John Proudstar

John Proudstar, also known as Thunderbird, is a Class 3 mutant from the United States and a member of the X-Men.

Biography
John Proudstar was born on the Apache reservation in Camp Verde, Arizona. During his childhood and adolescence, John proved to be an exceptionally strong and vigorous athlete. However, he regarded himself throughout his life as a loner and an outcast. John wished to prove himself to be a warrior in the tradition of his ancestors and was dissatisfied with what he regarded as the complacent lives led by his fellow Apaches on their reservation. Although too young to join the armed forces, John lied about his age and entered the United States Marines, intending to lead the kind of active life he desired. John became a corporal and earned a number of medals but still felt dissatisfied with his life once his tour of duty was over and he returned to the reservation.

John's mutant superhuman strength first manifested itself when, at the age of 20 nad using only his bare hands, he wrestled and threw a charging bison to save an endangered little girl. This feat earned John fame among the Apache people on the reservation, but the true nature of his abilities remained unknown until Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men, discovered him. Through the use of his mutant-detecting computer Cerebro, Xavier located John, whom he invited to join the X-Men. The first mission that John and six other new recruits undertook was to rescue the original X-Men from the living island of Krakoa in the South Pacific. With the exception of Sunfire, all of these new recruits, including John, decided to stay on and became the "new" X-Men. Xavier gave John the codename Thunderbird; this third group of X-Men were mostly adults and required no tutoring from Xavier, although they trained in the use of their powers in the Danger Room.

Powers
Superhuman Strength: Thunderbird is superhumanly strong and can lift approximately two tons under optimum conditions. Additionally, his muscle tissues are three times as dense as those of a normal human being's and is distributed in such a way so as to give Thunderbird massive shoulders, arms, and thighs. His skin is several times as dense as that of a normal human being's and includes an additional layer of leather-like epidermis. Due to the increased density of his skin and muscle tissues, Thunderbird's body is somewhat more resistant to physical injury than an ordinary human. Although far from invulnerable, he is capable of withstanding great impact forces and blunt trauma that would severely cripple or kill an ordinary human with only mild to moderate discomfort.

Abilities

 * Combat: Thunderbird is an experienced hand-to-hand combatant.