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"Patricia Kathryn Helms Kidd (April 3, 1950 – December 14, 2015)Andrew Hall, "In Memoriam: Kathryn H. Kidd", Dawning of a Brighter Day, Association of Mormon Letters, December 17, 2015. was an American author. Many of her books concern The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She co-wrote some of these with her husband, Clark L. Kidd, and also co-wrote a novel with Orson Scott Card. Life and career Kidd was born in New Orleans and raised in Mandeville, Louisiana. She graduated from Brigham Young University, where she met her husband, and like him converted to Mormonism.adherents.com entry on the Kidds She worked for the Deseret News and then in 1987 moved to Virginia with her husband. She was subsequently associate and managing editor of Meridian magazine until 2008, after which she continued writing for it and also for Nauvoo Times. She died on December 14, 2015.According to "Remembering Kathy Kidd", Meridian magazine, December 16, 2015, she died on December 15. Publications Kidd wrote and co-wrote with her husband several non-fiction books of practical advice geared toward fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These include titles such as Ward Activities for the Clueless, Food Storage for the Clueless, On My Own and Clueless: An LDS Guide to Independent Life, and A Parent's Survival Guide to the Internet. The Kidds jointly authored A Convert's Guide to Mormon Life, which won an Association of Mormon Letters Award for devotional literature.Deseret Book link on A Convert's Guide to Mormon Life They also collaborated on a large number of articles for Meridian. Kidd also wrote a few comedic novels about life among members of [the church, including Paradise Vue and Return to Paradise, and children's books such as The Innkeeper's Daughter. Kidd was a longtime friend of Orson Scott Card; her novel Paradise Vue was the first publication of his Hatrack River Publications and she was his co-author on Lovelock,Orson Scott Card and Kathy H. Kidd, Lovelock, New York: TOR/Tom Doherty, 1994, . the first part of a proposed trilogy. The second installment, Rasputin, was planned but never published after Kathryn H. Kidd died on December 14, 2015. References External links * *Planet Kathy, Kidd's website, archived at the Wayback Machine on January 9, 2016 * Category:1950 births Category:2015 deaths Category:Converts to Mormonism Category:20th- century American novelists Category:American Latter Day Saint writers Category:American science fiction writers Category:American women novelists Category:Women science fiction and fantasy writers Category:20th-century American women writers Category:Writers from New Orleans Category:People from Mandeville, Louisiana Category:Novelists from Louisiana Category:Latter Day Saints from Louisiana Category:Latter Day Saints from Virginia Category:American women non-fiction writers "
"Northstar () (Jean-Paul Beaubier) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, the character first appeared in X-Men #120 (April 1979) as a member of the Canadian superhero team, Alpha Flight. Northstar is a member of a fictional subspecies of humanity known as mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. The character possesses the ability to travel at superhuman speeds, fly, and project photonic energy blasts. His twin sister, Aurora, possesses similar abilities. Although the character was initially depicted as a member of Alpha Flight, he has appeared regularly as a member of the X-Men since joining the team of mutants in Uncanny X-Men #414 (December 2002). The character is one of the first openly gay superheroes in American comic books, and the first openly gay character to come out in a book published by Marvel Comics. He married his husband, Kyle Jinadu, in Astonishing X-Men #51 (June 2012), which was the first depiction of a same-sex wedding in mainstream comics. Publication history =1979–1994= Northstar debuted in Uncanny X-Men #120 (April 1979) as part of the Canadian government sponsored team Alpha Flight, who sought to take Wolverine of the X-Men into custody. In 1983, Alpha Flight went on to star in its own comic, with Northstar as a charter member. In addition to the Alpha Flight comic and associated annuals, Northstar and other members of the team made numerous guest appearances in other titles, particularly Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine. Northstar was also featured in miniseries including two X-Men and Alpha Flight series and Secret Wars II. Creator John Byrne was reluctant to produce an initial run of the 1983 Alpha Flight comic series for lack of developed and compelling characters, which had no back-stories and were created as nothing more than a team to face the X-Men. So in order to make the team less two- dimensional and more developed, Northstar's sexual orientation was subtly introduced into the start of the new Alpha Flight series. Although Byrne had intended the character to be gay, he was restricted to implied hints of this fact, due to Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter's policy against openly homosexual characters, and by the Comics Code Authority. For example, in Alpha Flight #18, when Northstar's residence is called by Heather Hudson, a half- naked man in swim trunks who had been swimming with Northstar answers the phone, while in Alpha Flight #41, Northstar's sister Aurora says to her brother, "Since when do you object to having attractively-dressed men about, my brother?" Northstar's apparent lack of interest in women was implied to be due to his obsessive drive to win as a ski champion, and writer Bill Mantlo's later attempt to reveal that Northstar had AIDS was squelched. In Alpha Flight #106 (1992), writer Scott Lobdell was finally given permission to have Northstar state, "I am gay." As the first major, openly gay character created by Marvel Comics, Northstar generated significant publicity in the mainstream press and Alpha Flight #106 sold out in a week, despite the fact that the series was not a very popular title. It is the only comic book issue