Firestar is Angelica Jones, and her presence gives the New Warriors a direct connection to people on the other side of the opening clash. She is not looking at Cable's group as…

Firestar is Angelica Jones, and her presence gives the New Warriors a direct connection to people on the other side of the opening clash. She is not looking at Cable's group as a row of completely unfamiliar costumes. That makes her attempt to reach Cannonball feel different from the usual exchange of threats. In New Warriors Annual #1, Angelica recognizes Sam and questions why they are fighting. That is a small interruption in a large brawl, but it changes what the reader is being asked to notice. Recognizing a person should create a reason to stop and think, even when everybody else has already committed to attacking. Her microwave-based powers give her considerable offensive potential. The important point is that possessing that potential does not stop her from objecting to the way force is being used. Restraint is a choice available to somebody powerful, not proof that she has nothing dangerous to offer. The investigation continues that contrast. Angelica pushes back against the rough treatment of people being questioned. Working alongside X-Force does not require her to quietly adopt its members' behavior, and she does not treat their willingness to threaten somebody as evidence that the threat was necessary. She remains involved as the crisis reaches Proteus, including the flying group's approach in X-Factor Annual #6. Her concern about methods is therefore not an excuse to stay clear of danger. She is present when the stakes become much higher. Firestar's place in this roster is easy to flatten into the person who supplies heat and aerial firepower. These chapters give her another function: she keeps asking what the heroes are doing to other people while they are trying to solve the problem.