Sunspot (Marvel)
Sunspot is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Roberto da Costa
At Rio de Janeiro, the 14 year old da Costa was playing soccer during the championship match between Vilar schools Thunderbolts and their rivals the Dynamos. During the game, two players from the rival team illegal hit him with this not being caught by the referee. This caused Roberto to attack them where the offending players openly made racist remarks about da Costa and started beating him. It was then that his Mutant abilities first manifested where he threw the player across the field causing everyone to run away in terror. Only his father and his girlfriend, Juliana Sandoval, rushed to his aid. Roberto’s highly public transformation attracted the attention of both Donald Pierce of the Hellfire Club and Professor Charles Xavier. Regrettably, Pierce got to him first. His Hellfire Club agents kidnapped Roberto’s girlfriend Juliana and held her for ransom. When Roberto brought the ransom, the guards, revealing their true intentions, prepared to kill both of them. Roberto fought back, calling on his newly discovered mutant power. Although he fought valiantly, he quickly ran out of energy, leaving both him and Juliana at the mercy of the guards. Fortunately, Xi’an “Shan” Coy Manh and Dani Moonstar, new recruits of Xavier’s, arrived at that time and intervened, giving Roberto the upper hand. The New Mutants emerged victorious, but not before Juliana took a stray bullet and died while saving Roberto’s life. Vowing revenge, Roberto traveled to the United States with his new friends to save the captive Professor Xavier from Pierce. Although they came into conflict with another young mutant named Sam Guthrie who was working for Pierce, Roberto and his friends proved victorious, defeating Pierce and rescuing Xavier. Roberto could have killed Pierce for what he did to his girlfriend, but he restrained himself. Along with Dani, Shan and Rahne Sinclair, Roberto joined Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester. Roberto was surprised when Sam Guthrie showed up too. At first he did not trust Sam because of his initial alliance with Pierce, but decided to give him a second chance at Xavier’s urging. Roberto adopted the codename Sunspot. He quickly became close friends with Sam, whose nom de guerre was Cannonball. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4)
Afterwards, he arrived at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to begin his education alongside four other teenagers. His first morning at the estate was marred by emotional tension when a teammate accidentally generated a psychic manifestation of a tragedy from another student's past, causing an abrupt physical confrontation that fractured the group's early dynamic. Shortly after, Professor Xavier gathered Roberto and his classmates to initiate their very first formal training seminar inside the mansion's highly advanced Danger Room. Tasked with a basic exercise to cross the treacherous room to the exit, Roberto confidently charged forward into the simulation. However, his initial rush was instantly thwarted by the training facility's sophisticated, automated defensive obstacles, which easily incapacitated him alongside his peers. Following the humbling failure of their first team trial, he joined the rest of his classmates for a relaxing, much-needed social drive into the local town to escape the pressures of the mansion. (New Mutants v1 #1)
New Mutants
During their week-long respite back at Xavier’s, Roberto and his teammates made an excursion into New York City and attracted the unwanted attention of a group of street thugs. The New Mutants retaliated but, in the ensuing battle, Sunspot and Wolfsbane were knocked unconscious, kidnapped and taken to a scientist who tested experimental drugs on teenagers. The scientist intended to transform Sunspot and Wolfsbane into pawns he could use to combat two of his former subjects, Cloak and Dagger, who were now crime-fighters dedicated to stopping crimes like his. Before the New Mutants, with the help of Spider-Man, Cloak and Dagger, could save them, both Bobby and Rahne were injected with the same synthetic drug that gave Cloak and Dagger their powers. The darkness of the drug consumed both of them, amplifying their powers and driving them berserk. Luckily, Cloak and Dagger nullified them and dispelled their enhanced abilities. Roberto and the others assumed they were free of the drug’s influence— an assumption they would later discover to be wholly false. (Marvel Team-Up Annual v1 #6)
