, suggesting it's taken toward the end of the film), Jean Grey, Quicksilver, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Mystique, and yes, Storm — wearing an X-Men uniform.

There's also an M&Ms commercial, and while it obviously isn't canon, it depicts Storm and Nightcrawler hanging out together in Xavier's Mansion. The marketing in the ad suggests they're pals and are on the same team, rather than rivals in a fight to the death over some melt in your mouth, not in your hand candies.

Then finally, there's the obvious. X-Men: Apocalypse takes place in 1983, roughly two decades before the events of the first X-Men film. As fans will remember, the team's lineup at the beginning of that film consisted of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm — three characters who all happen to be debuting as their younger selves in the new film.

So fear not, fans of Storm. Even though Ororo Munroe begins her journey in X-Men: Apocalypse as a villain, it seems like she probably ends up joining the X-Men by the end of the film.

Images: 20th Century Fox; Giphy