Editing Northstar (character) (section)

== Fictional character biography ==
{{Long plot|section|date=April 2012}}
Jean-Paul Beaubier is born to a [[French Canadian]] family in [[Montreal]]. After his parents die in an automobile accident during his childhood, he and his twin sister, [[Aurora (comics)|Jeanne-Marie]], are separated. Jean-Paul is adopted, but his adopted parents are killed after only a couple of years. Before his debut as a superhero, Beaubier competes as a professional skier (reaching elite level skier as a teenager, prior to his mutation surfacing).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Austin |first=Michael |date=2020-03-13 |title=Marvel: 10 Best Star Athletes Who Became Superheroes, Ranked |url=https://www.cbr.com/marvel-best-star-athlete-superheroes/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=CBR |language=en-US}}</ref> Once he develops his [[Mutant (Marvel Comics)|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.<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #8</ref> In young adulthood he joins the [[Front de libération du Québec]] (a [[militant]] separatist movement for [[Quebec]] from [[Canada]]) but soon becomes disgusted with, and renounces, the group's violent tactics. He learns of a superhero [[Features of the Marvel Universe#Government agencies|group financed by the Canadian government]] called: "[[Alpha Flight]]".

===Alpha Flight===
Jean-Paul joins Alpha Flight, adopting the codename Northstar. There he is reunited with his sister Jeanne-Marie ("Aurora"). Northstar's [[first appearance|comic debut]] occurs in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120, as a member of Alpha Flight fighting the [[X-Men]] to capture former teammate [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]].<ref>''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120-121</ref> When Northstar meets his old friend Raymond Belmonde (a man who took him in and mentored him) 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 to him, and her lover and teammate [[Sasquatch (comics)|Sasquatch]] assists in a [[Superpower (ability)|power]] alteration, allowing her to generate light without Northstar. Her attempts to isolate him cause Northstar to quit Alpha Flight.<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #1, 7, 8, 18</ref> Later, Aurora seeks him out & the twins begin to reconcile, but Aurora rejects him again after discovering his [[FLQ]] history. Alpha Flight cross-examine him about his FLQ activities, but are interrupted by an emergency.<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #25</ref> When Sasquatch dies, the twins reconcile after Northstar comforts his grieving sister. However, during a confrontation with the [[Hulk]], Aurora discovers that her power alterations cause the twins to negate one another's abilities upon touching. After the battle, Northstar rejoins Alpha Flight.<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #29</ref>

While on a skiing vacation, Northstar must expose his mutant powers to save a woman's life. Accused of using his powers to cheat in competition and realizing he could never know if he subconsciously had, he relinquishes his medals and bitterly turns his back on skiing.<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #41</ref>

The villain [[Pestilence (comics)|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.<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #50</ref> The Asgardian [[Loki (Marvel Comics)|Loki]] fools the Beaubier twins into believing that their mother was an elf from Asgard. When Aurora is thought lost in action, Northstar travels to Asgard (seeking this heritage) but is trapped there. Loki had sent a depowered Aurora to a [[convent]] (in an attempt to appease ''Those Who Sit Above In Shadow''). When a supernatural threat mobilizes Alpha Flight, the sorceress [[Talisman (Alpha Flight)|Talisman]] sends Aurora to Asgard to rescue Northstar. He shares the light with her, restoring their powers (allowing both to independently generate light).<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #85</ref>

During another battle, Northstar discovers an abandoned baby girl. Doctors discover that she is dying of [[AIDS]], after [[HIV]] infection in the womb. Jean-Paul adopts her and names her Joanne Beaubier. Alpha Flight perform various events to remind the public of AIDS and the dangers of silence about it. Her death weeks later spurs Northstar to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, hoping that, as a gay celebrity, he can increase media attention on HIV/AIDS safety and prevention.<ref>''Alpha Flight'' #106</ref> Eventually Northstar leaves Alpha Flight and writes a [[memoir]] about his experience as a mutant and gay man entitled ''Born Normal''.<ref>''The Uncanny X-Men'' #392</ref>

===X-Men===
In the 2001 "[[X-Men: Eve of Destruction|Eve of Destruction]]" story arc, Northstar is briefly recruited to an improvized team of X-Men by [[Jean Grey]] to rescue [[Professor X]], who has been captured by [[Magneto (Marvel Comics)|Magneto]] and is being kept prisoner in [[Genosha]].<ref>''The Uncanny X-Men'' #392 (2001)</ref> 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 called "[[Omerta (comics)|Omerta]]", whose extreme [[homophobia]] leads to an actual fight between the two on X-Men's mansion driveway.<ref>''Uncanny X-Men'' #392</ref>

