Sunspot (Marvel Comics)
Sunspot is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is most commonly associated with X-Men-related groups, the New Mutants and X-Force.
Classified as a mutant, Sunspot possesses the ability to absorb and channel solar power into physical strength. His personality is idealistic and impulsive, but despite this he is considered a close friend by many of his teammates. He is initially portrayed as an important member of the X-Men's 1980s-era junior team and its reincarnation X-Force. He later retires as Sunspot and garners a massive fortune that allows him to buy out the Advanced Idea Mechanics organization, which he re-brands to Avengers Idea Mechanics. He then operates under the code name Citizen V.
Adan Canto portrays the character in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Henry Zaga portrays the character at a younger age in The New Mutants. Gui Agustini voices the character in ''X-Men '97.''
Publication history
The character of Sunspot was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod. The hero first appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants. Immediately after this appearance, the character became part of the regular cast of The New Mutants, as part of the titular super group.Sunspot is one of the first Latin American superheroes in mainstream US comics. He is the second Brazilian superhero, after Green Fury.
He was a member of the Avengers in the 2012 relaunch of the Avengers title.
Sunspot is one of the main characters in the U.S.Avengers series.
Fictional character biography
Origin
Sunspot, or Roberto da Costa, is a Afro-Brazilian, the son of wealthy Afro-Brazilian businessman Emmanuel da Costa and white American archaeologist Nina da Costa. In The New Mutants #7, his father is described as a very driven man, who "grew up a barefoot houseboy", was "by age 20 a millionaire by 30, an economic and political force to be reckoned with." Emmanuel constantly pushes his son to reach for both his physical and intellectual peaks. Thanks to his father's encouragement, Roberto rises to the position of star soccer player at school and is considered by recruiters for the Olympic Games. When Roberto is playing a soccer game with his team, members of the opposing team assault him while hurling racialized insults at Roberto and his father for being black. While taking a brutal beating, his mutant powers manifest, suddenly transforming him into a creature of solid black solar energy. Surprised and terrified, everyone abandons the stadium except for his girlfriend, Juliana.New Mutants
Soon after Roberto discovers his powers, a mutant-hating faction of mercenaries led by Donald Pierce, called the Hellfire Club, kidnap Juliana and use her as bait to lure Roberto into a trap. He engages the kidnappers, but is eventually defeated when the solar power he absorbed runs out. A telepathic mutant named Professor Xavier hears about Pierce's evil plan and sends two young mutants called Karma and Psyche to rescue Roberto. During the following battle, Juliana sacrifices her life for Roberto, jumping in front of a bullet meant for him.Roberto joins Karma and Psyche in pursuit of Pierce. The three are joined by Wolfsbane, and after the battle by Sam Guthrie, one of Pierce's misguided mutant hirelings, despite initial reservations from the others. Professor Xavier offers to train the five teenagers to control their new mutant powers. They accept the offer and become the founding members of the New Mutants, a group of junior X-Men. Although Professor X's intentions are for them to only be students, over the course of the New Mutants series, they grow into superheroes and travel to space, Asgard, and the Amazon, as well as the past and the future. During Roberto's tenure with the New Mutants, he and Sam become best friends.
He is at some point reunited with his parents, and then with the New Mutants, when he visits Nova Roma. Some time after, Sunspot and Wolfsbane are injected with the drug that helped create Cloak and Dagger and he briefly becomes a monster. He then encounters the White Queen and her Hellions for the first time. He is later abducted and forced to serve as one of the Gladiators. On another adventure with the New Mutants, he visits Asgard. Alongside the New Mutants, he fights Warlock's father, the Magus. He also battles Cameron Hodge and the Right. With the New Mutants, he battles Freedom Force. He also falls in love with the alien Gosamyr.
