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| Songbird | |
|---|---|
 Songbird Art byMarko Djurdjević | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Marvel Two-in-One #54 (August, 1979) |
| Created by | Mark Gruenwald Ralph Macchio John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Melissa Joan Gold |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | Thunderbolts Grapplers Masters of Evil Femizons Avengers Idea Mechanics Lethal Legion Mighty Avengers Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation |
| Notable aliases | Screaming Mimi, Mimi Schwartz |
| Abilities |
|
Songbird (Melissa Gold), formerly known asScreaming Mimi, is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Originally asupervillain, she possessessupersonic sound abilities that can cause a variety of effects.
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The character first appeared with the name Screaming Mimi inMarvel Two-in-One #54 (August, 1979), and was created byMark Gruenwald,Ralph Macchio, andJohn Byrne.[1]
She made numerous appearances as asupervillain before taking on a new role as a superhero in theThunderbolts series.
After some time away from the team, she returned as a regular character inThunderbolts beginning with issue #144, and appeared as a supporting character when the title transitioned intoDark Avengers beginning with issue #175.
In June 2015, Songbird was announced as a team member in the relaunchedNew Avengers, part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" branding.[2]
Melissa Gold was arunaway from home and her alcoholic father while her mother was incarcerated. To survive while homeless, Melissa took on a hard edge for her personality, calling herself "Mimi".[3] She was ultimately imprisoned, and while there she met cellmate and female wrestlerPoundcakes, who invited Melissa to become a member of the all-female wrestling teamGrapplers using the ring name "Screaming Mimi", joining withTitania andLetha.[4]
The Grapplers as a team become known for both their colorful personalities as well as their antics ringside; however, the wrestling federation does not give the Grapplers an opportunity to earn as much money as their male counterparts. The group then turns to illegal mercenary work, taking on a mission for the companyRoxxon.
Roxxon gives the Grapplers special paraphernalia that grants them superhuman abilities; Mimi is given an apparatus that converted her voice into high frequency sonics to perform various effects.[4] After being thwarted byQuasar andGiant-Man,[5] the Grapplers are convicted at trial and sent toRyker's Island.[6]
After Titania and Letha are murdered by theScourge of the Underworld, Mimi is contacted by the criminalHelmut Zemo to join his version of theMasters of Evil.[7] Later, she forms a romantic and criminal partnership with the similarly empoweredAngar the Screamer. Angar is eventually mortally wounded by a gunshot during a robbery attempt and dies in Mimi's arms.[8]
Zemo's accomplice, theFixer, gives Mimi new powers via a voice-augmenting harness and high-tech implants in her neck based on technology from the villainKlaw. She then casts aside her old wrestling persona as Mimi and resumes using her birth name, Melissa. With a new costume and the codename "Songbird", Melissa joins theThunderbolts, a new Masters of Evil group posing as superheroes to win the world's trust while secretly plotting world conquest under Zemo's direction.[9] However, Melissa and most of the other Thunderbolts grow to like their heroic roles. Melissa in particular finds a purpose in superheroics that she had never experienced before and even begins a romance withAbner Jenkins, alias MACH-1. Ultimately, the Thunderbolts turn against Zemo, foiling his attempt at world domination and rescuing the Avengers in the process. Melissa continues to serve with the team, who operated as a team of outlaw superheroes.
After the "Siege" event and Osborn's subsequent downfall, Songbird is appointed by the government to supervise inmates at theRaft prison. She later resigns to rejoin the Thunderbolts, now led byLuke Cage. She intends to keep a close eye onMoonstone, whom Cage has offered a chance for freedom in exchange for her serving on the team. When Songbird objects to Moonstone's inclusion on the team due to her history of manipulation and deceit, Cage counters that Songbird herself used to be regarded the same way and that she should give Moonstone the same chances she was given by others.[10]
As Screaming Mimi, every note on the scale she screams induces a different effect upon those who hear it. Low C causes low-level anxiety and shortness of breath, D causes high-level anxiety and panic attacks, E causes dizziness and vertigo, F causes nausea and stomach cramping, G causes severe headaches and fatigue, A causes blindness, B causes euphoria and eventual stupor, and high C causes the listener to visually hallucinate.
As Songbird, Melissa uses a derivation of technology created by Klaw that converts sound into a malleable form of energy that has physical form and mass, termed "solid sound." She could initially create simple three-dimensional sound/mass constructions, though as she has gained experience in her new supersonic sound abilities, she has learned to create more complex forms.[11] She shapes and animates these by mental command, and they only remain in existence for as long as she wills them to.
She can "fly" by generating solid sound "wings" attached to her body; initially, these were created as glider-style wings, stretching from wrists to feet, though more recently they are shown attached to her back.[12]
Devon Lord-Moncrief ofCBR.com stated, "Once a lower tier villain, Songbird masqueraded as a hero in the Thunderbolts before having a real change of heart and becoming a true hero. Not every person with superpowers starts as a hero, even if they have a good heart. Such is the unfortunate case of Melissa Gold, the former D-list villain known as Screaming Mimi. After a roller coaster of a career as a powered individual, [Melissa] Gold has become a formidable force to be reckoned with, growing from petty criminal to redeemed hero."[13]
Screaming Mimi appears inJLA/Avengers as a brainwashed minion ofKrona.[18]
An alternate timeline version of Songbird who joined the Avengers appears inAvengers Forever.[19]
A zombified alternate universe version of Songbird from Earth-2149 appears in the one-shotMarvel Zombies: Dead Days.[20]
An alternate universe version of Songbird from Earth-807128 appears inOld Man Hawkeye. This version is a former member of the Thunderbolts who quit the team after they killed the Avengers and became a nun at the Sanctuary of the Silent Sisterhood.[21][22]