Tundra is a character appearing in

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published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by writer and artist John Byrne, the character

first appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

in '' Alpha Flight'' #1 (August 1983). He is a mystical spirit which inhabits an ever-growing mass of Canadian land in gargantuan semi-humanoid form, and is the enemy of the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

gods whom he trapped in another dimension.

Publication history

Tundra debuted in '' Alpha Flight'' #1 (August 1983), was created by John Byrne. The character subsequently appeared in ''Alpha Flight'' #24 (July 1985), #38 (September 1986), #55 (February 1988), and #64 (November 1988). He appeared in ''X-Man'' #39-40 (July 1998), and ''Wolverine'' #172 (March 2002).

Fictional character biography

Tundra is the first of the Great Beasts confronted by Alpha Flight.'' Alpha Flight'' #1. Marvel Comics. In a mystic ritual, a possessed Richard Easton traces a gigantic human shape in the barren land of Canada's

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

and then dons a metallic crown that summoned the spirit of Tundra. Easton's corpse animates, the land mimicking the corpse's movement, until Tundra rises in the shape of a humanoid mass of earth. According to

Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

, Tundra was supposed to be controlled by the mind of the human who summoned him, but because of Richard Easton's weakened state, Tundra's real personality quickly took over. Opposing him was a difficult matter. For instance, the monster intended on causing destruction and could not be persuaded otherwise by

or Snowbird. Furthermore, technological attacks on Tundra as those from

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

caused violent tremors in the surrounding land that threaten to cause severe damage throughout Canada. While

Sasquatch Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

managed to temporarily wound him by tearing off large portions of body mass before he is brushed off, the arriving sibling superheroes,

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and

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

, made better progress by creating a wind vortex around him to remove more mass. Realizing that naturally eroding Tundra is the only safe way to defeat him, Shaman magically created a rainstorm to wear down the monster. Although he ran out of atmospheric moisture to continue the deluge, the arrival of Marrina with her characteristic water spout transportation power supplied all the water Shaman needed to create a torrential downpour to finally destroy Tundra. Tundra is arch-enemy to the Great Beast Kariooq, the Corruptor.

Chaos War

During Chaos War, Sasquatch summons the Great Beasts to Earth to kill Amatusu-Mikaboshi. Snowbird ends up freezing them, after which Mikaboshi impales them with his tendrils, preseumably killing them.

Powers and abilities

Tundra's powers stem from the land itself. He can summon mosquitoes, hurl boulders from his body, and increase his size by absorbing land mass. Since he is connected to the land, earthquake-style upheavals occur in the surrounding area when he is injured.

References

{{reflist Marvel Comics supervillains