Wind Dancer is a former X-Man, New Warrior and a citizen of Krakoa.
Featured in these Comics
Other Personas of Sofia Mantega
History
Sofía was born and lived most of her life in Caracas, Venezuela. While under the care of her uncle, Sofia's mother was killed in a riot in town. Shortly after her mother's funeral, Sofia was sent to live with her father, who had been previously unaware of her existence. The head of a major supermarket chain located in the United States, Walter Barrett was an occupied businessman without the time nor the interest for a daughter.
Despite her enthusiasm in the reunion, he quickly set three ground rules - she would learn English before school started, she would get good grades, and she would not use her mutant power. In return, he ensured her she would want for nothing.
For weeks Sofia became increasingly isolated, being ignored by her father and classmates. Finally reaching a breaking point, Sofia entered one of her father's stores and let loose a hurricane inside it. Police officers found her collapsed in the fetal position amongst the wreckage and arrested her.
Considering to leave her in prison for a while, ordering another paternity test, and/or possibly sending her back to Venezuela, Mr. Barrett was confronted by Danielle Moonstar. Having seen Sofia on the news, she "persuaded" him to enrol Sofia into the Xavier Institute.
At the X-Mansion, Sofia met Julian Keller, who immediately felt an attraction to her. He offered her a guided tour, but animosity soon grew between Julian's crew and Sofia's new group of friends, including her roommate, Laurie Collins and the straight-laced David Alleyne.
Sofia was assigned to the New Mutants squad under the mentorship of Dani Moonstar. She was also given the codename Wind Dancer. Wallflower, Prodigy, Surge, Elixir, and Wither also joined Wind Dancer on the New Mutants squad.
When Prodigy declined the offer to become the squad leader, Wind Dancer enthusiastically volunteered. However, Wind Dancer became increasingly isolated and irritable when the task of leadership proved difficult. Following a brawl with the Hellions Squad over the fate of Wither, Wind Dancer was able to convince Prodigy to become co-leader with her.
Wind Dancer and Hellion's romance continued to progress, despite the rivalry between their squads. Wind Dancer's leadership skills continued to improve and her friendships grew deeper and stronger. Unfortunately, secrets and lies caused deep divisions among teammates. In an attempt to mend bonds, Sofia tricked everyone into a camp-out on the grounds of the Institute. While bickering and even fist fighting broke out, Sofia was able to eventually reconcile her teammates.
Wind Dancer was one of the many mutants to lose their powers on M-Day. When the depowered students were asked to leave the school, Sofia left the X-Mansion quietly with Derek before the Purifiers' attack that left forty-two students dead.
For unknown reasons, Sofia left Derek and her father, and moved to New York City, where she lived alone and worked as a waitress at Al's Diner. Sofia still longed for the life of a hero, and had several recurring dreams about flying. Sofia was eventually approached by Beak and later Jubilee with an offer to join their anti-registration team, New Warriors. Sofia was reluctant, and initially refused the offer.
Still refusing to join the team, Sofia returned to her job as a waitress. However, a battle between the New Warriors and a new Zodiac broke out near the restaurant and Sofia helplessly witnessed Cancer kill the New Warrior Longstrike. With the Warriors fighting a losing battle and a little boy caught in the crossfire, Sofia charged unarmed towards Cancer, providing enough distraction to give her friends the upper hand. While the super-powered individuals battled, Sofia tried to get the young boy to safety, but was hit from behind by an energy blast, and suffered from burns, a concussion, and various other complications. Despite this, she made headlines for her heroic deeds during the battle.
Upon her release from the hospital, Sofia reconsidered Night Thrasher's offer to join the team, right as he was about to disband the group following the disastrous encounter with the Zodiac. However, the team of depowered mutants had found a sense of belonging with each other after losing a part of who they were following M-Day and wished to stay a team. Sofia took on the codename Renascence while operating with the New Warriors.
Sofia's first mission as a New Warrior put her and the team up against the Alphaclan, a villain team atop of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list. While Sofia held her own on her first mission, the team's efforts fell short until Night Thrasher intervened. She continued to perform her duties as a waitress, and lived off-base as to never be dependent on someone else ever again. During one of her shifts at the restaurant, Sofia was greeted by news reporter Kat Farrell of the Daily Bugle who wanted to know the "inside story" about the New Warriors.
A long time later, Sofia somehow heard of the Mojoverse's new-found obsession with mutants and started live streaming and climbing the broadcasting charts. After making a poll with her followers, it was revealed the majority wanted to see her die, so she hired an executioner to face her. When she was practically beaten, she addressed the audience one last time: "Let's give the people what they want."
She was killed on screen by Adam-X in a demonstration against X-Factor.