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Neal Shaara, also known as Thunderbird, is a
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. The character was depicted briefly a member of the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
. Created by writer
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
and artist
Leinil Francis Yu Leinil Francis Yu (born 1977) is a People of the Philippines, Filipino comic book artist, who began working for the United States, American market through Wildstorm Productions. Career Leinil Francis Yu was first recognized after winning the ''W ...
, he first appeared in ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' (vol. 2) #100 (May 2000). He is the first Indian member of the X-Men. An
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
pyrokinetic Pyrokinesis is the purported List of psychic abilities, psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind. As with other parapsychological phenomena, there is no conclusive evidence in support of the actual existence of p ...
, he has no connection to the previous X-Men characters called
Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...
. He is a
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
and was originally intended to be called
Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
, after the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
god of fire.


Fictional character biography


Early life

Neal Shaara comes from an affluent family in
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, where his father is the city's chief of police. His family also owned a large tea estate, where they all lived. He was popular among girls because of his good looks. When his journalist brother Sanjit disappears, Neal decides to investigate, against his parents' wishes. Neal is shadowed by his father's best detective
Karima Shapandar Omega Sentinel (Karima Shapandar) is a superhero later supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is associated with the X-Men and its spinoff Excalibur. Publication history Karima Shapandar first app ...
, and after Karima saves him from a group of thugs, the two began a romantic relationship while they search for Neal's missing brother.


Karima turned into a Prime Sentinel

They are ultimately captured by the
villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
Bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
, who plans to turn them into
Prime Sentinels Prime Sentinels are an advanced type of Sentinel which exist in Marvel Comics. They are a human/machine hybrid that uses nanotechnology from the "Days of Future Past" alternate future. Creation The Prime Sentinels were created when Bastion ini ...
as he has done to Sanjit. However, the shock of the transformation causes his latent mutant powers to manifest, the power to generate and control solar plasma and heat. Sanjit is able to disable the other Sentinels, but is severely wounded in the attempt. Karima, who is able to temporarily rebel against her programming, tells Neal to leave her, as her own transformation process commences, which will result in her killing him when the transformation is complete.


Joining The X-Men

Neal was now lost, alone and with strange powers that he neither comprehends nor wants. Neal goes to see family friend
Moira MacTaggert Dr. Moira MacTaggert (sometimes spelled ''MacTaggart'', ''McTaggart'', ''McTaggert''), more recently known as Moira X, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men ...
on
Muir Island The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
, and he meets the X-Men, although he does not know this when he first meets them. Later, the X-Men revealed themselves, when they used their powers to stop
Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
when his
techno-organic A techno-organic virus (T-O virus) is a fictional virus appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In the comics, the T-O virus transforms organic material into techno-organic material, which resembles both machinery and living t ...
virus runs out of control. Neal is initially frightened, but is eventually convinced to join the team. He chooses the codename Thunderbird, becoming the third bearer of that name so after the Proudstar brothers. He later adopted a more armored yellow and red uniform with wire mesh padding.


Psylocke

While with the X-Men, Thunderbird struggles with his fear of killing or hurting someone with his plasma. In addition, he also falls in love with the X-Man
Psylocke Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional Mutant (Marvel Comics), mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddoc ...
, even though she is in a relationship with
Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
. Thunderbird and Psylocke often engage in flirtatious behavior in front of Archangel, who makes his displeasure felt to Thunderbird. The couple eventually breaks up, and Psylocke pursues a romantic relationship with Thunderbird.Weiner, Robert G. (October 17, 2007)
''Marvel Graphic Novels and Related Publications: An Annotated Guide to Comics, Prose Novels, Children's Books, Articles, Criticism and Reference Works, 1965-2005''
McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic and reference works, as well as general-interest adult nonfiction. Its president is Rhonda Herman. Its former ...
, p.110. Archived at
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. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
Thunderbird becomes friends with
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...
, who like him, has also lost his brother. He also introduces him to the game of cricket. During one of their conversations, he says that though he is happy with Psylocke, he still retains his feelings for Karima, who is a Prime Sentinel. Thunderbird's lack of control over his powers often caused problems during combat. He refrains from using them on his opponents due to the fear of killing them. Archangel mocks him and questions his place in the X-Men.


