Lifeguard (comics)
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Lifeguard (Heather Cameron) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Salvador Larroca, she first appeared in X-Treme X-Men #6 (December 2001).
She is a mutant, gaining whatever superhuman abilities are needed in a life-threatening situation. She and her brother Slipstream were briefly members of the segment of X-Men featured in the series X-Treme X-Men.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] X-Treme X-Men
Heather and Davis Cameron were a lifeguard and a surfer, respectively, living in Surfer's Paradise in Australia. Unbeknownst to them, their father was an underworld crime lord known as Viceroy, and upon his death they were attacked. Together with Storm and Neal Shaara (the new Thunderbird), they managed to defeat their attackers. Heather discovered she was a mutant with the power to manifest whatever was necessary to save the life of someone in danger around her, including her own. Her power enabled her to manifest wings, golden armor, the ability to breathe underwater, and many other less noticeable adaptations. Some comic fans have seen this ability as the ultimate deus ex machina, which led to a somewhat negative reception of Claremont's new character. However, other fans think of her power as an interesting and innovative concept. Heather soon joined the splinter team of X-Men, and formed a romance with Thunderbird.
During a mission to infiltrate the ship of the intergalactic warlord, Khan, Heather's appearance changed to resemble the alien Shi'ar race, and it was theorized that she and Davis had some Shi'ar heritage. Jean Grey noted that the cranial markings on her head and the crest of feathers she had manifested indicated Heather is of Shi'ar royal ancestry. This, along with the appearance of Deathbird in the pages of Destiny's diaries have led to some speculation that Deathbird may be Heather and Davis' mother, although this has not been confirmed. Her brother, unable to see past her new, alien appearance, left the team. Lifeguard and Thunderbird went in search of him.
Lifeguard and Thunderbird recently turned up on Genosha, helping out with the local X-Corporation. However this was short-lived as there was a synchronized attack on several of the X-Corporation offices after the catastrophic events of M-Day, leading Cyclops to call for the disbanding of all offices.
[edit] Post-Decimation
Heather is one of a handful of mutants to have retained her powers in the wake of House of M. She currently resides at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. She does not make an appearance in X-Men: The 198 nor is she active in any X-Men roster, though the 198 Files verify her location. She is still involved with Thunderbird III.
[edit] Alternate versions
[edit] X-Men: The End
Lifeguard appears in X-Men: The End as a protector of Aliya Bishop in the Shi'ar Imperium. She is ultimately killed sacrificing herself for Aliya.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Heather's mutant power allows her body to react to any threat (to her life or another's) by transforming or manifesting a power to deal with the situation. She has a moderate level of control over this power and has sometimes been able to trigger it at will, although she has not displayed any control over the transformations or powers she manifests.
Most often her body reacts by transforming into golden armour (similar to Colossus) and growing golden wings (similar to Angel's).
After being in space, her shapeshifting DNA brought out her half Shi'ar heritage, granting her clawed hands and wings along with Shi'ar eye markings, and at times an avian appearance.
