| Sunfire | |
|---|---|
 Sunfire, as depicted inX-Men (vol. 2) #93 (August 1999). Art byAlan Davis. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | X-Men #64 (January 1970) |
| Created by | Roy Thomas Don Heck |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Shiro Yoshida |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | Avengers Unity Squad X-Men Horsemen of Apocalypse Death's Champions Pacific Overlords X-Corporation Mumbai The Twelve Big Hero 6 Marauders |
| Notable aliases | Famine |
| Abilities |
As Horseman of Famine:
|
Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida (吉田 四郎,Yoshida Shirō)) is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Sunfire is amutant and sometime member of theX-Men.
Sunfire is a Japanesemutant who can generate superheatedplasma and fly. Not suited for teamwork due to his temperament and arrogance, Sunfire was briefly a member of the X-Men and has kept limited ties to the team since.[1]
Roy Thomas recalled that, during his first run onX-Men,
I wanted to add a young Japanese or Japanese-American whose mother had been atHiroshima orNagasaki as a corresponding character to the X-Men, whose parents were, at that time, assumed to have been at theManhattan Project.Stan [Lee, X-Men editor/co-creator] didn't give me any good reason [for rejecting the character]—he just didn't want to, I think... I didn't bring it up again, but when I came back to the book, withNeal Adams, I created Sunfire, who is pretty much the character I had wanted to do some years earlier. I didn't make him an X-Man right away. By that time, Stan gave me a little more free reign [sic]. In fact, he was included inGiant Size X-Men #1, along withBanshee, precisely because I had gone around creating some 'international mutants,' with the goal of expanding the team at some time. I thought the X-Men shouldn't all be white Americans.[2]
Thomas later commented on the character's costume "I hadDon Heck design the character from my verbal suggestion of a costume that was an embodiment of the imperial JapaneseRising Sun flag, as Japanese or Japanese-American.[3]
In a future interview Thomas noted the unique mask of the character "Don Heck gave him that mask — kind of a weird dragony kind of mask — it wasn't just a standard mask."[4]
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Created by writerRoy Thomas and artistDon Heck, Sunfire first appeared inX-Men #64 (January 1970).[5] As of 2025, Sunfire has appeared in 87 comic book issues.[6]
Sunfire also appeared in theIron Man comics issues #67-70 & 98 (1974-1977) and theWolverine issues #55-60 (June-September of 1992).[6]
In 1998, Marvel published theminiseriesSunfire and Big Hero Six, presenting Sunfire's brief membership in a new superhero team sanctioned by the Japanese government.
Maximum Security issues #1 & 3 featured Sunfire.[6]
Sunfire became part of theExiles in issue #7 (December 5, 2001), manifesting as the woman version of the character from an alternate reality.[6]
WriterRick Remender included Sunfire as a member of theUncanny Avengers, starting with issue #5 (March 27, 2013).[7][6]
He joined X-Men Unlimited Infinity in issue #106 (September 25, 2023), and as of 2025, his latest appearance was in Doom's Division issue #2 (April 30, 2025).[6]
Shiro Yoshida was born in Agarashima,Japan. His mother sufferedradiation poisoning due to exposure to theatomic bomb dropped onHiroshima; as a result, Shiro was born as a mutant possessing solar radiation powers.[8]
Shiro's mother died of radiation poisoning when he was young. Shiro grew to hate theUnited States, despite the influence of his father, an ambassador to theUnited Nations who was more tolerant of the US.[9] Shiro's greedy uncle Tomo inspired him to become "Sunfire" and engage in a one-man battle against the U.S. As Sunfire, he attacked theUnited States Capitol and battled the X-Men, after which he witnessed Tomo murder his father; distraught, he killed Tomo and surrendered to the authorities.[10]
Sunfire battledNamor the Sub-Mariner but then fought alongside him against theDragon Lord.[11] Sunfire also foughtIron Man but was abducted by theMandarin and used to power one of the Mandarin's machines. Once freed, he and Iron Man foughtUltimo.[12]
Professor X recruited Sunfire to a new team of X-Men to rescue the originals from the living islandKrakoa.[13] However, after the mission, he rejected X-Men membership.[14]
Although Sunfire has had one solo story in the anthologyMarvel Comics Presents,[15] Sunfire has appeared mainly in stories teamed with other characters.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
Sunfire becomes involved with the X-Men once again whenApocalypse kidnaps him, as Sunfire is one ofthe Twelve, a group of mutants Apocalypse required to obtain reality-warping powers.[volume & issue needed] Sunfire then became a member of the Mumbai branch ofX-Corporation, a non-government organization devoted to the protection of mutant rights.[24]
During the early story arcs of the latest edition ofMarvel Team-Up, Sunfire attempts to combat the powerful villain known asTitannus, a reject of theSuper-Skrull program who had made his way to Earth after being brainwashed by an alien race to serve as their ultimate weapon. Attempting to contain Titannus, Sunfire summons the Japanese army to confront him, but the powerful foe defeats them army with ease, and is only barely beaten by a new team hastily assembled byDoctor Strange to combat this threat.[volume & issue needed]
Later, it was revealed that Sunfire had worked withRogue andMystique back when Sunfire was still working with Tomo and Rogue was a member of theBrotherhood of Mutants. Also working with them was a girl calledBlindspot, who had the power to erase and restore memories. The four were on a mission to steal the process to bondadamantium fromLord Dark Wind, the father ofLady Deathstrike.
