Oya (comics)

Idie Okonkwo is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #528 (September 2010), in the third chapter of the "Five Lights" storyline, and was created by Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen.^[1] She is one of the "Five Lights"—a group of mutants who manifested their abilities after the events of "Second Coming".

Originally known as Oya, Idie Okonkwo joined Cyclops' X-Men team in the "From the Ashes" relaunch, taking the new codename Temper.

Oya first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #528 (September 2010) as a newly manifested mutant who is deeply conflicted about her powers. Following her introduction, she, along with Hope Summers, Velocidad, Transonic, Zero, and Primal, was featured in the series Generation Hope.^[2] She made appearances in Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine and the X-Men, All-New X-Men, and Sabretooth & The Exiles.

Idie Okonkwo appears as a main character in the X-Men relaunch "From the Ashes", where she joins the X-Men team led by Cyclops. In this storyline, she assumes the new codename of Temper. This name was chosen by writer Jed MacKay and editor Tom Brevoort, who decided that Temper sounded more like a "super hero-sounding code name" than Oya.^[3]

Idie is a fourteen-year-old girl from Delta State, Nigeria when her powers manifest. The first manifestation of her powers causes her village to burn down, and when she starts to freeze things as well, she is considered by the locals to be a witch.^[4][5][6] By the time Storm and Hope arrive, Idie's family and friends have been killed. Hope stabilizes Idie's powers, and Idie uses her new abilities to drive away the paramilitary group that was attempting to kill her.^[4][5]

From her introduction, Idie is shown to have deep religious reservations with respect to her status as a mutant. She has viewed herself as a "monster" and has wished her mutation was as obvious as Laurie's, so that her "sin" would be just as obvious.^[2] When deciding not to be called "The Girl Who Wouldn't Burn", Idie describes herself as "a witch child", "a blasphemy", and "a heretic". She states that if she cannot burn in this world, she will burn in the next.^[7][6] She later tells Wolverine that she has made peace with the fact that she is a monster.^[8]

As he returns from an obviously tiring mission, Wolverine encounters Hope and the Lights, including Oya, awaiting his return so they can start Combat Training class. Wolverine cancels the class he had no knowledge of, and instead asks them if they should not be doing something more age appropriate; specifically, he asks Oya if she had a doll or something to go play with. Idie states that she had a doll, but it was destroyed when her village people came to kill her. Later, Wolverine solicits Shadowcat to retrieve a new doll for Oya, which he gives while they share some ice cream.^[9]

Oya is one of the X-Men to attend the opening of a Mutant History Museum, a group that includes several adult and younger mutants. When the Museum is attacked by the new Hellfire Club, most of the X-Men are quickly defeated as Idie hides. Both Wolverine and Cyclops rush towards the museum, but the Hellfire grunts begin setting up a bomb within the museum. To Wolverine's protest, Cyclops gives Oya the go ahead to do anything she thinks necessary, and Idie "murders" most of the Hellfire grunts. Outside the museum, she is comforted by Hope and the other Lights, but Oya simply wants to return to Utopia to get some sleep.^[10]

Oya has no remorse for killing the Hellfire grunts. She tells Wolverine, that once you accept being a monster, being a murderer is not so bad. Laurie is furious at Hope for letting her be part of the Sentinel battle on Utopia. She went as far as to point a gun at Hope. Hope realizes that she did not do a good job taking care of her. She tells Wolverine to take Idie with her to the new school which will be The Jean Grey Academy, and take better care of her than she could. Oya and Hope share a heart-felt good bye. When Wolverine and his new crew of teachers and students land in Westchester, Idie asks Wolverine if she is responsible for breaking up the X-Men, Wolverine replies: "No, darlin'. You led us home".^[11]

Oya is no longer part of Generation Hope and she is now part of the Wolverine and the X-Men. During a visit from Deathlok to the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning, it is suggested that Idie has a high probability of eventually becoming leader of the X-Men.^[12] Later on, she leaves the school and joins the Hellfire Academy for the sole purpose of finding out who shot Broo.^[13] Idie catches the eye of Kade Kilgore, who wants to make her his girlfriend and the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club.^[5] While changing into her new Black Queen outfit, Idie questions Kilgore about Broo and he reveals that he shot Broo.^[14] After a fight she escaped alongside Quentin Quire and Toad.^[15]

Idie is one of many mutants who moved to Krakoa when it became an independent nation, and is one of the former Xavier Institute students living in the Akademos Habitat.^[16]

When Oya and Nekra kill a group of mercenaries who were invading Krakoa by sea, they are sentenced to the Pit of Exile for breaking Krakoa's law against murder.^[5][6][17] Arriving in the pit's simulated reality, they are greeted by its original resident Sabretooth.^[18] Sabretooth formulates a plan for them to escape the pit by channeling their consciousnesses through the island so they can manifest themselves on land.^[19] When a fight between Sabretooth and Melter almost kills everyone in the pit, Nekra and Idie are saved when Third-Eye drags their consciousnesses to the astral plane while Krakoa fixes their bodies. They find themselves in a recreation of Sabretooth's childhood home with him there waiting for them. After having dinner together, the group discusses what they did to get thrown in the pit and whether they deserved to be there.^[20] Shortly afterwards, they meet with Cypher, who informs them that Sabretooth had betrayed them and escaped the Pit on his own. He offers them their own releases on two conditions: that they take fellow prisoners Nanny and Orphan-Maker and Toad, who had been hiding back in Sabretooth's Hell where they had originally entered from; and that the assembled team hunts down Sabretooth so he can be punished for his crimes. The team departs on a boat made by Madison Jeffries, with Nekra assuring Oya that they will never return to Krakoa.^[21]

The team tracks Sabretooth to Noble Island, which she and Nekra were horrified to discover was a dumping ground for the bodies of mutants experimented on by Orchis.^[22] Forming an uneasy alliance with Sabretooth, the team infiltrates Orchis Station Two, where Orphan-Maker and hundreds of other mutants are being imprisoned.^[23] Oya explores the base alongside Sabretooth and Toad and discovers a strange figure trapped inside a pod. Sabretooth and Toad abandon Oya, assuming the figure is hostile, but she believes she can reason with it. Upon closer inspection, Oya realizes that the creature is a malnourished alternate version of Sabretooth.^[24] The team escapes with the freed Orchis prisoners on their boat, which Jeffries transforms into a vessel large enough to contain them all.^[25]

Following the end of the Krakoan Age, Idie joins Cyclops' X-Men team and assumes the new codename of Temper.^[26]

Idie Okonkwo is able to manipulate temperature, which enables her to transfer heat from one area to another and generate fire and ice. In addition, her body is immune to extreme temperatures. Idie can absorb heat into herself, then release it as fire without having to simultaneously create ice. Idie is unable to create fire and ice from nothing and requires the presence of one to create the other.^[26][27][17]