Warpath

James Proudstar is a mysterious Native American man. Sort of walks the earth a la Kung Fu.

Warpath is a mutant crusader against injustice, oppression, and environmental destruction.

Background
James Proudstar was born and raised on the Proudstar Ranch in the reservation of Camp Verde, Arizona. He was a good son, the second of Neal and Maria Proudstar. He idolized his older brother, John. Both boys developed mutant powers, due to their mother Maria's exposure to nuclear fallout after having lived near White Sands, New Mexico. He had a ranch life with sovereign mandated reservation education, and enjoyed every minute of it to the fullest.

He was full of admiration for his older brother's courage and duty when John joined and finished his tour with the Marine Corps. James' first adventure came about when he and his brother were told their mother, Maria, was diagnosed with leukemia. A tribesman, Michael Whitecloud, was an investigative reporter who informed them that something was amiss at the Arroyo Medical Laboratory that Maria was being held at. John agreed to help investigate. James was told to stay, being too young. He stowed away in the back of the truck.

It turned out that doctor Edwin Martynec, the man who diagnosed James' mother with leukemia, had been altering lab results to keep test subjects for his own nefarious research in genetic enhancement. Indeed, Martynec turned out to be a ferocious lupine creature and attacked the three of them. John though, with his burgeoning mutant powers, protected James, their mother, and Michael, and got them to safety when Dr. Martynec blew up the Arroyo lab to cover his tracks. With a different medical opinion, John and James learned that their mother was actually the picture of health.

He glowed with pride when his brother took the name of Thunderbird and went on a quest to rescue heroes with amazing powers on behalf of Charles Xavier. Tragedy struck, though, and James was devastated to learn that his brother was killed. So incensed was he that he stole his brother's body to give him a proper Apache warrior's funeral, and his resentment burned like John's pyre. He swore vengeance on Xavier, the man he felt responsible for taking his brother away.

The White Queen of the Hellfire Club offered James a way to stoke the fire of that hatred. She had her own school of mutant trainees, without any of the moral scruples that the X-Men claimed to have. Though most of the team were hot-headed and even villainous, James was a moral compass and voice of reason, though motivated by his need for vengeance. As such he was a natural leader for them.

He took to his training with gusto, and honed his skills and his powers to a razor efficiency. He did not lose his reason or his honor, though. He would not become a bully. Indeed, when he skirmished with the New Mutants time and again, he was not aggressive or hateful against them. It was Xavier's fault his brother died, not theirs.

Eventually through guile and the assistance of his Hellions, James had the opportunity to get his revenge. Though it was tainted, as his companions had risked the lives of innocents. Not wanting such blood on his hands, James saved both Wolverine and Shadowcat from a nerve gas poisoning, administering an antidote at his own risk. When he had the chance to confront Xavier, he could not bring himself to shed Charles' blood. Charles even said that he would have taken John's place, if he could. James made peace with Xavier, though he would be bitter about losing his brother to him for the rest of his life. Charles offered James to stay and learn at his Institute, but James has refused, for now.

After this was one, he confronted his fellow Hellions and was furious with their blatant disregard for the sanctity of innocent life. He had realized he was on the wrong team, and living in his brother's shadow for far too long. He tried to stick to his schooling with the Hellions, but he became more and more disenchanted with that life. Wanting to return home to Arizona, he parted ways with the Hellions and Ms. Frost, in a mostly amicable farewell.

But he never got home. The Crisis event happened, and the second Thunderbird found himself lost in the Labyrinth. He hunted and fought on a nearly-constant basis, subject to trickery and malevolence of the like he'd never before encountered. Every hour was a battle for survival, and James, though strained to the breaking point, persevered.

When it was over, and the worlds had merged, he found himself further from home than ever before. He was in Wakanda, and managed to come in contact with T'Challa, the Black Panther. Things started off rocky at first, a stranger in a strange land with the weeks of chaos following the Crisis, but James proved an ally during a super-powered warlord's assault. The King of Wakanda was impressed with James' warrior spirit, and gifted him a pair of Vibranium knives and named him an ally to the people of Wakanda. With T'Challa's assistance he was also given a tattoo of a massive black thunderbird, in honor of his brother. He also provided James transport back to the United States.

Finally returning back home to the Camp Verde reservation, James found the entire reservation to be destroyed. His family, his friends, his entire tribe massacred to the last man. The only potential clue he had was a Hellfire Club guard's mask. Thinking this to be the fault of Emma Frost, James has sworn revenge. After single-handedly burying his people, even his own parents, he ceased living in his brother's shadow then, and took a name to avenge his people, calling himself Warpath.

As of now he is an independent vigilante, working to thwart oppression, environmental destruction as well as more overt villainy as well as seeking to subvert the Hellfire Club, and find out exactly who was responsible for the massacre on Camp Verde, and take vengeance on them.

Personality
Reason: Throughout his life, Proudstar has been a level head among his contemporaries and is often wiser than he looks.

Honor: Having been raised as an Apache and a warrior, James fights and behaves with honor. He respects it in kind.

Justice: If people do wrong, punishment awaits. But Warpath's justice is often tempered with mercy.

Loyalty: Whether it be family, friends, or old teammates, James holds true to them if they do, even to the bitter end.

Spiritual: James holds to his native Apache roots, engaging in usually private Apache and Navajo belief systems and ritual. He has a respect for spirituality and little tolerance for those who would oppress it.

Fun: Just because he's a proud, noble Native warrior doesn't mean he can't have fun. He'll joke and party with the best of them! He's just more likely to be a designated driver.