Thunderbird (comics)

This article is about the first X-Men member known as "Thunderbird". For the other X-Men members who share the same codename, see Neal Shaara and Warpath.

Thunderbird
Thunderbird Dave Cockrum, artist and creator
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)
Created by	Len Wein Dave Cockrum
In-story information
Alter ego	John Proudstar
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	X-Men United States Marine Corps
Abilities	Superhuman senses, strength, speed, stamina, sturdiness

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, Thunderbird possesses superhuman athletic ability. He was a short time member of the "Second Genesis" group of X-Men gathered together in Giant-Size X-Men #1 as he died on their second mission.

Fictional character biography

Origins

John Proudstar was born into an Apache tribe on a reservation in Camp Verde, Arizona. As a teenager, Proudstar discovered he possessed the mutant abilities of superhuman senses, strength, speed, stamina, and sturdiness.

Proudstar was drafted into the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and earned the rank of corporal. He returned to his tribe after the war, but he was unhappy and listless.

X-Men

He was then recruited by Professor Charles Xavier to join his third group of X-Men. Although Proudstar was reluctant to join another white man's crusade, he agreed and assumed the superhero codename Thunderbird. He assisted the other X-Men in rescuing the original X-Men from Krakoa the mutant island.

After successfully completing his first mission with the X-Men, Thunderbird turned out to be so volatile and ill-mannered that he constantly disrupted the team's synchronization. He often found himself going head to head with Cyclops, the appointed leader of the X-Men. This attitude would not change, and ultimately led to an untimely end for Thunderbird.

Death

Thunderbird had a short career as a hero. The new team's second mission took them to Valhalla Base, Colorado, to combat the supervillain Count Nefaria. Thunderbird and the X-Men battled the Ani-Men, in which Proudstar leapt onto an airplane that was carrying Count Nefaria. Despite the urging of Banshee, Thunderbird refused to get off the plane, stating that he would show that he was a true Apache warrior. The plane exploded, killing Proudstar. While Count Nefaria is later revealed to have survived the crash, Thunderbird died as the result of his headstrong action.

Even in death Thunderbird's legacy carries on. His brother, Warpath (James Proudstar), has similar powers, although to a much greater degree, and is also an X-Man.

Necrosha

When Warpath goes to visit Thunderbird's grave during the Necrosha storyline, he encounters the Demon Bear. After defeating the creature with the aid of Ghost Rider, he finds out that former Purifier Eli Bard has dug up Thunderbird and everyone else buried there. It is revealed that Bard used a version of the Technarch virus to resurrect Thunderbird and the others as his servants. Thunderbird is later seen with Selene's Inner Circle and Caliban being led to the ruins of Genosha, which she dubs Necrosha. Thunderbird fights Warpath, who snaps his neck and then kills Selene. Thunderbird's spirit is seen departing, telling his brother that he "can let go now".

Chaos War

During the Chaos War storyline, Thunderbird is among the fallen X-Men members (consisting of himself, Banshee, Moira MacTaggert, Esme and Sophie of the Stepford Cuckoos, and three deceased dupes of Multiple Man) to return from the dead after what happened to the death realms. He remembers the last time he was briefly revived during the events of Necrosha, albeit faintly. Thunderbird leads the revived X-Men members into looking for a diary written by Destiny that might hold the key to defeating Amatsu-Mikaboshi while evading Carrion Crow, Eater of the Dead. Thunderbird called upon the mythical Thunderbird to get him and his group away from the Carrion Crow. He and the group discover that Moira MacTaggert has been possessed by Destiny's ghost. In the aftermath of the defeat of the Chaos King, Thunderbird is returned to the afterlife after reality is restored by Hercules.

Powers and abilities

Thunderbird is a mutant that possesses superhuman strength (sufficient to rip apart a fighter jet with his bare hands), speed (he is fast enough to outrun a bison, possibly much faster), stamina, and durability due to his dense musculature. His senses are also enhanced, enabling him to become a highly adept tracker.

Thunderbird has received military training in hand-to-hand combat.

Analysis

In Native Americans in Comic Books - A Critical Study, Michael A. Sheyahshe compared John Proudstar to Tupac Shakur, noting that "Thunderbird becomes even more popular, posthumously, than he ever was while living."

In September 2001, Bill Rosemann, the Marketing Communications Manager of Marvel Comics, announced that "The death of Thunderbird!", Uncanny X-Men #95 has been classed 32 in the 100 best Marvel Comics.

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the so-called Age of Apocalypse, Proudstar provided safe passage to Avalon through the Infernal Gallop. Eventually he met the X-Man Nightcrawler who had the mission to travel to Avalon and bring the mutant known as Destiny. Proudstar refused first only to get his finger taken by Nightcrawler when he accused Nightcrawler's mother Mystique of stripping refugees of everything of worth for her services of transporting refugees to Avalon. The finger was later restored and bandaged, possibly sewn back on.

The Madri discovered Proudstar and the Infernal Gallop's location at Ghost Dance and died from a shot in the back when the Madri infiltrated Greenpoint.

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 is 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. Later, 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 the relationship.

This version of Thunderbird is considerably more powerful than the mainstream one, due to Apocalypse's augmentations. His skin is covered by retractable armor plates that harden when he enters battle, considerably increasing his durability, and even at base level his power statistics 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.

A side-effect of Apocalypse's modifications is that Thunderbird no longer has a sense of taste. He nevertheless enjoys smelling things.

Thunderbird wakes up and escapes the stasis wall in the Panoptichron. He helped Psylocke and Cat regain control of the Panoptichron during Doctor Doom's assault, and was later reunited with Nocturne when the Exiles and New Excalibur teamed up to save Roma and the Captain Britain Corps. Thunderbird leaves the team shortly after to be with Nocturne on Heather's earth.

House of M

In the House of M reality, John Proudstar appears as a police detective for the NYPD and as the leader of the strikeforce known as the Brotherhood. Proudstar eventually made a deal with Wilson Fisk, to bring in Luke Cage's gang as both a matter of pride and to end his criminal activities. Thunderbird's efforts resulted in Cage's Avengers battling the Brotherhood, in which their defeat caused Magneto to disband the Brotherhood.

What If?

Thunderbird appeared in some issues of What If?:

• In "What If the X-Men Died on their First Mission?," Thunderbird was among the original line-up that died when Krakoa was lifted toward space.
• In "What If Professor X Became the Juggernaut?," Thunderbird was part of Juggernaut's X-Men.
• In "What If an All-New All-Different X-Men Never Existed?," Thunderbird was never recruited by Professor X and was allied with Erik the Red. He was quickly frozen by Iceman.

In other media

Television

• Thunderbird appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "The X-Men Adventure" voiced by John Stephenson. He is shown as a member of the X-Men. In this incarnation, he possesses the ability to shapeshift into a variety of North American animals (and seems to lack the physical abilities of the comic version).
• In X-Men: The Animated Series, Thunderbird is featured with Magneto's evil mutants in the title sequence. He has a non-speaking role in the episode "Slave Island" in which he is a mutant prisoner on Genosha.

External links

• Thunderbird (John Proudstar) at the Marvel Universe wiki
• Thunderbird (John Proudstar) at the Comic Book DB
• Spotlight on Thunderbird I at UncannyXmen.net
• Apache Pride - Fan site of Thunderbird