New Mutants: 10 Questions About Cannonball, Answered

Comic book fans know Cannonball (real name Sam Guthrie) from X-Men comics. Before he was a member of the X-Men, however he got his start with the New Mutants. The character is known for his lanky illustration and his accent, but there’s a lot more to Cannonball than the farm-boy stereotypes.

Sam is a fiercely loyal friend and teammate who always puts the well-being of the group first. That can lead to him butting heads with some of his friends, but it also means he’s got friends for life. The superhero has been steadily appearing in Marvel comics for more than 30 years, so there are plenty of questions to answer about him.

10 How Did Sam Join The New Mutants?

Before Sam becomes a part of the roster for the New Mutants, he is employed by a more nefarious group. He’s actually hired by the Hellfire Club as a security officer of sorts.

Sam is quickly in over his head when his boss has him go up against the New Mutants as he realizes the job isn’t exactly what he signed up for. When he’s ordered to kill the New Mutants, Sam understands his mistake. He turns on his employers, helping the teenagers instead. As a result, Professor Xavier offers him a spot on the team.

9 How Many Times Has He Appeared In Live Action?

There have been a lot of X-Men movies, but Cannonball hasn’t been one of the featured mutants. In fact, the New Mutants movie marks the first time he’s appeared in live action, played by Charlie Heaton, best known for his role on Stranger Things.

The novelization of the X-Men movie The Last Stand did mention Cannonball, even though he didn’t appear in the finished movie. He, along with Gambit and his New Mutants teammate Dani Moonstar are mentioned as new recruits at the end of the book.

8 What Is His Zodiac Sign?

Because of time working a little differently in the comic book world, there aren’t a lot of concrete dates for fans to use – like birthdays. Sam’s birthday, however, is known because an illustration of his license appears in Uncanny X-Men.

With a birthday of October 17, Cannonball is a Libra. That means he lives his life striving for balance and fairness. That’s probably why he often attempts to leave superhero teams to recharge and live a “normal” life before jumping right back into the fray.

7 Has Cannonball Appeared In Animation?

Despite not being one of the mutants featured in the live action X-Men movies, Cannonball has appeared in animated series a few times. He’s actually in two different series.

Sam and his sister Paige both appear in the original X-Men series, though it’s just for a single episode. Likewise, he’s a recurring character in X-Men: Evolution. There, he’s a member of the New Mutants, just like his comic book stories begin.

6 How Many Siblings Does He Have?

Nineties fans will be familiar with Paige Guthrie thanks to her appearance in the X-Men cartoon, but also because she’s a central player in the Generation-X comic book series. She’s definitely not Sam’s only sibling; he has eight!

Interestingly, a few of his siblings are mutants, though they have very different powers than Sam. Paige is also known as Husk, while their sister Melody is Aero, and their brother Jay is Icarus. The rest of the Guthrie family are not mutants – as far as comic book fans know.

5 Why Did He Join The Avengers?

There’s a bit of an unwritten rule in comics that mutants tend to stick to X-Men related stories while the Avengers are made up of heroes that get their powers from other means. There is a little bit of crossover between the two groups, but the two groups of heroes are more likely to come to blows than they are to team up.

In fact, it’s after one of the face-offs between the Avengers and the X-Men that Cannonball is invited to become an Avenger. Captain America wants to strengthen the relationship the team has with the mutants, and he invites several mutants to join the team. Cannonball and his New Mutants teammate Sunspot both join.

4 How Long Did Sam Work In Coal Mines?

With Sam on the big screen, the movie borrows a bit from his comic book origin story, though the movie does change a few key points. In the comics, Sam’s powers manifest for the first time while he’s working in a coal mine.

Surprisingly, his powers manifest on his very first day on the job, so he doesn’t work in the mines long. When he and a coworker become trapped, Sam’s ability to blast off like a cannonball and protect his body with an energy barrier manifests. He’s able to save them both, and that catches the attention of the Hellfire Club, leaning to his collision course with the New Mutants.

3 Which Teammate Is His Closest Friend?

Cannonball grows close with his teammates over the years. Even after he “graduates” to become an X-Men, he still works with many of the New Mutants again and again. There is, however, one teammate that becomes his best friend.

Sam and Roberto da Costa (Sunspot) become fast friends. They work together outside of the New Mutants a lot as adults – in X-Factor, with the X-Men, and even with the Avengers. Roberto even follows Sam into space at one point, where Sam has been living amongst the Shi’ar, and becomes godfather to Sam’s new son.

2 Which Teammate Does He Have The Biggest Rivalry With?

There are always those teammates that seem to butt heads a little more than the rest. In the X-Men, that tends to be Cyclops and Wolverine. For the New Mutants, it’s actually their team leaders.

Dani Moonstar (Mirage) and Sam share leadership responsibility for the team for a long time. They don’t always agree on how situations should be handled, and it results in them getting into a lot of arguments in their younger days. As adults, after Dani finds herself depowered, Sam takes her out of the fight, trying to protect her, and causing some lingering resentment since Dani believes she’s a capable fighter without her mutant powers. When she regains her abilities, and Sam has the chance to start a new team, he doesn’t put her on the roster. She challenges him to a fight to earn her place – and she gets it.

1 Is Cannonball Immortal?

Considering how often comic book bring characters back from the dead, some fans might think a hero like Cannonball is functionally immortal already. Whether or not he’s immortal is actually a point of contention in the comics.

In X-Force, it’s revealed that Cable’s interest in the New Mutants is actually kicked off because of his interest in Sam. He believes Sam to be an “External,” a being that, for some reason, can’t die. Other characters refute that idea, but Cannonball keeps coming back from mortal injuries with no explanation. After all, he’s never been revealed to have any kind of accelerated healing, but it seems like no one can kill him.

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