to have been inducted into the Gaylactic Hall of Fame. The event was also controversial, and almost no mention was made of his sexual orientation for the remainder of the first Alpha Flight series, which ended with issue #130 in 1994. One exception was a subplot in which his sister Aurora—experiencing a split personality—accepted his homosexuality in one personality, while rejecting it in the other. After the cancellation of Alpha Flight, Northstar appeared in his own miniseries, which completely ignored his sexuality. Interactions between Northstar and other gay characters have been depicted, such as in a Marvel Swimsuit Special, in which he is shown socializing with the gay Pantheon member Hector. =1994–present= Writer Marjorie Liu autographing a copy of Astonishing X-Men #24 (August 2012), in which Northstar marries Kyle Jinadu, the first same-sex wedding in mainstream comics After the 1994 cancellation of Alpha Flight, Northstar starred in an eponymous four issue limited series.Northstar #1–4 (April–July 1994) In 1997 a second on- going series of Alpha Flight was initiated. Northstar was not initially a member of this group, but appeared in later issues searching for his missing sister Aurora. He featured in eight issues before the series cancellation with issue #20. In 2005, Marvel killed Northstar in three separate continuities within the space of one calendar month. Between February 16 and March 9, 2005, versions of Northstar were killed in the Earth-616-based Wolverine #25, and in X-Men: Age of Apocalypse and X-Men: The End (a possible story of the X-Men's final days; Northstar was one of many to die in the series), both of which were set in alternate timelines.Film producer Perry Moore was so angered by the death of Marvel's most prominent gay superhero at the hands of one of its most popular superheroes that he wrote the novel Hero—about a gay teenage superhero—to present a more positive image of gay superheroes to readers. See: Northstar did not stay dead long in Marvel's primary continuity, as he is resurrected in Wolverine #26. When Northstar rejoined the X-Men as a regular member in 2002, writers were less hesitant to address his sexual orientation. Northstar even experienced a crush on long-time X-Man Iceman, though it was unrequited. One of his students in the Alpha Squadron, Victor Borkowski, the gay mutant Anole, looks up to him as a role model. When Northstar rejoined the X-Men yet again in 2009, he was revealed to be in a relationship with his sports company's events manager Kyle.Uncanny X-Men #509 Their relationship faces strain from the remaining mutants' exodus to the mutant island Utopia, though the two agree to work through their issues.Nation X #2 It was later implied that he also had a sexual relationship with Hercules at an unspecified point in time. Northstar and Kyle's marriage in issue #51 of Astonishing X-Men, drew attention from the right-wing group One Million Moms. Fictional character biography Jean-Paul Beaubier is born to a French Canadian family in Montreal, but after his parents die in an automobile accident during his childhood, he and his twin sister, Jeanne-Marie, are separated. Jean-Paul is later adopted, but his adopted parents are killed after only a couple of years. Prior to his debut as a superhero, Beaubier competes as a professional skier. He became an elite level skier during his teenage years, prior to his mutation surfacing. Once he develops his mutant abilities he becomes virtually unbeatable and eventually bores of the sport due to the lack of competition. He becomes an angry and rebellious youth and, as a young adult, joins the Front de libération du Québec, a terrorist separatist movement organized to win independence for Quebec from Canada. However, he soon becomes disgusted with the group's tactics and renounces terrorism. Beaubier then learns of a superhero group financed by the Canadian government called Alpha Flight. He then reunites with his sister Jeanne-Marie, who takes the name Aurora. =Alpha Flight= Jean-Paul joins Alpha Flight, adopting the codename Northstar. It is there that he is reunited with his twin sister Jeanne-Marie (“Aurora”). Northstar's debut occurs in Uncanny X-Men #120, in which he is a member of Alpha Flight combating the X-Men to capture former teammate Wolverine.Uncanny X-Men #120-121 Alpha Flight learns that it is being disbanded, and Jean-Paul is shocked when he witnesses his sister's split personalities. He encounters his old friend Raymond Belmonde, a man who took him in and mentored him, helping him become comfortable with himself and steering him on the right path. He introduces Aurora to Belmonde only for the twins to be attacked by local crime boss Deadly Ernest, who kills Belmonde. The twins deal with the villain, though their relationship sours when Northstar offends Aurora by asking if she had “romanced her way to safety.” Aurora refuses to speak with him after that, and her lover and teammate Sasquatch assists her in altering her powers such that she no longer needs Northstar to generate light. Her attempts to isolate him cause Northstar to quit Alpha Flight.Alpha Flight #1, 7, 8, 18 Eventually, Aurora arrives at his doorstep, seeking his help. The twins begin to reconcile, but Aurora rejects him again when she discovers Jean-Paul's history as a terrorist with the FLQ, telling the other members of Alpha Flight. They cross-examine him about his terrorist activities, though any discussion is dropped due to an emergency.Alpha Flight #25 When Sasquatch dies, the twins reconcile after Northstar comforts his grieving sister. However, during a confrontation with the Hulk, Northstar and Aurora discover that her power alterations cause the twins to negate one another's abilities upon touching. After the battle finishes, Northstar decides to rejoin Alpha Flight.Alpha Flight #29 While on a skiing vacation, Northstar is forced to publicly expose himself as a mutant to save a woman's life. Spectators accuse the retired skiing champion of using his powers to cheat. Realizing that he could not know if he had subconsciously used his abilities in the