Since Blindspot always erased her tracks once a contract ended, she wipes the minds of everyone involved so no one would remember her.[25] Blindspot discovers Lord Dark Wind wanted all four dead for trying to steal his adamantium process. Realizing that the others would be in danger while having no memory of their mission, Blindspot went back to Japan to erase Lord Dark Wind's memory. When she got there, she discovered that his daughter (who later became Deathstrike) had already killed him. Blindspot erased Deathstrike's memories but, as Deathstrike was more machine than woman, Deathstrike was able to restore her own memories from an electronic backup. Deathstrike kidnapped Blindspot, who released a group photo of Sunfire, Rogue, and Mystique to attract their attention to save her. Rogue joined Sunfire, whose reputation had been ruined by the photograph, inTokyo to discover why they were framed and who was responsible.[26] The two ran into Lady Deathstrike who, in a heated battle, cut off Sunfire's legs, leaving him in critical condition. Rogue surrendered to Deathstrike, who imprisoned the two.[volume & issue needed] While imprisoned, Rogue met Blindspot, who restored Rogue's memories and explained what was going on.[25]
When Deathstrike discovers that the three were not responsible for stealing the adamantium, she attempted kill them to destroy any evidence of what she had done. A weak Sunfire asks Rogue to absorb his powers so she could properly battle Deathstrike. Rogue had previously lost the powers ofCarol Danvers that she had taken and was hesitant. She worries that she could harm Sunfire, but Blindspot pushes her on Sunfire's face, causing her to absorb all his powers and possibly killing him. With it, Rogue now also contains Sunfire's personality, similar to how she also once had Danvers' personality within her. With Sunfire's personality controlling her, Rogue seeks revenge on Deathstrike and severely injures the woman. The X-Men arrive in time to intervene, but Blindspot erases Rogue's memories of being an X-Man causing her to see her teammates as her enemies.[26] After a brief altercation, Rogue's memories are restored and she tells the X-Men what had happened to Sunfire. They discover that his body is missing, leading some of the X-Men to believe he is still alive.[27]
Sunfire loses his powers beforeM-Day and his X-gene during that moment.[volume & issue needed] It is revealed that Sunfire is rescued by a mysterious ninja group and taken to a hospital inAspen. After being revived from his coma, the world's leading specialist inprosthetic limbs, Masanori Kuzuya, offers him his services. Before the reasoning behind the rescue is revealed,Apocalypse appears and offers Sunfire the chance for vengeance, as well as the recovery of his lost limbs and power, in return for his service as Famine, one of Apocalypse'sHorsemen.[28] However, Famine is defeated by Rogue and returned to his normal form.[29] Sunfire joins the other X-Men in their battle against Apocalypse. After Apocalypse escapes, Gambit helps his fellow HorsemanGambit overcome his brainwashing and the two are recruited byMister Sinister into hisMarauders.[30]
In "Messiah Complex", Sunfire and the Marauders clash with the X-Men and other groups for thefirst mutant child born after the events of M-Day.[31] In the final battle onMuir Island, Sunfire is knocked out while the remaining Marauders flee or are killed.[32]
Feeling disgraced and humiliated, Sunfire retires his mantle and wanders around Tokyo in a drunken stupor untilWolverine approaches him to join theAvengers Unity Squad for a chance of redemption.[33] Sunfire joins the Avengers against theApocalypse Twins and sides with Wolverine, Rogue andThor after the Twins cause a division within the team.[34] The team is able to put aside their differences to fight the Twins andKang the Conqueror. In the final fight against Kang, Sunfire's body is destroyed but due being in prior contact with aCelestial, he is reborn in a state of pure energy and uses his new powers to destroy the Twins' armada and defeat Kang.[35]
