Petra

**Petra** is a character from Marvel Comics.

## History

Petra was the first of her family to be born in the United States. Her mother, father, and brother emigrated from Denmark while her mother was pregnant with Petra. They lived the typical American life in the suburbs of New York City for most of Petra's childhood. Shortly after her thirteenth birthday, Petra's family was killed by a rockslide while on a camping trip, and Petra unknowingly used her mutant powers to avoid getting hurt.

After spending weeks in Child Protective Services, Petra was sent to live in New Jersey in a foster home. She was placed in a home that had five other children that were forced to share the same bedroom. Her foster mother was old and uncaring, and her foster father was too caring, trying to hold and touch her all the time. One day on an outing to Central Park, Petra's foster father tried to touch her but sank knee-deep into the ground. It was then that Petra realized she was a mutant, and she ran away. She found a cave and hid there for days crying, knowing that with her abilities she could have either killed or saved her family.

She camped in Central Park for a couple of years, using her power to manipulate rock caves into shelters to avoid being arrested and sent to juvenile detention. When she was sixteen, she discovered another useful aspect of her ability: she could turn coal into diamonds. For a year, she used this aspect of her power to make diamonds of varying sizes to sell to pawn shops so she could afford food to survive.

One day, however, a pawn shop employee called the police on Petra. Running to her rock shelter, the police found Petra before she could hide and took her into custody after a brief fight. When she awoke, a female guard informed her that she was being released into the custody of Dr. Moira MacTaggert who was there to help Petra.

After some time with Dr. MacTaggert, Professor X took Petra and the other children in Dr. MacTaggert's custody to rescue the original X-Men team trapped on Krakoa. Petra instinctively used her powers to protect Vulcan and Darwin, but then was incinerated by the volcano creature that was created by Krakoa.

## Origin

*Main article: Inherent*
Mutants are living beings that possess a genetic trait called the X-gene. The X-gene causes the mutant to develop superhuman powers that typically manifest at puberty. Human mutants are sometimes referred to as a human subspecies *Homo sapiens superior* or simply *Homo superior*. Mutants are the evolutionary progeny of *Homo sapiens* and are generally assumed to be the next stage in human evolution.

Whether or not mutants are the next stage of human evolution is a source of much debate, with many humans harboring anti-mutant views and beliefs.

## Powers

*Main article: Earth Manipulation*
**Earth Manipulation:** Petra is described as a 'geo-morph' with the power to psychokinetically control different types of earth, including rocks, sand, stone, lava, and dirt, for various purposes. She can manipulate earth into different forms, such as weapons, tools, shields, platforms, or even giant hands, enabling her to attack her enemies from a distance. Additionally, Petra is able to create and stop various earth-related weather types and natural disasters, including sandstorms, earthquakes, and rockslides.

* ***Flight:*** By standing on an earthen platform, she can simulate flight.
* ***Molecular Manipulation:*** Petra can manipulate earthen on a molecular level to alter its physical state (e.g., transforming coal into diamond or sand into glass) or consistency (e.g., turning hard-packed dirt into quicksand).