20 Of Our Favorite X-Men Characters

Dani Moonstar (Image via Marvel)

7. Dani Moonstar

Danielle “Dani” Moonstar is one of the few relatively prominent Native American comics heroes. Dani, a member of the Cheyenne tribe, was born in Boulder, Colorado. Her requisite tragic backstory is pretty striking, given that it involves a vision in which her parents are killed by a demon bear. No worries, though, because it later turns out that the bear was somehow both of her parents turned into an ancient malevolent entity. They’re cool now.

Dani, who most often goes by the code name Mirage, is able to create visual manifestations of people’s thoughts and fears. She can also communicate with animals, including a winged horse named Brightwind (more on that in a minute). After one adventure in which she falls into a machine that inadvertently enhances her powers, Dani is able to make her manifestations physical. However, this often causes her to experience intense headaches.

She starts her mutant crimefighter career off by joining the New Mutants, a supplemental team created in the 1980s. At one point, she rescues a winged horse, which then leads to a crossover with the Asgardian universe. Dani then becomes a valkyrie, with the ability to sense someone’s approaching death and enhanced strength. Plus, she gets some pretty cool headgear.