Colin grew up mostly in Canada, but moved to England with his step-father and mother in his pre-teens. He soon discovered his mutant powers and eventually came to be a Roxxon super-powered employee.[1]
Ashamed of the villainous deeds he was forced to perform as a special operative for Roxxon Oil, Windshear quit and became an official member of Alpha Flight.[2] He served as an administrator and adviser to Beta Flight. During his time with Alpha Flight, Windshear gradually became more comfortable with the role of a super hero.
When the Canadian government temporarily disbanded Alpha Flight, Windshear retired from the super hero life and returned to his home in England, where he set up a curio shop that sold high-priced objects, created with his mutant power, that were only visible under special lighting.
Colin Hume has the mutant ability to create objects of solidified air molecules, dubbed "hard air." He commonly uses this ability to create shields or entrap others, but he can also project a stream of molecules for flight and to fire concussive blasts. He can also solidify the air around him and release it as a concussive explosion, or he can even transform liquids and gasses into solids, although he does this very rarely.
As Windshear, Hume wore a battlesuit of armor that increased his strength and gave him increased protection from injury. The turbojets built into the armor would allow Hume to better control the projection of hard air from his gauntlets and boots. The suit also contained a communications and sensor array.