Thunderbird

Neal Shaara, a young Indian man whose latent mutant abilities manifested as solar-powered pyrokinesis, adopted the Thunderbird name upon joining the X-Men, channeling intense heat and light-based powers in service of Charles Xavier's dream of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humanity.

Thunderbird soared into Marvel's Modern Age with a debut in X-Men #100 in 2000, brought to life by the legendary Chris Claremont and the electrifying art of Leinil Francis Yu — a creative pairing that guaranteed an entrance worth remembering. An X-Men member from the start, this character has shared some of the most charged pages in Marvel's mutant universe alongside heavy-hitters like Wolverine, Rogue, and Anna Marie across titles including X-Treme X-Men and X-Men Universe. With two key collector issues among their 24 appearances and a publishing run stretching all the way to 2022, Thunderbird has proven to be more than a footnote — a genuine piece of the modern X-Men tapestry. If you're building out your mutant roster knowledge, this is one worth tracking down.