Cerebra's Files

(Meltdown)


Real Name: Tabitha Smith
Affiliation: Nextwave
Previous Affiliations: X-Force, New Mutants, X-Factor (ward), Fallen Angels
Aliases: Boomer, Boom Boom, Time Bomb
Alternate-X Versions: None
Codename Etymology: Pronounced mĕlt'doun' [From Old English, meltan + Old English, dun: "hill"]; The overheating of a nuclear reactor core.
Powers & History: A former member of Vanisher's thieves' gang and a runaway, Meltdown generates plasma spheres that she can detonate on command. They're fairly powerful, especially when she's mad, as her guardians in the original X-Factor often found. When she first appeared as Boom Boom, Tabitha would throw her bombs, counting down three seconds to detonation. Boom Boom and the other wards of X-Factor joined the New Mutants during the "Inferno" event, and she remained a member until the formation of X-Force. Early in this period she was apparently involved with Rictor, but later switched her affections to Cannonball.

As a member of X-Force, Boom Boom added wrist launchers to her new costume and changed her codename to "Boomer." Later, when X-Force moved into the X-Mansion, she took to bringing milk to Sabretooth, who was placid and child-like at the time (due to a brain skewer from Wolverine). However, after Sabretooth's betrayal and attack on the X-Men, and her own subsequent attitude shift, Meltdown returned to throwing her spheres, but with greater control than before. She could mentally direct them, and even reabsorb their energy if she chose not to detonate them. When X-Force split from Cable and went on the road, Tabitha and Sunspot became close and shared a kiss, though Meltdown was technically still dating Cannonball, who was a member of the X-Men at the time. When Sam came to visit X-Force and caught Tab and Bobby in another kiss, he was outraged and flew off. Later Sam reconciled with Tab (and Bobby) after rejoining X-Force. In the meantime, Tab split from Bobby after he regained his trust fund and started throwing money around.

Later, Meltdown was taught by Pete Wisdom to create plasma spikes that are very powerful. She remained with X-Force through Wisdom's tenure and through one faking of the team's death. She also rekindled her romance with her old boyfriend Cannonball. Then, when X-Force came upon a top-secret plot to use alien technology to recreate a planet-moving engine, they apparently could not stop the bio-engineered defenders of the facility. Tabby and her teammates (except Domino) were presumed dead following the explosion they set off, leveling the alien tech base. However, they soon appeared at a press conference for the new team calling itself X-Force, and got into a fight with the other mutants over naming rights.

Recently, Meltdown (back in her penultimate X-Force costume and hair color) joined Cable in his "Underground" movement to discover the truth about the Weapon X Program and destroy it. Following the apparent success of that mission, she joined her old teammates to help Cable fight the Skornn. Afterwards, she helped them attack the headquarters of the Black Box, though the occupant turned out to be a robot.

Shortly afterwards, "Tabby" joined the team known as Nextwave, grew her hair long and eschewed her codename. Working with Monica Rambeau (Photon/Capt. Marvel II), Machine Man and others, she helped defeat Fin Fang Foom and agents of the evil Beyond Corporation. Why and exactly when any of this occured is still unknown.
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