Sunfire and the Avengers are affected by the inversion spell cast in "AXIS", which reverses their morality into becoming villains, with Sunfire joining the affected X-Men into declaring mutant supremacy.[36] Sunfire and the other affected heroes are eventually cured of the inversion spell.[37] Afterwards, Sunfire left the Avengers to joinX-Factor.[38]
During the events ofInhumans vs. X-Men, Sunfire initially joinsCyclops' faction of X-Men against theInhumans. When Sunfire's destroys of one of the Terrigen Clouds, the Inhumans publicly execute Cyclops in retaliation.[39] Sunfire later defends Asian mutant refugees with the help ofStorm's faction of X-Men and joins in the final assault against NewAttilan.[40][41]
Sunfire eventually regains is reputation and standing as Japan's prime hero and is invited byBlack Panther to attend an international summit at Avengers Mountain.[42] He is also recruited byJean Grey to help oppose the crazedNate Grey from remaking the world in his image.[43]
In theKrakoan Age, Sunfire is one of the many mutants who relocates to the mutant nation of Krakoa.[44] During the events of "King in Black", Krakoa is targeted byKnull, but Sunfire is instrumental in defending the island from thesymbiotes due to their weakness to fire. Sunfire's powers are further amplified byFabian Cortez, turning him into the "Krakoan Sun". Sunfire is killed by a symbiote-infectedCable, but is later resurrected by Krakoa'sresurrection protocols.[45] At theHellfire Gala, Sunfire is elected to theX-Men due to his heroics.[46]
Sunfire eventually develops an interest inArakko and begins spending time in the new mutant world.[47] Arakko itself reaches out to Sunfire and requests that he rescue its Voice,Redroot, fromOrchis.[48] Sunfire travels toOtherworld and battles Redroot's captors, butMoira X stabs him in the heart with Redroot herself.[49] Sunfire escapes with Redroot embedded in his chest.[50][51] The pair are eventually saved by Apocalypse and participate in the ritual to raiseKaorak to fight against the forces ofGenesis in the civil war on Arakko.[52][53][54] After the war's end, Redroot is separated from Sunfire and fully restored, able to serve as Arakko's Voice once more.[55] In mutantkind's war against Orchis, Sunfire leads the army of Arakko alongside Apocalypse.[56] Apocalypse later asks Sunfire to succeed him as his heir but he declines the offer.[57]
During the "One World Under Doom" storyline, Sunfire leads a resistance group based out of Asia againstEmperor Doom, who orders theSouth Korean government to send theTiger Division, renamed as Doom's Division, after him.[58] Sunfire and his forces lure Doom's Division into an ambush off the coast ofHokkaido, revealing thatWave andKarma have been working for him as double agents.[59] Sunfire convincesTaegukgi to form a truce with him against Doom, butWhite Fox appears, kills Sunfire, and has Doom's Division arrested for disobeying Doom.[60] Sunfire is revealed to have faked his death with White Fox, who is secretly supporting his resistance. Sunfire joins the renamed Tiger Division to help take down Doom while White Fox covers up their escape.[61]
Sunfire is amutant with the ability to absorb solar radiation, and convert it to ionize matter into a fieryplasma state which bursts into flame when exposed to oxygen. Referring to his plasma output as "solar fire", he can release this energy through his hands as blasts of searing heat, deadly radiation, explosive concussive force, or simple flames. By ionizing the air around him, he can surround himself with an aura of heat intense enough to melt steel, or fly by focusing his aura downwards in a tight stream of ionized gas to propel him through the air like a rocket. Sunfire can see heat, by shifting his vision from visible light toinfrared. Sunfire has the ability to form a psionic force field while using his plasma as protection from heat and radiation, both that of his own generation and that from outside sources. In a similar fashion to theHuman Torch's nova burst, Sunfire is capable of increasing his plasma output to temperatures around 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and emitting it as an omnidirectional blast.
