Thunderbird (Neal Shaara) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was depicted briefly as a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Leinil Francis Yu, he first appeared in X-Men (vol. 2) #100 (May 2000). He is the first Indian member of the X-Men. An Indian pyrokinetic, he has no connection to the previous X-Men characters called Thunderbird. He was intended to be called Agni, after the Hindu god of fire.
Fictional character biography
Early life Neal Shaara comes from an affluent family in Kolkata, 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, and after Karima saves him from a group of thugs, the two begin a romantic relationship while they search for Neal's missing brother.
Karima turned into a Prime Sentinel Neal and Karima are captured by the villain Bastion, who plans to turn them into Prime Sentinels as he has done to Sanjit. However, the shock of the transformation causes Neal's latent mutant powers to manifest, the power to generate and control solar plasma and heat. Sanjit disables the other Sentinels, but is severely wounded in the attempt. Karima, who is able to temporarily defy 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, now lost, alone, and with powers that he neither comprehends nor wants, goes to see family friend Moira MacTaggert on Muir Island, 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 when his techno-organic 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 the name after the Proudstar brothers (John and James).
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, even though she is in a relationship with Archangel. 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. Thunderbird becomes friends with Colossus, 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 causes 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 For a short while, Thunderbird and five other X-Men form a splinter group of X-Men dubbed the X-Treme X-Men, cutting all ties with the rest of the team while searching for Destiny'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, who also possesses 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 him. During this time, he also visits the ruins of Genosha, which was devastated in a Sentinel attack.
Relationship with Lifeguard Some time after, Neal started a relationship with Heather Cameron, also known as Lifeguard. She and her brother Davis (who would become Slipstream) join the offshoot group of the X-Men. After the inter-dimensional Invasion at Madripoor by the villain Khan, Thunderbird and Lifeguard leave to search for Slipstream, who has left the team.
X-Corporation Neal and Heather later appear as members of the X-Corporation in Singapore. Following a synchronized attack on several of the X-Corporation offices after the catastrophic events of M-Day, Cyclops calls for the organization to disband.
Current status Thunderbird is one of the few mutants to retain their powers after the "Decimation" storyline. During the X-Men battle versus X-Man, aka Nate Grey, Jean Grey summons all current and former X-Men to assist in the fight, including Thunderbird. He later appears in the Reign of X 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 can 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. Thunderbird can also use his power to generate sufficient propulsive thrust to fly at supersonic speeds.
References
External links
Thunderbird (Neal Shaara) at Marvel.com UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Thunderbird
