Ororo Monroe, aka Storm of the X-Men, has been a busy woman lately. Storm recently joined the Avengersand her ongoing solo series The Storm (written by Murewa Ayodele, drawn by Lucas Werneck) has already had a lot going on with only three issues so far.

To recap: Storm saved Tulsa from a nuclear meltdown, which was actually a mutant child experiencing the onset of powers. This inspired her to build the floating Storm Sanctuary for mutants, but also left her with radiation poisoning. After being sent to Brother Voodoo for some magical treatment, her life is saved, but she is unable to use her mutant powers for a week. Thus in "Bura" no. 3, Ororo visited Rogue's Uncanny X-Men in Louisiana and bonded with Wolverine. At the end of the issue, she was summoned by Doctor Doom, who, as of the 2024 Blood Hunt crossover, is Earth's new supreme wizard.

"Bura" no. 4 will continue with Ororo's arrival in Doom's domain of Latveria, and Marvel shared an exclusive preview with /Film. The synopsis of the release reads:

"FLAME IN THE WIND!" DOCTOR DOM is the SUPREME WALSH. He has special plans for Earth's mutants. He would like to talk about them with the wonderful storm about fine cuisines and expensive wines. What could possibly go wrong? The epic saga continues - with this new installment featuring a battle Latveria will never forget."

The issue seems to be leading up to the upcoming crossover, "A world in ruin,“Where the God-loving Doctor/Emperor will use his new magical power to take control of Earth.

The front page for "Bura" no. 4, drawn by Mateus Manhanini, you can watch below:

Marvel Comics

The comic opens with a recap page, showing Brother Voodoo healing Storm and explaining the terms of her magical contract to new readers. Arriving in Latveria on the back of Doom's giant raven and meeting Victor for dinner in a green dress (Doom's favorite color, naturally). Storm says she feels almost flattered, but her host claims: Misfortune never flatters.

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Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

These two sitting down to dinner will be a familiar sight to longtime X-Men fans. Back in "X-Men" #145-147 (by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum), the mutant heroes and Doom battled for the first time. Storm was assigned to 'distract' the Doctor by posing as his guest and the two ended up more genuinely in love with each other than expected. Claremont was famously in love with Storm, so all the men he wrote under his pen—including Doom—were too.

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Granted, John Byrne (then a writer on "Fantastic Four") transformed the Doom that appeared in "X-Men" into a Doombot imitating his creator. Many years later, in "SWORD" no. 7 (by Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli), Storm hosted Doom for dinner on the planet Arrako (aka Mars terraformed by the power of mutant gifts). They thought back to their last dinner date, with Doom justifying some of his robot-like misbehavior: "A true doom would never disrespect a goddess." In doing so, Storm warns Doom not to stoop to flirting.

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"Bura" no. 1 even included a variant cover (drawn by the wonderful Marco Chechetto) in what appears to be a lover's dance. Will this comic make Storm the Queen of Latveria? I wouldn't bet on it.

Marvel Comics

There's a little common interest between Storm and Doom, but it never goes any further. Doom is above such puerile habits as a student crush, and he would never let his attraction to Ororo compromise his vision. Ororo would never be willing to accept Doom's world-conquering ambitions either, and even if her feelings had evolved from mere intrigue to affection, she's not naive or insecure enough to follow Doom around like a love-struck girl desperate to changed the bad boy. However, Doom sees in Ororo a rare woman: one powerful enough and worthy to be Queen of Doom.

However, this meeting may be more than a social visit. The issue's synopsis mentions that Doom has "plans" for mutants in his new world order. Back during last year's X-Men #35, Latvian agents stole a piece Krakoa, the living island, now the defeated homeland of the mutants. Is Doom planning to win Storm over to his side by offering her the restored Krakoa?

Storm #4 is scheduled for print and digital release on January 15, 2025.