Origin
In order to deal with the mutant right’s activist Reverend William Conover, Simon Trask, head of the anti-mutant organization known as Humanity’s Last Stand, formed his own version of the Mutant Liberation Front, allowing him to capture Conover and discredit mutants at the same time. Molly Peterson was given superhuman abilities through artificial means and became a member of this fake MLF team under the name Thermal.
Creation
Thermal was created by John Ostrander, Tom Lyle, and Robert Jones.
Major Story Arcs
Total X-Tinction
Unmasked
When Carl Denti, an FBI agent otherwise known as the X-Cutioner, claimed to have evidence that the MLF were not actually mutants, Thermal was among those MLF members who were sent to apprehend him. Thermal took part in battling the Punisher and SHIELD agent Kymberly Taylor who were defending Denti, but the MLF ultimately succeeded in capturing him, and brought him to the Humanity’s Last Stand compound, unaware this was part of the Punisher’s plan.
Dead To Rights
Escaping the compound, Denti was able to lead the Punisher and Taylor to it, and together they battled the MLF once again. Thermal took part in defending the compound along her fellow MLF members. Unfortunately, the MLF soon were on the losing side and when all seemed lost, Simon Trask threatened to detonate the entire compound.
Dead Man Walking
With the use of her powers, Thermal was able to freeze Trask’s hand before he could hit the self-destruct button. Trask then shot Thermal for her betrayal, but the Punisher knocked out Trask and carried her to safety as the compound exploded around them.
Thermal was later found in a hospital by a U.S. Marshall who was tracking down the Punisher, and she told him of how the Punisher had managed to bring her to safety.
Powers and Abilities
Through the use of hidden technology in her costume, Thermal is able to generate blasts of extreme heat or cold. Like all of the members of Trask’s MLF, she also had a teleportation device incorporated into her suit.