Sunfire transferred his powers toRogue to defeatLady Deathstrike who had just cut off his legs. This (like Ms. Marvel before him) left him still a mutant but powerless.[volume & issue needed] After his transformation into Famine, a Horseman of Apocalypse, his powers and legs were returned, and he could now also use them to create flashes of light that affected the sections of the human brain which control hunger, causing any people who saw his light flashes to feel as if they were starving.[volume & issue needed] Due to further genetic enhancement from Apocalypse, Sunfire is also able to secrete a specialized bio-oxygen from his skin, which allows him to breathe and conjure his flames even in thevacuum of space.[62]
Shiro also seems to be quite an accomplished martial artist. He has displayed impressive hand to hand skills on several occasions and stated that he did not need to employ his powers to defeatHand ninjas.[volume & issue needed] He is trained in karate, judo, and kendo (Japanese Samurai swordsmanship). He is also an expert in the combat use of his superhuman powers. He has at least peak human physical ability.
InAge of Apocalypse, Japan was destroyed byHolocaust, one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse. Shiro, a survivor of the massacre, was captured and given toMaximus (the Horseman of Death), as a test subject for his experiments. Shiro's powers were pushed to their limits, causing his whole body to be set aflame, injuring him as a result. Shiro was rescued by the X-Men and joined them, taking on the codename Sunfire. Sunfire wore a containment suit to control his powers, although he was constantly on fire. Haunted by the destruction of his nation, Sunfire joined Rogue's task force of X-Men when they were sent to Chicago to fight Holocaust, who had begun a new series of Cullings.[65]
After the regular reality's X-Force crossed over into the Age of Apocalypse, Shiro was one of the few X-Men to return to prevent the destruction of Earth-616 byArchangel. During a battle with Iceman, Shiro is killed while attempting to siphon energy from Holocaust's weapon of mass destruction.[66]
In theAge of X-Man reality, Shiro Yoshida is the Civil Management Instructor of the 10th Year class within the Summers Institute Of Higher Learning, located in Winchester, NY.[67]
In theHouse of M reality, Sunfire became the Emperor of Japan. Under his rule, the country had prospered, though the poverty levels were extremely high among the baseline human population. In secret, Sunfire was one of the masterminds of Project: Genesis, a project sanctioned by the Japan branch ofS.H.I.E.L.D. with the goal of forcefully mutating baseline humans. When the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives-in-training dubbed theHellions investigated a terrorist attack, they discovered the existence of Project: Genesis and its link to Emperor Sunfire. Sunfire lied to the Hellions and told them that Project: Genesis's purpose was to recycle organic waste into food for poor baseline humans.[68]
InMarvel Zombies, a zombie version of Sunfire andSilver Samurai can be briefly seen slaughtering civilians, while theSilver Surfer travels the globe, as a result ofQuicksilver being infected and thus able to spread the zombie plague all over the world.[volume & issue needed] The zombie version of Wolverine traveled to Earth-Z, where at Marvel Zombies Return, seeks an uninfected Sunfire that battles Zombie Wolverine, but was killed instead.[volume & issue needed]
In theUltimate Marvel reality, Sunfire appears as a member ofAlpha Flight. His power levels enhanced byBanshee, theUltimate Marvel version of the Mutant Growth Hormone, he squares off against new X-Man recruitFirestar.[69]
An alternate universe variant of Sunfire from Earth-6160 appears in theUltimate Universe imprint. This version is the "Sun Emperor" of the Harada-Yoshida Alliance, a consolidated union of three clans that rule over "Hi no Kuni", a regional power bloc which includes Japan's territories.[70]
In an interview withWizard, Alex Ross stated that Sunfire's mask served as the inspiration forKyle Rayner /Green Lantern's original costume mask, which debuted inGreen Lantern #51 (in 1994).[citation needed]
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