Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!
And as this is our first installment of 2025, Happy New Year! This week, I’m honored to host a very special guest whose voice you know well: Actress Alison Sealy-Smith! Alison, of course, became the voice many of us hear when reading comic book appearances of Ororo Munroe thanks to her portrayal of Storm in X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97. Most recently, she voiced a variant of the character in What If…? who also happened to wield Mjölnir — no big deal.
As 2025 is Storm’s 50th birthday, there’s no better time to chat with one of the artists who helped make her the pop culture icon she is today.
Photo by Dylan Carter, Storm art by Nathan Szerdy
AIPT: Welcome to X-Men Monday, Alison! What an honor. Now, 2025 is a big year for Storm as she turns 50. You’ve been associated with this pop culture icon for 30+ years — and you’re still going thanks to series like X-Men ’97 and What If…? As an actress, how does it feel to be tied to this legend?
Alison Sealy-Smith: It feels wonderful. It is a gift that not many people are privileged enough to receive, and I am hugely grateful for the opportunity to voice this amazing mutant for as long as I have.
When I first heard that I was going to get the opportunity to do it again in X-Men ‘97, I was slightly worried because yes, it’s 30 years later — but it wasn’t 30 continuous years. (Laughs) There was this 25-year gap, right? And of course for actors, they say you’re only as good as your last show, which is not true. You’re only as good as your next show because you can’t take your last show to the bank. So as soon as X-Men: The Animated Series ended, it was all about the next gig, the next role, the next project, the next paycheck.
Storm was not living consistently, constantly, and consciously in my head. So when the opportunity came, who should pop their head up — except I didn’t know the name at that point — but of course, my own Adversary. My Adversary was like, “Can you do this? Can you really do this? It’s been 25 years.” And I’m like, “Yeah, man, they wouldn’t ask me to do it if they didn’t think I could.” Luckily for me in the intervening years, I had learned a few things. I’d done some really cool roles and gotten some recognition. And the most important thing I had learned was to trust, relax, and live in the moment and get my Adversary to shut up — at least temporarily. (Laughs) That way, when I stepped into that familiar studio, because we recorded in the same studio that we used 25 years before, and I stood up to that microphone, flipped those pages, got the queue, and all the terror simply faded away and I was flying on exhilaration.
So it was a fantastic opportunity and I’m just lucky. I’m really lucky.
AIPT: You didn’t miss a beat, and thanks to X-Men ‘97, you had a chance to flex more acting muscles as the stories were more adult and complex.
Alison: Yes. The storytelling was beautifully and meticulously plotted, and that always makes it easier. The storyline was mature because I was more mature than I was before, and it was beautiful to be able to bring all the life experiences that had happened to me in the intervening years.
Courtesy of Marvel Animation
AIPT: In 2024, audiences got to hear your voice coming from two versions of Storm in X-Men ‘97 and What If…? How did you approach playing Ororo in the latter, given her very different life experiences and role as the goddess of thunder?
Alison: It’s funny, I can go back to when my agent sent me the email telling me there was this opportunity for Storm to make this crossover appearance in this series called What If…? And it was a little embarrassing, but I had never heard of What If…? I watch cooking competitions. That’s my thing. (Laugh)
So I didn’t know this series at all. And I’m very, very, very picky about the work that I do these days. I’m lucky that I can turn down some stuff. So I didn’t know the show, but Storm was going to make this appearance. Without thinking, my response was immediate. It was just reflexive. Because the truth is that any chance I could possibly get to play with and have fun with this electrifyingly powerful queen, I’m going to take it. And I’ll continue taking it forever. (Laughs)
But how do I approach it if I don’t know the Goddess of Thunder? I approach it the same way that I approach every role that I do. It’s an acting job. It’s not voice work, it’s not animation work. It is an acting job. And that means I read, I reread, and I analyze that script. I’ve spent a lot of time doing Shakespeare, so I really like the words and the alliteration. I get into it. I bring some well-honed instincts. I’ve been doing this for a while, and I bring trust and openness to the voice director. Because if you truly listen to a voice director and stay open and you get your ego out of the way, you’re always going to get to the truth of a performance. And that’s what I did.
