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Real name Samuel Zachary Guthrie
Cannonball (Samuel Zachary Guthrie) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, Cannonball first appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982).
Cannonball is a mutant who uses the ability to fly at jet speeds while encased in an impenetrable force field. The eldest of a large Kentucky coal mining family, Cannonball is one of few X-Men from a southern, rural background and has maintained the values of civility, hard work, and a strong commitment to his beliefs throughout his career as a superhero. Several of his siblings are also mutants and have joined X-Men-related teams, including his sisters, Paige and Melody, and brothers Jay and Jeb. Other siblings include a brother named Lewis, and four more sisters: Joelle, Elizabeth, Cissie and another unnamed sister.
Cannonball was a founding member of the X-Men's junior team The New Mutants. He joined The New Mutants' later incarnation X-Force, serving as second-in-command and field leader. He joined the X-Men, becoming the first member of a secondary team to "graduate". His tenure was complicated by clashes with superiors and he eventually rejoined X-Force and later the X-Men once more.
A "salt-of-the-earth", honest, well-mannered and responsible young man, Guthrie is a natural leader. He is a fan of science fiction, especially the works of Robert A. Heinlein.
Biography
OriginSam Guthrie was born in Cumberland, Kentucky. As a young boy, he attempted to help out his family by working in the coal mine in which his father had worked before he died. One day, Sam finds himself trapped in a collapsing mine shaft. While trying to rescue his fellow worker, Mr. Lewis, a friend of his father's who had introduced him to the job, Sam unconsciously activates his mutant ability and uses it to save himself and Lewis from the collapsing mine. This incident leads Donald Pierce to find Sam and hire him as a mercenary for the Hellfire Club, to use him in a plot to attack the New Mutants. However, when Pierce orders him to kill the defeated New Mutants, Sam rebels against him. Professor Charles Xavier sees the good qualities inside Sam and, after saving him from Pierce, asks him to join his New Mutants. Cannonball leaves his large farming family in Kentucky to join the team.
New Mutants
As part of the New Mutants, Sam forms a close friendship with his teammate, Sunspot, despite their differing interests and temperaments (Sam's modest politeness against Sunspot's boastfulness and hot temper). Sam develops a brotherly affection for Rahne, oblivious for some time that Rahne harbors romantic feelings for him. Sam and Danielle Moonstar act as the team's co-leaders. He also supervises other teammates, including Magik, Karma, Cypher, Magma, and Warlock.
Early on in his career with the team, Cannonball visits Nova Roma and meets Magma, on whom he develops a long-standing but unrequited crush. The New Mutants and their fellow mutant students at the Massachusetts Academy, the Hellions, have a relationship that varies between uneasy friendship and outright enmity, with Jetstream (a Hellion with powers similar to Cannonball's) pushing himself as Sam's particular rival. Sam also meets and shares his first kiss with the young mutant Firestar, then a student of the Massachusetts Academy. The machinations of the school's headmistress, Emma Frost, however, force them apart before they can develop their relationship, though they remain good friends afterwards.
Cannonball later on saves the life of international rock star Lila Cheney, with whom he becomes romantically involved. Due to the nature of Lila's career, their relationship went slowly. Cannonball helps lead the team through many adventures, which take them across time and space, from ancient Scotland to other galaxies, even back home to Kentucky. There, he teams up with longtime X-Man Dazzler and his own brother Jay to save Lila's life.
While lost in Asgard, Sam helps a group of dwarves being attacked by Malekith's warriors, at the cost of severe injury to himself. This earns him the friendship of Eitri, ruler of the dwarves, and the affection of his daughter Kindra. He develops an affection towards Kindra herself.
The New Mutants find themselves under the guidance of Magneto at the behest of Professor Xavier. Magneto's heavy handed leadership did not sit well with the team, and Cannonball began to display a measure of independence and rebellion against authority. These traits would grow stronger as he matured.
The entity known as the Beyonder encounters the New Mutants, and in his curiosity, he kills them. They are resurrected by the Beyonder soon after, but this trauma leaves the team deeply shaken. For a time, they go with Emma Frost, to her Massachusetts Academy to join the Hellions. They eventually recover from the trauma, especially after a fight with the Avengers, in which they are forced to rescue Warlock and Magneto.
While the New Mutants are at a Lila Cheney concert, Lila is kidnapped and they ally themselves with the powerful entity Gosamyr. To prevent Gosamyr's relatives from destroying the world, Lila teleports them into the sun, apparently dying with them. Afterwards the New Mutants find the X-Mansion has been destroyed, and formally reject Magneto's mentorship.