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-Men,<ref>''The Uncanny X-Men'' #414 (2002)</ref> and becomes an instructor at the Xavier Institute, teaching business, economics, French, and superpowered flight classes. Northstar becomes a mentor to his own squad of young mutants, [[Alpha Squadron (comics)|Alpha Squadron]], and forms a close mentor relationship with student [[Anole (character)|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 [[Iceman (Marvel Comics)|Bobby Drake]].<ref>''Uncanny X-Men'' #415</ref> Bobby remains oblivious, despite Northstar, who was currently sick, saving him from the misguided anger of a jealous mutant.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=September 2011}}

When [[Hydra (comics)|Hydra]] forms an alliance with the cults the [[Dawn of the White Light]] and the [[Hand (comics)|Hand]], the groups start recruiting new agents from the superhero community by killing, resurrecting, and brainwashing them. The X-Man [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]] is one of their victims, brainwashed into becoming a Hydra assassin. He eventually attacks the X-Men and kills Northstar.<ref>''New X-Men'' Vol 2 #13</ref> One of the [[New Mutants]], [[Elixir (character)|Elixir]], manages to heal Northstar's wounds, but is unable to revive him. A few days later a statue of Northstar is placed in a garden of statues of fallen X-Men on the campus grounds. [[S.H.I.E.L.D.]] requests that Northstar be decapitated (to prevent [[resurrection]]) but his corpse is stolen by [[Elektra (character)|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 uses his regained 'flash' 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 asks S.H.I.E.L.D. to psychologically "[[Deprogramming|deprogram]]" him.<ref>''Wolverine'' vol. 3 #31</ref>

Not long afterward, the mysterious [[Children of the Vault]] abduct Northstar from the S.H.I.E.L.D. holding facility, to use him to kill [[Sabretooth (character)|Sabretooth]] and the X-Men.<ref>''X-Men'' vol. 2 #188</ref> They easily are able to control Northstar due to the Hand's previous mental manipulations. Under their control he 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 (Marvel Comics)|Iceman]] and Anole, whose encounter with Northstar briefly shakes him from mind-control.<ref>''X-Men'' vol. 2 #190</ref> Leaving Aurora to battle the X-Men, Northstar begins a search for Sabretooth but is stopped by [[Rogue (Marvel Comics)|Rogue]] and [[Cable (character)|Cable]]. The X-Men take Northstar and Aurora to the S.H.I.E.L.D. [[Helicarrier]] to try to fix their mental damage. Using their [[Virtual reality|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 (comics)|Exodus]], creating a telepathic connection between the twins. Using each other's emotional support they apparently manage to face their inner turmoils. This gives both more control of their powers.<ref>''X-Men'' Annual #1 (2007)</ref>

=== X-Men split and reformation ===
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Northstar is contacted by [[Cyclops (Marvel Comics)|Cyclops]] to find Anole (who is in hiding after accidentally attacking his own father due to [[Post-traumatic stress disorder|PTSD]] from his X-Mansion experiences). Northstar discovers Anole in a tree, the teenager not too happy to see his former mentor. Jean-Paul thinks 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 departing, he elbows Jean-Paul in the face – similar to how Northstar attacked him in the past – and says that the New X-Men shouldn't look for him.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=January 2013}}

Northstar and his sister Aurora respond to [[Emma Frost]]'s telepathic [[All-points bulletin|APB]] and fight alongside the X-Men in San Francisco against the [[Skrull]]s when they invade Earth.<ref>''Secret Invasion: X-Men'' #2</ref> However, Northstar 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 approaches Jean-Paul to rejoin the X-Men as its [[speedster (fiction)|speedster]]. After confirming that he would not be a [[Tokenism|token gay]] member, he accepts.<ref>''The Uncanny X-Men'' #508</ref> While training [[Surge (Marvel Comics)|Surge]] in super-speed, Northstar stops to give an interview, where he learns of [[Simon Trask]]'s Proposition X (a Mutant Breeding Act [[California ballot proposition|Ballot Initiative]]). 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,<ref>''The Uncanny X-Men'' #511</ref> including confrontations with [[Green Goblin|Norman Osborn]]'s [[Dark X-Men]]<ref>''Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia'' #1</ref><ref>''The Uncanny X-Men'' #514</ref><ref>''Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus'' #1</ref> and a rescue mission to retrieve [[Magik|Illyana Rasputin]] after she is banished to [[Limbo (Marvel Comics)|Limbo]] during the events of ''[[X-Men: Second Coming|Second Coming]]''.<ref>''X-Men: Second Coming - Revelations: Hellbound''</ref>

A temporal copy of Northstar—from shortly before the apparent death of [[Guardian (Marvel Comics)|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.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=November 2010}} This Northstar is last seen with a similarly time-displaced Aurora, still operating in the [[Earth-616]] present.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=November 2010}}

During the "[[Chaos War (comics)|Chaos War]]" storyline, Northstar alongside Aurora, Sasquatch, and Snowbird are reunited with a resurrected Guardian, [[Vindicator (comics)|Vindicator]], Shaman, and [[Marrina Smallwood]], and they reform [[Alpha Flight]].<ref>''Chaos War: Alpha Flight'' #1</ref>