Played by Kelsey Chow | Full name Sally Avril Supporting character of Spider-Man Fictional universe Marvel Universe | |
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Abilities Skilled gymnastPossesses a variety of gadgets Creators | ||
Bluebird (Sally Avril), sometimes rendered Blue Bird, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in the Spider-Man series.
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Publication history
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Sally Avri first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962). Sally was a minor member of Flash Thompson's entourage, appearing in only one issue during the Silver Age. Her "Bluebird" career was created by Busiek (scripts) and Olliffe (pencils) in 1996.
Fictional character biography
Sally Avril was a fellow student of Peter Parker's at Midtown High who turned him down for a date, preferring the more handsome and muscular Flash Thompson.
Thirty years later, writing for Untold Tales of Spider-Man, Kurt Busiek resurrected the one-note brunette from obscurity and gave her a background. She was an ambitious, thrill-loving girl who took blue ribbons in gymnastics. With fellow popular kid Jason Ionello, she attempted to cash in on a Daily Bugle contest offering a thousand dollars to a reader who brought in pictures of Spider-Man. Although their mission was a bust, Sally loved the thrill and became very smitten with the web-slinger when he touched her cheek just before leaving her and Jason with a warning to give it up.
Sally and Jason tailed Spidey again, who was (unwillingly) working for Electro. The flash from Sally's camera roused Spidey from his hypnotic state, and a well-placed kick by the athletic young Sally took Electro by surprise long enough for Spidey to readjust his mask — which Electro had been preparing to remove — and defeat him. Spider-Man posed for a shot with an ecstatic Sally and Jason that the Bugle ran.
Suffused with glee, Sally tried to get a permanent gig on the Bugle, but was told the photographer's job was filled — by Peter Parker. Peter admitted this but asked her not to tell their fellow Midtowners. Sally donned an eccentric blue-and-white costume and decided, with her aerobic skills, to become a superheroine. She asked Peter to take some Bugle pics of her doing some stunts, but Peter refused. Angered, she threatened to blackmail him by revealing that he took Spider-Man pictures, but he undercut her by telling them himself.
Bluebird's zeal but lack of experience caused trouble for Spider-Man during fights with Scarlet Beetle and Electro. Her "ether egg" weapons would detonate prematurely or have little effect, once even allowing the villain to escape. Considering her more trouble than she was worth, Spider-Man allowed the Black Knight's men to hurt her quite badly in order to dissuade her from interfering in his fights again, although he later felt remorseful.
Bruised but undaunted, Sally and Jason headed to an area where Spider-Man was fighting the Black Knight, with Sally's camera. She intended to capture some shots of the fight. However, Sally's zeal ended up costing her her life when she begged Jason to speed in his car, and the two ran a red light. Their car struck an oncoming bus, with Jason incurring mild head trauma, and Sally being killed.
Spider-Man felt horrible about this. "She'll never laugh again... She'll never toss her head the way she did, instantly dismissing whatever she didn't want to think about in favor of something new. She'll never smile, never capture everyone's attention with a few words, never light up a room with her determination and humor. She could be obnoxious, even pushy, but she was vital and alive and fun to be around and now she's gone."
During the Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy storyline, Sally Avril is cloned by Ben Reilly posing as Jackal and is seen in New U Technologies' facility area called Haven.
Powers and abilities
Bluebird possessed no superhuman powers and used the following gadgets to fight crime: a retractable rope-line, insulated boots to protect her from electricity, blue paint pellets and ether-filled "eggs". Avril was also a skilled gymnast.