Following two successful team-ups with the X-Terminators, the group merges into the New Mutants. One of the new members, Boom Boom, soon becomes a primary romantic interest.
To deal with problems with Danielle's Valkyrie powers, the team returns to Asgard. Sam's feelings for Kindra get the team in trouble. When he sees her being threatened, he rashly rushes out to save her and all the New Mutants are captured by Hela's forces. The group is split up, but Sam manages to lead his half safely through many dangers, later reuniting with his friends. The New Mutants form a resistance army, which includes the wolf-prince Hrimhari and the Warriors Three. All manage to save Odin, who was vulnerable, from a murder attempt.
Soon after returning to Earth, the team meets Cable. They then assist Cable in fighting the Mutant Liberation Front.
Wolfsbane, Warlock, Rictor, and Tabitha are kidnapped from the grounds of the X-Mansion by Genoshan forces under the control of Cameron Hodge. Warlock is murdered by Hodge in an attempt to get his powers. Sam joins the X-Men on a rescue mission and Genosha's government is toppled. Rahne stays behind to help the fellow victims of Genosha's regime.
X-Force
Cannonball and the other New Mutants leave the X-Men's supervision, and join forces with the mysterious Cable to become the hard-edged X-Force. Cable names Cannonball as second-in-command and field leader of the team. Sam is impaled and killed by the mutant Sauron during a clash with the Brotherhood of Mutants. However, only a few minutes later, he heals and returns to life. Cable reveals that he chose Sam to lead the New Mutants initially because he suspected Cannonball to be an External - a particularly rare type of mutant who is virtually immortal. Cable had come to train Sam to fight Apocalypse, another External who, in Cable's future time, had conquered the world. Many other Externals, such as Saul and Gideon, also come to believe Sam is one of them. It is around this time that Sam's sister, Paige, is revealed to have mutant powers.
Though Cable did not stay with the team consistently, he and Sam developed a father-son type relationship. Cannonball's existence as an External is disputed by Selene. His immortality is later brought up when the time-traveling Jon Spectre hints at Sam's important role in the distant future. Not long after Spectre's comments, Sam also survives three gunshot wounds to the chest.
Sam's time in X-Force is not easy, as he is considered 'out of line' by the X-Men and X-Force are considered outright criminals by S.H.I.E.L.D. This devolves into a fight between a S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by Nick Fury and supported by veteran superhero War Machine. Later, any rivalries are put aside as Sam is instrumental in helping the other X-Men, particularly Forge and Wolfsbane, defeat the Phalanx.
X-Men
Sam later officially accepts an invitation to join the X-Men. Initially, Sam is excited, this having been his dream since first arriving at Xavier's school. But Sam becomes unsure of himself and his abilities. He privately expresses his doubts to Iceman, causing the veteran X-Man much discomfort. Sam battles the head of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, Gladiator to a standstill, despite being overpowered, thus facing his doubts about his abilities, only to be left behind as the rest of the X-Men were taken into space to save the Shi'ar Empire. This leads Sam to again question his place on the X-Men.
Cannonball finds his relationship with Tabitha strained, and she turns to Sam's best friend, Sunspot, for "support". Sam leaves the X-Men to help his ailing mother. During his time with the X-Men, he also infiltrates the presidential campaign of anti-mutant candidate Graydon Creed, using the alias "Samson Guthry". Despite the rather transparent alias, Sam is able to remain undetected until Creed is assassinated on the eve of the election.
Cannonball rejoins X-Force, now independent of Cable and operating in San Francisco. Cannonball becomes team leader again, after the injuries sustained by Siryn. The team find a new mentor in Pete Wisdom, who introduces the team to the world of espionage. Sam and Tabitha get back together. After Wisdom's alleged death, Sam leads the team again and attempts to continue Wisdom's crusade. Eventually, Sam and the other members of X-Force had to fake their deaths.
X-Corporation
After X-Force's dissolution, Cannonball joins several of his former teammates and former members of Generation X, in the Paris, France branch, of Professor X's international mutant task force X-Corporation. On a mission, later found to involve the Weapon Plus program, his teammate Darkstar dies. At her funeral, Xavier gives Cannonball a note with the whereabouts of Lila Cheney. Sam decides to take time away from the X-Corporation. He works for a time cleaning up damages to the Chunnel, which was partially destroyed in the mission which killed Darkstar.
