Who Is Cannonball? Origin, Powers and Key Facts

Cannonball is a Marvel comic book character, the alter ego of Samuel Zachery Guthrie, with over 4,283 comic issue appearances. Cannonball is a mutant with the ability to propel himself through the air like a human rocket. Over the years, Sam Guthrie has grown from a New Mutant, to the leader of the original X-Force, to a full-fledged member of the X-Men. He's currently a U.S. Avenger.

Who is Cannonball?

Origin Young Sam Samuel Guthrie was born in Cumberland County, Kentucky , the eldest of eleven children to Lucinda and Thomas Guthrie , a coal mine worker. After the death of his father, sixteen-year-old Samuel Guthrie became the man of the house to his large family, which included future X-Men charcters Husk and Icarus . To help support his family, Guthrie decided to work in his father's occupational field as a coal miner. The dangerous nature of the occupation caught up with him one day when Sam found himself trapped in a collapsing mine shaft. While trying to rescue his fellow worker, a friend of his father's who had introduced him to the job, Sam subconsciously activated his mutant ability to propel himself at superhuman speeds and used it to bring the pair to safety. Creation Cannonball was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod and first appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel issue 4 (1982). Major Story Arcs The New Mutants The New Mutants The coal mine incident brought Samuel to the attention Donald Pierce , who hired him as a mercenary for the Hellfire Club. Pierce intended to use him in a plot to attack the X-Men's fledgling junior team, the New Mutants.

Key facts

Cannonball is of mutant origin and first appeared in "The New Mutants: Renewal". The character is published by Marvel. With 4,283 recorded issue appearances, Cannonball ranks among the most featured characters in comics.