Indra (comics)

Indra (Paras Gavaskar) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Indra attended the Xavier Institute and was member of Alpha Squadron before its closing. He first appeared in New X-Men: Academy X #7. He became an X-Men trainee in X-Men: Legacy #238.

Indra
Indra as depicted in New X-Men: Academy X Yearbook (December 2005). Art by Georges Jeanty (penciler), Don Hillsman II (inker), Tom Chu (colorist), and Dave Sharpe (letterer).
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	New X-Men: Academy X #7 (January 2005)
Created by	Nunzio DeFilippis Christina Weir
In-story information
Alter ego	Paras Gavaskar
Species	Human mutant
Team affiliations	Alpha Squadron training squad Xavier Institute X-Men in training Jean Grey School Students
Abilities	Retractable armored plates Psionic matter manifestation

Fictional character biography

Paras Gavaskar is an Indian mutant. As a teenager, he enrolls in the Xavier Institute. Paras chose the codename Indra and was assigned to Alpha Squadron, a training squad mentored by Northstar. He was a top achiever in his classes. Indra and his fellow team members Anole, Loa, Rubbermaid, Network, and Kidogo are informed that Northstar had been killed in the line of duty, unaware of Northstar's resurrection. Following the assumed death of Northstar, Karma becomes the group's advisor.

Following the events of "House of M", almost all of the institute's students were depowered, which leads to the dissolution of the school's training squads. Indra is one of twenty-seven students who retain their mutant abilities. He participates in Emma Frost's battle which determined who will train to be an X-Man. Later, forty-two of Indra's former classmates die when their bus is attacked by William Stryker, an anti-mutant crusader.^[1]

Indra is captured by Belasco and was held in Limbo with most of the other students. When X-23 orchestrates an attempt at escaping, Indra is beaten badly by the demon S'ym when the attack fails.^[2] After returning home, Indra discovers that he is the youngest surviving mutant at the Xavier Institute and most likely to be targeted. When Predator X attacks the institute, Surge defends Indra, Trance and Wolf Cub, protecting them from the beast.^[1]

Indra later relocates to San Francisco along with all the other X-Men.^[3] Soon, the city went into a state of chaos due to the anti-mutant and pro-mutant movements. Cyclops sends Rogue, Gambit, and Danger to find any missing students, Indra being among them. Rogue finds some beaten H.A.M.M.E.R. agents and after absorbing their memories to see if they know where Paras is, it was revealed they attacked him when he was trying to go home to check on his friends. In self-defense, he attacked them and knocked them out.^[4] This act of self-defense causes Paras to have an internal crisis, believing that he violated the most important tenet of his Jain faith—absolute nonviolence.^[5] Attempting to access his powers causes him great pain, which Paras believed is divine punishment for betraying his beliefs. Rogue attempts to counsel him, suggesting that his inability to access his powers is psychosomatic. Rogue confronts him with the fact that he chose the codename Indra, the Hindu god of war, despite his pacifist beliefs, and states that she believes he did so out of belief in his own potential. She further states that rather than embrace that potential, he is choosing to back away from it. This caused Paras to lose control, claiming that his Indra form is "not him" before his powers fully resurface, revealed as a suit of armor and weaponry.^[6][7]

Following the events of "X-Men: Second Coming", Rogue and Magneto bring Indra, Anole, and Loa to Indra's home in Mumbai to visit his family. Unknown to anyone at the time, Indra's parents plan for him to take his comatose brother's place in an arranged marriage. The X-Men and students visit a local market where strange storms had been placing people. During one such storm, the mutants encounter a young girl who tells them that her name is Luisa and that she is a mutant with the ability to paint with light. They do not have time to question Luisa before Sentinels arrive to capture her. Anole and Loa manage to finish the Sentinels off, and the X-Men take Luisa back to Indra's family home, where while flirting with Indra, infuriates his father by creating a light painting of her and Indra in a nude embrace and kissing Indra in his room.^[8][9][10]

After being questioned by Magneto, Luisa reveals that her name was really Luz, she is not a mutant, and she is from Quitado; a high-tech floating city where she was a student meant to be a part of a device called Angelfire. At that moment, the Children of the Vault attack Indra's family home. Indra is attacked by a member of the Children of the Vault, who enters his body and causes him severe pain. After Luz gives herself up, the Children of the Vault take Rogue and Magneto back to Quitado. Indra plans on going after them but his father demands that he stay and marry instead. Indra then asks for Vaipala to marry him that day, to which she agrees so he can rescue his friends. During the ceremony, Vaipala reveals that she is actually Luz, having switched places with her during the attack.^[11][8]

Suiting up, disobeying his father and leaving Luz behind because she did not want to go; Indra, Loa and Anole go after the Children of the Vault when Luz changes her mind and catches up, together forming a plan. Sneaking into Quitado, Luz hands herself over while Indra, Loa and Anole get away with Rogue, Magento and an unconscious Vaipala. During the escape, Indra attacks Olvido to protect Rogue. Returning home, Indra turns his back on his family and religion because the path of non-violence is not the way of fighting against evil.^[12] Later, Indra leaves Utopia with Wolverine to enroll as a student at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.^[13]

Powers and abilities

Indra possesses retractable armored plates that he uses to cover himself in protective armor. Though he religiously believes in absolute non-violence, he is later forced to act in self-defense and attack a corrupt military officer, resulting in an internal struggle that causes him to lose access to his powers. When trying to access his armor plating, he experiences great pain and believes this to be a punishment from the Yakshas for his transgression. After receiving mentoring from Rogue, Indra's powers return significantly changed and stronger than before. His armor takes the form of a full-body, Hindu-stylized suit of armor. He is also able to generate similarly stylized psionic weaponry.^[7]

Reception

Indra was highlighted as a forgotten character on CBR's Emma Singer as well as George Elsemere listed him among forgotten X-Men.^[8][7] The Comics Vault website listed Indra as an example of a teenager going through crisis of faith as depicted by his struggles being Jain.^[14]