Shaman

Origin

Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen was a skilled surgeon who had rejected his grandfather's urgings to learn the mystical teachings that ran in the family. When Twoyoungmen's wife died, his daughter Elizabeth grew angry and blamed him for the loss. She left home, causing Twoyoungmen to roam the wilderness alone. There, he was visited by the spirit of his grandfather, who taught him the mystic arts.

Creation

Shaman was created by John Byrne and Chris Claremont. Shaman first appeared in the Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #120 (4/1979) written by Claremont, drawn by Byrne (pencils) and Terry Austin (inks). Claremont and Byrne co-plotted the storyline together.

Character Evolution

Alpha Flight and a Daughter

Twoyoungmen assisted in the delivery of the young goddess who would become known as Snowbird. When Snowbird was asked to join the newly formed Alpha Flight, Twoyoungmen joined as well, to keep an eye on Snowbird and ensure she wasn't exploited. He took the name Shaman. Shaman was a great asset to the team and became one of the teammembers others would listen to.

Shaman's daughter, Elizabeth, eventually reconciled with him and drew the magical Talisman out of Shaman's mystical pouch. This led to her joining the team under the name Talisman as well.

Shaman has served with multiple incarnations of Alpha Flight, both as Shaman and occasionally taking up his daughter's mantle as Talisman, and has subsequently trained the young Earth-Mover to be his replacement on the team.

Death

During a battle with the Collective, it appeared all the members of Alpha Flight were either seriously hurt or killed. Shaman was one of the teammates to have died. Sasquatch was all that remained of the original team. He then made a new team called Omega Flight to keep the legacy of his fallen team-members alive.

Chaos War

During the events of the Chaos War, many deceased characters from the Marvel Universe where brought back to life by an ancient God for a short period of time. This included Shaman and his perished teammates from Alpha Flight. However, when the evil god was defeated, some of the resurrected teammates were released and brought back to the land of the living. Shaman along with Marrina and the rest of the team remained alive. The group re-assembled again and started working as a superhero team again, with renewed strength and happy they got a second chance in life. 

 
 

Powers & Abilities

Dr. Twoyoungmen is a shaman taught in the use of nature-based magic. He possess a mystical pouch, containing a void that stores the many objects and magical items he uses in his spellcraft. Some of the magical abilities he has demonstrated include:

• Altering his appearance

• Mystic bolts

• Communing with animals and spirits

• Weather control

• Astral projection

• Illusion casting

• Forcing others to sleep

• Healing

• Teleportation

• Time travel

• Plant control

• Levitation and flight

• Detecting evil

Shaman is also telepathically connected to his daughter, Talisman. He also possesses several totems he can use on different occasions.

Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen is one of the most talented surgeons in Canada, and is in excellent physical shape.

OTHER MEDIA

X-MEN: The Animated Series

Shaman appeared in Repo Man (Episode 18) and Child of Light (The Phoenix Saga Part 5, Episode 33)