Indra (comics)

Indra
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	New X-Men: Academy X #7 (Jan. 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

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 X-Men trainee in X-Men: Legacy #238.^[1]

Paras Gavaskar is an Indian mutant. As teenager, he enrolled at the Xavier Institute. Gavaskar chose 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 suffered a great loss when they were told that Northstar had been killed in the line of duty, unaware of Northstar's resurrection. Following the assumed death of Northstar, Karma became their advisor.

Following the events of House of M, almost all of the institute's students were depowered, which led to the dissolution of the school's training squads. Indra was one of the only twenty-seven students who didn't lose his mutant abilities. He participated in Emma Frost's battle which determined who will train to be an X-Man. Later, forty-two of Indra's former classmates died when their bus was attacked by William Stryker, an anti-mutant crusader.^[2]

Indra was captured by Belasco and was held in Limbo with most of the other students. When X-23 orchestrated an attempt at escaping, Indra was beaten badly by the demon S'ym when the attack failed.^[3] After returning home, Indra discovers that he was the youngest mutant on the planet, and most likely to be targeted, excluding Franklin Richards, Molly Hayes, Tito Bohusk and the Stepford Cuckoos. When Predator X attacked the institute, Surge leaped to the defence of Indra, Trance and Wolf Cub, protecting them from the beast.^[2]

Indra later relocated to San Francisco along with all the other X-Men.^[4] Soon, the city went into a state of chaos due to the anti-mutant and pro-mutant movements. Cyclops sent Rogue, Gambit and Danger to find any missing students, Indra being among them. Rogue found 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.^[5] This act of self-defense caused Paras to have an internal crisis, believing that he violated the most important tenet of his Jain faith—absolute nonviolence.^[6] Attempting to access his powers caused him great pain, which Paras believed was divine punishment for betraying his beliefs. Rogue attempted to counsel him, suggesting that his inability to access his powers is psychosomatic. Rogue confronted him with the fact that he chose the codename Indra, the Hindu god of war, despite his pacifist beliefs, and stated that she believed he did so out of belief in his own potential. She further stated that rather than embrace that potential, he was choosing to back away from it. This caused Paras to lose control, claiming that his Indra form is "not him" before his powers fully remanifest, revealed as a sophisticated full suit of armor and weaponry.^[7][8]

Following Second Coming, Rogue and Magneto brought Indra along with fellow students Anole and Loa back to Indra's home in Mumbai to visit his family. Unknown to anyone at the time, Indra's parents planned for him to take his comatose brother's place in an arranged marriage. The X-Men and students visited a local market where strange storms had been placing people. During one such storm, the mutants come across a young girl who told them her name is Luisa and that she's a new mutant with the ability to paint with light. They didn't have time to question her before Sentinels arrived to capture her. Anole and Loa managed to finish the Sentinels off, and the X-Men took 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.^[9][10][11]

After being questioned by Magneto, Luisa revealed her name was really Luz, she's not a mutant and she was from somewhere called 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 attacked Indra's family home. Indra was attacked by a member of the Children of the Vault who entered his body and causes him severe physical pain. After Luz gave herself up, the Children of the Vault took Rogue and Magneto back to Quitado. Indra planed on going after them but his father demanded he stay and marry instead. Indra then asked for Vaipala to marry him that day to which she agrees so he could go save his friends afterwards. During the ceremony, Vaipala revealed she was actually Luz, having switched places with her during the attack.^[12][9]

Suiting up, disobeying his father and leaving Luz behind because she didn't want to go; Indra, Loa and Anole went after the Children of the Vault when Luz changed her mind and catched up, together forming a plan. Sneaking into Quitado, Luz handed herself over while Indra, Loa and Anole got away with Rogue, Magento and an unconscious Vaipala. During the escape, Indra attacked Olvido in order to protect Rogue. When shewent to point it out to him, he told her not to talk about it because he had sinned. Returning home, Indra turned his back on his family and religion because the path of non-violence wasn't the way of fighting against evil.^[13] Later, Indra left Utopia with Wolverine to enrol as a student at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.^[14]

Indra possesses retractable sectional armored plates that he uses to cover himself in protective armor. His skin is purple and his hair is red-violet; he has a red-violet tilak-like marking on his forehead, though this marking may be cosmetic and not part of his mutation. Initially, his armor was scaled and plated, similar to a pangolin exoskeleton. 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, who believes that Paras chose to name himself after the Hindu god of war for reason, 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, such as swords and daggers, around him out of the air for offensive use.^[8]

Indra was highlighted as forgotten character on CBR's Emma Singer as well as Geogre Elsemere listed him among forgotten X-Men.^[9][8] Indra is an example of a teenager going through crisis of faith as depicted by his struggles being Jain. He is also great example of teenager develeoping and following their own ethics because in some cultures, following their own beliefs is hard (especially if they are from a religious background).^[15][16]