WIND SHEAR
REAL NAME: Jinn Wu
AGE: 20
POWERS: Magician with mostly weather-control
powers. Can fly on winds, use wind to push objects or opponents with great
strength, or call down lightning strikes. Is developing more general
magical powers under White Queen's tutelage.
APPEARANCE: A young Asian female with a slender,
athletic build. Her costume is a silver bodysuit.
FIRST APPEARANCE: Guardians #12
BACKGROUND: Jinn Wu is the daughter of two third-generation Chinese Americans living in Chicago. Respect for tradition had always been an important part of the family, despite their long time in America. As a result, when Jinn began displaying an unusual affinity for the weather, her father knew what to do. He called upon an old friend of the family who was reputed to be a powerful sorceress. The woman found the Jinn did, in fact, have magical potential, and began training the girl in the ways of Chinese weather magic. Jinn soon grew into a confident weather manipulator.
Jinn's training coincided with the coup, and
Jinn found herself defending a Chinese street gang that had been caught up in
the battle. After that fight, she was contacted by Tidal Wave, a
water-controller who was forming a team to fight the new regime from the Great
Lakes. Happy to join a team, and anxious to get some muscle in front of
her, Jinn eagerly joined and assumed the name Wind Shear. She fought
several battles with Lake Effect, until Colonel Paine
and Jake Pryor came to town. They set a trap
for Lake Effect. Wind Shear was the only flyer on the team, and escaped,
on Tidal Wave's orders. The Blue Guard and Blue Knights annihilated Lake
Effect, leaving Wind Shear alone and very frightened. She acted as
Chicago's protector intermittently after that, but not daring to attack the Blue
Guard. She admired the Guardians, especially Firemane, for their courage
and power, things she believed she did not have. That is, until she saved
a team of new Guardians, including Jake Pryor, from
destruction at the hands of a demon created by Arcanus
(see Guardians #12). The Guardians,
in gratitude, made her one of their own. She is still somewhat insecure
and is touchy about her past, but she is rapidly becoming a valuable member of
the team.