Code name: Cannonball
Real Name: Samuel Guthrie
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 150 pounds
Group Affiliation: None
Previous Affiliations: Hellfire Club, New Mutants, X-Force, X-Men
First Appearance: New Mutants Graphic Novel #1
Known Relatives: Father (deceased), Mother (name unrevealed), Josh, Jebedia (younger brothers), Joellen, Paige (younger sisters)
Known Allies: X-Force, Cable, Logan, Lila Cheney, Wolfsbane, Roberto DaCosta, Tabitha Smith, Xi'an Coy Minh, Danielle Moonstar
Known Enemies: Bastion, the Shadow King, Magneto, Kingpin, Hellfire Club

Powers: Sam's thermo-chemical powers allow him to turn into a living rocket. While "blasting" he becomes nearly invulnerable to physical attacks, although he is affected by mental or magical attacks. Sam has also learned through training to extend his blast field to create an area wide force field. In addition modifications in absorbing kenetic impacts and redirecting it into physical attacks have proven successful. Cannonball is also believed to be a High Lord and an External, a being who can alive forever. Selene has made X-Force question whether the Externals can live forever when she slaughtered nearly all of them.

Origin: Samuel Guthrie is a mutant whose abilities first manifested themselves while working as a coal miner in his home, Cumberland, Kentucky. While trapped with co-workers, the stress triggered his propulsive powers, and allowed them to escape. Donald Pierce (a member of the Hellfire Clubs inner circle) located Guthrie using a copy of Cerebro, made from plans stolen from the X-Men when Warhawk tapped their computer systems. Sam was recruited to be an operative, and sent into battle against Charles Francis Xavier (Professor X) and his newly organized group, the New Mutants. During the battle, he refused Pierce's order to kill the New Mutants, and Pierce attempted to kill Sam in retaliation. Xavier saved Guthrie's life by defeating Pierce. Upon realizing the Sam was not as evil person, Xavier invited him to join the New Mutants.

Now as the New Mutant Cannonball, Samuel shared leadership with Danielle Moonstar, aka Psyche (and later Mirage). During his tenure with the New Mutants, Cannonball has travelled to Nova Roma (where they recruited Magma), Limbo (often, b/c Magik had to teleport there as a way-station), Asgard (when they were taken against their will by Loki) and a spirit realm where the Demon Bear is ruler. After they returned from Asgard with the X-Men, Professor X leaves Earth due to failing health. Magneto takes over as headmaster of the Xavier school. As time went on, Magneto tired of his role and the New Mutants began to disregard him. The New Mutants continue to disobey him and when Bird Brain (a circus freak that they rescued and thought was a mutant) escaped, they left to find him again. The students were under strict orders NOT to leave or use their powers. Under Cannonball's leadership, Cypher (the weakest of the team due to his powers being mental, rather than physical) died from a gun shot by the Ani-Mater. After returning to the school, the New Mutants were under even more strict guidelines. On the upside, they got new costumes. After Illyana regressed herself back to her real age and Magneto took a far more active role in the Inner Circle, the New Mutants split completely from Magneto. The New Mutants travel to Asgard once again, where many of them start to take their own ways. Mirage remained in Asgard as a Valkyrie, while Magma joined the Hellions and Karma searched for her siblings.

When they returned to Earth, the New Mutants came under the tutelage of Cable, a soldier from the future who came back (for a while solely) to protect Cannonball, who would lead the mutants of the future to peace. Cable continued to hone the New Mutants' powers and forge them into a battle force to be reckoned with. Cable (along with his ally, Domino) decided to remove the students from the school and created X-Force, which consisted of former New Mutants Cannonball, Rictor and Boomer, and newcomers Syrin, Warpath, Feral and Shatterstar. Other New Mutants, such as Magma, Sunspot, Karma and Mirage, were not chosen due to their unique personal difficulties (Magma was in Nova Roma with Empath, Sunspot had joined with Gideon to help himself learn the business world, Karma has looking for her siblings and Mirage was still in Asgard). Cannonball soon became the leader of the renagade team, who were often wanted by the US government. Shortly after its formation, Cannonball was killed by Sauron (member of the third generation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants). However, shortly after being killed, Cannonball woke up and asked if he missed anything. It was then that we learn that Sam was a External, who would continue to live while his family and friends would slowly die (this soon became a fear of his). He and Boomer soon started dating and continued to do so until he was "promoted" to the X-Men by Professor Xavier.

His dream now complete, Samuel assumed being an X-Man would be like being a member of X-Force, but only more honorable. Soon after he joined, Wolverine was captured by the Dark Riders. Going off to save him by his lonesome, Sam was beat by the Dark Riders as Wolverine went into a extremely feral state. Shortly after that, Professor Xavier went mad and Onslaught was created. Soon after Onslaught had been defeated and Xavier taken into protective custody by Val Cooper, a team of X-Men went to Japan to deal with a possible supossed cure for the Legacy Virus. In Japan, they found Sebastion Shaw and Kingpin in a power struggle that would involve destroying anyone in their way. The Kingpin kidnapped Cannonball and nearly used his "cure" for the virus on him (the cure was not proven to work, but if it did...). The X-Men rescued Sam and planned to return to the X-Mansion. Instead, they were shot down by Operation: Zero Tolerance. Once the captured X-Men escaped O:ZT, Sam had conflicts with Storm over the presense of Marrow. Being disillusioned by the concept of being part of the "A-Team", Cannonball has recently left to be with his friends in X-Force.