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| Sunspot | |
|---|---|
 Roberto da Costa as seen inNew Avengers (vol. 4) #14 (July 2016). Art by Paco Medina. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Marvel Graphic Novel #4:The New Mutants (September 1982) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Roberto da Costa |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | New Mutants Avengers A.I.M. Costa International Fallen Angels Hellfire Club Mutant Liberation Front New Avengers X-Corporation X-Force X-Men Young X-Men U.S.Avengers S.H.I.E.L.D. Great Ring of Arakko Brotherhood of Arakko |
| Notable aliases | Lord Imperial, Black Rook, Black King,Citizen V |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength Flight Solar absorption and rechanneling Heat and light manipulation Concussive blasts Plasma emission |
Sunspot (Roberto "Bobby"da Costa) is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is most commonly associated withX-Men-related groups, theNew Mutants andX-Force.
Classified as amutant, Sunspot possesses the ability to absorb and channelsolar 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 theAdvanced Idea Mechanics organization, which he re-brands to Avengers Idea Mechanics. He then operates under the code nameCitizen V.
Adan Canto portrays the character inX-Men: Days of Future Past.Henry Zaga portrays the character at a younger age inThe New Mutants. Gui Agustini voices the character inX-Men '97.
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The character of Sunspot was created by writerChris Claremont and artistBob McLeod. The hero first appeared inMarvel Graphic Novel #4:The New Mutants (September 1982).[1] Immediately after this appearance, the character became part of the regular cast ofThe 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, afterGreen Fury (DC).[2]
He was a member of theAvengers in the 2012 relaunch of theAvengers title.[3]
Sunspot is one of the main characters in theU.S.Avengers series.[4]
Sunspot, or Roberto da Costa, is aAfro-Brazilian, the son of wealthy Afro-Brazilian businessmanEmmanuel da Costa and whiteAmericanarchaeologist Nina da Costa.[5][6][7] InThe New Mutants #7, his father is described as a very driven man, who "grew up [...] a barefoot houseboy", was "by age 20 [...] a millionaire [and] 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 starsoccer player at school[8] and is considered by recruiters for theOlympic 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 beingblack. 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.[8]
Soon after Roberto discovers his powers, a mutant-hating faction ofmercenaries led byDonald Pierce, called theHellfire Club, kidnap Juliana and use her as bait to lure Roberto into a trap. He engages thekidnappers, but is eventually defeated when the solar power he absorbed runs out. Atelepathic mutant namedProfessor Xavier hears about Pierce's evil plan and sends two young mutants calledKarma andPsyche to rescue Roberto. During the following battle, Juliana sacrifices her life for Roberto, jumping in front of a bullet meant for him.[8]
Roberto joins Karma and Psyche in pursuit of Pierce. The three are joined byWolfsbane, and after the battle by Sam Guthrie (Cannonball), 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 juniorX-Men.[8] Although Professor X's intentions are for them to only be students, over the course of theNew Mutants series, they grow into superheroes and travel tospace,Asgard, and theAmazon, 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.[9] Some time after, Sunspot and Wolfsbane are injected with the drug that helped createCloak and Dagger and he briefly becomes a monster.[10] He then encounters theWhite Queen and herHellions for the first time.[11] He is later abducted and forced to serve as one of the Gladiators.[12] On another adventure with the New Mutants, he visits Asgard.[13][14] Alongside the New Mutants, he fightsWarlock's father, theMagus.[15] He also battlesCameron Hodge and theRight.[16] With the New Mutants, he battlesFreedom Force. He also falls in love with the alienGosamyr.[17]
When thetime travellingantiheroCable takes over the New Mutants and turns them into theparamilitary group X-Force, Sunspot parts ways with the team.[18] During this time, Sunspot is tutored byGideon of theExternals, an old business partner of Roberto's father (who has since died), who suspects Sunspot to be a fellow External.[19] Gideon experiments on Sunspot, granting him new powers such asflight and the ability to fire blasts of solar energy.[20] For a time, Sunspot becomes lost in thespacetime continuum after interfering with theteleportation powers ofLocus.[21]
