Real Name: Melissa Gold
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: White, with red streaks
Legal status: Citizen of the U.S. with a criminal record, and received an official pardon.
Place Of Birth: Unknown
Known Relatives: Mother-Mimi Schwartzand, Father-unnamed.
Former aliases: Screaming Mimi, Mimi Schwartz
Group Affiliation: Thunderbolts, former partner of Angar the Screamer, former member of the Masters of Evil IV, and the Grapplers.
First Appearance(as Screaming Mimi): Marvel Two-In-One #54
First Appearance(as Songbird): Incredible Hulk (Vol.1) #449
Taunted by schoolmates and emotionally abandoned by her father after her mother was convicted and jailed for robbery, she ran away from home, adopting her mother's maiden name as an alias. Little is known of her subsequent life until she turned up as one of the Grapplers, although she did fall in love with a guy named Mike who took care of her. The relationship ended when the police found stolen goods in his apartment and he put the blame on Melissa. She went to jail where she met Marian Pouncy who went by the name Poundcakes.
Once released from jail Melissa took on the name of Screaming Mimi and found a place in Poundcakes team that was called the Grapplers. The Grapplers were a group of female wrestlers with enhanced physical abilities. Screaming Mimi's abilities were vertigo inducing sonics. The grapplers eventually expanded and became part of the unlimited class wrestling foundation. Later two of the Grapplers would be murdered by the original Scourge and Melissa would go into the world on her own until joining Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil IV and the legendary assault of Avengers Mansion would take place.
She then became Songbird in the Thunderbolts posing as a hero when some of the most prominent heroes had disappeared and the public needed heroes. As Songbird, her powers had been altered by Fixer, her larynx and throat rebuilt, and she was provided with a sonic carapace based on technology developed by Klaw, which allows her to use her voice to create solid-sound constructs, including wings that allow her to fly. With the Thunderbolts she began a relationship with Abe Jenkins, who went by Mach-1 at the time.
Once Baron Zemo revealed the Thunderbolts ruse, Melissa sided with the group against Zemo, and eventually the remaining Thunderbolts would be on the run from the law. Hawkeye would then make the team a deal and try to train them, and help them redeem themselves. Abe Jenkins would go to jail for the good of the team leaving Melissa alone as she would try to cope with the situation. Abe would later return through trickery but since the public though he was still in jail he would need a new identity. Techno posing as Ogre would turn Abe black. Melissa would faint at the revelation and it would take time for her to get comfortable with Abe again.
After a climatic battle with Gyrich, the Thunderbolts would receive pardons but with the restriction that they couldn't use their powers, so Melissa and Abe would give living a normal life a try. During this time new subtle powers would start to show up for Melissa. Using sonic harmonics she could reach decibel levels beyond human perception to gently influence a person's actions in the direction they were going to go. It is possible that her vocal chords have healed to a degree after she had damaged them previously and that they have evolved to give her a different range of abilities.
Abe and Melissa's try at a normal life was cut short in the recent Graviton crisis where she was given new equipment from the V-battalion and used her powers in combat to help defeat Graviton. The result of the conflict was that Abe now Mach-3 went missing along the other Thunderbolts that were in battle. The Thunderbolts ended up on Counter Earth but Melissa doesn't know that. She then confronted Angar the Screamer also known as Scream who was part of the Redeemers and helped him to die.
Hawkeye being sent to a hard place like Seagate prison was a set-up so Hawkeye could uncover a plan some super-villains were going to do and S.H.I.E.L.D has become concerned since things haven't gone the way they were supposed too. Now that Hawkeye and the chain gang are on the run from the law, Melissa is working with S.H.I.E.L.D to hunt them down. While tracking them down she finds herself falling into old habits and thinks about her time as criminal. Eventually she decides on the side of the law and the Thunderbolts. After apprehending the chain gang she gives Hawkeye a luggage bag filled with his equipment, costume and the Thunderbolts insignia, which also indicates her own decision.
Songbird and Hawkeye continued on with the ramifications of what the chain gang's plan was going to be and how it ties into Justin Hammer's last will and testament. Eventually four Masters of Evil would join them with new looks and names Blackheath (Plant-Man), Amazon (Man-Killer), Skein (Gypsy Moth), and Harrier (Cardinal). Hawkeye would also force Cyclone to help them but he would try to leave whenever he could and would eventually be turned over to S.H.I.E.L.D. They would confront and defeat the Crimson Cowl plans, fight Elite Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and then are reunited with the Thunderbolts that were stranded on Counter-Earth.
Melissa is reunited with Abe but gets upset when he makes a decision to go back to Seagate prison believing that his blackmailed release was a cheat. Abe tells Melissa to be a hero and that she deserves it, she says the same to him. Finally Melissa stays with the remaining Thunderbolts led by Baron Zemo.
Thunderbolts and all associated characters are the property of MARVEL COMICS TM&©2003.