past, he relinquishes his medals and bitterly turns his back on skiing forever.Alpha Flight #41 The villain Pestilence senses decay in Northstar's body and causes his sickness to grow serious to the point that his wounds no longer heal, slowly killing him. As his illness progresses, Aurora desperately uses her healing light to cure him.Alpha Flight #50 The Asgardian trickster god Loki fooled the Beaubier twins into believing that their mother was an elf from Asgard. When Aurora is thought lost in action, Northstar journeyed to Asgard to seek that half of his heritage. He found himself not only trapped there, but laughed at by the elves he encountered. Aurora was powerless but alive, but on Earth in a convent where Loki sent her (in an attempt to appease Those Who Sit Above In Shadow). Northstar remained stranded on Asgard until a supernatural threat mobilized Alpha Flight. The sorceress Talisman sent Aurora to Asgard to rescue Northstar. He shared the light with her and restored their powers to what they once were. Both of them returned to Earth with Talisman to confront the threat she recruited them for, and Northstar rejoined Alpha Flight. Northstar could now generate light independently like Aurora.Alpha Flight #85 During another battle, Northstar discovers an abandoned baby girl in an alley. Doctors discover that the baby girl is dying of AIDS, having been infected with HIV in the womb. Jean-Paul adopts her and names her Joanne Beaubier, and he and Alpha Flight performed various events to remind the public of AIDS and the dangers of remaining silent about it. Her death weeks later spurs Northstar to publicly acknowledge that he is homosexual, hoping that his role as a gay man and a celebrity will increase media attention on HIV/AIDS safety and prevention.Alpha Flight #106 Eventually Northstar decides to leave Alpha Flight and writes a memoir about his experience as a mutant and gay man entitled Born Normal.Uncanny X-Men #392 =X-Men= In the 2001 "Eve of Destruction" story arc, Northstar is briefly recruited to an improvised team of X-Men by Jean Grey to rescue Professor X, who has been captured by Magneto and is being kept prisoner in Genosha.Uncanny X-Men #392 (2001) Jean meets Northstar at a book-signing appearance, where he is mobbed. One person in the crowd turns out to be carrying a gun. Northstar foils his own assassination attempt at super-speed. Later, he meets one of the new mutants, an invulnerable young man who goes by the name of Omerta. This man is very homophobic and it leads to an actual fight between the two on the driveway of the X-Men's mansion. At Professor Xavier's request, Northstar then works with the X-Men to save the life of a mutant child who cannot stop exploding. Despite his speed, Northstar cannot save the boy, who perishes simply because of his powers. Soon afterwards, Northstar officially joins the X-MenUncanny X-Men #414 (2002) and becomes an instructor at the Xavier Institute, teaching business, economics, and French. He is also shown teaching flying classes. Northstar becomes a mentor to his own squad of young mutants, Alpha Squadron, and forms a close mentor relationship with student Anole. During his time at Xavier's, he forms a close friendship with Annie Ghazikhanian, a former nurse at the Xavier Institute. Annie realizes that Northstar has developed an attraction to Bobby Drake. Bobby remains oblivious, despite Northstar, who was currently sick, saving him from the misguided anger of a jealous mutant. When HYDRA forms an alliance with the cults the Dawn of the White Light and the Hand, the groups start recruiting new agents from the superhero community by killing, resurrecting, and brainwashing them. The X-Man Wolverine is one of their victims, brainwashed into becoming a HYDRA assassin. He eventually attacks the X-Men and kills Northstar. One of the New Mutants, Elixir, manages to heal Northstar's wounds but is unable to revive him. A few days later a statue of Northstar is created in memory of him and is placed in a garden of statues of various fallen X-Men on the campus grounds. S.H.I.E.L.D. requests that Northstar be decapitated in order to prevent a resurrection, but before anything can happen, Northstar's body is stolen by Elektra, another brainwashed victim of HYDRA. A resurrected Northstar leads an attack with Elektra on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, crippling S.H.I.E.L.D. and putting Nick Fury in critical condition. Northstar also takes the time to kill racists and homophobes all across the country, and makes use of his regained 'flash', the ability to generate a brief blinding light. Wolverine meets Northstar, but is taken prisoner by the other Dawn of the White Light mutants, all of whom he kills except for Northstar. When Northstar refuses to tell Wolverine the location of HYDRA's command center, Wolverine knocks him out and calls S.H.I.E.L.D. to pick him up and psychologically "deprogram" him. Nick Fury reports that Northstar's body was not found and he is presumed dead, while actually being in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.Wolverine vol. 3 #31 Not long afterward, the mysterious group of superhumans known as the Children of the Vault abducts Northstar from the S.H.I.E.L.D. holding facility in order to use him to kill their enemies, Sabretooth and the X-Men.X-Men vol. 2, #188 They easily are able to mentally control Northstar due to the Hand's previous mental manipulations leaving his psyche fragile. Under their control he then finds his sister about to commit suicide and stops her so that The Children can mentally control her too. Together they attack the school under The Children's command and make quick work of several X-Men, notably Iceman and Anole, whose encounter with Northstar briefly shakes him from mind- control.X-Men vol. 2 #190 Leaving Aurora to battle the X-Men, Northstar begins a search for Sabretooth but is stopped by Rogue and Cable. The X-Men take Northstar and Aurora to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in an attempt to fix the mental damage inflicted on the twins. Using their V.R. equipment the