There were a couple of times when I was thinking inside my head, “Why aren’t they stopping me? Shouldn’t they be telling me to bring her this way or that way?” But of course, they didn’t because they wanted just enough. It was definitely Storm.
Courtesy of Marvel Animation
AIPT: Very nice. Would you want to revisit this version of Storm?
Alison: I will play any version of Storm in any universe whatsoever. I like her. I know her well.
AIPT: What is it about Storm as a character that keeps you so interested?
Alison: I think the first thing I’m drawn to is her power. As a Black woman — and as a Black woman of a certain age — growing up in a time when you can sometimes feel, not powerless, but not as powerful as you would like to be, it was her power that I was drawn to first.
Photo by Krystyn Slack
Then, it’s her ability to control the weather. I’m an island girl — I was born in Barbados. Hurricanes are existential threats. They’re things that you grow up with. You understand the power of the sea. Your grandmother is telling you from the time that you can understand her, “The sea doesn’t have a back door.” And you are constantly exposed to this huge, hounding power and the threat of hurricanes that could simply wipe out our tiny little island and have wiped out little islands around us. I’ll never forget when my sister was caught in the big hurricane that hit Grenada. So for me, I think it’s her power. And this island girl just responds to the idea that there is someone powerful enough to harness this, to harness the sea, to harness the weather, to be one with nature.
And then after that, there are so many other things. I don’t know if this is a real aspect of Storm or if this is something that I have imposed on her because she’s so close to me. But I believe Storm carries a lot of rage over the injustices of the world and an injustice that probably would’ve started with the death of her parents so young. It wasn’t right. So to grow up as a child with this huge feeling of, “But that wasn’t right,” and to have that anger you have nowhere to put, and to couple that anger with that amount of power, the self-control you have to impose on yourself all the time — I find it very, very attractive.
Courtesy of Marvel Animation
I think that’s what pulls me to her over and over again. That’s great for me playing her. I just feel the stuff that is underneath all of the time and the cost of holding all of that in check. I also think that Storm is a bit of a loner. I think that Storm is in deep need of community and family.
AIPT: You’ve voiced Storm at so many points in her life across animated series — but given her 50-year publishing history, that’s just scratching the surface! Are there any comic book storylines or general scenarios you’d love to see explored in the future in animated form?
Alison: Personally, I am intrigued by her Africanness. I am totally fascinated by her magical heritage and by the possibility of her divinity. I mean, this stuff just blows my mind. I hear names like Oshtur and Ayesha and I want to know more. (Laughs) I guess it’s the magic of Storm, the witch of her appeals to my 9-year-old self because at 9, I was convinced that I was a witch. I was so convinced that I even had my little brother believing that I was a witch. So to be able to play the weather witch is just beautiful.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
And I guess the older part of me, the sort of more political part of me that’s not 9 is interested in sort of revisiting her origin story because there’s a part of me that thinks… come on. She was young and impressionable. No, she wasn’t a child, but she was a young, impressionable woman when this white dude comes to Africa and tells this young Black woman, “You are not a goddess. Your people might think you’re a goddess, but you’re not. You have an aberrant gene, you are a mutant, and I need you to leave your people and come with me to help me solve my problems.” There is a part of me that goes, wow, I’d love to see that origin story through more contemporary eyes. I’d love to see Storm have to make another decision when she is not as young.
AIPT: Given your understanding of Storm, when a new live-action Ororo eventually makes her way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what aspects of the character do you hope to see on the big screen?
Alison: Well, first of all, every story is different. Every story challenges the director and the actor in different ways. Also, every director and writer has their own point of view. Every director has their own style. Every actor has their own process. So I would never, ever, ever dream of presuming to say what could or should happen or what characteristics or aspects of her should be kept in the MCU.
