Cannonball (Samuel Zachary Guthrie) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, Cannonball first appeared in The New Mutants (September 1982). Cannonball is a mutant who uses the ability to fly at jet speeds while encased in an impenetrable force field. Cannonball was a founding member of the X-Men's junior team, the New Mutants, and served as X-Force's second-in-command and field leader. He eventually joined the X-Men, becoming the first member of a secondary team to "graduate". The eldest of a large Kentucky coal mining family, several of his siblings are also mutants and have joined X-Men-related teams, such as Husk, Aero, Icarus and Jeb.