X-Men allow the twins to relive their lives at an accelerated pace. The process is interrupted near the end of the session by Exodus, creating a telepathic connection between the twins. Using each other's emotional support they apparently manage to face their inner turmoils. This allows both brother and sister to gain a higher level of control of their powers.X-Men Annual #1 (2007) = X-Men split and reformation = Northstar is later contacted by Cyclops to find Anole, who goes into hiding after accidentally attacking his own father due to post traumatic stress disorder from his time at the X-Mansion. Northstar discovers Anole on a tree limb beside a tree house, the teenager not too happy to see his former mentor. At first, Jean-Paul makes jokes, thinking Victor is having a problem with fitting in, as both a mutant and as a gay teen. Victor explains that his town accepts him for who he is – his problems come from Northstar, along with the other X-Men, for stealing the New X-Men's innocence. Just before Anole departs, he elbows Jean-Paul in the face – similar to how Northstar attacked him in the past – and tells him to tell all of the former New X-Men not to come looking for him. Northstar and his sister Aurora respond to Emma Frost's telepathic APB and fight alongside the X-Men in San Francisco against the Skrulls when they invade Earth.Secret Invasion: X-Men #2 However, Jean-Paul also makes a life for himself outside of superheroics, having returned to being a star at extreme snowsports, as well as starting his own brand of snow sporting equipment and becoming involved in a relationship. Wolverine then approaches him to rejoin the X-Men to help fill a much needed speedster role on the team. After receiving confirmation that he would not be the team's token gay member, he accepts.Uncanny X-Men #508 Later while training Surge in the use of super-speed, Northstar stops to give an interview. During the interview he finds out about Simon Trask's Proposition X. He runs back to the X-Men and threatens to quit and go back to Canada. However, he remains with the X-Men throughout several missions,Uncanny X-Men #511 including confrontations with Norman Osborn's Dark X-MenDark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1Uncanny X-Men #514Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1 and a rescue mission to retrieve Illyana Rasputin after she is banished to Limbo during the events of Second Coming.X-Men: Second Coming - Revelations: Hellbound A temporal copy of Northstar—from a period of time shortly before the apparent death of Guardian at the hands of Jerry Jaxon—was introduced near the end of the third Alpha Flight series, along with an entire team of early Alpha Flight members. This Northstar is last seen with a similarly time-displaced Aurora, still operating in the Earth-616 present. During the "Chaos War" storyline, Northstar alongside Aurora, Sasquatch, and Snowbird are reunited with a resurrected Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman, and Marrina Smallwood, and they reform Alpha Flight.Chaos War: Alpha Flight #1 Powers and abilities thumb Northstar is a mutant who can move and fly at superhuman speed with the potential of reaching near light speeds. He also possesses superhuman stamina, endurance (both essential to maintain super- speed for any length of time), and reflexes. He can channel a portion of the kinetic energy of the atomic motion in his body's molecules in a single direction, accelerating his body to a velocity in direct proportion to the amount of kinetic energy he has tapped. Northstar also has an advanced equilibrium, and exceptional agility, reaction time, and coordination which allows for him to make sharp turns, and run at such speeds without becoming sick. Northstar is also able to punch at great speeds, which grants him the ability to hurt even the Hulk. In an early issue of Alpha Flight Northstar reveals to readers that his sister Aurora has greater endurance and can fly longer, whereas he can fly faster in the same amount of time.Alpha Flight #1 (1983) Northstar can create cyclones by running in circles, can run up walls and across water, and can breathe while traveling at supersonic speeds. However, if Northstar wanted to travel with someone else at superhuman speeds, they would need a breathing apparatus to keep from asphyxiating. As a side effect of partially robbing his molecules of their atomic motion, the binding forces within and between the molecules have increased, which enhances the sheer toughness of Northstar's entire body. This effect gives his skin enough durability to withstand speeds up to at least Mach 10 without injury, but the upper limit of this ability has not been measured. It had once been theorized that Northstar could fly at 99% of the speed of light: , although this has never been attempted because he would do irreparable damage to the environment. While Northstar can withstand Mach 10 speeds, traveling any faster would carry complications with breathing and damage caused by wind and air resistance to his body. When Aurora, his sister, and Northstar are in contact with each other, usually by holding hands, they can also vary the rate of acceleration of his molecules to release a cascade of photons creating a momentary burst of light equal to one million candela which they use to blind their opponents. The only other minor drawback to this ability, other than he and his sister having to be in contact with each other to utilize this gift, is that they are unable to adjust the brilliance of the flash. After being captured by the Children of the Vault in the Supernovas arc of Mike Carey's X-Men, his and Aurora's powers have been enhanced to the point where they can now move at light speed without harm and can generate explosive thermal energy in addition to light.X-Men #189X-Men #190 Northstar is a world-class professional skier, skilled trapeze artist, business man, and an accomplished novelist. A native French speaker, he is also fluent in English. He is a good hand-to-hand combatant using a style utilizing his superhuman speed, and received coaching from