Danielle Moonstar (Earth-616)

Danielle Moonstar is a Native American of the Cheyenne Nation. Moonstar's mutant powers emerged at puberty, but she could not control her ability to create visible images of people's greatest fears. Manifesting the images at unexpected moments alienated her from everyone in her community, except for her parents William and Peg Lonestar, and her grandfather, the chief and shaman Black Eagle.

One night, Dani created a symbolic vision of her parents' deaths. Shortly thereafter, Dani's parents disappeared during a trip to the mountains. Moonstar believed them to have been killed and her dreams were haunted, thereafter, by a vision of a demonic bear, whom she believed to be responsible for their deaths. In fact, Moonstar's parents had been transformed into the demonic bear by an as yet unrevealed cause. This bear intended to work the same transformation upon Moonstar, but the spells of Black Eagle kept the demonic bear away from her.^{[citation needed]}

After her parents' disappearance, Moonstar was taken in by their friends, the Roberts. Danielle became close friends with their son, Pat. After she had been at the Roberts' home a week, Moonstar was at Sunday dinner with them, when Pat said something to her that provoked her. Moonstar lashed out at him with her psychic power and the images of the objects of Pat's greatest fear and desire appeared before Pat and his family. Moonstar fled to the mountains, where Black Eagle raised her over the following years.^{[citation needed]}

Finally, Black Eagle sent a letter to Professor Charles Xavier asking him to provide Moonstar with the training she needed to utilize her powers. Xavier had become a friend of his son, William, Danielle's father, when both Xavier and William were in the army. Xavier and William had become blood brothers and Xavier had become acquainted with Black Eagle. When Black Eagle asked Moonstar to go with Prof. Xavier, she angrily refused, believing all Caucasians to be her enemies. In her anger, Moonstar unintentionally created an image of Black Eagle's death as he had foreseen it in a prophetic dream. Black Eagle ordered her to go with Prof. Xavier and she agreed.^{[citation needed]}

Before Prof. Xavier arrived, Black Eagle was murdered by agents of Donald Pierce, a member of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, who intended to overthrow its leader, Sebastian Shaw. Pierce was determined to kill Prof. Xavier, as well as other superhuman mutants. Moonstar, unaware of Pierce's involvement, vowed to take vengeance for her grandfather's death. Moonstar soon found herself hunted by Pierce's agents, but she was saved by the mutant Karma, who arrived along with Prof. Xavier. Dani agreed to work with Prof. Xavier to get her revenge on Pierce.^[6]

New Mutants

After Moonstar helped Prof. Xavier and other young mutants he had enlisted in defeating Pierce, she and the other young mutants became members of his new team, the New Mutants. This was a group of young superhuman mutants whom Prof. Xavier trained in the control and use of their powers at the School for Gifted Youngsters. Moonstar decided to remain with them to honor her grandfather's request, despite her initial hatred of all Caucasians, and she soon came to regard her fellow New Mutants as close friends, regardless of their racial background. Dani became an especial friend of Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane), in part due to the psychic rapport they shared when Wolfsbane was in non-human form. Moonstar originally took the code name Psyche, but later changed it to Mirage, after the illusions she creates.^{[citation needed]}

Despite her power, Dani was a valuable member of the team in her own right, being the only one to pass the team's first test in the Danger Room. Although the team was originally created because the Professor was possessed by the Brood Queen egg inside of him for future embryos, they stayed together. The team battled the powers of the Brood Queen inside of Professor Xavier that was using Dani's powers to create a horrific landscape.^[7]

