The Morlocks force Storm to show a side of herself the others aren't used to seeing. In Uncanny #170, she fights Callisto with a knife, without relying on her powers, and wins c…

The Morlocks force Storm to show a side of herself the others aren't used to seeing. In Uncanny #170, she fights Callisto with a knife, without relying on her powers, and wins control of the Morlocks. Angel's life is at stake. Callisto has set up a situation where Storm can't just ask nicely and expect everybody to go home. Ororo accepts the fight and follows through, even when it horrifies people who thought they knew what she would do. Then Japan and Yukio push that change further. Yukio takes risks and throws herself into things in a way Storm has spent years trying to avoid. Ororo is drawn to that freedom. By #173, the hair and clothes have changed too. Kitty has a hard time with it because she loves the Storm she already knows. But Ororo doesn't owe everyone an unchanged version of herself just because that's the one they were comfortable with. The mohawk is easy to remember. The decisions happening around it are why the change matters.