Who Is Marvel’s Snowguard? Meet Amka Aliyak

Marvel Comic Universe is filled with incredible superheroes hailing from the farthest corners of the universe and, sometimes, even beyond our universe. However, some of the most interesting ones can be found right here on Earth. Such is the case with Amka Aliyak, aka Snowguard, who is the first Inuit to join the comics and introduce us to her incredible culture. Due to this, we’ve decided to introduce Amka in a bit more detail. Let’s see who Snowguard is and what are her powers and abilities. 

Snowguard, aka Amka Aliyak, was born as a regular human of Inuit ethnicity. She became a superhero when she broke into Eshu’s base of operation, and there discovered Sila, one of the godlike beings that the Inuits worshipped. Due to an unfortunate accident while trying to free Sila, Amka unfortunately died, but due to her noble deeds, Sila healed her and imbued her with some of her powers. Snowguard‘s standard abilities include shapeshifting, energy projection, aurora manipulation, magic, and flight. 

Now that we’ve covered the basics of Snowguard’s origins, it’s time to explore it in a bit more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading! 

Amka Aliyak was born as a regular human

Amka Aliyak was introdueced in Champions Vol. 2 #19 back in 2018. Her ethnicity and the fact that her story was always woven with elements of Inuit lore and folk tales made her stand out. 

Amka Aliyak was born in Pangnirtung, Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. She was one of the people in the vicinity that discovered Eshu’s, aka Master of World base, which was established to repair the damage caused to the glaciers by global warming. 

One day while exploring the area surrounding the village, Amka and her friend discovered the base, and Amka was brave enough to explore it from the inside.  

Once inside, Amka realized that the base was not entirely of human origin as it was built too fast with too many advanced technologies on sight. 

What’s more important is that she discovered a trapped Sila. Sila belongs to the race of deities known as Inua, superhumanly powerful humanoid beings worshiped by the Inuit and other Yupik-Aleut shamanistic cultures.

Sila was trapped along with other Inua by the Master of the World. She was to be used as basically as a batter to fule the repair needed to restore the glaciers. 

When she spotted Amka, Sila asked her for help, immediately recognizing that she was a child of the North. Amka wanted to help, recognizing Silka from her uncle’s stories, but something went wrong. 

Amka got her powers after she almost died in an accident 

Amka was spotted by the devices patrolling the hallways of the facility. The detonation was imminent to protect the secrets of the facility, and Amka knew that she only had one choice. She wanted to help Sila, and she decided to sacrifice herself to save the ancient deity.

During the explosion, she was mortally wounded, dying from her wounds in the crater left by the explosion. 

Sila decided to heal Amka, and by healing her, a part of Sila merged with Amka, giving her a fraction of both her soul and her powers. Sila was seemingly gone, but this wasn’t the case. Her spirit lingered inside Amka, and due to this, Amka remained trapped in Master’s facility as she slowly siphoned away her soul to fuel his machines. 

Spider-Man accidentally came across Amka and rescued her immediately. She revealed to him, however, that Master of the World was using her as a battery and that his “help” in dealing with issues related to global warming came with a heavy price. 

Confronted with facts, Master of the World was unapologetic about using an ancient deity to fuel his machines. He tried to rationalize it by saying that “all energy should serve the higher purpose,” and Sila was energy in itself. He didn’t appreciate the local culture and gods, which didn’t sit well with Alpha Flight. 

Faced with new knowledge, the fight between Alpha Flight and the Champions stopped, and now the two groups were united against the same enemy, Master of the World, who refused to stop his sinister operation. 

After a victory that day, Amka was convinced more than ever that she should take on the role of a superhero, and she decided to join the Champions. 

Snowguard is incredibly powerful due to being imbued by the power of the North itself

Snowguard is imbued with Sila’s essence, which means she has access to the cumulative power of the Aurora Borealis and the Arctic. She has access to incredible magical abilities, including offensive and defensive powers. 

Snowguard’s most notable ability is the power to shapeshift into various sacred animals in the North. Snowguard can shapeshift into a single animal or combine several animals at once. However, the success of this ability is based on Amka’s emotional state. It’s really easy for her to lose herself in her animal form if she is, at that moment, emotionally unstable. 

Snowguard can access the perks of shapeshifting without necessarily entering the anima forms, as she is able to generate wings on her back that allow her to fly. 

Sila can likewise manipulate auroras for a variety of effects to create illusions, depicting various animals and northern-themed imagery. 

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