his teammate Puck. After his resurrection by the Hand, Northstar has been trained in the martial arts. Northstar also has peak human strength, but has superhuman strength in his legs. Northstar wears a costume of synthetic stretch fabric made of special materials for protection from friction and other hazards of superhuman speed. Other versions =Age of Apocalypse= Northstar and Aurora in the Age of Apocalypse. Art by Steve Epting. In the Age of Apocalypse, Northstar and Aurora are part of Mr. Sinister's Elite Mutant Force (E.M.F.) and, as such, are assigned to patrolling the breeding pens. The siblings are rather snotty about their superior status as mutants and seem to take great pleasure in punishing those prisoners who act up or try to escape. When the E.M.F.'s leader, Cyclops, switches sides, secretly helping some inmates to escape, he is caught in the act by the speeding twins. However, both of them are defeated by Cyclops and the prisoner he was helping to escape, which happens to be Polaris. When the series was revisited for the 10 year anniversary, both Northstar and Aurora are later killed by Weapon X (Wolverine) and Kirika (X-23 in the main Marvel Universe).X-Men: Age of Apocalypse #2 =Marvel Zombies= In the Marvel Zombies comics set in the universe of Earth-2149, the zombified Alpha Flight attack the X-Men and are eventually killed by Magneto. Northstar is seen in a panel of Marvel Zombies Dead Days attacking the X-Man Storm alongside his sister Aurora. The two are killed by Magneto only moments later. =Ultimate Marvel= In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, his features are similar to his original counterpart, although his ears are no longer pointed. He can also move at super-speed, though he has yet to demonstrate the ability to fly, or any abilities related to light emission. A student at New York City's Stuyvesant High School, Northstar is kicked off the school's track team for suspected illegal steroid use. In fact, his unnatural levels of speed are actually due to his mutation. When the X-Men reveal to him he is a mutant and ask him to join them, he turns them down, saying that separating themselves from humans is segregation and noting how a student there (Beast) had been recently killed.Ultimate X-Men #46 Soon after, Mister Sinister, a deranged man who is apparently under orders of Apocalypse to kill ten mutants, shoots Northstar. Thanks to his quick reflexes, Northstar manages to survive the attack but is left in a coma. After being hospitalized, he is awakened from his coma by the X-Man Jean Grey. Upon being told that Colossus had watched over him all night to protect him from any further attacks, Northstar asks if Colossus is single, startling Colossus so much that his body involuntarily turns to steel.Ultimate X-Men #47 Northstar is later recruited by Emma Frost to join the Academy of Tomorrow, a magnet school for gifted children both mutant and human with a more pacifistic and integrationist philosophy than the X-Men. Along with fellow students Lorna Dane and Alex Summers, he completes Frost's Advanced Leadership Workshop, allowing him to make use of his powers performing off-campus community service missions in conjunction with local authorities. When Lorna is framed for murder and imprisoned in the Triskelion (the headquarters of the Ultimates), in an elaborate scheme by Magneto to help him escape the prison, Northstar is part of the group of Frost's students who try to break her out. During a battle with the Ultimates and the X-Men, he shows that he has improved his abilities enough to move faster than the human eye (allowing him to attack without being seen), run across water (though a direct hit from a super-powered person could cause him to sink), and resist gravity (he is able to run up the side of a tall building). During the battle he shows romantic interest in Colossus, and a week later it is revealed that the two have kept in contact, having exchanged email addresses. Colossus is shown on the phone talking to Northstar, who asks Colossus to be his date to his school's homecoming dance (which he accepts). But the dance is interrupted by the Brotherhood. After the supposed death of Charles Xavier, Colossus agrees to temporarily live with Northstar at his school. During a softball game between the Academy of Tomorrow and the Xavier School, Ultimate Alpha Flight shows up to kidnap Northstar. Aurora makes her debut, revealing herself to be Northstar's sister. She physically takes him against his will.Ultimate X-Men #94 Later, Colossus, Cyclops, Rogue, Angel, Dazzler, and Nightcrawler break into Alpha Flight's base to rescue him. After they incapacitate Alpha Flight, Colossus finds Northstar overdosing on the mutant drug, Banshee, resulting in him being crippled from the waist down.Ultimate X-Men #97 =X-Men: The End= In the alternate future of X-Men: The End, Northstar is one of many members of the staff of the Xavier Institute. He briefly survives the destruction of it and several surrounding miles, only to die in Scott Summers' arms. As he passes on, he sees a vision of his Alpha Flight friends, leading is his sister, who encourages him to leave his body. =House of M= In the alternate reality created by the Scarlet Witch known as House of M, Northstar is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., responsible for training a squad of young mutants and superhumans in the agency's junior training squad program. Much like the rest of the super-powered community in House of M, Northstar supported this reality's Magneto and his mutant-supremacy platform.New X-Men: Academy X # 16" ="Age of X"= In the alternate timeline seen in the "Age of X" storyline, Jean-Paul was on the first team of Fortress X defenders to attack Kitty Pryde when she breached the barriers, while Jean-Paul wants revenge for his sister's murder.X-Men Legacy #245 =What If?