In a recent Indigenous speaker series I attended, Dr. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair spoke about Indigenous literature and I was excited to see John Proudstar, aka Thunderbird, included in his slides. Unfortunately, the X-Man was included as an example of how Indigenous people have been poorly depicted over the years, largely because it is not Indigenous people who get to tell their stories. It’s taken decades for Thunderbird to have this opportunity, but here we finally are.
Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird #1
David Cutler (artist), Irma Kniivila (colorist), Travis Lanham (letterer), Ken Lashley (cover artist), Jose Marzan Jr. (inker), Steve Orlando (writer), Roberto Poggi (inker), Nyla Rose (writer)
Marvel Comics
May 4, 2022
Nyla Rose of Oneida heritage lends her voice to this story. David Cutler, a member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation provides the artwork, including a new costume for Thunderbird. A lot of time is spent on the symbolism of this outfit, with a letter from John to Jumbo Carnation discussing how his original design, like everything else, was forced upon him by Charles Xavier. Now, with the opportunity to reshape his life and his future, he asks the mutant designer to incorporate colors that hold great meaning for him and his heritage, drawing on the four colors of the medicine wheel, as well as turquoise, which signifies strength, skill, and invincibility. The story centers on the way in which John embodies two worlds — mutant and Apache — which his new suit epitomizes. I particularly like the two-piece, not-so-fitted nature of this new look, although the zipper might need some work since it inconveniently opens mid-fight to reveal Thunderbird’s rippling chest.
Thunderbird’s claim to fame is that he was the first of the All-New, All-Different X-Men to die, way back in X-Men #95. Cutler and colorist Irma Kniivila expertly recreate this moment, right down to the bright and clear colors in contrast to the sharper lines and heavy shadows of the rest of the story. His resurrection is long overdue in a society that has been beating death for almost three years now.
When we first met him in 1975, John was an arrogant hothead who lost a coin toss for shock value because there wasn’t enough room for him and Wolverine in the same series, according to David Cockrum in the 1993 issue of Wizard Magazine. As much as Wolverine has endured as one of the most popular X-Men, imagine how compelling the story could have been with an Indigenous perspective evolving throughout, especially if told by Indigenous creators.
But here we are, decades later, and Thunderbird is finally back — except for him, it’s only been moments. His rage and hot-headedness — and his hatred for Xavier remain prominent, but so too do his family and roots. Writers Rose and Steve Orlando take us on this journey as John seeks out his grandmother, Lozen Proudstar, in Camp Gozhoo. As he expects, his welcome is unpleasant, as he is not known to his people. Though the mutants have raised his status to some level of sainthood because of his sacrifice, to the Apache people, his appearance is meaningless — unless he can prove himself to them by rescuing the people who have been taken by the authorities collecting them for X-genes. This, we learn has Orchis ties, and worse, ties to the Heritage Initiative run by Dr. Edwin Martynec, whom John and his brother James once dealt with in a 1997 X-Force flashback story called “The Brothers Proudstar.”
The atrocities Indigenous peoples of North America continue to face typically come with syrupy promises masking shady deals; the focus here is on the overt racism and evil, as represented by angry cops and a monstrous Martynec. Never one to care about strategy or even diplomacy, much to Cyclops’ frustration back in the day, Thunderbird is built to deal with this kind of enemy. And he does so with a smile on his face, marching in to tear shit up. The creative team couples John’s rage with a sense of joy at being able to cut loose through panels of violence complete with flying people and objects and raucous sound effects.
This rage and quick temper — along with his death — have defined his legacy, but Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird #1 takes the opportunity to carry him beyond. Though the one-shot is brief, it gives him the depth of character that Dave Cockrum and Chris Claremont denied him in 1975, allowing the promise of growth that we will hopefully get to see a lot more of in X-Men: Red.
