MELISSA SPARROW BEAR

Real Name: Melissa Sparrow Bear

Identity/Class: Human (Canadian)

Occupation: Spokesperson for her tribe

Group Membership: The Blackfoot nation

Affiliations: Red Wolf (William Taltrees), her tribe

Enemies: Roxxon Oil Company, "False Blackfoot" (Roxxon's mercenaries)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Blackfoot Reservation in Canada at the U.S. border (see comments)

First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents I#107/4 (1992)

Powers/Abilities: None. She was very smart, had great rhetorical skills and knew how to negotiate.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#107/2 (fb) - BTS) - The American Blackfoot of Alberta/Montana Blackfoot Reservation worked together with Roxxon to complete an oil pipeline routed through the reservation, but the Canadian Blackfoot didn't want this to happen. A meeting between all parties was arranged at the reservations high school to discuss this issue.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#107/2) - Melissa and the whole reservation's tribal council met with two Roxxon spokesmen in the Blackfoot Reservation High School  to discuss their offer. Melissa explained that the Blackfoot on the American side didn't want to work together with Roxxon because of their capitalistic ways and questionable environmental record. She told them that their proposal was quite a joke full of lies and marketing double-talk. While she continued her talk a sniper hired by Roxxon tried to shoot Melissa, but Red Wolf stopped the sniper and threw her through the skylight window onto the meeting table in the Reservation High School . The meeting was stopped after Red Wolf told Melissa and her partners about Roxxon's schemes behind their backs.

Comments: Created by Fabian Nicieza, James Blackburn, Jonathan Holdredge & Chris Ivy.

The exact location of the reservation is hard to depict because there is not much info given in the story. It could be in Alberta or in Saskatchewan, Canada. It would've been easier if I knew which Blackfoot were Melissa's tribe (Kainah, Blood or Piegan), but this info was left out too and so I'm stuck with imprecise description from above.

Profile by Markus Raymond

CLARIFICATIONS:
Melissa Sparrow Bear has no known connection to:

• Sparrow, of the Air Force @ New Warriors I#35
• Sparrow, of the Underground Legion @ Blackwulf#1
• Sparrow, Robin/Jubilee Amalgam of Earth-Amalgam @ Legends of the Dark Claw#1
• Sparrowhawk, of the Elves of Otherworld @ Hulk Comic#51
• She watches the Sparrow Hawk, Blackfoot woman from 19th Century @ Marvel Comics Presents#95/1
• or to anyone else with a similar name

"False Blackfoot"

A group of mercenaries (at least six members) were hired by Roxxon to further their negotiations with the Blackfoot by stirring up trouble between both sides of the reservation. They posed as Canadian Blackfoot who were against the pipeline and tried to bomb it. Red Wolf stopped them and unmasked one mercenary to learn of Roxxon's plan. Meanwhile another mercenary waited on a water tower near the Reservation  to kill Melissa Sparrow Hawk. Red Wolf stopped her too with an arrow through her hand and threw her into the meeting after he had unmasked her as well.

--Marvel Comics Presents#107/4

images:
Melissa Sparrow Bear body shot: Marvel Comics Presents I#107, barcode side, p14, pan3
"False Blackfoot": Marvel Comics Presents I#107, barcode side, p9, pan3

Appearances:
Marvel Comics Presents I#107 (1992) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), James Blackburn (pencils), Jonathan Holdredge & Chris Ivy (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)

Last updated: 02/03/05