The expedition had a bright-side: while in Nova Roma, the New Mutants added a new member to their ranks, the Nova Roman girl Amara Aquilla. When the team returned to Westchester with Amara, who adopted the codename Magma, Roberto worked his signature charm on her to make her feel comfortable at the school. (New Mutants v1 #13)
Meanwhile, Bobby’s father was contacted by the Hellfire Club and became a member of its secret Inner Circle under the alias of White Rook. He was the only person in the Inner Circle without superhuman powers. His performance in that role was almost unnoticed. (New Mutants v1 #23)
Sometime later, after taking a second expedition trip to Nova Roma, Roberto returned to the School for Gifted Youngsters. (New Mutants v1 #43)
Later, during a trip to Asgard, Bobby gained a job as security in a tavern. After lifting Volstagg over his head, he befriended the Warriors Three. Bobby seriously entertained the idea of staying, as heroes were honored and worshiped in Asgard and he was hated and feared as a mutant on Earth. (New Mutants Special Edition v1 #1)
Fallen Angels
After defeating Magus and returning home to Xavier’s School, things returned to normal. However, during a casual soccer game, Sunspot overreacted to a collision with Sam and lashed out at him with his mutant powers, nearly killing him. Torn apart by guilt and shunned by his teammates, he went to Magneto’s office for guidance, only to find the office empty and his confidential student file lying on the table. Roberto made the mistake of reading what former headmaster Professor X wrote about him during an evaluation: that Roberto’s arrogance and quick temper may one day lead him down the same path as his father. Horrified, Bobby fled the school and went to New York City. His teammate Warlock, worried about Roberto’s wellbeing, followed suit. (Fallen Angels v1 #1) Bobby was rescued by Warlock, who tried to convince Bobby to return to the New Mutants, but Bobby felt he was not worthy to rejoin the team and wished to be left a pariah. Warlock suggested that they stick together. (Fallen Angels v1 #2)
Bobby decided to become a villain and rob a church, but found himself unable to go through with it. The pair were found by a duplicate of Jamie Madrox and Siryn, who attempted to return them to the New Mutants. A cyborg called Gomi propositioned Bobby to join the Fallen Angels, a group primarily made up of adolescent mutant thieves organized by the mutant criminal called the Vanisher. Among his recruits were the young mutant Boom-Boom, Gomi and his two cybernetically-enhanced lobsters Bill and Don, Chance, Ariel, the duplicate Madroxes, and Siryn. (Fallen Angels v1 #4)
X-Force
Gideon contacted him the night and informed him that his father Emmanuel da Costa had died (New Mutants v1 #98) He was handling the funeral arrangements for the Costa's and had contacted Roberto's mother but urged that the young Sunspot now needed to take over Da Costa International to provide it with leadership. This resulted in Roberto meeting with Cable and stating that he had to leave the New Mutants as a result. (New Mutants v1 #99)
Da Costa waited until Gideon's return where he came with a fellow External named Crule with Roberto having doubts about this person. However, this came to anger Gideon who did not like having his decisions questioned and he proceeded with beating up Sunspot leaving him unconscious. (X-Force v1 #12) Sunspot was then subjected to a series of experiments at Ophrah Industries with these being of such intensity that there were fears that he could die in the process. (X-Force v1 #13) At the New Mexico research facility, the scientists looked to see if Da Costa's powers could face continuous solar absorption. (X-Force v1 #14)
After waking up, he found himself in the midst of a celebration that honoured him but quickly determined that this was simply one of Selene's illusions. The immortal Mutant then made an attempt to recruit da Costa into the Hellfire Club where she offered him wealth and power where she suggested he could make a difference in the world. However, Roberto would refuse as he neither trusted Selene and also commented how his own father's greed had destroyed the man. It was then that Selene offered to help restore Juliana Sandoval to life with Roberto agreeing due to her having been the love of his life. This led to him leaving X-Force and joining the Hellfire Club where he became Selene's Black Rook. (X-Force v1 #98)
X-Men Squad
Bobby later came the head of the Los Angeles branch of the X-Corporation where he worked alongside in securing Mutant interests in society. (X-Treme X-Men v1 #35)
He was among several X-Men teams that defended San Francisco from the Skrull invasion. (Secret Invasion: v1 X-Men #1)
Avenger
