Personality: An excess of confidence may be her only true problem. Still, her down-home charm and optimism may be what the rest of the student needs to keep the horror in their own lives from swallowin' them up.

Strength: Magma possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise.

Known superhuman powers: Magma is a mutant with several superhuman powers. She can psionically control the movement of the tectonic plates within the Earth's crust within limited areas, probably no more than a radius of a few city blocks. Within this area she can create small but powerful earthquakes by psionically affecting the Earth's crust. She can also psionically cause magma, or molten rock, from far beneath Earth's surface to rise to and break through the surface, forming miniature volcanoes. Magma's power to create small earthquakes and volcanic eruptions is linked to her emotions. She could unintentionally create minor earthquakes and small-scale volcanic activity by losing control of her temper and becoming unusually angry.

Magma can also telekinetically project fiery blasts of magma at targets. Apparently she does so by turning nearby rock molten and then telekinetically hurling it at her target.

When using her powers Magma's body shines with intense light and gives off tremendous heat. Her hair seems ablaze with fiery light. Neither her own heat nor heat from any other known source can burn or otherwise harm Magma. Although Magma has triggered small earth tremors without taking on her glowing form, she has never been seen to use her power to fire lava blasts while in her ordinary human appearance. Magma is not blinded by the light she gives off in her shining form.

Magma can create flames and project blasts of heat that do not contain any molten rock. However, she apparently prefers to fire magma blasts rather than simple heat blasts, perhaps because the magma blasts have a solid impact that can knock down a target.

The highest level of heat that Magma can generate is not yet known, but it is believed that she can reach at least 850° Fahrenheit.

Magma's powers are dependent upon her contact with the Earth (or at least with a floor that is part of a structure in contact with the ground). Her powers will begin to weaken if she is removed from physical contact with the Earth. However, as soon as she renews this contact, her powers will return to their usual level of strength.

Abilities: Magma is a skilled swordswoman due to her training in Nova Roma.

Paraphernalia: Magma's costume and clothing are made from unstable molecules so that they will not be harmed by the tremendous heat she generates.

Senator Lucius Aquilla was the leader of the opposition to this faction that wished to turn Nova Roma into an imperial state. Senator Aquilla sent his daughter Amara to live in the jungles outside Nova Roma, disguised as an Indian, to save her from the Black Priestess and her Fire Cult, who dealt in human sacrifice. Later, the senator discovered that the Black Priestess was actually the immortal mutant Selene, wife of Senator Marcus Domitius Gallio, the leader of the Imperial faction.

Amara remained in hiding for years until she was captured by the X-Men, who were on an expedition in the Amazon jungle. They learned of her disguise, but then both Amara and the X-Men were captured by soldiers of Nova Roma and imprisoned. Now held prisoner by Selene, Amara was to be sacrificed. Selene used her mutant powers to drain Amara's life energy into her own body. The mutant named Mirage attacked Selene. This distraction caused Selene to release Amara from her control, but Selene knocked Amara into the pit of lava.

Somehow, rather than harming Amara, her immersion in the lava awakened her latent mutant powers. Together, Amara, with her newfound powers, and the X-Men defeated Selene and helped thwart Senator Gallio's attempt to kill Senator Aquilla and seize power. Amara was instructed to go to the United States with the X-Men and there learn about modern civilization. Amara did so and became a student of the Xavier Institute under the code-name Magma. Amara later left the Institute and joined the Hellions, and then returned to South America with the Hellion member called Empath. Amara sensed something was different about her homeland and its people but could not discern what was worrying her.

Later, when the Institute was being run by Magneto, who agreed to Magma's request to to be transferred to Emma Frost's Massachusetts Academy. Her request was based on her crush on the mutant known as Empath, a member of the Hellions which operated out of the Massachusetts Academy. A few months later, Amara received a letter from her father. He ordered her home to meet with a Prince that he had arranged for her to marry. Hellion member Empath accompanied her on the flight to Nova Roma. During the flight there was a bad storm and the plane crashed in a swamp.

Amara and Empath found themselves being drawn closer together during their trek through the wilderness, without Empath even having to use his powers. Amara was wounded while saving Empath from a jaguar. He soon realized that Amara hoped that they would not be found by her father, because of the marriage plans her father had in store for her. Empath, knowing her wound was getting infected, used his powers to upset her so that she caused an earth tremor and raised a small volcano. A few days later, they were found by her father, who had located them due to her earth tremors.

Soon after, while Amara and Empath were still in Nova Roma, Amara was captured by agents of the criminal geneticist High Evolutionary. The agents teleported her to a secret base, planning to remove her powers permanently. Emma Frost called Magneto and told him about the kidnapping. The student overheard Magneto talking about Amara's kidnapping and that they had located the base where Amara was being kept. The students teleported to the base before Magneto and the others, hoping to rescue Amara themselves. They arrived in time to rescue Amara before her powers were taken from her, and they then defeated the High Evolutionary's agents.

When Magneto and the Hellfire Club arrived, the students and Amara teleported back to their school in New York, fearful of being discovered. Before escaping, they overheard Magneto mention some special plans he and the Hellfire Club had for Amara. The students begged Amara to stay with them, but she gently refused. She knew that she had to face her father and deal with the plans he had made for her. She also felt that she would be safer in Nova Roma, away from Magneto and the other Hellfire Club members and their plans for her.

Later, all of the remaining members of the Hellions were killed by Trevor Fitzroy. Warpath, joined by Firestar and Cannonball, who were all once members of the Hellions, went to South America to tell Amara and Empath of the death of their former teammates. While there, they discovered that Amara and all the people of this city had been living a lie. The city had not been founded by ancient Roman settlers. Instead, it was populated by the kidnapped and mind-wiped victims of the mutant sorceress Selene. She had created the city as a testament to the times she loved most and desperately wanted to relive. The people of Nova Roma started to regain their memories and Amara was told that her name was Allison Crestmere and that she was a mutant of British descent.

It was after this that she returned to the Institute again, where she now remains.