Hugh Jackman And Halle Berry Built Their Own X-Men Backstory
A deleted scene from 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past shows that Storm and Wolverine had a romantic relationship. While this part of the story didn’t make it to the film’s final cut, Halle Berry said she and Jackman used the material for their characters’ backstories. “Storm and Logan used to be lovers,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. “It’s true. Storm and Logan had a thing.”
In the clip from X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan kisses Storm before going back in time to change history. I joke in the movies, I’m like, ‘How come nobody’s loving on Storm.’ Like, what’s wrong with Storm? Nobody is checking for Storm,” Berry added. “So, we decided that Storm and Logan had a thing, and then Jean came and messed that up.”
Halle Berry reveals that for the X-Men films, she and Hugh Jackman came up with their own backstory in which Logan and Ororo were former lovers.
Berry explained that the relationship between X-Men characters Storm and Wolverine was wonderful, but only for a while. “When [Logan] really decided that Jean Grey was his [love], that caused a problem,” she said. Storm was heartbroken by his betrayal, but Berry explained that “the having two girls at once thing, that didn’t work for … that doesn’t work for Storm.”
In the X-Men movie franchise, Hugh Jackman’s Logan and Halle Berry’s Storm differ from their comic book counterparts regarding their relationships and backstories. Wolverine has had numerous romantic relationships with characters like Mariko Yashida in the comics. However, in the movies, his most prominent romantic involvement is with Jean Grey (Famke Janssen).
“I joke in the movies, I’m like, ‘How come nobody’s loving on Storm.’ Like, what’s wrong with Storm? Nobody is checking for Storm. So, we decided that Storm and Logan had a thing, and then Jean came and messed that up.”
-Halle Berry
This created a complex love triangle between Jean, Cyclops (James Marsden), and Logan. The deleted scene from Days of Future Past, which implied a romantic history between Wolverine and Storm, was not part of the comic book lore. In the X-Men comics, Storm had romantic relationships with Black Panther and Forge. However, in the movies, her romantic life is less explored.
Changes Between Page And Screen
Moreover, Wolverine’s backstory was altered significantly in the X-Men movies. While his origins as a mutant with retractable claws and a regenerative healing factor remain consistent, the films diverge from the comics by providing a more mysterious and less detailed origin story for him. In the comics, Wolverine’s past is deeply explored and includes his time as a Weapon X experiment.
The X-Men movies took creative liberties with his past to maintain an air of mystery. The same is true for Storm, whose comic backstory includes being orphaned in Cairo, Egypt, and her subsequent life as a skilled thief before discovering her mutant powers. Storm’s backstory is less developed in the films, and her life as a thief is not prominently featured.
Instead, the movies focus more on her role as a powerful mutant with weather-manipulating abilities. While comic book fans may feel slighted by the changes, the X-Men movies adapted these characters to fit the cinematic universe and create engaging stories within the context of the film series.
Another character tweaked for the big screen was Rogue, portrayed by Anna Paquin. In the X-Men comics, Rogue can absorb other mutants’ powers and memories through physical contact. This absorption is often involuntary, and she struggles with the consequences of permanently absorbing Ms. Marvel’s powers and personality traits, including superhuman strength and flight.
In the X-Men films, Rogue’s powers were altered. She could still absorb the life force and abilities of others through touch, but this process is portrayed as more controlled. Unlike her comic book counterpart, she doesn’t permanently absorb the powers or personalities of others. Instead, her touch can temporarily incapacitate or weaken others.
Rogue’s comic book backstory includes her being a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants before eventually joining the X-Men. In the movies, she is introduced as a young runaway with no affiliation to the group. Her path crosses with the X-Men early in the series, and she becomes a team member. The rivalry with Ms. Marvel was not explored in the films.
