Two years ago, Dani Moonstar was lost in a canyon, during a cave-in, and her family was unable to locate her, so she was presumed dead. In actuality, she entered a state of hibernation with her newly-discovered, mutant powers, reaching out telepathically to try and find aid, though she frightened off any locals with her images, who began to believe the area to be haunted.
When Shadowcat gets intoan accident, she believes that she has survived uninjured by phasing and befriended a girl who introduced herself as Danielle Moonstar. Danielle confessed that she is also a mutant and admires Kitty for the powers that she has. For this reason, she convinced her to join the Institute. Danielle had a hard time adjusting with other mutants. She also did not have control of her powers, causing her to traumatize everyone with fearful illusions even in their sleep.
As Kitty wakes up the next day, she looks for Danielle in the Institute but no one remembers her. Kitty blamesProfessor X, believing he must have deleted their memories but the reality is that no one named Danielle Moonstar has ever existed at the Institute. Kitty still believes that Dani was real and was not a part of her imagination. She asked assistance from Nightcrawler to teleport to Dani's hometown.
As Nightcrawler and Kitty explore the town, a mysterious call from a phone booth captures Kitty's attention and she answers it. It was Dani asking for help. With the help of a directory, she found Dani's address and followed it. There they met Black Eagle, who told them that Danielle had been missing for two years and was presumed dead. Nightcrawler believed that a Dani Moonstar existed but did not know how she met Kitty. Kitty did not lose hope and went to where she met Dani. Kitty heard and followed Dani's voice even without Kurt's permission. She phased under and saw Danielle unconscious. Kitty was surprised and happy to prove to herself that Dani was real. Kurt was worried, and asked help from the X-Men. The X-Men worked together to create a passageway for them to enter where Kitty had phased through. Meanwhile, Kitty awakened Danielle but she confessed that she can't phase out because it was too high for her. Kitty then heard the X-Men. Kurt teleported in and saved them.
As the situation calms down, Dani is brought to the Institute to recover. Professor X told everyone that Dani's telepathy found Kitty and they formed a connection, where Danielle had projected herself into Kitty's senses as a physical being while she was under recovery from the accident. When the link was broken, Kitty began searching for her friend and Danielle was finally rescued. It is unknown yet if she will remain with them or will return home with her grandfather Black Eagle.
Powers and Abilities[]
Danielle Moonstar is a Native American mutant with multiple, psionic abilities. Her most prominent ability is to cause people in her immediate vicinity to experience their greatest fears in powerful, surrealistic, life-like illusions. She was able to project herself into Kitty Pryde's mind and place her within a powerful, realistic, life-like dream world, reaching out to her from the canyon she was trapped in. When Kitty found Danielle, she was in a unique kind of suspended animation, not needing food or water and perfectly preserving herself for 2 years. Her hibernation state activated when she became trapped in the underground cave. The mind controls all aspects of the body and Danielle's psionic abilities allowed her to enter a state in which her body becomes self-sustaining, shutting down or slowing down all physical functions so that her body experiences little to no time passage or detrimental effects while her mind remains active. Danielle has limited awareness of her hibernation state when she is in it, as seen when she was not aware of her situation when she first entered Kitty's mind, but as time passed, she slowly became aware and gave Kitty a nightmare, asking for help, then coming out of hibernation when Kitty found her. She was in her hibernation state for 2 years and could have possibly remained within it indefinitely.
Notes[]
- Danielle's Illusions
- She was found by Kitty Pryde.
- Danielle Moonstar lives on 760 Maggie Blue Road, which is a reference to Kitty Pryde's voice actor,Maggie Blue O'Hara.
- Danielle Moonstar and Forge are the only Native American mutants to be shown in the series.
- Dani Moonstar is a Northern Cheyenne Indian.
- Danielle was born in Boulder, Colorodo, and her parents are William and Peg Lonestar.
- In the comic, Danielle's grandfather was an old friend of Xavier's. Danielle was also the second leader of the New Mutants. When she was transported to Asgard by Loki, she found and rescued a pegasus of the Valkyrie herd. The pegasus bonded with Danielle.
- Based on the conclusion of her introductory episode, it is unlikely that Dani actually joined the New Mutants, but will remain an ally and a possible future student, like Forge and Angel.