Famously, the design of Storm was created through a recycling of comics characters previously created by Dave Cockrum for an unused pitch called “The Outsiders,” then amalgamated together for X-Men with the help of Len Wein and Roy Thomas at Marvel. #xmen @MutantElement 1/4

"Storm is perhaps the best example of how a character's look develops from creative conception to creative result. ... Wein and [editor Roy] Thomas had conceived of a male X-Man with the power to manipulate weather…. 2/4

“…[Dave] had already designed an alluring female named Quetzal, but everyone thought Dave's design for an African-American shape shifter named the Black Cat better fit the X-look, so they took the Black Cat's powers, and Quetzal's beautiful features, and combined them" 3/4

This process reflects some of the inconsistencies in Storm’s design as a character, most notably her costume, which scholar Ramzi Fawaz describes as “disco diva” rather than African Tribal Princess. 4/4

The full account of this history (and quotation source) can be found here: https://www.cosmicteams.com/legion/docs/theoutsiders.html