Real Name: Neal Sharra
Occupation: Adventurer
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of India, with no criminal
record
Place of Birth: Calcutta, India
Group Affiliation: X-Men
Base of Operations: Xavier
Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York
First Appearance: X-MEN #101
History: Born into the wealthy family of a police
chief, Neal Sharra no worries, until the day he returned
home to find his brother, Sanjit, was missing. Not satisfied
waiting for the authorities to track down Sanjit, Neal
set off to locate him using clues he had uncovered in
his brother's diary. Sanjit was a reporter, and Neal learned
he had been working on a story involving disappearances
among Calcutta's impoverished citizens. The trail led
him into the arms of bandits, but Karina, an operative
of Neal's father, saved his life. The two began to fall
in love as they searched together for Sanjit. Ultimately,
their quest brought them face-to-face with Bastion, in
the midst of Operation Zero Tolerance.
Bastion transformed Sanjit into a Prime Sentinel, one
in a series of cyborgs bent on eliminating all mutants;
the villain intended the same fate for Neal and Karina.
While the process worked on Karina, it instead triggered
Neal's latent mutant abilities. His power emerged in an
explosive fury, decimating Bastion's hidden base. Neal
battled Bastion and the Prime Sentinels, but would have
been overcome if his brother, fighting the Sentinel programming,
had not saved him. Sanjit sacrificed himself so Neal and
Karina could escape. However, Karina was beginning to
succumb to the Sentinel programming, and Neal was forced
to flee India for his safety. His parents recommended
he travel to Muir Island in Scotland to seek help from
Moira MacTaggeret,
a leading specialist in the field of mutation. There,
he met the X-Men and was convinced to join the team.
Height: 5 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Known Superhuman Powers: Thunderbird can generate
and manipulate super-fiery plasma for a variety of effects.
Neal Sharra has the ability to absorb ambient heat energy
and transform it into plasma bursts or flames.