Name: Samuel “Sam” Zachery Guthrie
Alias: Cannonball




Physical Statistics
Age: 16
Gender: Male

Appearance
Height 5’10”
Weight 142lbs
Hair Blonde, short, simply spiked
Eyes Blue
Notes Sam dresses fairly plainly, an honest and down to earth sort with clothes to match. Jeans and T-shirt are the staples for the most part, nothing too flash. Sam is tall, fit and athletic although by no means impressive in any of those areas. When described in those exact words he is far more likely to have ‘enough’ placed after them than he is to have ‘exceptionally’ placed in front.

Contacts:
Relatives: Lucinda Guthrie (mother) Lucas Guthrie (paternal uncle) Paige Guthrie (sister) Jay Guthrie (brother) Melody Guthrie (sister) Jeb Guthrie (brother) Joelle Guthrie (sister) Lewis Guthrie (brother) Elizabeth Guthrie (sister) Cissie Guthrie (sister)
Allies: None
Enemies: None


Personality:

Sam is the epitome of the all-American southern country boy. He is constantly civil, hard working and more than willing to take a stand for what it is that he believes in. Having been the eldest in an incredibly large family he has always been quick to shoulder responsibility and do what he can to help others. Despite his rural background Sam is quite bright, with college aspirations prior to becoming a mutant and a passion for reading, science fiction in particular. He is very accepting of the circumstances that he is forced into, meeting each new challenge with a sense of determinism and an unwavering belief in his own values and convictions.


Talents:

Thermo-Chemical Energy Propulsion Sam has the ability to generate and release thermo-chemical energy from his body in several different forms. The most noteworthy of these uses is the ability to channel his energy behind him in order to generate thrust. When done so Sam effectively becomes a near unstoppable and highly manoeuvrable human rocket. While doing this he is able to fly at both great heights and at great velocity, although stopping at times can prove difficult.

Blast Shield While releasing energy Sam generates an almost impenetrable energy field around his entire body, as well as anything in physical contact with him. This means that while in flight he is virtually immune to most forms of damage and can use his high speeds to turn himself into a very powerful weapon. With extreme concentration he can extend this blast shield or even use it while not using his flight powers. Any kinetic energy absorbed by the shield in this form can then be added to Sam’s own finite energy stores


Weaknesses:

Limited Energy His power is able to make Sam incredibly dangerous and nearly invincible while in use but his body is only capable of producing a limited amount. There are ways he can replenish his energy as mentioned above it also refills over time. If he runs out at a poor moment though, Sam becomes literally powerless.


History:

Sam Guthrie was born the first child to Thomas and Lucinda Guthrie in a coal mining community in Cumberland County, Kentucky. He wasn’t an only child for long however, over the years the Guthrie clan grew to an impressive size. This made Sam the eldest child in a family of ten children. His early life was largely uneventful, his parents worked hard and tried to raise their many children the best way that they could. As he grew steadily older Sam began doing the best that he could to help.

Despite his humble means and being the son of a coal miner, Sam was still a bright and hopeful boy. He wasn’t the greatest student in all of his subjects, but did well enough and was on track towards earning a college scholarship when he grew older. He took an active interest in sports and his local community and was well liked, as one would expect. The notable exception being the rival Cabot family, but who never caused much trouble to Sam himself.

Unfortunately for the Guthrie family Thomas’s health had been gradually failing over the years as black lung began to set in. Eventually he was unable to work and shortly after that died. Sam, who was 16 at this point and making plans for college, was left in the position of filling the gap left in the family by his dad. Although still very young, he was still the eldest and his mother had no way of supporting the rest of his siblings on her own. So Sam chose to drop out of High School and start working in the coal mines himself.

A brief glimmer of hope was found when it turned out that Paige and Jay Guthrie were both mutants. Sam had yet to display his own mutation and had just assumed that he was normal. Jay had a knack for getting into trouble and displayed his wings quite frequently (although nobody ever believed that they were real.) Even so both he and Paige came to the attention of the Xavier School, which they attended for several weeks. In the end though Lucinda and Sam couldn’t juggle work and looking after the youngest children (Sam’s old role) so they asked Paige to come home. Sam would have rather Jay stayed on at the school, feeling the family would be better without him around, but he insisted on returning home with his sister.

Sam worked in the mines for several months, never once complaining about the life that he had been forced to give up, although it always weighed heavily on his mind. He wanted to help his family, so he put his own desires aside. Then one day the shaft that Sam and several other miners were working began to collapse. Sam was at the deepest part of the shaft, leaving him and another miner trapped beneath the fallen rubble. The rocks continued to shift with every breath each man took, and it would not be long before they were both crushed.

It was at this point that Sam’s mutation manifested itself. His shield forced away the rocks and he began to move forward. Sam grabbed hold of his fellow miner and blasted them both to safety out of the mine, in full view of the other mine workers who were hurriedly trying to dig them out. Some heralded Sam as a hero, others wondered if he was to blame for the collapse in the first place. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before the usual feelings of hate and mistrust towards mutants were directed towards him and his family. To avoid exposing his other mutant siblings Sam knew he had to leave. The Guthrie’s were able to work out a deal with the Xavier school that would lessen the financial blow of Sam’s leaving and give him a place to belong with his newfound mutant powers.