Featured artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz, from 1984’s “New Mutants” #18.
To mark the release of Marvel Studios’ Echo last week, we asked you to name your favorite Native American comics character. Coming in at number one with 24 percent of the vote was Danielle Moonstar, the Cheyenne member of the New Mutants, originally known as Psyche and later as Mirage. Dani possesses great psychic powers, and was at the center of the ‘Demon Bear’ saga, the New Mutants’ most beloved storyline. She is also a valkyrie, demonstrating – well before Tessa Thompson’s take – that people of color belong in fantasy settings as much as they do in contemporary or futuristic ones.
In second place with 20 percent we have Turok, the dinosaur-fighting Mandan of Dell/Gold Key Comics fame, who went on to star in an beloved series of video games in the 1990s and 2000s. I suspect that’s the main reason he ranked so highly in our poll, although some of you probably have fond memories of the Valiant Comics run that inspired the games, or Greg Pak and Mirko Colak’s more recent series, that emphasized an alternate history of the Americas instead of a full-on fantasy world.
In third place, with 12 percent, we have another Cheyenne member of the X-Men, Forge (whose real name, Daniel Lone Eagle, has, curiously, never been canonized.) The team’s resident tech expert, Forge is probably best remembered for his brief spells as leader of the X-Men and X-Factor, and his relationships with Storm and Mystique. He also possesses magical abilities, and is an amputee war veteran, which leads us back to another vital piece of representation provided by Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez.
All in all, it’s telling all three characters come from Great Plains cultures, and that two of them are X-Men. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to stay tuned on Friday for our next Reader Poll!