The villain Reignfire first appears before Sunspot's disappearance and assumes command of theMutant Liberation Front.[22]Dani Moonstar, who has infiltrated the MLF, sees Reignfire without his mask and believes him to be Sunspot,[23] and in a battle with X-Force, Reignfire removes his mask to reveal himself as Sunspot.[24] Cable 'heals' Sunspot of Reignfire's persona, giving him knowledge of theAskani's language andmeditation techniques.[a][25] It is later revealed that Reignfire is actually a protoplasmic entity who was injected with Sunspot's blood.[26] Reignfire is defeated when Sunspot removes his powers, reducing him to his original protoplasmic state.[27]
Roberto joins the rest of the X-Force on an extendedroad trip, separating themselves from Cable.[volume & issue needed] Along the way, they have several problems, including Roberto's money being tied up in litigation,[volume & issue needed] forcing the team into doing a variety of odd jobs, including providing protection for a small businessman being hassled bythe mob.[volume & issue needed] During this time, Roberto has a short fling with Sam's girlfriendTabitha Smith, a teammate.[volume & issue needed]
Later during his X-Force career, Roberto is approached bySelene of theHellfire Club. She offers Roberto his deceased father Emmanuel's seat in the club's Inner Circle, as the seats are inherited.[28] She promises Roberto that she will resurrect Juliana if he joins and he agrees.[volume & issue needed] Selene does bring back the spirit of Juliana, but put it into the body of acomatose girl.[volume & issue needed] Possibly because he feels obliged to fulfill his promise, Roberto decides to stay, becoming Selene's Black Rook.[volume & issue needed] Roberto attempts to contact the resurrected Juliana, but seeing she has no memory of her previous life, he decides to leave her alone.[29]
Roberto next surfaces in the titleX-Treme X-Men as the head of theLos Angeles branch ofX-Corporation, along with former New MutantMagma and formerHellionEmpath.[volume & issue needed] Roberto's ties to the Hellfire Club are not severed, asSebastian 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.[volume & issue needed]
Soon after, Shaw is injured in battle by Donald Pierce.[volume & issue needed] His injuries make him incapable of overseeing the Hellfire Club. Roberto takes over as Lord Imperial.[volume & issue needed] At his side isSage, who leaves the X-Men to make sure Roberto is not corrupted by power.[volume & issue needed] After the events ofM-Day,Cyclops calls for the shutting down of all branches of the X-Corporation to better pool the resources of the X-Men.[volume & issue needed] InEndangered Species, Sebastian Shaw is thinking of reclaiming his place and is angry at Sunspot.[volume & issue needed]
During theSecret Invasion storyline, Sunspot is among the several X-Men helping to fight off theSkrulls during their invasion ofSan Francisco.[30]
Sunspot, who remains Lord Imperial of the Hellfire Club, is revealed by Cyclops to belong to the newest incarnation of theBrotherhood of Mutants along withDanielle Moonstar, Cannonball, and Magma.[31] However, while battling members of Cyclops' new team ofX-Men alongside Cannonball, there is confusion afterRockslide makes reference to the two mutants' membership in the Brotherhood. During the battle, Sunspot is seriously wounded byWolf Cub, who slashes his face and stomach with his claws.[32] It is eventually revealed that "Cyclops" is in realityDonald Pierce, the former White King of the Hellfire Club, who is posing as the X-Men leader using an image inducer.[33] 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 formerXavier 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 theYoung X-Men and both accept.[34]
After receiving an anonymous tip inColorado about a young mutant endangering a small town, Dani andShan 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 ofX-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 freeingLegion from a box, who apparently has Shan's personality imprisoned inside of him.[35] 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.[36]
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.[37] During the fight, Legion takes on Magma, Cannonball, and Roberto, who gets seriously injured when Legion slashes him with a shard of metal.[38]
After the events ofAvengers vs. X-Men, Roberto and Sam are offered membership in the Avengers byCaptain America and accept.[39] The two become involved in a time travel plot involving the Next Avengers, children of the Avengers from an alternate future, but their memories of this event are wiped by Maria Hill.[40]
During an eight-month time-skip, Roberto engages in a hostile takeover ofAdvanced Idea Mechanics and gets rid of the villainous upper management.[41] He uses the resources of A.I.M. to intervene in the conflict between the forces of S.H.I.E.L.D. and theIlluminati, while also sending a team of Avengers to deal with the multiversal threat of the Incursions.[42]
After the events ofSecret Wars, Roberto re-tools A.I.M. into Avengers Idea Mechanics, hiring various superheroes as a new Avengers team consisting of Hawkeye,Songbird,Squirrel Girl,Hulking,Wiccan,Power Man andWhite Tiger. S.H.I.E.L.D. sends two operatives,Dum Dum Dugan and Hawkeye, to keep on eye on the team. Despite orders to spy on the new A.I.M., both men reveal their mission, as they have come to respect Sunspot.[43] His new team faces off against W.H.I.S.P.E.R., an organization run by theMaker, theUltimate Universe's version ofReed Richards. The Maker's plans cause trouble for the Avengers all along the time stream.[44]
