Storm's New Costume Is a Gift to X-Men Cosplayers
Iconic X-Men hero Storm has an awesome new costume - part of a larger redesign that's guaranteed to inspire cosplayers in the months and years to come.
One of X-Men's most cosplayed heroes, Storm has a range of iconic looks, from her original 'goddess' costume to her '80s punk era to her '90s white and gold outfit.
Now, Marvel is ready to launch a bold new era for Ororo Munroe, turning her into not just a villain, but a nightmarish monster. At least she gets a cool costume!
Storm Debuts New Costume for Midnight: X-Men
This October, Marvel will launch its new Midnight imprint. Midnight: X-Men, Midnight: Fantastic Four and Midnight: Spider-Man will reimagine their titular heroes with major horror spins. Spider-Man will face werewolf-esque animal transformations, Fantastic Four will plunge the First Family into cosmic horror, and the X-Men will go up against an army of vampires - an army that all available information suggests will be led by Storm.
Storm's new design seems to show her wearing the Bloodstone amulet - a mystical artifact in Marvel lore which heals the wearer, and could theoretically repress her vampiric hunger.
Now, Marvel has released Jeehyung Lee's variant cover for Midnight: X-Men #1 (above), coming from Jonathan Hickman, Matteo Della Fonte, Matt Hollingsworth and Cory Petit. The art shows Storm's new costume - similar in design to her original X-Men costume with the connecting ring and tiara, but with new yellow detailing reminiscent of Wolverine. Storm's costume wings are turned into a white cape, showing off the blood stains created by the vampire queen.
It's a cool look, and one that's likely to be irresistible to X-Men cosplayers, given Storm's vampiric transformation, including blood-red eyes and fangs. Storm has a long history of being turned into a vampire in Marvel Comics - there's even a popular variant character named Bloodstorm with that premise - but this design overhauls her as a true vampire queen.
We're Getting a New Era of Cyclops vs Storm
Little is known about the plot of X-Men: Midnight so far, however fans do know there will be at least three factions: regular vampires, regular mutants, and mutant 'empyres' who are both but answer to neither.
Scott Summers will be on the side of regular mutants, now known as Cyclops: Vampire Hunter, with Storm seemingly leading the empyres. Writer Jonathan Hickman has a long history of depicting detailed factional conflicts with triple-crosses and complex detentes, so it will be particularly fascinating to see the X-Men's two most iconic heroes as leaders of opposing sides.
This conflict seems to echo the iconic Uncanny X-Men #201 from Chris Claremont and Paul Smith, where Cyclops and Storm duel for the leadership of the X-Men. In that story, Ororo manages to defeat Scott without using her powers. This time, she's 'winning' the X-Men by gradually turning them all undead.
Storm Is Taking Over the X-Men Franchise in 2026
While Storm stars in Midnight: X-Men as (likely) the main villain, she'll also be starring as the leader of a new X-Men roster in Maximum X-Men from Christopher Yost and Tony S. Daniel. The series will see the X-Men replace the Avengers after they disband, taking on threats including Annihilus and a Thanos-level villain.
As both hero and villain, the remainder of 2026 will see Storm take center stage in Marvel lore, fully exploring her role as a character whose exploits shape not just the X-Men franchise, but the fate of the world.
Midnight: X-Men #1 is coming October 7 from Marvel Comics, followed by Maximum X-Men #1 on December 2.