parent nodes: Hero List | Sam Guthrie | Where Every Hero is At
Samuel Zachery Guthrie was the eldest son of a large farming Kentucky family who was born on the 17th of October. Sam attempted to help out his family by working in a coal mine after his father had died there inhaling coal dust. Right on his first day, Sam and his father's friend, Lewis, were trapped in a cave-in. In his panic, Sam manifested his mutant blasting powers which allowed him and Lewis to escape the collapse.
New Mutants
This incident led to Sam being discovered by Donald Pierce, who recruited him in a plot to attack a young group of mutants Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men, had assembled. Sam eventually came to his senses and turned against Pierce. Professor Xavier saw the good inside Sam and invited him to join his New Mutants. Cannonball left his family to join the team.
Powers
Thermo-Chemical Energy Field Propulsion
Cannonball possesses the ability to bodily generate thermo-chemical energy and release it from his skin. This energy is used as thrust to cause his body to be propelled through the air, like his namesake, at great heights and speeds with considerable maneuverability. He can control his speed and direction through sheer act of will. At first, he could only release this energy from his feet, but now he can fire it from almost any part of his body to a wide variety of effects, such as channeling it into bio-kinetic blasts from his hands. His power levels have varied over the years - but at his peak, he has been able to defeat the Shi'ar Imperial Guard leader, Gladiator
Blast Field
This energy also manifests itself as an impenetrable and virtually indestructible "blast field." He can use this blast-field to function as a personal shield or extending it to encompass others, shape the field around another person to imprison them, or absorb outside kinetic impact into his own energy supply and then re-channel it to increase the bludgeoning power of his blows or create explosive shock waves upon impact. Sam is also capable of generating the blast field without actually having to blast off, though it takes him extreme concentration to prevent himself from propelling into the air.
Superhuman Durability
When he is using his superhuman powers, Cannonball possesses superhuman durability due to the energy field that forms around his body.