Thunderbird (comics)
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For alternate meanings of Thunderbird, see Thunderbird.
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Thunderbird (John Proudstar) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who was briefly a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975).
An Apache Indian, Thunderbird possessed superhuman strength and speed. He was a member of the "Second Genesis" group of X-Men gathered together in Giant-Size X-Men #1 but died on their second mission.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Proudstar was born into an Apache tribe in Camp Verde, Arizona. As a teenager, Proudstar discovers he possesses the mutant abilities of superhuman strength, speed and resistance to injury.
Proudstar is drafted into the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and earns the rank of corporal. He returns to his tribe afterwards but feels unhappy and listless.
He is recruited by Professor Charles Xavier to join his third group of X-Men. Although Proudstar is reluctant to join another white man's crusade, he agrees and takes the superhero title Thunderbird. Unfortunately, he is so volatile and ill-mannered that he constantly throws off the team's synchronization.
Thunderbird has a short career as a hero. During the new team's second mission, he leaps onto an airplane that is carrying the supervillain Count Nefaria. Despite the urging of Banshee, Thunderbird refuses to get off the plane, sealing his fate. The plane explodes, killing Proudstar (in X-Men #95 1975). Metatextually, Marvel editors decreed Proudstar should die because he and Wolverine were too similar, personality-wise.[citation needed] His brother, Warpath (James Proudstar), has similar powers, although to a much greater degree, and is also an X-Man.
[edit] Powers and Abilities
Thunderbird possesses the mutant abilities of superhuman levels of strength and stamina. His muscle tissue is much denser than that of an ordinary human. This is distributed in such a way as to greatly enhance the size of his arms, shoulders, and thighs. Thunderbird's skin is also much denser than in ordinary humans, making him more resistant to physical injury. As part of his mutation, Thunderbird possesses oversized lungs and an unusually developed respiratory system. He can apparently run at faster than normal speeds, as he is seen overtaking a buffalo in Giant-Size X-men #1.
[edit] Alternate versions
[edit] Exiles
An alternate version of John Proudstar is an original member of the Exiles, a group of superhumans tasked with fixing damaged realities. This Thunderbird was captured by Apocalypse during his time with the X-Men and unwillingly transformed into one of his Four Horsemen, namely War.
Thunderbird's time with this group is relatively short, several months at most. He serves mainly as the powerhouse of the group. In the third story arc he meets another alternate version of himself, who has become the shaman of Alpha Flight, and this arc is largely centered on his internal conflicts. In issue #10, Thunderbird sacrifices himself to hold an anti-matter bomb within the body of Galactus, which forces the world-devourer to leave Earth after the massive injury the bomb causes.
Although his physical body heals from the damage caused by the detonation, his mind is not so fortunate. At the least he has been put into a coma, at the worst he might be brain dead. The Exiles never get a chance to find out, as he is replaced by Sasquatch and the team are forced to leave him behind. His body is later discovered in the Panoptichron, a crystal city that lies between realities, but has yet to be returned to his home reality.
During his time with the Exiles, he develops a romantic relationship with fellow teammate Nocturne, who is pregnant with his child when he becomes comatose. (However, she later loses the child for unexplained reasons.) This relationship was revisited in issue #16, where we see flashbacks of previously unseen scenes between the two characters that further develop it.
This version of Thunderbird is considerably more powerful than the mainstream one, due to Apocalypse's augmentations. His skin is covered by retractable armour plates that harden when he enters battle, considerably increasing his durability, and even at base level his strength and speed are above his 616 counterpart. His power increases with his rage, akin to the Hulk who he once defeated in close combat, and his appearance becomes more bestial as he does so.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Television
In the 1980s cartoon television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Thunderbird/John Proudstar appears briefly as one of the X-Men. In this incarnation, he possesses the ability to become a variety of North American animals (and seems to lack the strength, speed, and durability of the comic version), much resembling Alpha Flight's Snowbird in that respect.
[edit] External links
Categories: Comics articles needing cleanup | Cleanup from December 2006 | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Marvel Comics superheroes | Native American superheroes | Fictional characters from Arizona | Marvel Comics mutants | Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds | Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
