Sasquatch

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #120

Dr. Walter Langkowski is a member of Alpha Flight, a native of British Columbia, Canada of Polish origin and a renowned physicist. He is also a former linebacker for the Green Bay Packers.

He possesses the ability to transform into a super-strong, orange-haired beast resembling the legendary Sasquatch or Bigfoot. This transformation is triggered by willpower. In his transformed state, Langkowski has increased strength, stamina and resistance to injury. He also has sharp claws on the end of all five digits, and is able to leap incredible distances.

These powers came as a result of Langkowski's own doing. In an attempt to become like the Hulk, Langkowski bombarded himself with gamma radiation at his laboratory near the Arctic Circle. As a proposed explanation for why he transformed into an orange instead of green behemoth (as gamma-irradiated persons are usually affected), Langkowski assumed it had something to do with the Aurora Borealis.

However, unbeknownst to Langkowski, it was not the gamma rays that turned him into Sasquatch, but the fact that his lab equipment opened a doorway between our world and the "Realm of Great Beasts." When this portal was opened, a mystical beast called Tanaraq invaded Langkowski's body and granted him his powers. Langkowski had to learn to maintain his own personality and intelligence when in the form of Sasquatch, and was very successful for a time.

Credit: Wikipedia