During the events ofAvengers: Standoff!, Roberto orders his Avengers team to freeRick Jones from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. In response, the American government sends theAmerican Kaiju to attack A.I.M. Island. Roberto, having seen this coming, has the island evacuated, and the American Kaiju are depowered by Avenger-5, a giant mech suit.[45] As a result, Maria Hill decides to try and shut down A.I.M., at the same time the Maker launches his own attack. However, Roberto also sees these attacks coming, aided by Songbird playing double agent, and manipulates both sides so that W.H.I.S.P.E.R. is destroyed and the Maker imprisoned. It is also revealed that Roberto has been exposed to Terrigen Mist, which is toxic to mutants; every use of his powers now accelerates his aging. With the Maker captured, Roberto strikes a deal with the U.S. government to round up the remaining rogue branches of A.I.M.[46]
Following the deal that would get the Avengers Idea Mechanics to merge with the U.S. government as the American Intelligence Mechanics, Sunspot leads theU.S.Avengers under the alias ofCitizen V.[47] Their first mission takes place at theSecret Empire's floating volcanic island base.Red Hulk crash-lands into the floating volcanic island base, destroying it. The team is approached by a future version ofDanielle Cage as Captain America, who tells them that her nemesis, the Golden Skull, came to their timeline to steal all its wealth. InMiami, Florida, the team crash a charity gala only to discover that the wealthy CEOs were kidnapped and replaced by robots. During the battle, the team manages to defeat and capture the Golden Skull. Danielle then goes back to her timeline with the Golden Skull as her prisoner. Sunspot sends Red Hulk to confront and defeat an out-of-control American Kaiju, who was attackingEurope.[48]
During theSecret Empire storyline, Captain America, whose memory has been altered by Red Skull's clone using the powers ofKobik, has a meeting with Roberto and tells him that he is no longer in charge of the team. Roberto then sees footage of the supervillain attacks in Manhattan, deep space, and in Europe.[49] Roberto assembles the team but is attacked by one of his scientists who has allied withHydra. He's later seen in a prison cell, nearly dead, by Red Hulk andToni Ho. Toni heals Roberto just in time when Hydra soldiers show up at their cell. Roberto uses his powers to defeat the guards and free Red Hulk from thenanites controlling him, taking control of the prison.[50] In the aftermath, Roberto, during a meeting with the team's new congressional liaison in the White House, resigns from his position despite objections from the senator. He meetsIzzy Kane, Cannonball's wife, who tells him that Cannonball, who went missing in action during the takeover and was presumed dead, is still alive on another planet.[51]
While travelling through space, Smasher and the U.S.Avengers are attacked by space pirates known as warpjackers. After a brief fight, the pirates tell them that Glenbrook is actually a planet named Kral X ruled by the ruthless Ritchie Redwood.[52] Arriving on Kral X, the heroes help Cannonball and the planet's rebels overthrow Redwood, and head home.[53]
On return to Earth, Roberto redubs himselfCitizen X. He assists AgentJimmy Woo with his investigations into the mysterious Eternity Mask.[54]
After theAge of X-Man sends most X-Men members to an alternate reality, Sunspot reappears to assistMirage and the remaining X-Men in repellingMalekith'sinvasion of Midgard.[55] In a ploy to allowMagik to teleport the invading horde to Limbo, he breaks a cursed amulet blocking Mirage's powers, and in doing so, is vaporized, joining the fallen Valkyries in their journey to the afterlife.[56]
Roberto is resurrected on the newly established mutant nation ofKrakoa. He invites Cannonball, still living in Shi'ar space, to join him, and talks several of the New Mutants into accompanying him.[57]
Sunspot is amutant whose cells have the ability to absorbsolar energy and convert it for use as physical strength. He is also able to create thermal updrafts for flight, project heat and light, and create concussive blasts of solar energy.[58] At will, he is able to take on a superhuman form that is entirely nonreflective black,[59] save for his eyes and teeth which turn a solid bright white. The color black optimizes solar absorption, but he absorbs solar power at all times, not only in his "powered up" form. If he has not absorbed sufficient amounts of solar energy in normal form, he will be too weak to "power up". Likewise, when not in direct sunlight, use of his superhuman strength rapidly exhausts the stores of energy within his body.[60]