Roberto later came to be recruited into the Avengers alongside Cannonball. (Avengers v5 #2)
The nature of this new, expanded, and diverse Avengers roster allowed Captain America to dispatch multiple squads on missions best suited to their particular skills. While the team’s powerhouses like Thor, Hyperion and Captain Universe attended to the more cosmic matters, Sunspot found himself serving on smaller, more nuanced missions that required a modicum of precision. One such mission required that he, Cannonball, Shang-Chi, Black Widow, Captain Marvel and Spider-Woman travel to a casino in Macao to determine the nature of a weapon Advanced Ideas Mechanics was purportedly selling. While the women on the team attempted to extract information from the potential buyers, Bobby and Sam distracted the entourage of lower-level A.I.M. agents. Their strategy: drinking and gambling with the men to keep them busy. During their night of hard partying, Bobby enacted a long-term strategy by convincing a pair of A.I.M. operatives to act as double agents for him in their organization, putting them on the DaCosta International payroll as informants. (Avengers v5 #11)
After the Avengers neutralized the latest threat to Earth, Sunspot and Cannonball were dispatched on a mission to retrieve genetic material of the Hulk’s that A.I.M. stole and distilled into a 'Hulk drug'. Shortly after sneaking onto A.I.M. Island, Bobby rendezvoused with Travis, one of the A.I.M. agents he had put on retainer. Travis supplied them with the A.I.M. gear they needed to sneak inside the facility. The operation quickly went south, however, and Sunspot and Cannonball were backed into a corner by A.I.M.’s high-tech weaponry. With few options left—but perhaps more for the novelty of it—they decided to take two hits of the Hulk drug, which would transform them both into Hulks for an hour or two. With their temporary infusion of super-strength, they made quick work of their A.I.M. tormenters. (All-New Marvel Now! Point One v1 #1)
He later sought to bring Advanced Idea Mechanics under the banner of Da Costa International as he wanted to use their help in stopping the Incursion crisis. To accomplish this, he met with the Board of Directors and attempted to bring Monica Rappaccini into the fold. However, she betrayed him as her loyalties lay with Andrew Forson where she attempted to kill Roberto along with the company's board with a bomb but da Costa managed to safely stop it from killing everyone in the corporate headquarters. (Avengers World v1 #18)
In the aftermath, he decided that after the events possibly taken years off his life that he wanted to get back to his roots. Thus, Roberto decided to leave much of the money with Toni Ho for her future efforts whilst he departed as Citizen X. (Avengers v1 #690)
After his return to Earth, he came to assist Agent Jimmy Woo with his investigations into the mysterious Eternity Mask. (Marvel Comics v1 #1000)
House of X
Sunspot would later become resurrected through the use of the Resurrection Protocols. After the establishment of the nation of Krakoa, he was one of many Mutants that came to reside on the living island that was the home of their people. Celebrating their new lives on Krakoa with the New Mutants, Sunspot did not feel right without his best friend Sam, who was living in Shi'ar space with his wife and child. The team decided to give him a visit and jumped on board the Starjammers' ship. At some point they made a pit stop at Benevolence, a transit station converted for the storage of exotic material. The Starjammers claimed to have business on Benevolence and asked the New Mutants to stay behind, but they secretly followed the Starjammers shortly, only to find that the space pirates had entered Benevolence to loot it. When the New Mutants were caught by Shi'ar troops, the Starjammers left them behind to fend for themselves. (New Mutants v4 #1) Though they were jailed, with the help of Cannonball and Smasher they were soon released and pardoned, though they were conscripted to imperial service. (New Mutants v4 #2)
Their mission was to escort Deathbird, exiled royal rebel, to the Imperial homeworld where she would train Xandra to rule. Meanwhile, Oracle, believing that Gladiator should be the one to rule, hired the Shi'ar Death Commandos to take Deathbird out and kill everyone else on her ship as a cover up. (New Mutants v4 #5)
