Nyla Rose is one of the most dominent performers in All Elite Wrestling. The Native Beast is, as her name suggests, absolutely monsterous, dominating whoever she enters the ring with.
Along with being a monster wrestling talent, Nyla also has a hell of a great twitter feed. She’s funny and quick on her feet, and you’re guaranteed a laugh if you follow her (over at @NylaRoseBeast).
With all of these talents, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to see that Nyla Rose has also stepped into the world of comic books, co-writing alongside Steve Orlando Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird, which resurrects the titular character who first debut way, way back in Giant-Size X-Men #1 in 1975 and died immediately following in the group’s second mission.
In Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird, Native American John Proudstar returns to his Apache reservation following his Krakoan resurrection in search of his grandmother, only to discover “a horrifying threat to the the Indigenous mutant community.” The book highlights Thunderbirds heritage and abilities, and it definitely feels like it benefits from the insight of Nyla Rose, who is Native American, part of the Oneida people.
As a white man here in Canada, I can only guess what the Native experience is like, but from where I’m reading, Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird feels authentic, no doubt because of the representation found within its creative team. This is an important book and while yes, it takes place in the fantastical world of Earth 616, John Proudstar’s story of embracing his identity is a topic both Nyla Rose and Steve Orlando know something about, and with the art of Qualipu Mi’kmaw member David J. Cutler as their conduit, this trio deliver a tale X-fans of Thunderbird will definitely enjoy reading.
