Cerebra's Files
Karma
Real Name: Xi'an (Shan) Coy Manh
Affiliation: None
Previous Affiliations: New Mutants
Relatives: Tranh (brother, deceased), Leong, (brother), Nga
(sister), General Nguyen Ngoc Coy (uncle)
Alternate-X Versions: (Age of Apocalypse), (Ultimate), (The End)
Codename Etymology: Pronounced kär'mə [From Sanskrit, "deed that has consequences"]; Actions that affect one's destiny.
Powers & History: Karma takes possession of other people's minds. She
controls their actions while she "rides" them, but a physical attack on
her host can hurt her as well. "Shan" and her brother Tranh were prisoners in a Vietnamese camp when their powers manifested. They made their way to NYC, but Tranh turned evil and was killed. Shan came to ,a href="profx.html">Professor Xavier's attention, and was recruited into the original New Mutants. She also became Xavier's secretary, a job which allowed her to provide for her younger siblings Leong and Nga, and keep them safe from her evil uncle. Only a short while into her career as a New Mutant, Shan was believed killed in an attack by Viper. In reality, she survived, but was possessed by the Shadow King, who warped her body as well as her mind to match his. Shan became incredibly obese, and fell into a depression. Then, all of the New Mutants were captured and taken to Asgard, home of the Norse Gods by the minions of the Enchantress. When Magik tried to teleport the team out, they were scattered across time and space. Shan ended up in the desert, where she would have succumbed to starvation, had it not been for the interventions of the Norns, who appeared to her in the form of a child that Shan would not abandon. By the time she made it out of the desert, Shan had slimmed down to her normal size. Some time later, her siblings were kidnapped, and Shan left the team to find them. She ended up working for her uncle in Madripoor, where she came into frequent contact with Wolverine. Although it went against her uncle's wishes, she tended to help Logan out, because it was morally right. Karma has made a few appearances since, and even found her siblings, who unfortunately were tortured and their genetic potentials removed. Their exact genetic status is uncertain, though X-Force managed to save them and they now live with Shan. Shan later met up with X-Force again at a festival in Texas, where they helped defeat Selene. Shan sported a short pink hairdo, though it seems that style didn't last long.
Most recently, Shan moved to Chicago and began finishing her bachelor's degree at the University. She came under attack by the Wild Sentinels and met up with Kitty Pryde, who had moved back to Chicago after Colossus's death. Kitty at the time was under attack by Purity, an anti-mutant group, and together she and Shan fought off both threats. By this time, Shan had revealed that she was gay, and though she seemed to grow closer to Kitty, their relationship remains platonic. After defeating the Wild Sentinels, Shan returned to college and her work in the University library, where she met David Alleyne, a boy who eventually was revealed to be a mutant when Dani Moonstar came to Chicago to recruit him. After defending David from a Purity attack, Shan moved back to the X-Mansion to better protect herself and her siblings. She accepted a position as the new librarian at the Institute.
Karma then ventured into teaching the youngest students at Xavier's, probably elementary school ages. Following Northstar's "death" and Rahne's leaving the Institute, Karma also took on the role of mentoring the Alpha and Paragons Squadrons.
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