With Black Eagle dead, the demonic bear was no longer prevented from seeking out Moonstar and she fought it outside Prof. Xavier's mansion, where it nearly killed her. Upon discovering Dani hideously mauled, the New Mutants rushed her to the Mid-County Medical Center. The Demon Bear was not through with Danielle and he infiltrated the hospital, thinking to finish the job and possess Danielle's soul. The Bear transported the team to the Badlands, presumably his dimension, where the New Mutants battled the bear. Her teammate Magik used her Soulsword to release Moonstar's parents from the spell they were under, returning them to their human forms. During this skirmish, the Demon Bear had possessed Sharon Friedlander and Officer Tom Corsi and turned them into demonic Native American warriors under his control. They reverted back to normal humans, but Sharon and Tom still kept the appearance of Native Americans. Moonstar was reunited with her parents and she eventually recovered completely from her injuries, thanks to the Morlock Healer.^{[citation needed]}

Under Prof. Xavier's guidance, Moonstar not only learned how to keep her powers under control, so that she only used them when she so desired, but also learned how to use her powers to create images other than those of the objects of people's fears. Eventually, Dani and Cannonball became the team's leaders.^{[citation needed]}

Valkyrie

Later, Amora the Enchantress kidnapped the New Mutants to Asgard. Dani found herself on Valhalla, where she rescued a winged horse from a group of hunters. The winged horse was one of a herd of such creatures belonging to Odin, ruler of Asgard. The horses were ridden by the female warriors called the Valkyries who guide the spirits of the recently deceased to the Afterlife. Mirage forged an immediate psychic rapport with the horse, whom she named Brightwind after her pony on Earth, and the horse selected her to be his rider. This "bonding" bestowed part of the Odin power upon Mirage, and thus she became endowed with the Valkyries' power to perceive the coming of death. When the New Mutants returned to Earth, Brightwind came with Mirage.^[8]^[9]

Soon thereafter, Professor Xavier left Earth for an indefinite period of time, leaving his school and the New Mutants in the charge of his former enemy, Magneto. While with her parents, Moonstar ran into her old friend, Pat Roberts, who still hated her. When Pat was injured and stuck in a blizzard, Moonstar saw the death mark on him and fought Death, in the form of an old gunfighter. Moonstar defeated Death, but Pat remained in a coma. The next day, Death returned in the form of an old Indian woman who convinced Dani that Pat would live, but in an irreversible diabetic coma. Dani agreed to let him go.^[10]

In Nova Roma, Dani was thrown under the High Evolutionary's de-powering machine. Two mutants, Bulk and Glow Worm, had just been de-powered and, with their dying breath, reversed the machine on Dani. After being taken-off the machine, Moonstar acquired the ability to make her spirit images real, but the images would not go away until a new image was made. Later, Dani also manifested a Spirit Lance, which she carried as a weapon. Dani went on a ride with Brightwind and, after falling into a pond, created a Porsche to return home. Dani was pulled-over and, after she manifested a fake license, the car vanished. Brightwind returned and she fled home, vanishing her fake license for her Spirit Lance. After thinking it was too big, Dani made her Spirit Lance into a necklace, which she constantly wore, as she needed to maintain at least one mirage at all times. Dani decided to keep her new powers and the origin of her necklace from Magneto.^[11]

The mutants did not stay under the care of Magneto, as Mirage and Cannonball decided to move the team out from under Magneto's thumb. Magneto revealed that he had joined the X-Men, led the New Mutants, and entered the Hellfire Club to build a foundation for control and peace among mutant kind. The teams were to be his army against the coming war between humans and mutants. Magneto allowed the New Mutants to leave, stating that, in time, they would find his ways right. After initially deciding to go home and live normal lives, the New Mutants were introduced to X-Factor and began to live on Ship, merging with the X-Terminators.^[12]

Hela, the death goddess of Asgard, attempted to take over Asgard, and infected Dani and the other Valkyrior with a mystical fever, surrounding both Mirage and Brightwind in flame. Hela planned to use Moonstar to gather humans to her forces to defeat Thor, but Dani tried to fight off her influence for as long as she could. The New Mutants went to Dr. Strange to help her. Dr. Strange pulled Dani's astral form onto the Astral Plane to calm her pain. Dani's body continued to battle the New Mutants and the surrounding area, until her astral self saw Rahne save a young girl from her body and she returned and asserted control, creating a machine to cover her in ice while Dr. Strange returned everything she had damaged to normal.^[13]

