Demon Bear
Encyclopedia
The Demon Bear is a fictional villain featured in the comic book
series The New Mutants
and X-Force
, both published by Marvel Comics
.
, threatening that he would eventually come and kill her. He was seemingly responsible for the deaths of her parents, William and Margaret (Peg) Lonestar. At first, Dani assumed that the Demon Bear was just a nightmare brought on by Professor Xavier's possession by the Brood
Queen, when he gradually began attacking his students in an attempt to implant them with Brood embryos. It turned out that the Bear was neither a manifestation of her powers nor the Professor's mental control.
In earlier issues of the New Mutants, Danielle kept the Demon Bear's presence in her dreams secret from her team.
The Demon Bear revealed his plan to destroy Danielle at the conclusion of New Mutants issue 17, when he appeared to her as a phantom upon her team's return to Xavier's School. They had just escaped Emma Frost's Massachusetts Academy. During this story arc, the X-Men were away in space during "Secret Wars" I. This explains why there were no senior members of Xavier's team on hand to assist in the battle against the Demon Bear. Moonstar (then called Mirage) first battled the Demon Bear in issue 18. After running various Danger Room scenarios, she felt confident in confronting the demon; however, he took advantage of her premature assumption that he was defeated, mauling her and severely damaging her spine.
Upon discovering Dani (thanks to Wolfbane's
telepathic link to Dani) out on the campus grounds, heinously mauled, the New Mutants rushed her to the Mid-County Medical Center. The Demon Bear was not through with Danielle, and he infiltrated the hospital, thinking to finish the job and possess Danielle's soul. He transported the team to the Badlands, presumably his dimension. Here the New Mutants fought and defeated him, disrupting him with Magik's
Soulsword, the ultimate expression of her black magic. During this skirmish, the Demon Bear had possessed Nurse Sharon Friedlander
and Officer Tom Corsi
and turned them into demonic Native American warriors under his control. They later reverted back to normal humans, but still kept the appearance of Native Americans. Once Magik cleaved the bear in two with her sword, Danielle's parents, William and Peg, leapt from his body; it turned out that they were not dead, merely enslaved.
The Demon Bear reappears in X-Force
#8 to battle Warpath
, who was on his way to visit his brother's grave. Warpath fought the bear and would have been killed were it not for the timely intervention of Ghost Rider
, who offers his assistance against the demon. They soon find out that it is actually the corrupted form of the Apaches' animal spirits, who had been driven mad by Eli Bard
, who used a dagger full of black magic to do so.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series The New Mutants
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
and X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
, both published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
.
Fictional character biography
The Demon Bear was originally an entity who haunted the dreams of Danielle MoonstarDanielle Moonstar
Danielle "Dani" Moonstar, originally codenamed Psyche and later Mirage, is a fictional Marvel Comics superheroine associated with the X-Men....
, threatening that he would eventually come and kill her. He was seemingly responsible for the deaths of her parents, William and Margaret (Peg) Lonestar. At first, Dani assumed that the Demon Bear was just a nightmare brought on by Professor Xavier's possession by the Brood
Brood (comics)
The Brood are a race of insectoid, parasitic, extraterrestrial beings that appear in the comic books published by Marvel Comics, especially Uncanny X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, they first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #155 .The Brood possess wings, fanged teeth and...
Queen, when he gradually began attacking his students in an attempt to implant them with Brood embryos. It turned out that the Bear was neither a manifestation of her powers nor the Professor's mental control.
In earlier issues of the New Mutants, Danielle kept the Demon Bear's presence in her dreams secret from her team.
The Demon Bear revealed his plan to destroy Danielle at the conclusion of New Mutants issue 17, when he appeared to her as a phantom upon her team's return to Xavier's School. They had just escaped Emma Frost's Massachusetts Academy. During this story arc, the X-Men were away in space during "Secret Wars" I. This explains why there were no senior members of Xavier's team on hand to assist in the battle against the Demon Bear. Moonstar (then called Mirage) first battled the Demon Bear in issue 18. After running various Danger Room scenarios, she felt confident in confronting the demon; however, he took advantage of her premature assumption that he was defeated, mauling her and severely damaging her spine.
Upon discovering Dani (thanks to Wolfbane's
Wolfsbane (comics)
Wolfsbane is a Marvel Comics superheroine, associated with the X-Men.A Scottish mutant, Wolfsbane possesses the ability to transform into a wolf or into a transitional state somewhere between human and wolf...
telepathic link to Dani) out on the campus grounds, heinously mauled, the New Mutants rushed her to the Mid-County Medical Center. The Demon Bear was not through with Danielle, and he infiltrated the hospital, thinking to finish the job and possess Danielle's soul. He transported the team to the Badlands, presumably his dimension. Here the New Mutants fought and defeated him, disrupting him with Magik's
Magik (comics)
Magik is a Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men. She is the younger sister of the Russian X-Man Colossus.-Publication history:...
Soulsword, the ultimate expression of her black magic. During this skirmish, the Demon Bear had possessed Nurse Sharon Friedlander
Sharon Friedlander
Sharon Friedlander is a fictional character most often appearing in X-Men stories in the Marvel Comics universe. Sharon first appeared in New Mutants vol. 1 #19 . She was created by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz...
and Officer Tom Corsi
Tom Corsi
Thomas "Tom" Corsi is a fictional character most often appearing in X-Men stories in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. Tom first appeared in New Mutants vol. 1 #19 and was created by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz....
and turned them into demonic Native American warriors under his control. They later reverted back to normal humans, but still kept the appearance of Native Americans. Once Magik cleaved the bear in two with her sword, Danielle's parents, William and Peg, leapt from his body; it turned out that they were not dead, merely enslaved.
The Demon Bear reappears in X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
#8 to battle Warpath
Warpath (comics)
James Proudstar, previously known as the second Thunderbird but also known as Warpath, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men....
, who was on his way to visit his brother's grave. Warpath fought the bear and would have been killed were it not for the timely intervention of Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
, who offers his assistance against the demon. They soon find out that it is actually the corrupted form of the Apaches' animal spirits, who had been driven mad by Eli Bard
Eli Bard
Eli Bard is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain from the Marvel Comics universe. He is a member of the Purifiers and an enemy of the X-Men.-Fictional character biography:...
, who used a dagger full of black magic to do so.