Back to basics
While away, Sam rekindled his romantic relationship with Lila Cheney for a time. Sam couldn't find peace with his life, so he was asked by Storm to join her X-Treme X-Men, a group of X-Men operating outside of Professor X's leadership. For a time, he even was partnered with his old friend Wolverine during an adventure where they pursued long time X-Man foe William Stryker. Sam also found himself having a reunion of sorts with former teammates Sunspot and Magma. He and his teammates rejoined the central X-Men, after the events of Planet X. Sam is injured on a mission and once again decided to break for some peace. He uses the time to work on his own farm, which he had bought with his X-Corporation paychecks. While on the farm, Sam found himself teaming up again with Cable and reformed X-Force against the threat of the Skornn.
Sam and former X-Force teammate, Siryn, went in search of Cable with the mercenary Deadpool, who could track the missing man via a unique teleportation bond the two shared. Deadpool derisively refers to Sam as "Cannonballs".
Sam has once more joined the active roster of the X-Men, whose team is co-led by Nightcrawler and Bishop. For a while, he watches over the younger, more carefree students at the X-Mansion. He also functions as a member of the X-Treme Sanctions Executive (XSE). He has already participated in helping the 198 and fighting the Shi'ar Death Commandos. He soon suffers the death of his brother Jay, who is killed by William Stryker. In the first part of The First Foursaken story arc, Cannonball went with the X-Men to Central Park, where they fight the Foursaken, who then capture the X-Men and sent them elsewhere. After escaping, Cannonball accompanies the X-Men to Africa to help Storm assist mutant refugees.
Rogue's team
Cannonball serves on Rogue's team of X-Men. After defeating the Children of the Vault, Rogue announced the departure of her team from the mansion. Sam explained his personal feelings about leaving to Cyclops, saying that he felt he needed to leave because of Jay's death and said that every time he walked through the door, he felt he was stepping on Jay's grave.
After the team fights the Hecatomb and Rogue suffers a severe mental injury, the team decide to rest in Rogue's childhood home, but are betrayed and attacked by the Marauders who are on a mission to retrieve Destiny's Diaries. It was revealed that Mystique is an accomplice of the Marauders. After the surprise blitz, Emma Frost (who was trying to help Rogue) was disabled by a neurotoxin, but was able to upload everything she picked out of what was at the edges of the Marauders' psi-shielding into Sam's mind and takes limited possession over his body, causing him to flee (unwillingly) from the battle with Iceman. Aboard the Blackbird, the two are engaged in midair by Sunfire, who cripples the jet. Cannonball manages to escape and battle Shiro, who reveals that he killed Cable. Cannonball shakes it off, explaining that it "wouldn't matter who told me that, ah'd still be sayin' 'show me the body.'"
Sam and Iceman, telepathically prompted by Emma Frost, attempted to recover the Destiny Diaries, which are hidden in a dilapidated brewery. The Marauder's master, Mister Sinister, used a reverse-engineered version of Xavier's Cerebro to track the pair of X-Men to the brewery. The Marauders attacked Sam and Iceman and overtook them. After the battle, Sinister attempted to telepathically erase Sam's mind so that the X-Men would find him as an empty shell. This would serve as a lesson to them and to the Marauders as well. However, Sinister was distracted by Iceman, allowing Sam to activate his power to rocket his way out of the brewery and escape. Iceman was also able to escape, but it was revealed that Sam, who crashed through one of the brewery's walls, was seriously injured. It was discovered that his blast field, which protects him from concussive impact when he uses his power, was not working properly. As a result, Sam received compound fractures of the upper and lower legs, a broken collar bone, and other injuries.
Sam lies unconscious in the X-Mansion's infirmary. Dr. Henry McCoy attends to his injuries and evaluates his condition. He notes that Sam's brain scan indicates sluggish and non-continuous activity. However, at the end of the issue, Sam is shown conscious, alert, and speaking clearly to Iceman. He quickly recovers and is capable of taking part in the final fight against the Marauders. It has yet to be seen if he has suffered any lingering mental effects from his ordeal at the hands of Mr. Sinister.
Divided We Stand
After Cyclops disbands the X-Men, Cannonball goes home. Paige picks him up at the airport, extremely happy to have him back with the family - she tells him he's lucky they're not all there to mob him. Sam is moody and withdrawn, and as they drive, he asks Paige to stop at a local bar. As soon as he walks in, the local men begin to glare at him, and the bartender asks him not to start anything. Paige knows that Sam came to the bar for a fight, as it's filled with members of the Cabot family. Soon the Cabots confront Sam, and he pushes them to attack him, which they happily do. Paige refuses to participate, and Sam defeats all four men alone. She demands to know what's wrong with him, and he angrily blasts off into the sky, saying he should have never come home.