In his solar form, Sunspot has acorona effect, an aura that has been depicted in multiple ways, though two predominant conventions exist for its portrayal: the air close to him manifests black globes of various sizes, reminiscent ofKirby dots, or his aura is a unified field glowing bright yellow or white. Although Sunspot can absorb energy from stars and reflected solar energy from the Moon, the amounts that reach him on Earth are too minuscule to add significantly to his power. In other regions, such asAsgard, his power is significantly enhanced, allowing him - with much effort - to liftVolstagg off the ground for a few seconds before suffering a backache.[13]
Originally, Sunspot's superhuman power was limited solely to superhuman strength and enhanced durability, and only in his solar form. Unlike many superhumanly strong heroes, Sunspot's physical resistance to impact only increased somewhat when he employed his superhuman strength, and he was not bulletproof. Sunspot's powers have radically changed and grown since his introduction; he can now withstand the force of a speeding eighteen-wheeler traveling at speeds of 100mph, and survive an A.I.M explosive charge attached to his side.[61]
Sunspot maintained his original powers for roughly the first ten years of his appearances, remaining a super strong but vulnerable individual throughout the entireNew Mutants series. During the mid-1990s inX-Force his powers begin to change, under writerFabian Nicieza. Nicieza had the supervillain Gideon capture Roberto and subject him to experimentation where the limits of his power absorption are tested by feeding him immense amounts of solar power. Sunspot is rescued by X-Force, but the overload permanently alters his powers so he is able to release concussive blasts of solar energy, with considerable heat and light projection; this experimentation also makes him immune to all types of heat and fire. He can also absorb other forms of energy; such as heat, light or radiation.[62][63] Sunspot has some capacity to manipulate light-based energy effects, but it remains a largely unexplored aspect of his mutant power.[63]
InX-Force #28, Sunspot uses the concussive solar blasts as a means of propulsion, flying by blasting in the opposite direction of where he wants to go – initially he leaves a slight trail behind him, but in later years, he learns to use the propulsion more subtly – appearing to hover in place with no blast wake at all other than his usual "powered up" corona effect. His capacity to fly has similarly been enhanced as he is able to breach planetary orbit and reach Saturn's belt with relative ease.[64]
Sunspot has the rituals and ideas of theAskani inside his head, due to telepathic contact with Cable. He is strongly influenced by this for a while, but the memories seem to fade.
His non-superhuman abilities includebusiness administration; he owns and runs a multibillion-dollar international conglomerate. He is an Olympic-class athlete as the result of being trained in combat by the X-Men and Cable. He is fluent in many languages and has other minor talents such as piloting aircraft. He was trained in swordsmanship by the Gladiators, and is also an excellent soccer player.
An alternate universe version of Sunspot from Earth-295 appears inAge of Apocalypse. This version is a member of the X-Ternals, a group of thieves who take money fromApocalypse and give it to the poor. Sunspot dies after absorbing too much energy in an attempt to help his teammates escape.[68]
An alternate universe version of Sunspot from Earth-87050 appears inNew Mutants #50. This version is a member of the Arbitrators police force in a mutant-dominated society.[15]
An alternate universe version of Sunspot from Earth-5700 appears inDays of Future Now. This version is the leader of theGene Nation.[69]
An alternate universe version of Sunspot from Earth-1298 appears inMutant X. This version is a member of theMarauders.[70]
An alternate universe version of Sunspot from Earth-1610 appears in theUltimate Marvel imprint. This version is from Harlem and views theX-Men as decadentUncle Tom figures who consider themselves separate from "second-class muties" like himself. He harbors a deep hatred forMagneto and his followers because of the anti-mutant hysteria that followed theBrooklyn Bridge's destruction at the hands of theBrotherhood of Mutants.[volume & issue needed] Sunspot later joinsEmma Frost'sAcademy of Tomorrow, a school for gifted beings.[volume & issue needed] In theUltimatum event, Sunspot and the other students of the academy are killed by Magneto.[71]
An alternate universe version of Roberto da Costa from Earth-6160 appears in theUltimate Universe imprint. This version is an unwilling associate of his father Emmanuel, who harnesses his blood to maintain his youth.[72]
An alternate universe version of Sunspot from Earth-904 appears inWhat If? #12. This version, among other X-Men and New Mutants, chose to remain in Asgard during his visit there. He is later killed byHela.[73]
