Warning: Spoilers for Ultimate Black Panther #1 ahead!

Summary

• In the new Ultimate universe, Storm is portrayed as Killmonger's partner, leading to a cruel twist in her origins.
• This new storyline thwarts T'Challa from becoming the Black Panther and pairs his strongest ally with his deadliest enemy.
• Marvel continues to explore the potential of the Black Panther's romance with Storm, but now with a disastrous twist.

It's a new status quo and a dawn of endless possibilities as the Storm never happened; instead, she appears to be Killmonger's partner.

In Ultimate Black Panther #1 by Bryan Hill and Stefano Caseli, Ra and Khonshu's forces storm through Africa, taking advantage of the power vacuum left behind by the Maker's disappearance. While Wakanda is slow to act, two others step in to confront the armies of the sun and moon: Killmonger and his "love", the Wind-Rider.

Based on the name "Wind-Rider," which is one of Storm's aliases, and the mastery she demonstrates over lightning, this is clearly the Ultimate Universe version of Storm — meaning this updated universe pairs T'Challa's famous lover with his brutal nemesis.

Storm's Partnership with Killmonger Cruelly Twists Her Origins

While the rebooted Storm and Killmonger were previously announced, the way Killmonger refers to her as "my love" has major implications for Storm's origins. A major element of Storm and T'Challa's romance is from Marvel Team-Up #100 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Bob McLeod, in which Storm and T'Challa meet during their youth and save each other from villainous thugs (with either Storm or T'Challa leading, depending on if one reads the original 1980 story or the 2006 reboot). This takes place when Storm is twelve, shortly before her days of being revered as a goddess in Kenya.

Given that the Maker has been interfering with the timeline in order to create an Ultimate universe with no heroes, a compelling picture of this current timeline emerges: Storm's fateful encounter is not with T'Challa in this universe, but with Killmonger, who subsequently accompanies her to where she will be hailed as a goddess. This is ed by Killmonger asking her to "bless" the invading soldiers (at which point she strikes them with lightning). It's a beautiful subversion of Storm's and T'Challa's past that thwarts T'Challa from becoming the Black Panther and pairs his strongest ally with his deadliest enemy.

Marvel Explores Different Takes on the Black Panther/Storm Romance

It's intriguing that Storm and Killmonger are introduced as being in a romantic relationship at this point in time, as it follows closely on the heels of the glimpse of Storm and T'Challa's grandchildren in 2024's Marvel's Voices: Legends anthology. Storm and T'Challa's romance was a major event back in 2006, and the ramifications of their partnership can still be felt in the Marvel Universe today; it's clear that Marvel is still interested in exploring the potential the two have together. Pairing Storm with Killmonger certainly adds a cruel twist to the romantic dynamic — and spells disaster for Black Panther.

Ultimate Black Panther #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.