Wind Dancer
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Sofia Elizabeth Mantega, also known as Wind Dancer and formerly known as Renascence, is a fictional character, a
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s 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 ...
. One of the student body in the
Xavier Institute X-Mansion and Xavier Institute are the common names for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier and serves as the bas ...
, she is a member of the
New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, sub ...
squad therein. Her first appearance was in ''
New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, sub ...
'', vol. 2 #1. At the beginning of ''New Mutants'' vol. 2, she is 16 years old.


Fictional character biography


Early life

Sofia was born and lived most of her life in
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
,
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. While under the care of her uncle, Sofia's mother is killed in a riot. Her only Venezuelan adult relative, an uncle, is unable to support her in addition to his own children, so she is sent to her father Walter Barrett, who had been previously unaware of her existence. The head of a major
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
chain located in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Barrett is a cold, asocial man with no interest in a daughter. As such, he extracts from her a promise that she would learn English before school started, she would get good grades, and she would not use her mutant power, in exchange for which all her material wants would be provided for without question. Over the next three weeks, Sofia befriends Barrett's manservant Derek, learns English, and joins a local school, but despite her outgoing nature, she has difficulty fitting in and is unable to reconcile herself to Barrett's lack of affection for her. She ultimately acts out by skipping school and wrecking one of Barrett's stores. Barrett is incensed, less at the destruction of his store than by her exposing him as the father of a mutant, and considers leaving her in prison for 48 hours to punish her.
Danielle Moonstar Danielle "Dani" Moonstar (also known as Psyche, Mirage, and Moonstar) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in the graphic novel ''The New Mutants'' (Sept. 1982), created by writer Chris C ...
, having seen Sofia's vandalism on the news, steps in and offers her a place at the
Xavier Institute X-Mansion and Xavier Institute are the common names for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier and serves as the bas ...
.


Xavier Institute

Resident mischief maker Julian Keller (Hellion) finds himself instantly attracted to Mantega and begins courting her. She rejects him after he makes derogatory remarks about her roommate Laurie Collins (Wallflower),''New Mutants'' (vol. 2) #3 (September 2003) but the attraction remains mutual, and despite herself Sofia later ends up flirting with Julian during a combat training exercise. Derek remains in touch, even quitting his job when her father objects to his seeing Sofia. Sofia and Laurie are assigned to the
New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, sub ...
squad, along with
Surge Surge means a sudden transient rush or flood, and may refer to: Science * Storm surge, the onshore flow of water associated with a low-pressure weather system * Surge (glacier), a short-lived event where a glacier can move up to velocities 100 t ...
,
Elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...
,
Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...
, and Wither. Sofia is generally well-liked and is voted as "Most Outgoing" in the school's yearbook. Prodigy rejects the offer to lead the New Mutants, so the position falls to Sofia. She becomes isolated and irritable when the group loses their first training exercise, which she blames on her failure to lead. Her command decisions weaken further when Wither is arrested for the accidental death of his father, and she briefly sides with the Hellions, Julian's squad, to break him free. After the New Mutants fight the Hellions over the incident, Prodigy talks her into letting Wither go, and she tries to convince him to lead the New Mutants. He insists that Sofia's emotionalism has its advantage in a leadership role, but agrees to be co-leader, to better mesh their strengths. Thereafter, Sofia's temper eases again until the school dance, where she catches Laurie manipulating Prodigy to make Elixir jealous. Alarmed by the rapid disintegration of the squad, she finds herself kissing Julian, and he pushes her to end the in-fighting since she is the one who sees the good in everyone - even him. She tries to do so by forcing everyone to camp out on the
X-Mansion X-Mansion and Xavier Institute are the common names for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier and serves as the ba ...
's grounds. While bickering and even fist-fighting break out, Sofia is able to eventually reconcile her teammates.''New X-Men: Yearbook Special'' one-shot (December 2005)


New Warriors

In '' Decimation'', Wind Dancer loses her powers along with 98% of the mutant population when the
Scarlet Witch The Scarlet Witch is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 in March 1964, in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...
produces a reality-bending spell in an attempt to solve the human/mutant problem. Subsequently, she joins the New Warriors, taking the codename Renascence and using a suit with electrified tentacles to make up for her lack of powers.


Krakoa

During the
Krakoan Age The Krakoan Age was a series of ''X-Men'' storylines published by Marvel Comics from 2019 to 2024. The Krakoan Age began with the Jonathan Hickman limited series ''House of X'' and ''Powers of X'' (July – October 2019) and it consists of fo ...
, Wind Dancer becomes an online streamer broadcasting to the
Mojoverse Mojo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually those featuring the X-Men family of characters. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Arthur Adams (comics), Arthur Adams, Mojo first appeared in ''Lon ...
. After making a poll with her followers, she learns that they want her to die and hires Adam X to kill her. The Five quickly resurrect Wind Dancer, restoring her powers in the process.''X-Factor'' (vol. 4) #5 (February 2021) Following the end of the Krakoan Age, Dazzler returns to her musical career and Wind Dancer becomes her publicist.


Powers and abilities

As the mutant Wind Dancer, Sofia has the ability to control the movement of air, which included the ability to generate wind with intense force, lift and carry objects, fly and, more subtly, amplify small vibrations in the air - allowing her to hear faraway conversations. She also uses her powers to create a "cutting" effect by refining the force of the wind. When at close range, she can also compress air into a person's ear to disrupt their balance. As Renascence, she wore a suit equipped with six metallic tentacles that could discharge surges of electricity. She was also equipped with a personal force field that emits a golden aura. Sofia has some athletic and martial arts skills due to her training as a New Mutant at Xavier's and the combat sessions with the New Warriors.


Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Wind Dancer from Earth-58163 appears in ''
House of M "House of M" is a 2005 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics, consisting of an eight-issue comic book limited series with a number of crossover tie-in books written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel. Its first i ...
''. This version is a
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...
trainee under
Danielle Moonstar Danielle "Dani" Moonstar (also known as Psyche, Mirage, and Moonstar) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in the graphic novel ''The New Mutants'' (Sept. 1982), created by writer Chris C ...
's supervision.''New X-Men'' (vol. 2) #16–19 (September - December 2005)


References


External links

* {{Template:Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis Characters created by Christina Weir Characters created by Nunzio DeFilippis Comics characters introduced in 2003 Fictional characters with air or wind abilities Fictional Venezuelan people Latin American superheroes Marvel Comics female superheroes Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics mutants New Mutants