= In What If Scott Summers and Jean Gray Got Married Sooner?, their leaving inspired the rest of the original X-Men to leave the X-Men as well and seek lives in the outside world. Professor X recruited Northstar as part of a new team, along with Aurora, Storm, Colossus and Catseye. This new team unfortunately died fighting the living island Krakoa. Sunfire and the Avengers defeated it, and found their bodies. In What If Wolverine Was Leader Of Alpha Flight?, Northstar was responsible for Wolverine staying in Canada after his capture by government forces. This story diverged from the story in X-Men 120–121, where Alpha Flight was assigned to capture Wolverine and return him to the service of Canada. As in the mainstream reality, the X-Men (Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Banshee and their associate Colleen Wing) flew off, but here, Wolverine did not escape custody and slip aboard the plane. They circled back to attempt a rescue. The Canadian government tried to call Alpha Flight to handle things before they were forced into military intervention, but Northstar was on monitor duty and refused to take the call (presumably in anger that Cyclops had just beaten him in combat before Wolverine surrendered). Left with no other alternative, the Canadian military shot the X-Men down. None of them survived the crash. James McDonald Hudson learned what Northstar did and concealed it from Wolverine. Left without his new family, Wolverine chose to return to his first one: Alpha Flight. He led the team well, but Northstar was constantly nervous around Wolverine, fearing his wrath if he ever learned the truth. Wolverine did in fact learn- the team battled the Hellfire Club, and Jean Gray as Dark Phoenix revealed the truth. She wanted Wolverine to kill Northstar, but he killed her instead to free her. He forgave Northstar's role in the deaths of his friends and stayed on as leader of Alpha Flight. Northstar became a mainstay of the team once the threat of disembowelment no longer hung over him. In other media =Television= Scene from the X-Men episode "Repo Man" * Northstar appears in the X-Men episodes "Slave Island", "Repo Man", and the Phoenix Saga's "Child of Light" voiced by Rene Lemieux. No mention or hint is made of his sexual orientation. In the cartoon, Northstar possesses the ability to fly and generate a blinding light when he slaps hands with his sister Aurora. Though he did not have any speaking role in Slave Island, the episode Repo Man showed the character's origins as he spoke with a French Canadian accent. In "Slave Island", Jean-Paul is a hostage/prisoner of the island nation of Genosha. He, along with many other mutants, provides slave labor for the government using their mutant skills for such tasks as building dams. They wear special collars which restrict them from using their powers to escape, and they sleep in prison-like cells. They eventually escape Genosha with the help of the X-Men. In "Repo Man", Northstar is shown as part of the Canadian Special Forces team Alpha Flight, which tries to convince former member Wolverine to rejoin. Northstar and other Alpha Flight members make a brief cameo in "Child of Light". * Northstar is briefly mentioned in the episode "This Forest Green" of the animated series Super Hero Squad Show. =Video games= * Northstar appears in X-Men: Destiny, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. The player character on the X-Men's side encounters Northstar during a mission to escort a courier to Gambit and protect him from the Purifiers. * Northstar appears as an NPC in the video game Marvel Heroes, voiced by Michael Beattie. He is one of the teachers at the Xavier Institute. Toys An Alpha Flight Northstar and Aurora 2 Pack Figure set was released by ToyBiz as part of three Alpha Flight action figures released as part of the Marvel Collector Editions series in 1999 by Toy Biz. Snowbird and Puck were packaged together while Sasquatch came with Vindicator (Heather Hudson). All three sets came with motion collector's cards. In September 2007, Hasbro ran a poll with ToyFare magazine of potential Marvel Legends X-Men prototype figurines, one of which was Northstar in his original costume. Aurora was also a prototype.ToyFare #124 The Northstar prototype placed 7th out of 8 in the final poll results, with Aurora placing 8th.ToyFare #128 A two-pack set of mini-busts of Aurora and Northstar were due for shipment in October 2008.http://www.wizarduniverse.com/jul084888.html Marvel Legends released a figure of Northstar as part of an Alpha Flight boxset in 2019. Reception The issue of Alpha Flight in which Northstar came out was hugely popular and the New York Magazine reported that a store in Bleecker Street in New York City resorted to making customers who wanted to buy a copy of it to buy a second comic. This was criticized. Later they made a policy that everyone who bought a copy had to buy an issue of the series The Punisher War Zone as well. The store claimed they did this to prevent hoarding of the comic. The policy was in effect for thirty minutes until the store was all sold out. In the end they received only one complaint. See also * LGBT themes in comics * LGBT themes in speculative fiction * LGBT characters in comics * LGBT-related comics References External links * * MarvelDatabase:Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) * MarvelDatabase:Character Gallery Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) * MarvelDatabase:Northstar (Ultimate) * AlphaFlight.Net Alphanex Entry On - Northstar * UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Northstar * Category:Canadian superheroes Category:Characters created by Chris Claremont Category:Characters created by John Byrne Category:Comics characters introduced in 1979 Category:Fictional adoptees Category:Fictional businesspeople Category:Fictional characters from Quebec Category:Fictional characters who can manipulate light Category:Fictional gay males Category:Fictional orphans Category:Fictional schoolteachers Category:Fictional skiers Category:Fictional twins Category:Fictional writers Category:Male characters in comics Category:Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Category:Marvel Comics LGBT superheroes Category:Marvel Comics martial artists Category:Marvel Comics mutants Category:Superheroes who are adopted Category:X-Men supporting characters "
