Melissa Gold ran away from her alcoholic father and lived out on the streets of New York until she became a professional wrestler and joined an all-female wrestling group that worked for the Roxxon Oil Company, committing crimes across New York City. Roxxon enhanced Melissa's vocal cords, allowing her to produce sonic screams. Melissa came to be known as Screaming Mimi and eventually joined Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil. The Masters of Evil posed as a Super Hero team known as the Thunderbolts in a plot to take over the world. Codenamed Songbird, Melissa started to appreciate being a Super Hero as their plan neared completion. She and several of her teammates staged a coup against Baron Zemo, proving herself to be a real hero and joining the Avengers.[1]
