Last weekend, The Buzz attended Fan Expo Philadelphia, and one of the panels that we had the pleasure to sit through was, “Previously on, ‘X-MEN.'” The panel featured a discussion on the 1992 animated series that set FOX Kids to stardom with producer/director Larry Houston. Fans learned some behind the scenes tales, including if they took some ideas from the, “Pryde of the X-MEN,” 1989 pilot, to even learning that the network did not put faith into the series.
I was impressed to realize something that I did not put together until now: they could not say the word, “Dead,” when the character of Morph was killed in the 1992 pilot two-parter, “Night of the Sentinels.” I actually sat there and had to think about it, and he was right. I must have imagined it in my mind that it was said, especially as I knew what occurred. Another aspect I caught was that Houston did acknowledge that it was an animated soap opera. As someone who first began his soap viewing in 1990 with the CBS series, “As The World Turns,” that was considered a highlight of the conversation.
However, there was one aspect that I caught that was a blatant omission. As fans got to watch and listen to the original Ron Wasserman version of the “X-MEN” animated theme song, Houston then gave props to the voice actors from the original and recent “X-MEN ’97” series. Among the callouts included the late Norm Spencer (Cyclops), the late David Hemlen (Magneto), Chris Potter (ex-Gambit), Alyson Court (ex-Jubilee), and returning voice actors Lenore Zann (Rogue), Cal Dodd (Wolverine), and George Buza (Beast).
As Houston recounted everyone who was a part of this franchise, he forgot to mention one person: Iona Morris as Storm.
The actress voiced the character during the first season. She would then be replaced in season two with Alison Sealy-Smith and would continue to voice her in the ’97 series. The reason this took place was due to the fact that Morris is an American actress and would get residuals for voicing the part. Aside from her, all the characters were voiced by Canadian actors who do not get residuals. For this case, Morris was replaced by Sealy-Smith in season two, and she would re-dub Morris’ lines from season one. While there are some episodes that still exist with Morris as Storm in the first season, most episode releases use Sealy-Smith as the voice.
Why did I call this a blatant omission? When Houston mentioned Sealy-Smith as the voice of Storm, he mentioned that she was the original voice, yet Morris gave it life when it premiered. Ironically, Morris would voice Storm after she left the series when the character appeared in an episode of, “Spider-Man: The Animated Series.” I don’t understand why we would not give Morris her due. To be honest, I do not think she ever got the recognition she deserved as originating the voice of Storm. Sealy-Smith made the voice her own, but I was a fan of Morris’ interpretation of Storm. She gave it more of a motherly tone for scenes yet could be very commanding in presence. However, Sealy-Smith impressed me during the ’97 series, especially during the darker tones.
If it weren’t for Iona Morris, I don’t think fans would have fell in love with Storm from when she first uttered the words, “Storm, Mistress of the Elements, commands you to release that child!” Thank you for breathing life into Ororo Munroe. She may have only lasted one season, but Iona Morris left her mark in the X-MEN Universe. Your contributions are never forgotten and greatly appreciated.
