WARNING: Spoilers for New Mutants #24 ahead!
In preview pages for Krakoa's Resurrection Protocols he is finally fully returned, and able to reunite with his younger brother.
John Proudstar, a member of the Apache Nation and veteran of the US Marine Corps, first appeared in 1975's relaunch of the X-Men, renaming himself Warpath when he ed X-Force.
Since his death in 1975 Thunderbird has been "revived" twice, first as an undead member of Selene's Necroshian army, and then returned for two issues during the Chaos War event, before once again returning to death. Finally, after close to 50 years of being dead in Marvel publications, Thunderbird was resurrected in the pages of Trial of Magneto #5, after the Scarlet Witch used her reality warping powers to upgrade Cerebro, allowing The Five to any mutant who has ever died. In the pages of New Mutants #24 - written by Vita Ayala with art by Danilo Beyruth and Dan Brown - John is seen surprising James after he gets out of the shower in his Krakoan home, The Grove, clearing leading to what will be an emotional and long-overdue reunion.
John's death has long had a profound impact on James' life, and Thunderbird's legacy as a brave and honorable X-Men member continued to live on through the actions and beliefs of Warpath. Upon getting out of the shower James is surprised to hear someone say, "They said you were one of their best warriors, but I dunno. You didn't see me coming." Revealing himself, John then says, "Why didn't you meet me? Answer me, little brother. Why wasn't your face the first thing I saw when I woke up here?" James, clearly stunned, can only muster a, "John?! I-- I--" in response. James probably never thought this day would come, even though many other Krakoan citizens were able to revive their lost loved ones, because John died way before Cerebro was storing mutant consciousnesses. While the preview does not reveal exactly why James was not present at John's resurrection, or his introduction to Krakoa, one can only hope that he has a good reason!
Marvel Comics has long been lambasted for killing off their first ever Native American X-Men member in one of his first appearances, and while the introduction of Warpath as Thunderbird's younger brother certainly helped make John's legacy one that would not be ed, it truly was high time for them to find a way to bring him back, as they have done with so many other characters in the past. Thankfully, Marvel recently announced that Thunderbird will be getting his own special, Giant Size X-Men: Thunderbird, which will hopefully shed more light on Thunderbird's early life, and what he has gotten up to since his resurrection. To check out the full story on Thunderbird's emotional reunion with his younger brother Warpath, make sure to check out Marvel Comics New Mutants #24 when it debuts on February 9th 2022.