When the New Mutants were attacked by Freedom Force Dr. Strange teleported the remaining New Mutants to Asgard. Moonstar fell under the sway of Hela and nearly killed Odin. Hela was defeated by the combined forces of the New Mutants and the Asgardians, and the New Mutants were returned to Earth; all except Moonstar who chose to stay behind, hoping to repair the damage as a Valkyrie.^[14]

This angered Hotamintanio, one of her Cheyenne deities, who came to Asgard himself to bring her back. Danielle ultimately persuaded him to leave her to her own devices by promising to eventually return to her tribe.^[15]

Mutant Liberation Front

Moonstar was eventually exiled from Asgard, and her winged horse Brightwind was renamed Darkwind. Dani was contacted by the international law enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and asked to infiltrate the Mutant Liberation Front (M.L.F.) as a deep cover operative and betray the group from within.^[16]

While she was away in Asgard, The New Mutants had turned into the strike team called X-Force. To maintain her cover, Moonstar was forced to battle her old friends in X-Force alongside other members of the Front. Dani also secretly became an informant for Cable, at one time assisting him when he was tracking down Feral. She also helped the other mutants who were captured during the Younghunt when they were attempting escape from the Gamesmaster's prison. After the M.L.F. and X-Force battled Prime Sentinels during Operation Zero Tolerance, Moonstar left the M.L.F. and joined X-Force.^[17]

X-Force

During their encounter with the Damocles Foundation, Dani was transmorphed for a short time by Arcadia, giving her the ability to channel quantum energies, which allowed her to affect matter at a subatomic level.^[18]

Dani could see these quantum energies as interconnected particles and waves, and she could affect those connections, changing the physical nature of all things, including an electromagnetic field such as the one generated by Magneto during X-Force's encounter with him in Genosha.^[19]

When Dani and Arcadia meet up again in San Francisco, Dani's powers were removed from her and a dimensional rift was formed, also causing four alternate Moonstar's to be created. Each of these Moonstar's represented a different aspect of Dani - New Mutant, Valkyrie, M.L.F. member, and quantum-powered. With the help of the quantum-powered incarnation, Moonstar was able to stop Arcadia and after the rift was sealed, Dani was returned to normal.

When X-Force decided to bring Pete Wisdom into the group to train them Dani quit X-Force. Six months later, Moonstar joined the X-Men part-time while she attended college and functioned as a part of the X-Men's support team along with Forge.

Xavier Institute

When Professor Xavier was outed as a mutant and the Xavier Institute was made public, Dani returned. Professor X asked her help in finding several mutant children and bringing them to the school, and also asked her to become a teacher. Dani was hesitant to take him up on his offer, but agreed to bring in the potential students, recruiting Sofia Mantega, David Alleyne, Kevin Ford, and Joshua Foley. During a confrontation with the Reavers, Kevin attempted to kill Donald Pierce, and Dani was forced to use her powers to stop him. This caused Kevin to quit the school, making Dani question her place at the institute. Initially deciding to leave the institute again, she agreed to stay and teach after all the kids she had recruited asked for her personally to become their advisor. Dani even signed legal papers to become Josh Foley's legal guardian after his family abandoned him. A brief New Mutants reunion occurred when Donald Pierce attacked the school, and Dani joined her old friends to defeat him.^[20]

With the school rebuilt after an impostor Magneto had attacked it, older students were assigned to squads to better hone their abilities. Moonstar became the adviser to the New Mutants squad, made up of the youths she had recruited previously. However, after the events of M-Day, Dani lost her powers and was sent home along with all the other depowered students and faculty.^[21]

The Initiative

Dani was hired by Henry Gyrich to help Trauma to learn control of his powers for the Initiative. Trauma demonstrated that he couldn't control his powers by turning into everyone's worst fear. He turned into the Demon Bear but Dani showed him that she conquered her fear long ago. However, because she taught Trauma to use his powers in a therapeutic matter, Gyrich send her away, for he wanted to use Trauma as a weapon.^[22]

