Deathbird
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Deathbird (Cal'syee Neramani) is a Marvel Comics supervillainess, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Keith Pollard, she first appeared in Ms. Marvel #9
Deathbird is part of a segment of the extraterrestrial Shi'ar race that possesses talon-tipped wings. She is the hated sister of the Shi'ar empress Lilandra Neramani, and constantly seeks to usurp her sister's throne. She is also a sister of D'Ken, the first known ruler of the Shi'Ar.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Deathbird was born Cal'syee Neramani to the ruling house of the Shi'ar Imperium. Her name was stripped from her after as it was prophecied that she was destined to commit great evil. She was exiled after brutally murdering both her mother and an unnamed sister.
During this exile she first appeared on Earth, as an associate of MODOK and AIM (how this alliance came to be remains unrevealed) and, following orders, she battled Ms. Marvel in New York one evening after Carol Danver's Park Avenue penthouse was destroyed by a bomb. The skirmish was interrupted after Deathbird severely injured the female fury, who got distracted by trying to save the lives of two small children. It later resumed when Carol, going undercover, discovered that AIM had a secret headquarters underneath Alden's Department Store. The battle between the two apparently ended with Deathbird's demise and MODOK's escape, after betraying her. Whether Deathbird sought revenge on either Danvers or AIM remains unknown.
A little while later, it came to be that her younger sister Lilandra became Majestrix of the Empire following the death of their brother, D'Ken. Deathbird decided to take the throne for herself, and allied with the councilman Samedar and the alien parasites called the Brood. The X-Men defeated her and her allies, but not before being infected with the Brood (although they were ultimately cured thanks to the efforts of Binary and the Acanti Soulsinger). She later retook the throne, this time succeeding. However, Skrulls impersonating Lilandra and her consort, Charles Xavier, took the throne from her. With Lila Cheney's help, she and the X-Men defeated the Skrulls, and Deathbird received a position of power in Lilandra's Empire; after the Kree-Shi'ar War, she was granted dominion over a portion of the conquered Kree Empire, although the Kree seem to have since become independent once more.
[edit] Romance with Bishop
When the Shi'Ar asked for the X-Men’s help against the invading Phalanx, who had already reached their throneworld Chandilar, the X-Men allied themselves with Deathbird. They managed to fend off a Phalanx assault on the Shi'ar Empire, and during the conflict, Deathbird and the X-Men Bishop forged a warrior's respect for each other. Deathbird was amazed that the Earth mutant showed no fear and stood up to her, and they also seemed physically attracted to each other.
As a gesture of honor, Deathbird escorted the mutants back to Earth but their ship was inexplicably destroyed in transit. Deathbird escaped annihilation, with the injured Bishop, using a private ship. She initially convinced Bishop that he was paralyzed due to his injuries and that, of all the X-Men, only he survived. However, not before long, Bishop realized that he was not injured but that Deathbird was using the lab equipment to hold him in stasis. The craft was soon attacked, and Bishop convinced her to release him so that they could deal with the matter together. Eventually, they bonded and soon became romantically involved.
During their journeys, the two were accidentally transported to an alternate future Earth that was ruled by an evil daughter of Shi’Ar Empress Lilandra and Charles Xavier. Bishop and Deathbird helped the rebels to oppose her and Deathbird defeated her niece in a duel. She could have slain her, and every instinct told her to do so, but she let her live. Bishop's influence was showing its effects. The heroes of the liberated earth helped Bishop and Deathbird to return to their own time and they continued their quest to get home.
In X-Men: The End, written by Chris Claremont, an alternate future of the X-Men's last days, it is revealed that there is a mutant called Aliyah who is the daughter of Lucas Bishop and Deathbird.
[edit] Betrayal
Eventually, Bishop and Deathbird returned to the Sol System and encountered the inert planetary mass of the Living Monolith on their way to Terra Firma. Curious, the two landed their craft and investigated the manshaped planet. Suddenly Deathbird betrayed Bishop to a cadre of Skrulls and he was returned to Earth in order to implement the ultimate plans of the Skrulls' ally, Apocalypse. Deathbird was herself betrayed and transformed by Apocalypse into one of his Horsemen. With the title of War, Deathbird helped Apocalypse assemble the X-Men he referred to as "the Twelve." Apocalypse was defeated, however, and Deathbird and the Horsemen scattered.
Deathbird and Bishop later ran into each other during the Maximum Security event. Earth had been made a prison planet, with an energy barrier around the solar system, and Deathbird has the key to unlocking it. Bishop confronted her, and the two fought. Deathbird then dared Bishop to kill her, before opening an airlock and getting sucked out into space. Bishop was able to close the airlock, and then admitted to himself that he hated her.
[edit] The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire
It was presumed that Deathbird perished, but she has returned to play a major role in Ed Brubaker's "The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire" storyline. Vulcan, captured by the palace guard as he made his way into the Shi'ar territory on the quest for vengeance against the entire Shi'ar race, was imprisoned in the most secure Shi'ar prison. While there, Vulcan was released by a member of a secret order of the Shi'ar that intend to see D'Ken lead the Shi'ar once more. The secret order member instructed Vulcan to release Deathbird, who was being held in the same facility. Deathbird sharing Vulcan's tenacity, fighting skills, power, and lust for vengence, enthraled Vulcan to the point that he felt rather romantically toward her - even promising to put his quest of vengence on hold for the time being. As a consequence of this, Deathbird was able to convince Vulcan to finish the healing process that the Shi'Ar scientists, members of the secret order, had started on D'Ken, who remained in a coma since the M'Kraan Crystal incident. In Uncanny X-Men # 483 (Part 9 of 12 of the Rise and Fall Arc), at the end of the issue, D'Ken observes that Deathbird and Vulcan are romantically involved, and invokes an ancient Shi'Ar law allowing Vulcan to marry Deathbird and become part of the Shi'Ar royalty.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Deathbird is a mutant of the Shi'ar species; she has superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability. She shares the same avian-like physiology typical of her race (such as hollow bones and greater than human strength), but in her case the avian characteristics are more pronounced. This is because she is a "genetic throwback," meaning that she resembles the more primitive Shi'ar. She has inherited atavistic characteristics (such as fully functioning wings) that most Shi'ar lack and is capable of self-propelled flight at a natural winged flight limit velocity.
Deathbird's fingernails are essentially talons which can score steel and tear through substances such as bone and tissue easily.
Aside from her natural physical advantages, Deathbird is a formidably trained warrior of great cunning and skill.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Television
- Deathbird made several appearances in the original 1990's X-Men animated series. In flashbacks, she was seen at D'Ken's side when Christopher and Katherine Summers were abducted. Following Lilandra's ascension to the throne of the empire, Deathbird sought to overthrow her sister and install herself as Majestrix, for which she joined Apocalypse, and was at his side when Fabian Cortez was captured. However, Apocalypse was merely using Deathbird for his own plans. During the episodes Beyond Good and Evil, she attacked Lilandra alongside Apocalypse, however, he abandoned her at the mercy of Lilandra and Imperial Guard Praetor Gladiator. Apocalypse simply wanted a distraction so he could kidnap Oracle, the psychic of the Imperial Guard.
[edit] Video games
- Deathbird also appeared in the first Sega Genesis X-Men video game, where she had kidnapped her sister Lilandra. In the video game she seems to have the ability to blast flamethrowers.
- She appeared as a boss in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