"Serengeti National Park The Serengeti National Park is a Tanzanian national park in the Serengeti ecosystem in the Mara and Simiyu regions.The official Map of Tanzania with New Regions and Districts, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, 21 September 2012 It is famous and well known for its annual migration of over 1.5 million white-bearded (or brindled) wildebeest and 250,000 zebra and for its numerous Nile crocodile and honey badger. History A group of lions in a tree on the Serengeti prairies. The Maasai people had been grazing their livestock in the open plains of eastern Mara Region, which they named "endless plains," for around 200 years when the first European explorer, Austrian Oscar Baumann, visited the area in 1892. The name "Serengeti" is an approximation of the word used by the Maasai to describe the area, siringet, which means "the place where the land runs on forever". The first American to enter the Serengeti, Stewart Edward White, recorded his explorations in the northern Serengeti in 1913. He returned to the Serengeti in the 1920s and camped in the area around Seronera for three months. During this time, he and his companions shot 50 lions. Because the hunting of lions made them scarce, the British colonial administration made a partial game reserve of in the area in 1921 and a full one in 1929. These actions were the basis for Serengeti National Park, which was established in 1951. The Serengeti gained more fame after the initial work of Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael in the 1950s. Together, they produced the book and film Serengeti Shall Not Die, widely recognized as one of the most important early pieces of nature conservation documentary.Boes, T. (2013). Political animals: Serengeti Shall Not Die and the cultural heritage of mankind. German Studies Review, 36(1), 41–59. To preserve wildlife, the British evicted the resident Maasai from the park in 1959 and moved them to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There is still considerable controversy surrounding this move, with claims made of coercion and deceit on the part of the colonial authorities. The park is Tanzania's oldest national park and remains the flagship of the country's tourism industry, providing a major draw to the Northern Safari Circuit encompassing Lake Manyara National Park, Tarangire National Park, Arusha National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It has over 2,500 lions and more than 1 million wildebeest. Geology The Basement complex consists of Archaen Nyanzian System greenstones (2.81-2.63 Ga in age), Archaean granite-gneiss plutons (2.72-2.56 Ga in age), which were uplifted 180 Ma ago) forming koppies and elongated hills, the Neoproterozoic Mozambique Belt consisting of quartzite or granite, and the Neoproterozoic Ikorongo Group, consisting of sandstone, shale and siltstone that form linear ridges. The southeast portion of the park contains Ngorongoro Neogene-aged volcanics, and Oldoinyo Lengai Holocene-aged volcanic ash. The Grometi, Mara, Mbalageti, and Orangi rivers flow westward to Lake Victoria, while the Oldupai River flows eastward into the Olbalbal Swamps. Geography The park covers of grassland plains, savanna, riverine forest, and woodlands. The park lies in northwestern Tanzania, bordered to the north by the Kenyan border, where it is continuous with the Maasai Mara National Reserve. To the southeast of the park is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, to the southwest lies Maswa Game Reserve, to the west are the Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves, and to the northeast and east lies the Loliondo Game Control Area. Together, these areas form the larger Serengeti ecosystem. The park is usually described as divided into three regions- *Serengeti plains: the almost treeless grassland of the south is the most emblematic scenery of the park. This is where the wildebeest breed, as they remain in the plains from December to May. Other hoofed animals - zebra, gazelle, impala, hartebeest, topi, buffalo, waterbuck - also occur in huge numbers during the wet season. "Kopjes" are granite florations that are very common in the region, and they are great observation posts for predators, as well as a refuge for hyrax and pythons. A hippopotamus walking on the grass land in Serengeti National Park in the morning *Western corridor: the black clay soil covers the savannah of this region. The Grumeti River and its gallery forests is home to Nile crocodiles, patas monkeys, hippopotamus, and martial eagles. The migration passes through from May to July. Wildebeest on the main highway of the Western Corridor *Northern Serengeti: the landscape is dominated by open woodlands (predominantly Commiphora) and hills, ranging from Seronera in the south to the Mara River on the Kenyan border. Apart from the migratory wildebeest and zebra (which occur from July to August, and in November), this is the best place to find elephant, giraffe, and dik dik. Human habitation is forbidden in the park with the exception of staff for the Tanzania National Parks Authority, researchers and staff of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, and staff of the various lodges, campsites and hotels. The main settlement is Seronera, which houses the majority of research staff and the park's main headquarters, including its primary airstrip. Wildlife An impala in the park A leopard and her cub in a tree on the Serengeti Plain A cheetah in the Serengeti prairies Grey crowned crane in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania A herd of elephants in the morning in Serengeti National Park A Superb starling in the Serengeti National Park The park is worldwide known for its abundance of wildlife and high biodiversity. The migratory - and some resident - wildebeest, which number over 1.5 million individuals, constitute the largest population of big mammals that still roam the planet. They are joined in their journey through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem by 200,000 plains zebras, 300,000 Thomson's