''X-Treme X-Men''

A short while, Thunderbird and five other X-Men formed a splinter group of X-Men dubbed the
X-Treme X-Men ''X-Treme X-Men'' is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics, the first from 2001 through 2004, and the second from 2012 through 2013. All 46 issues of the first series were written by Chris Claremont, and featured a glo ...
, cutting all ties with the rest of the team while searching for
Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
's Diaries. He trains with Psylocke to gain better control of his powers, and learns to use only a small amount of plasma to blind or singe his opponents. Psylocke dies at the hands of Vargas, leaving behind a grief-stricken Thunderbird. For a time he is seen working with the X-Man from the future, Lucas Bishop, another mutant with energy-related powers, in an attempt to overcome his fears and gain greater control over his powers. He comes to think of Bishop as his mentor. After Psylocke's death, he begins questioning the purpose of his life. Bishop tells him that while none of the X-Men are mentioned in the history books of his time, Neal is, a revelation that greatly motivates Neal. During this time, he also visited the ruins of the island of Genosha, destroyed in a surprise Sentinel attack.


Relationship with Lifeguard

Some time after, Neal started a relationship with Heather Cameron, who was also known as Lifeguard. She and her brother Davis (who would become
Slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term slip ...
) joined the offshoot group of the X-Men. After the inter-dimensional Invasion at Madripoor by the villain
Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
, Thunderbird and Lifeguard left to search for her brother Slipstream, who left the team.


X-Corporation

Neal and Heather would later be seen as a member of the
X-Corporation The X-Corporation (X-Corp) is a fictional institution appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men comics. This organization was created to ensure the protection of mutant rights throughout ...
in Singapore, although Slipstream was nowhere to be seen. However this was short-lived as there was a synchronized attack on several of the X-Corporation offices after the catastrophic events of M-Day, leading Cyclops to call for the disbanding of all offices. Whether they aborted their search for Slipstream, or did find him, is not yet known.


Current status

In the "
Decimation Decimation, Decimate, or variants may refer to: * Decimation (punishment), punitive discipline * Decimation (signal processing), reduction of digital signal's sampling rate * Decimation (comics), 2006 Marvel crossover spinoff ''House of M'' * ''D ...
" storyline, it is seen in the 198 files, that he is one of the few mutants to retain their powers after the events of M-Day.. During the X-Men battle versus X-Man, aka Nate Grey, Jean Grey called help of all current and former X-Men to assist in the fight. Neal Shaara was one of those who joined the final fight. Though most of those who were at the end fight appeared in the Age of X-Man crossover, Neal was not seen. He later appears in the
Reign of X "Reign of X" is a 2020 relaunch of the ''X-Men'' line of comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the sequel to the "Dawn of X" publishing initiative, and was followed by an additional relaunch titled "Destiny of X". Publication history The " ...
phase of the X-Men reboot, being interviewed by Monet and Angel for a seat in the X-Corp directors' board.


Powers and abilities

Thunderbird has the ability to transform the molecules of his body into solar plasma, enabling him to convert portions of himself into thermodynamic energy furnaces that release luminescent radiance, pyrotechnic displays, concentrated plasma beams, shaped plasma charges that can deflect solid matter or displace volumes of air on impact for a heatless release of concussive force, and explosive thrust from his legs for flight or projection of focused blasts, flashes, or explosive spheres. Because plasma is a superheated, ionized state of matter, it can melt or destroy most objects, with the exception of
adamantium Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and in various games in the Elder Scrolls franchise. It is best known as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine's skeleton and claws. In ...
. Thunderbird can also use his power to generate sufficient propulsive thrust to fly at supersonic speeds. In his initial appearances, Thunderbird is relatively unskilled in the use of his powers, but receives further training from Psylocke and Bishop.''X-Treme X-Men'' #4. Marvel Comics. During his time being mentored by Bishop, he achieves greater control over his powers, learning how to use his blasts to only single targets. He can also use only a small amount to create a blinding flash.


References


External links

*
UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Thunderbird III
{{X-Men characters Marvel Comics male superheroes Comics characters introduced in 2000 Characters created by Chris Claremont Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Indian superheroes Marvel Comics mutants