Surge (Noriko Ashida) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a mutant, a member of the student body in the Xavier Institute, and a member of the former New Mutants squad therein. She maintained her powers post M-Day and was the leader of the New X-Men. Publication history Surge was created by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Keron Grant and first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #8 (January 2004). Fictional character biography Noriko Ashida was born in Japan. She was close to her brother, Keitaro, but she ran away from home after her powers manifested when she was thirteen years old; she claimed that her father "doesn't believe in mutants." How she came to the United States is unknown, but she ended up homeless on the streets of Salem Center, reduced to buying illegal drugs using stolen money. With no training or practice in the use of her powers, Noriko's body automatically absorbs all nearby electricity and, once fully charged, releases it in a storm of electrical bolts. In addition, her acceleration ability forces her to speak so quickly that no one can understand her. Though she finds no treatment for most of these problems, the drugs sedate her body enough that she can control her outbursts of electrical power. Keeping herself regularly supplied proves impossible, however, and during a robbery Noriko accidentally hits the young owner of a coffee shop with an electric bolt. A group of young mutants finds her and brings her back to the X-Mansion. There, Beast designs gauntlets that regulate her absorption of ambient electricity and discharge as required to prevent further mental overloads. Nori becomes a student of the Xavier Institute and, when the school adopts a squad system, is assigned to the New Mutants squad led by Danielle Moonstar. She is forced to share a room with Dust; the two young women disagree upon the role of women and the Muslim traditions that Dust follows. Though initially hostile to the mutants who took her off the street - David Alleyne, Josh Foley, Sofia Mantega, and Laurie Collins - she soon comes to accept them as her friends. David asks Emma Frost to remove a mental block in his mind inhibiting him from recalling all the information and skills he has acquired. David sees a possible future in which he becomes the world's foremost