X-Force
When the time travelling antihero Cable takes over the New Mutants and turns them into the paramilitary group X-Force, Sunspot parts ways with the team. During this time, Sunspot is tutored by Gideon of the Externals, an old business partner of Roberto's father, who suspects Sunspot to be a fellow External. Gideon experiments on Sunspot, granting him new powers such as flight and the ability to fire blasts of solar energy. For a time, Sunspot becomes lost in the spacetime continuum after interfering with the teleportation powers of Locus.Reignfire
The villain Reignfire first appears before Sunspot's disappearance and assumes command of the Mutant Liberation Front. Dani Moonstar, who has infiltrated the MLF, sees Reignfire without his mask and believes him to be Sunspot, and in a battle with X-Force, Reignfire removes his mask to reveal himself as Sunspot. Cable 'heals' Sunspot of Reignfire's persona, giving him knowledge of the Askani's language and meditation techniques. It is later revealed that Reignfire is actually a protoplasmic entity who was injected with Sunspot's blood. Reignfire is defeated when Sunspot removes his powers, reducing him to his original protoplasmic state.X-Force roadtrip
Roberto joins the rest of the X-Force on an extended road trip, separating themselves from Cable. Along the way, they have several problems, including Roberto's money being tied up in litigation, forcing the team into doing a variety of odd jobs, including providing protection for a small businessman being hassled by the mob. During this time, Roberto has a short fling with Sam's girlfriend Tabitha Smith, a teammate.Hellfire Club
Later during his X-Force career, Roberto is approached by Selene of the Hellfire Club. She offers Roberto his deceased father Emmanuel's seat in the club's Inner Circle, as the seats are inherited. She promises Roberto that she will resurrect Juliana if he joins and he agrees. Selene does bring back the spirit of Juliana, but put it into the body of a comatose girl. Possibly because he feels obliged to fulfill his promise, Roberto decides to stay, becoming Selene's Black Rook. Roberto attempts to contact the resurrected Juliana, but seeing she has no memory of her previous life, he decides to leave her alone.Roberto next surfaces in the title X-Treme X-Men as the head of the Los Angeles branch of X-Corporation, along with former New Mutant Magma and former Hellion Empath. Roberto's ties to the Hellfire Club are not severed, as Sebastian Shaw approaches, having taken over the position of Hellfire Club's Lord Imperial and wanting Roberto as his Black King. Shaw claims that he is trying to turn the Club into a force of good, so Roberto accepts, though he keeps his involvement with Shaw a secret.
Soon after, Shaw is injured in battle by Donald Pierce. His injuries make him incapable of overseeing the Hellfire Club. Roberto takes over as Lord Imperial. At his side is Sage, who leaves the X-Men to make sure Roberto is not corrupted by power. After the events of M-Day, Cyclops calls for the shutting down of all branches of the X-Corporation to better pool the resources of the X-Men. In the "Endangered Species" storyline, Sebastian Shaw is thinking of reclaiming his place and is angry at Sunspot.
Secret Invasion
During the Secret Invasion storyline, Sunspot is among the several X-Men helping to fight off the Skrulls during their invasion of San Francisco.Young X-Men
Sunspot, who remains Lord Imperial of the Hellfire Club, is revealed by Cyclops to belong to the newest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants along with Danielle Moonstar, Cannonball, and Magma. However, while battling members of Cyclops' new team of X-Men alongside Cannonball, there is confusion after Rockslide makes reference to the two mutants' membership in the Brotherhood. During the battle, Sunspot is seriously wounded by Wolf Cub, who slashes his face and stomach with his claws. It is eventually revealed that "Cyclops" is in reality Donald Pierce, the former White King of the Hellfire Club, who is posing as the X-Men leader using an image inducer. Pierce's reasons for recruiting these "X-Men" is unknown, but it appears that his primary focus is to eliminate the Lord Imperial and he created the ruse that Sunspot and his allies formed a new Brotherhood to convince the former Xavier students to attack their former teachers and allies.Later on, Sunspot leaves the Hellfire Club and joins the X-Men in San Francisco, as noted by Sebastian Shaw, who is currently looking for a replacement. Cyclops later asks Sunspot and Danielle Moonstar to help train the Young X-Men and both accept.
Reforming the New Mutants
After receiving an anonymous tip in Colorado about a young mutant endangering a small town, Dani and Shan are sent to investigate and calm the locals. During their mission, Magik reappears back at the X-Men's base in San Francisco after teleporting into the future after the events of X-Infernus. Upon her return, she informs Sam and Roberto that Shan and Dani are in fatal danger. Sam assembles a team with Sunspot, Magma, and Magik to go find them. Sam and Roberto come across a tied-up and comatose Shan in the back of a bar, while Magik and Magma are tricked into freeing Legion from a box, who apparently has Shan's personality imprisoned inside of him. Roberto and Sam approach Shan's body but when Roberto gets too close he almost gets pulled into Legion's mind. After they leave the bar, they find they're surrounded by police; Roberto and Sam fly away to the jail to find Dani.When they arrive, Legion is trying to kill Dani. After Roberto and Sam repel him, Legion comes back and Roberto fights him. Cannonball soon joins him and they fend Legion off and regroup. During the fight, Legion takes on Magma, Cannonball, and Roberto, who gets seriously injured when Legion slashes him with a shard of metal.