New Mutants Vol 3 3 Textless — Danielle Depowered

Young X-Men

When the X-Men were temporarily disbanded, Donald Pierce posed as Cyclops and gathered some of the younger students as a hit squad. He claimed the New Mutants had become a "New Brotherhood" and turned the kids loose on them. Danielle and her teammates fought back and revealed Pierce's duplicity to the kids.^[23]

After Pierce was imprisoned, Moonstar and Sunspot remained on at Utopia as teaching instructors for the Young X-Men squad.^[24]

New Mutants X-Men Squad

Magik later returned, stating that she was from the not too distant future and that the world and New Mutants would die without her intervention. Cyclops allowed Cannonball to reorganize the original New Mutants squad. Sam originally decided against Dani until she fought him in the Graymalkin Industries Danger Room and proved that she was still useful to the team. Their first mission was to subdue a recently returned Legion.^[25]

During Norman Osborn's attack on the X-Men in San Francisco, Dani was sent by Cyclops to Las Vegas to make a deal with Hela to gain back her Valkyrie powers, in order to fight Ares, the Dark X-Men, and the Dark Avengers.^[26]

As her part of the deal, Dani was convoked by Hela to be her Valkyrie during the Siege.^[27]

The New Mutants battled the Inferno Babies, where Dani's arm was broken by Loca. After being beaten, Dani was further beaten by Timothy and other members of Project Purgatory, while Sam was made to watch. Dani was freed by attacking demons and killed Loca.

Young X-Men Vol 1 2 Textless — Dani Moonstar with Magma

Fear Itself

When Kuurth attacked San Francisco, Cyclops sent Dani to meet with Asgardian death-goddess Hela in the hopes that she could explain what happened. However, on the way to Las Vegas, Dani was forcibly moved to Hel.

Dani and Brightwind explored Hel and met with hordes of dead, who fled in fear from the Draumar, the bad dreams of the Serpent who was buried in Hel eons ago. Dani arrived and the New Mutants joined Hela's dead army in battle with the Draumar. To frighten and defeat them, Hela showed the Draumar Nate's memories about his life and a world about which they knew nothing. After the Draumar were gone, the team returned to Utopia.

Attributes

Power Grid^[31]

Powers

Moonstar was a mutant and later depowered as a result of M-Day. She was granted a portion of the Valkyries power when Brightwind chose her as his rider, but lost that power and her connection to the Valkyrie when the Old Asgard fell.^[28] Later Hela restored her Valkyrie powers.

Former Powers

Empathic Illusion Casting : to create three-dimensional images of certain visual concepts from thoughts and emotional impressions within the minds of herself and others. Originally, Moonstar could only create images of the objects of other people's greatest fears. Later, she learned how to reach into another person's subconscious and project an image of the object of that person's "heart's desire." Still later, under Charles Xavier's further training, Moonstar learned to use her power to derive and project more specific images from another person's mind that were unrelated to such strong emotional states. Moreover, she learned how to project such images around herself and others in order to alter the appearance of herself and others. For example, once she and her teammate Cannonball, neither dressed impressively at the time, had to find Wolfsbane at a stylish hotel. In order that she and Cannonball would look as if they belonged in the hotel, Moonstar made herself and Cannonball look like the desk clerk's mental image of the ideal wealthy guests for the hotel. Most recently, Moonstar learned to project three-dimensional versions of images from her own mind, such as life-size images of the New Mutants training in the use of their powers.

Despite the fact that Moonstar had to probe a person's subconscious in order to discover the mental image she wished to project, she wasn't a true telepath. Although she could consciously initiate the mental probing in order to find and project an image, the probing process itself wasn't governed by her conscious mind. Hence, Moonstar did not consciously know what the image she sought in another person's mind was (in any more detail than that it was the image of the object of his or her greatest fear, or that it was the image of his or her ideal customer, or whatever) until its image actually appeared in three-dimensional form before her.

