Born in Maui, Hawaii of mixed Native Hawaiian and Caucasian ancestry, Alani Ryan quickly developed a talent for surfing.

Her mutant powers activate after she and her father are attacked by the villain Great White and his pack of trained sharks.

Afterwards, Alani's grandmother Alice Ryan is revealed to be a former acquaintance of Namor and a friend of his former lover Betty Dean.

[1] After arriving at the Xavier Institute as a student, she adopts the codename Loa and becomes a member of the Alpha Squadron.

[16] Loa possesses the ability to phase through solid matter and disintegrate it by disrupting molecules.