Firebird's History
Origin
Bonita Juarez was walking across the desert near Albuquerque, New Mexico when a huge ball of cold fire plummeted out of the sky and struck the sand ten feet from where she stood. Bathed in its extraterrestrial radiation, Juarez soon discovered that she had acquired a vast amount of energy-wielding powers.
Believing the fireball to be a manifestation of the American Indian legend of the Firebird, Juarez fashioned herself a costume and decided to use her powers to help the people of the Southwestern United States under the name of Firebird.
Rangers
Firebird intercepted a shortwave distress call meant for the Avengers, and met with four other superhuman crime fighters who were also responding to the call. After handling the menace of the Corruptor, the five champions, Firebird, Red Wolf, Shooting Star, Texas Twister, and Night Rider, decided to band together whenever threatened by a menace that was too large for them to handle individually as the team the Rangers. However, partly because the various Rangers were geographically scattered across the American Southwest, their gatherings were infrequent.
Avengers West Coast
When an encounter with the sorcerer Master Pandemonium took her to the West Coast Avengers, Firebird assisted the team in their battle against him.[4] Mockingbird wanted her for membership in the West Coast Avengers, but Hawkeye was more interested in courting their more famous applicant, the Thing. After working with the Avengers for several weeks, Firebird left without joining the team.
The Avengers
While the Avengers came looking for her to ask her to join, Firebird was starting a spiritual journey which led her to briefly adopt the name La Espirita. As Espirita, she returned to the West Coast Avengers' headquarters the Avengers Compound just in time to stop Henry Pym from committing suicide. The rest of the West Coast Avengers, however, had been lost in time. Together, Espirata and Pym found the time-lost Avengers' message and helped rescue them and defeat the villainous alien computer, Dominus. Espirita did not stay with the Avengers long, but parted with them in good company and presumably accepted their membership offer, as she often served as a reserve Avenger after that.
Bonita was later captured by various assembled aliens, who revealed to her that the flaming fireball that gave her powers was merely an alien child's discarded experiment. Briefly engaging a crisis of faith, Bonita nonetheless decided that God was still responsible for her powers, but still returned to her other code-name, Firebird.
Firebird was among the assembled Avengers who have appeared at various membership meetings, and was called in to help clean up their then headquarters Hydrobase during the so-called "Acts of Vengeance" affair, which set her and a group of other female Avengers up against several berserk androids.
Firebird retains her Avengers status, and while preferring to adventure in the Southwest and do social work, she has teamed up with them for various adventures, notably when the Avengers reformed after many of their numbers had been believed dead, and when the Avengers and the Thunderbolts teamed up to stop the alien Dominex, a remnant of the Dominus computer.
Civil War
During the Civil War over superhero registration, Firebird joined the anti-Registration Secret Avengers, but after the death in battle of Goliath she decided to register, and later joined Texas' team in the 50-State Initiative, a new incarnation of her old team the Rangers.
Beyond
Firebird was taken to Battleworld, along with a Spider-Man imposter, Medusa, Wasp, Gravity, Venom, The Hood, and Henry Pym by a being claiming to be the Beyonder. Later, when Uatu the Watcher appeared, the 'Beyonder' was proven to be another cosmic entity known as The Stranger. The being then decided to destroy the planet, setting it to self-destruct. Gravity forfeited his life to hold the planet together long enough for the others to escape. During this time Firebird became close to Pym and the two shared a kiss.
Secret Invasion
During the Secret Invasion, Firebird was with the Rangers when they, 3-D Man, and Ant-Man were fighting a Skrull that was posing as Lobo, Red Wolf's wolf.
Danielle Cage
She was one of the many applicants for nanny to Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' daughter, Danielle Cage.
Scarlet Spider
The Rangers later came into conflict with Kaine, alias Scarlet Spider in Houston, then they joined forces with him to battle a monster made of pure energy.