However, this is me and my reading. It’s all the things that we talked about already. The fact that she is a queen, a reluctant goddess, a trailblazer, her power that defies human comprehension — we have to keep her majesty. The fact that she is so aware of her own weaknesses and her self-doubt.
Courtesy of Marvel Animation
I would hate to lose the fact that she is a woman with a flair for drama. She is overtly theatrical. She could just click her fingers and call up a whirlwind. Instead, she plants herself and calls the word — it’s an incantation, it’s a spell. So that sense of drama — the bigness of her theatricality, I would hate to lose all that. And of course, she is just this powerful center of calm. She is somebody that you would want to have your back. She is a true friend to me. She is the epitome of leadership. And I think that should be maintained no matter what universe she’s operating in.
AIPT: Beyond your work in the studio, in 2024, you attended almost two dozen conventions. What’s that like, interacting with countless — extremely enthusiastic X-Fans — from around the world?
Photo by Steve Campbell
Alison: It’s like a dream. I could not have imagined living anything like this. If you had told me just a few years ago that this would be my life, I simply would not believe you. The love is amazing. It’s the stories people tell and the passion they have for this series, for this property, for these characters. It’s mind-boggling, it’s uplifting, it’s heartwarming, and it’s humbling when people come up to you and the stories they share of what Storm and the X-Men mean to them. And I’ve heard countless, countless stories. When you stay open to what people want to share and you acknowledge and appreciate it, it’s just beautiful.
And there are a couple of moments where it’s not so much about what people are saying. I’ve had a few times where a person, a couple, a family, a group of people who look like me will be passing by and they’ll stop and look up at the banner or the poster of Storm behind me, and then their eyes will drift down to me and our eyes will lock and they will mouth, “thank you,” and they keep walking. In that little connection are centuries of understanding and it gets to me every single time. I feel it and I’m just grateful that I was able to do that.
And this year, I’m probably going to be heading down to the southern states where I haven’t spent a whole lot of time. I just thought it was kind of important to do that and to connect with people. So I’m really looking forward to that. I’m keeping pretty quiet for the first quarter of the year, but we’ll be hitting C2E2 in Chicago. That will be the first convention for Storm’s 50th birthday. I’m really looking forward to that.
Courtesy of C2E2’s Instagram Page
AIPT: Finally, I know you can’t spoil any story specifics, but I have to ask about the highly anticipated second season of X-Men ‘97.
Alison: I can tell you almost nothing.
AIPT: (Laughs) Well there you go!
Alison: What I can tell you is that this series is being shaped with love, with care, with passion, with a real nurturing. And I believe that because of the care and the love that is being put into it, the level of creativity will definitely match season one, if not surpass it. I think fans should be really excited about that.
AIPT: Have you recorded dialogue for the new episodes?
Alison: Yes.
Courtesy of Marvel Animation
AIPT: Anything else you can share?
Alison: Whether it’s season two, season three, season four, season five, or hey, season seven, anybody? (Laughs) It’s going to be fascinating to watch Storm continue to explore her powers and what they mean. She’s an omega-level mutant — what does that mean? What are the limits of those powers? Does she have any? We’ll continue to explore that and find out. I think people are going to have fun and I think the fans are going to be happy.
AIPT: That’s the perfect note to end on. Alison — thank you for taking the time to stop by X-Men Monday! X-Men: The Animated Series sparked my love for Marvel’s mutants, so to talk to one of the voices I heard so often in the formative years of my fandom truly means a lot.
X-Fans, for this week’s X-Men Monday eXclusive, unfortunately, I can’t share anything from the second season of X-Men ’97. What I can share are a few pages from the upcoming Marvel’s Voices special, Storm: Lifedream #1, which just so happens to feature an interview with Alison! Check out these pages from the one-shot, on sale January 29, 2025, featuring art from Charles Stewart III, Karen S, Darboe, and Edwin Galmon.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
In the next edition of X-Men Monday: Writer Tim Seeley returns to discuss his new X-Men retro mini-series, Rogue: The Savage Land.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Until next time, X-Fans, stay exceptional!
