Who Is Northstar? Origin, Powers and Key Facts

Northstar is a Marvel comic book character, the alter ego of Jean-Paul Beaubier, with over 1,852 comic issue appearances. Twin brother of Aurora, Northstar is the haughty mutant speedster affiliated with the X-Men, though he was originally a member of Alpha Flight. He is most famous for being the first openly gay superhero.

Who is Northstar?

Origin Alpha Flight Jean-Paul Beaubier and his twin sister, Jeanne-Marie , were orphaned almost immediately after their birth when their parents were killed in a car crash. The twins were taken in by their mother's cousin, however, due to finances, they were forced to send Jeanne-Marie to a private catholic school. Jean-Paul was placed in a foster home at the age of six when his guardians passed away, forcing him to grow up unaware that he even had a sister. During his teen years, Jean-Paul took to stealing and was eventually caught by Raymonde Belmonde. Belmonde took him in and became his mentor, helping Jean-Paul to come to terms with his mutant powers and sexuality. Jean-Paul also spent some time in a circus, becoming a talented trapeze artist and creating the family he never had with his fellow performers. However, Jean-Paul still had quite a bit of pent up anger and frustration within him which he ultimately expressed by joining the separatist Front de Libération du Québec movement. Jean-Paul acted as a courier for the Libération before he reliased that their tactics were too violent when he was forced to save the lives of innocent bystanders from one of their bombs.

Key facts

Northstar is of mutant origin and first appeared in "Wanted: Wolverine! Dead Or Alive!". The character is published by Marvel. With 1,852 recorded issue appearances, Northstar ranks among the most featured characters in comics.