Cannonball is a mutant superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. His real name is Sam Guthrie. Cannonball possesses the mutant ability to fly at great heights and speeds. When in flight, he is protected in a sheath of energy called a “blast field” and is thus invulnerable. He has been a member of the New Mutants, X-Force and the X-Men.

History

Created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod , Cannonball first appeared in Marvel Graphic novel #4: The New Mutants (1982), along with the other founding members of the New Mutants. Continuing a storyline from Uncanny X-Men, the X-Men’s founder Professor X called together a new team of teenage mutants to replace the X-Men, whom Professor X wrongly thought dead. Cannonball left his large farming family in Kentucky to join the team (In later years, several other Guthrie kids would be revealed to be mutants, including the future X-Man Husk).

In 1983, the New Mutants were granted their own monthly series and Cannonball remained with the team for its entire existence, forming a close friendship with his teammate Sunspot, a rivalry with Dani Moonstar who, along with Cannonball, was the team’s co-leader, and a romantic relationship with his teammate Boom Boom. (Cannonball was previously romantically involved with the intergalactic teleporter and musician Lila Cheney)

In 1991, Cannonball and the other New Mutants left the X-Men's supervision and joined forces with the mysterious war hawk Cable to became the hard-edged X-Force. Cable made Cannonball second-in-command of that team.

In 1995, X-Force reestablished ties with the X-Men and Cannonball accepted an offer to join the latter team. However, he felt uncomfortable with mutants outside his peer group. In 1997, he left the team to help his ailing mother.

In 1998, Cannonball rejoined X-Force, now independent of Cable and operating in San Francisco. After X-Force’s dissolution in 2001, Cannonball joined several of his former teammates in the Paris branch of the international mutant task force X-Corporation .

In 2003, he joined the X-Treme X-Men, a group of X-Men operating outside of Professor X’s leadership. A year later, he and his teammates rejoined the central X-Men.

Character

A "salt-of-the-earth", honest, well-mannered, and responsible young man, Guthrie is a natural leader. Guthrie is a fan of science fiction, especially the works of Robert Heinlein.