Later, the newly formed Young X-Men team is tricked by Donald Pierce, who had disguised himself as Cyclops and gathered the Young X-Men for his own ends. Donald Pierce tells them the new Lord Imperial of the Hellfire Club has formed a new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants. This Brotherhood is said to consist of Sunspot, Magma, Dani Moonstar and himself. Eventually, he helps the Young X-Men come to realize they have been tricked.
Manifest Destiny
Sam is soon called by Cyclops, informing him that the X-Men are reforming and establishing themselves now in San Francisco. Sam agrees to join this new team. He arrives in San Francisco just as Magneto is attacking the city with a group of antique Sentinels. Sam manages to plow into Magneto, disarming his artificial magnetism suit, and allowing the X-Men the upper hand in the battle. However, Magneto still manages to escape. He is later seen at a bar with Karma and Dani Moonstar, where he reveals himself to be disillusioned by the idea of changing the world and instead is content with making sure no one else dies the way his brother Jay did. He is called upon to help deal with Empath.
Secret Invasion
Sam is seen working alongside Armor and Colossus when the Skrulls invade San Francisco.
Reforming the New Mutants
After receiving an anonymous tip in Colorado about a young mutant endangering a small town, Dani and Shan are sent to investigate and calm the locals. During their mission, Magik reappears back at the X-Men's base in San Francisco after teleporting off into the future after the events of "X-Infernus". Upon her return, she informs Sam and Roberto that Shan and Dani are in trouble and it will result in their deaths. When asked what he thinks about the situation, Sam says that when it comes to the New Mutants, he doesn't need to think about it. He assembles a team consisting of himself, Sunspot, Magma and Magik to go find them. While searching for them, Sam and Roberto come across a tied up and unconscious Shan in the back of a bar, while Magik and Magma are tricked into freeing Legion from a box.
The personalities in Legion's mind want to kill Dani because she can help Legion get them under control. Legion locates Dani in a jail cell and is about to kill her when Sam stops him. Dani tells Sam to let her out but Sam refuses, saying she'll be safer in the cell since she doesn't have her powers anymore. Sam and Roberto go off to fight Legion leaving Dani behind. Unbeknownst to them, one of Legion's personalities has the ability to project himself and is stalling them while he prepares to kill Dani only to be stopped by Magik and Magma. They free Dani as Legion retreats, Sam apologizes but gets punched in the face by an angry Dani. When asked where she's going Dani replies "to make myself useful"; she returns brandishing numerous firearms and tells the others that they're going after Legion. However Sam tells Dani to go, she isn't a mutant anymore and to stop pretending she is because one of the most powerful mutants on earth wants her dead. Dani, upset gets into a van and drives away only to turn back minutes later after Sam and the rest of the New Mutants are badly beaten. After Legion is caught, Sam tries to apologize but Dani limps away, ignoring him. Sam confesses to Cyclops he feels as if he has messed up but Cyclops congratulates him on keeping everyone alive and that's all that matters.
In the aftermath of Utopia, Scott reveals to Dani that Sam didn't pick her for his team, making her very upset and angry. The two fight and come to an understanding and Sam allows Dani on the team. Later, over a conversation about Sam's past romantic affiliations (particularly Lila Cheney) Sam and Danielle share a kiss (for comparative purposes) that is interrupted by the team.
Regenesis
In Regenesis arc, he is seen joining Wolverine's side and apologizing to Dani saying that he can't lead anymore and needs to go somewhere else.
He is hired on part-time by Wolverine for the latter's new school. Cannonball teaches a course in flying; those who have no natural flying abilities use jetpacks. Samuel takes time to check in with his sister Husk, who works for the school full-time. He, along with others, is worried about Husk's mental state.
As part of the Marvel NOW! event, Cannonball becomes a member of the Avengers. He is seen eight months in the future living on an alien planet in the Shiar empire with Izzy Kane and their child.
Played by the actor
Filmography of Cannonball (1 films)
Add to a movie list
The New Mutants (2020)
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action, Adventure, Horror
Themes Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Children's films
Actors Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Alice Braga, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga, Antonio Banderas
Rating53%
Les Mutants sont les plus dangereux, pour eux-mêmes comme pour les autres, lorsqu’ils découvrent leurs pouvoirs. Détenus dans une division secrète contre leur volonté, cinq nouveaux mutants doivent apprivoiser leurs dons et assumer les erreurs graves de leur passé. Traqués par une puissance surnaturelle, leurs peurs les plus terrifiantes vont devenir réalité.