gazelles and Grant's gazelle, and tens of thousands of topi and Coke's hartebeest. Masai giraffe, waterbuck, impala, common warthog and hippopotamus are also abundant. Some rarely seen species of antelope are also present in Serengeti National Park, such as common eland, klipspringer, roan antelope, bushbuck, lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx and dik dik. Perhaps the most popular animals among tourists are the Big Five, which include: *Lion: the Serengeti is believed to hold the largest population of lions in Africa due in part to the abundance of prey species. More than 3,000 lions live in this ecosystem. *African leopard: these reclusive predators are commonly seen in the Seronera region but are present throughout the national park with the population at around 1,000. *African bush elephant: the herds have recovered successfully from population lows in the 1980s caused by poaching, numbering over 5,000 individuals, and are particularly numerous in the northern region of the park. *Eastern black rhinoceros: mainly found around the kopjes in the centre of the park, very few individuals remain due to rampant poaching. Individuals from the Masai Mara Reserve cross the park border and enter Serengeti from the northern section at times. There's currently a small but stable population of 31 individuals left in the park. *Cape buffalo: the most numerous of the Big Five, with around 53,000 individuals inside the park. Carnivores -aside from the Big Five- include the 225 cheetah \- which is widely seen due to the abundance of gazelle -, about 3,500 spotted hyena, two species of jackals, African golden wolf, honey badger, striped hyena, serval, seven species of mongooses, two species of otters and the East African wild dog of 300 individuals, which recently reintroduced (locally extinct since 1991). Apart from the safari staples, primates such as yellow and olive baboons and vervet monkey, black-and-white colobus are also seen in the gallery forests of the Grumeti River. Other mammals include aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, ground pangolin, crested porcupine, three species of hyraxes and cape hare. Serengeti National Park has also great ornithological interest, boasting about more than 500 bird species; including Masai ostrich, secretarybird, kori bustards, helmeted guineafowls, Grey-breasted spurfowl, southern ground hornbill, crowned cranes, marabou storks, yellow-billed stork, lesser flamingo, martial eagles, lovebirds, oxpeckers, and many species of vultures. Reptiles in Serengeti National Park include Nile crocodile, leopard tortoise, serrated hinged terrapin, rainbow agama, Nile monitor, chameleons, African python, black mamba, black-necked spitting cobra, puff adder. Since 2005, the protected area is considered a Lion Conservation Unit together with Maasai Mara National Reserve and a lion stronghold in East Africa-Mésochina, P., Mbangwa, O., Chardonnet, P., Mosha, R., Mtui, B., Drouet, N. and Kissui, B. (2010). Conservation status of the lion (Panthera leo Linnaeus, 1758) in Tanzania. Paris: SCI Foundation, MNRT- WD, TAWISA & IGF Foundation. Administration and protection Because of its biodiversity and ecological significance, the park has been listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a World Heritage Site. As a national park, it is designated as a Category II protected area under the system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which means that it should be managed, through either a legal instrument or another effective means, to protect the ecosystem or ecological processes as a whole. The administrative body for all parks in Tanzania is the Tanzania National Parks Authority. Myles Turner was one of the park's first game wardens and is credited with bringing its rampant poaching under control. His autobiography, My Serengeti Years: The Memoirs of an African Game Warden, provides a detailed history of the park's early years. "Snapshot Serengeti" is a science project by the University of Minnesota Lion Project, which seeks to classify over 30 species of animals within the park using 225 camera traps to better understand how they interact with each other and lions. Proposed road across the northern Serengeti In July 2010, President Jakaya Kikwete renewed his support for an upgraded road through the northern portion of the park to link Mto wa Mbu, southeast of Ngorongoro Crater, and Musoma on Lake Victoria. While he said that the road would lead to much-needed development in poor communities, others, including conservation groups and foreign governments like Kenya, argued that the road could irreparably damage the great migration and the park's ecosystem. The African Network for Animal Welfare sued the Tanzanian government in December 2010 at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha to prevent the road project. The court ruled in June 2014 that the plan to build the road was unlawful because it would infringe the East African Community Treaty under which member countries must respect protocols on conservation, protection, and management of natural resources. The court, therefore, restrained the government from going ahead with the project. Proposed extension of park boundaries to Lake Victoria Government officials have proposed expanding the Serengeti National Park to reach Lake Victoria because increasingly intense droughts are threatening the survival of millions of animals. References Further reading *. *. External links * Serengeti National Park on Google Arts and Culture Platform * Super Pride - National Geographic Channel *Serengeti Official website * WCMC World Heritage Site - Serengeti * Map of Serengeti National Park Category:1951 establishments in Tanganyika Category:Biosphere reserves of Tanzania Category:Geography of Mara Region Category:National parks of Tanzania Category:Protected areas established in 1951 Category:Serengeti volcanic grasslands Category:Simiyu Region Category:Southern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets Category:Tourist attractions in the Mara Region Category:World Heritage Sites in Tanzania "