It's happening folks, Hawaii is finally on the uprising. Disney's doing a movie set in Hawaii (again. Lilo & Stitch. Never forget), and the newest Pokemon game will be based on Hawaii. It's happening. The age of Hawaii-based media is forming and we all need to prepare for it. In preparation I'd like to present this Week's Z-Lister Loa from Marvel Comic's X-Men.
Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis created Alani Ryan for 2004's "New Mutants #11". Alani had lived in Maui for all her life, but one fateful day she and her father went surfing and wound up being surrounded by sharks. In her panic Alani's mutant abilities began to manifest. Alani gained the ability to pass through solid matter (similar to Kitty Pryde) and cause the matter to crumble. This power allowed her to avoid being eaten and accidentally kill some of the sharks. The rest of the sharks are scared off by Namor The Sub-Mariner, Marvel's Prince of Atlantis. When they return to dry land Alani learns her grandmother was a friend of Namor back in the 1940's. She was brought to The Xavier Institute where she befriended fellow mutants and took the name "Loa" after a worm. Yes. A worm. Well, if Nightcrawler can do it so can she.
She was voted "Most Laid Back In Class" and had a relationship with the healing mutant Elixir, but didn't use her powers offensively until she and her classmates were thrown into Limbo and fought demons. Another notable team-up was when she teamed up with Rockslide and Match to steal food from Warpath. Loa even threatened Warpath's life to get some ice cream. When the island of Utopia was under attack by The Acolytes, Deadpool had been in Loa's room reading her dairy when he heard Loa's screams. Deadpool helped in the fight by throwing Loa through the Acolytes one-by-one. She accompanied Emma Frost on a journey to Atlantis to provide Namor with information on a shared enemy. At this time, Marvel Comics had been boldly stating Namor was "The First Mutant" so that he could have more interaction with The X-Men and be on their side for the event "Avengers vs X-Men". While in Atlantis, Namor gave Loa a magic pendent that allowed her to survive underwater. Given her upbringing and love of the ocean she kept the pendent. After all, when Loa mastered her phasing powers she believed her talent for it came from her swimming experience. Along with Namor, Doctor Strange, Lyra/She-Hulk (another Z-Lister), and The Silver Surfer she formed a temporary Defenders team during "Fear Itself". Today she continues to be a student at The Jean Grey School For The Gifted.
For such a small character Loa has had an interesting career. Multiple team-ups with Namor (a Golden Age Marvel hero), a spot on a non-X team, and a pretty funny team-up with Deadpool she seems like a character with a lot of mileage, one that isn't specifically tethered to one style of story. I like that about her, she's so accessible that fighting demons one day and swiping food the next isn't out of character. And her powers are pretty cool too, I especially love how she "swims" through matter. It's a power we've seen, but she her own way of using it. Overall I hope to see this young X-Men evolve through the years and hopefully be the next X-Men to give mutants their reputation back. The "Nightcrawler" reputation, not the "Cyclops" reputation.
Thanks for reading, brotha!
She was voted "Most Laid Back In Class" and had a relationship with the healing mutant Elixir, but didn't use her powers offensively until she and her classmates were thrown into Limbo and fought demons. Another notable team-up was when she teamed up with Rockslide and Match to steal food from Warpath. Loa even threatened Warpath's life to get some ice cream. When the island of Utopia was under attack by The Acolytes, Deadpool had been in Loa's room reading her dairy when he heard Loa's screams. Deadpool helped in the fight by throwing Loa through the Acolytes one-by-one. She accompanied Emma Frost on a journey to Atlantis to provide Namor with information on a shared enemy. At this time, Marvel Comics had been boldly stating Namor was "The First Mutant" so that he could have more interaction with The X-Men and be on their side for the event "Avengers vs X-Men". While in Atlantis, Namor gave Loa a magic pendent that allowed her to survive underwater. Given her upbringing and love of the ocean she kept the pendent. After all, when Loa mastered her phasing powers she believed her talent for it came from her swimming experience. Along with Namor, Doctor Strange, Lyra/She-Hulk (another Z-Lister), and The Silver Surfer she formed a temporary Defenders team during "Fear Itself". Today she continues to be a student at The Jean Grey School For The Gifted.
For such a small character Loa has had an interesting career. Multiple team-ups with Namor (a Golden Age Marvel hero), a spot on a non-X team, and a pretty funny team-up with Deadpool she seems like a character with a lot of mileage, one that isn't specifically tethered to one style of story. I like that about her, she's so accessible that fighting demons one day and swiping food the next isn't out of character. And her powers are pretty cool too, I especially love how she "swims" through matter. It's a power we've seen, but she her own way of using it. Overall I hope to see this young X-Men evolve through the years and hopefully be the next X-Men to give mutants their reputation back. The "Nightcrawler" reputation, not the "Cyclops" reputation.
Thanks for reading, brotha!
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