The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding all the time, in terms of both the increasingly obscure comic book characters being brought to the screen and the increasingly famous stars who are tasked with recreating these heroes and villains in live-action. When it comes to 2024’s Thunderbolts, the ensemble cast is mostly made up of familiar players, but at least one new face is all set to appear.
For those struggling to keep track of every MCU movie and TV show coming across the remainder of the Multiverse Saga, Thunderbolts focuses on the eponymous anti-hero/villain team, which is led by Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. Other cast members include David Harbour (Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Contessa Val), and Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster).
In addition, The Bear star Ayo Edebiri has long been known to be playing a key role in the movie, which comes to us from director Jake Schreier. However, Marvel currently refuses to offer up any details on her character. Still, this hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from potentially revealing the truth: that Edibiri is playing cult favorite comics character, Songbird. But who is Songbird in the wide world of Marvel?
Who is Songbird and what is her backstory?
Songbird, also known as Melissa Gold, was born into a tough situation, with a mom who was in jail and a dad who was an alcoholic. She ended up running away in her youth and had to survive on her own in the streets. Growing into a very hardened person, Melissa became a professional wrestler… and sometime-criminal.
Going by the stage name Screaming Mimi, Melissa joined the wrestling group the Grapplers, who secretly also worked for the corrupt Roxxon Corporation to commit crimes, until their double life was ended once Quasar sent them to prison. A battle with Dazzler and an unexpected friendship with The Thing later, Melissa was asked to join the Masters of Evil by Baron Zemo, which led to her being recruited into the ranks of the Thunderbolts, eventually taking the alias Songbird.
Songbird is such a popular member of the team with fans as, despite her origins, she has become the moral compass of the group, even striking up a romance with Zemo and playing key roles in various events and crossovers, including the Civil War, Dark Reign, and Secret Invasion arcs.
What are Songbird’s powers?
During her employment at Roxxon, Songbird underwent the Power Broker’s augmentation treatment, which left her with the kind of superhuman strength that even the strongest superheroes would be jealous of. At her peak, she is able to lift about two tons of weight at one time. Along with superhuman strength, she also has superhuman speed and amazing stamina to go along with it
One of the more important things that Songbird acquired from the treatment is known as Acoustikinesis. This means that she can use her vocal cords to produce a sonic-level blast at the opening of her mouth. While this may sound like a copy of the Canary Cry ability of DC’s Black Canary, it’s actually far more impressive. Her voice is so powerful that she is even able to make solid objects purely out of sound. What’s more, her pitch can get so high that she is able to control others in some capacity.
While Thunderbolts is mostly about bringing old faves together, all the signs are pointing to Ayo Edebiri instantly becoming just as popular once the film gets here on Dec. 20, 2024.