Snowbird (comics)

Snowbird
Snowbird with fellow members Guardian (top) and Wolverine (bottom). Art by Sean Chen.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Uncanny X-Men #120 (April 1979)
Created by	John Byrne
In-story information
Alter ego	Narya
Species	Human
Place of origin	Earth
Team affiliations	Alpha Flight The Flight Royal Canadian Mounted Police God Squad
Notable aliases	Anne McKenzie, Anne McKenzie-Thompson, Ice Queen
Abilities	Flight Healing Superhuman Strength Post-cognition Compel Others Mystical Sense & Resistance Fair hand-to-hand combatant Ability to shapeshift into a white-furred version of any animal native to Canada Innate godly potential to wield magic

Snowbird (Narya) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by John Byrne, the character made her first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979).

Snowbird first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979) and was created by John Byrne.

Several thousand years before Snowbird's birth, the immensely powerful and malevolent Arctic spirit Tundra sealed the Northern gods — including the Inuit goddess Nelvanna — within a mystical barrier in another dimension, rendering them incapable of defending the mortal realm of Earth. Through clever persuasion and trickery, Nelvanna bargained with Tundra to strip her of her godly powers so that she could pass through the barrier to find and mate with a male human of Earth. Nelvanna appeared before a man named Richard Easton, insisting upon mating with him in order to produce a child who would grow to battle the evil, mystical "Great Beasts" of Canada. Easton reluctantly agreed, and the two gave birth to Snowbird some time in the 1900s near Resolute Bay, Northwest Territories, Canada.

Michael Twoyoungmen, also known as Shaman, was chosen to serve as midwife to Nelvanna when she gave birth. Shaman named the child Narya, used a spell to bind her to the earthly realm, and agreed to raise her in his cabin in the Canadian wilderness. Narya grew at a rapid rate and it was discovered that she possessed supernatural abilities. Most notably, that she could transform into any animal native to Canada, gaining the attributes of that creature while in its guise. In addition, she possesses the ability to fly, to sense mystic and magical power, limited precognition and postcognition, and a limited degree of super-strength. However, she is unable to leave Canada's borders without instantly falling ill, due to the literal effects of the binding spell placed on her by Shaman; it is possible that being outside Canada's borders for too long could prove fatal.