The three-dimensional images that Moonstar caused to appear were similar to holograms, although they were created by psionic energy rather than by lasers, and could be seen by anyone in their vicinity. However, only the people from whom Moonstar derived the images would perceive them as "real," indistinguishable from the real persons or objects they portrayed. To other people, the images were recognizable as immaterial illusions.

Moonstar could use her power to derive and project mental images on several people at once. Each "victim" would see a different image, corresponding to his or her own individual concept of the kind of image that Moonstar sought. If, for example, she sought to make a group of people each see the object of his or her greatest fear, probably each person in the group would see an image of a different person or thing. Probably if she caused each member of the New Mutants to see an image of Professor Xavier, each member would see a subtly different image, according to his or her own perception of Xavier's personality, handsomeness, and so forth. However, even though each "victim" in such a group would see only one image, Moonstar herself and anyone else in the vicinity would see each of the images drawn from the minds of each of the "victims."

The seeming materialization of the object of his or her greatest fear of desire invariably had immediate emotional impact on the person from whom Moonstar had drawn the image she projected. Moonstar's images dissolved and ceased to exist as soon as she ceased to maintain sufficient concentration to keep them visible.

Moonstar was limited in the use of her power by her need to see the person from whose consciousness she derived her images. She could use her power on a person even if he or she could only be seen by Moonstar through binoculars. However, she couldn't draw images from a person who was standing only a few feet from her, but behind something she couldn't see through. Nor could she derive images from a person whom she saw via live television but who wasn't actually within her vicinity.

At first Moonstar could not control her image projecting powers, and she would draw and project images without consciously willing to do so. However, she learned to control her power due to Charles Xavier's guidance and her own growing maturity, so that her power operated only when she willed it to do so. Moonstar, like the other New Mutants, was killed and then resurrected by the alien Beyonder. When the Beyonder recreated the New Mutants, somehow their proficiency in utilizing their powers was greatly reduced. Hence, although Moonstar could still perform all the feats listed above, it was now more difficult for her to do so. Also, her ability to keep her power under her conscious control was lessened as a result.

Moonstar's ultimate potential was to be able to cause her three-dimensional images to become tangible entities of psionic force. She was only able to make use of this full potential temporarily when her abilities were briefly augmented psionically by Charles Xavier when he was mentally possessed by a member of the alien Brood.

Moonstar could also use her power to derive and project images of the objects of fear or desire from the minds of animals. The only difference was that the animal from which she derived the image would be the only being to see it. She could even use this power on fish and certain insects, although not on animals with intelligence any lower than these creatures. Moonstar could derive mental images of her winged horse Brightwind's objects of fear and love even if Brightwind was beyond the range of her sight, and project such images to him over a great distance. The limits of her powers with regard to Brightwind are unknown. She summoned him in the past by projecting an image of herself, whom he loved, to him, even though he was out of her range of sights.

Neural Arrows: She could focus her psionic powers into energy arrows which can stun an opponent by disrupting their central nervous system, or force them to relive a traumatic memory.

Animal Empathy: Moonstar could achieve a quasi-telepathic rapport with higher animals including primates (but not including human beings), members of the dog and cat families (including wolves and mountain lions, for example), and birds. She could sense their feelings, consciously perceive images in their minds, and even see through their eyes. However, since an animal's ability to conceptualize is highly limited, she was limited as to what she telepathically could learn from an animal.

This ability extended to Wolfsbane's lupine form. However, since Wolfsbane retains her human mind as a wolf, it was more difficult for Moonstar to sort out the mental impressions she received from her than it was for Moonstar to deal with those of a real wolf. Moonstar's telepathic rapport with Wolfsbane was originally sometimes painful to Moonstar because of this fact, but it stopped after a period of time.

Moonstar also had a quasi-telepathic rapport with her winged horse Brightwind; possibly Brightwind had psychic abilities of his own that made the rapport easier. Though highly intelligent, Brightwind has an animal's mind, so Moonstar couldn't communicate with him telepathically in quite the same way she could with Wolfsbane when she is in her lupine form.

Death Sense: ability to perceive and sense the coming of Death. She could perceive a "deathglow" surrounding a person who was in serious danger of dying. Moreover, Moonstar could perceive Death incarnate, in whatever form it took to claim the person with the deathglow. A person surrounded by the deathglow was in danger of death, but might still be saved from dying (until he or she met his or her inevitable end at some later time under different circumstances).

Resist Death: Moonstar could challenge Death itself and death gods using a "Cheyenne ghost-shaft" made from her image powers. She succeeded in driving away Hela when she attempted to claim the soul of Wolverine, and in driving away Death itself when it came for Margaret Power.

Quantum Energy Manipulation: the ability to manipulate quantum energies to affect energy and matter on a subatomic level and fire powerful energy blasts.

A group of MLF members including Moonstar, Dragoness, Forearm, Locus, Tempo and Wildside were stated to include Alpha Class Mutants.^[29] It is unknown if all or only part of them were included in the statement, or if it was even a true statement and not a pretext for Operation: Zero Tolerance to step in.

Abilities

Moonstar is a better than average athlete for her age, in large part because of all the times she has spent on her own in the wilderness. She has a fair knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, has enhanced durability, and is a particularly good horseback rider and swimmer.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Primarily she uses bow and arrows in battle, but sometimes also uses guns or swords.
She has a few special arrows that she won in a bet with Hawkeye.^[30]

Transportation

Darkwind, Magik, X-Men Blackbird, Warlock

Links and References

References

[New_Mutants_Vol_3_30-1] New Mutants (Vol. 3) #30

[New_Mutants_Truth_or_Death_#2-2] New Mutants: Truth or Death #2

[Avengers_The_Initiative_#3-3] Avengers: The Initiative #3

[Young_X-Men_#2-4] Young X-Men #2

[Official_Handbook_of_the_Marvel_Universe_Master_Edition_#25-5] Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #25

[Marvel_Graphic_Novel_#4-6] Marvel Graphic Novel #4

[New_Mutants_#2-3-7] New Mutants #2–3

[New_Mutants_Special_Edition_#1-8] New Mutants Special Edition #1

[Uncanny_X-Men_Annual_#9-9] Uncanny X-Men Annual #9

[New_Mutants_#41-10] New Mutants #41

[New_Mutants_Annual_#4-11] New Mutants Annual #4

[New_Mutants_#76-12] New Mutants #76

[New_Mutants_#77-78-13] New Mutants #77–78

[New_Mutants_#79-87-14] New Mutants #79–87

[Marvel_Comics_Presents_#121-15] Marvel Comics Presents #121

[X-Force_#66-16] X-Force #66

[X-Force_#68-70-17] X-Force #68–70

[X-Force_#84-18] X-Force #84

[X-Force_#94-19] X-Force #94

[New_Mutants_Vol_2_13-20] New Mutants (Vol. 2) #13

[New_X-Men_Vol_2_20-21] New X-Men (Vol. 2) #20

[Avengers_The_Initiative_#3-4-22] Avengers: The Initiative #3–4

[Young_X-Men_#2-5-23] Young X-Men #2–5

[Young_X-Men_#6-12-24] Young X-Men #6–12

[New_Mutants_Vol_3_#1-4-25] New Mutants (Vol. 3) #1–4

[Dark_Avengers_/_Uncanny_X-Men_Exodus_#1-26] Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1

[New_Mutants_Vol_3_11-27] New Mutants (Vol. 3) #11

[Avengers_The_Initiative_Vol_1_9-28] Avengers: The Initiative #9

[X-Force_#67-29] X-Force #67

[Fearless_Defenders_#12-30] Fearless Defenders #12

[31] Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 7

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