After defeating the Death Commanders, the New Mutants took over their assailants’ ship after their own had been blown up in the fight. Continuing their journey to Chandilar, they knew that they were walking into a trap and had to fight the superguardians. Eventually, their fight came to a standstill, and Xandra took the lead and punished Oracle to be her advisor — side-by-side with Deathbird. The New Mutants finally celebrated their reunion at Sam and Izzy’s place, where Sam made it clear that he was not interested in returning to Earth, but offered Roberto to stay in space instead, which he agreed to and immediately bought the entire building Sam and his family lived in to stay close to his best friend as well as to Deathbird, whom he had flirted with throughout their adventure. (New Mutants v4 #7)
Moving to Planet Arakko, he was at his bar the Red Lagoon when an incident emerged between Vulcan and the Shi'ar delegation. A further confrontation by the intervention of Cable and Abigail Brand the latter of whom wanted to form a new team of X-Men based on the world. However, this incident made Roberto feel uneasy about what Brand and doing with him looking to form a team to uncover her true goals. He approached Magneto about joining this team with Storm also joining the group where she said that instead of forming an X-Men team that they make a Brotherhood instead. (X-Men: Red v2 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Roberto da Costa was a teenage human male who was a football prodigy from Rio de Janeiro, with a tall, athletic frame and dark brown skin. His casual attire included a soccer jersey, shorts, and cleats—simple clothing befitting a gifted athlete. His eyes and facial features conveyed both determination and the innocence of youth. At first glance, he appeared as any active Brazilian teen, until the moment his mutant power surged and marked him as extraordinary. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4) He later began to wear a black-and-yellow costume that was a sleek form-fitting lattice suit with a central yellow 'X' chevron overlay on black fabric, complemented by matching gloves and knee-length boots. The outfit was designed for agility and combat, connecting him visually to his team while highlighting his unique solar-absorbing form when activated. (New Mutants v1 #1) After joining the Hellfire Club, he came to serve the role of Black Rook to Selene's Black Queen. (X-Force v1 #98) As the head of Avengers Idea Mechanics, he came to lead an Avengers team under the code name of Citizen V. (U.S. Avengers v1 #1) After departing the Avengers, he believed that he had changed his code name from Citizen V to Citizen X. (Avengers v1 #690)
He had been subjected to racism due to his mixed heritage where he was called a half-breed due to his dark skin. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4)
Roberto's father was Emmanual da Costa who was a noted businessman in Brazil and someone who was proud of his son. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4) He was said to be strong and never showed his opponents his weakness. His father said that he could see greatness in Roberto and that he could survive through hard times. Emmanuel imparted on Roberto the importance of being part of a team and that a leader served as the heart of a group with them inspiring their comrades to hardships. (Avengers World v1 #18) Emmanual da Costa was said to had grown up a barefoot houseboy where he swore to be rich enough to own a mansion with his mother who had been a maid coming to be the mistress of a rich millionaire. Emmanual himself became a millionaire when he was 20 years old and when he was 30 years old he was an economic and political force who had founded a business empire. Da Costa came to marry the most beautiful woman in the world and was overjoyed when she bore him a son. (New Mutants v1 #7) Roberto and his father would box with one another with Emmanual teaching him to take hits. According to him, Berto had the traits of a natural born leader and had a fire in him. His father believed that Roberto's heart and compassion were his greatest traits but that in a brutal world he had to be capable of fighting for what he believed in. (Avengers World v1 #19)
She was noted to had been an archaeologist who loved her work. However, this meant that she was always away and busy on digs with Roberto sometimes believing she loved her work than her family. (New Mutants v1 #7)
At school, his girlfriend was Juliana Sandoval who stood by him after the manifestation of his powers but was killed by people that targeted Roberto for being a Mutant with him regretting being unable to save her. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4)
Powers and abilities
Roberto Da Costa possessed peak human athletic conditioning and exceptional prowess as a competitive soccer player, displaying natural speed and physical coordination. As a Mutant, Roberto da Costa had superhuman abilities with him registering strong readings on Cerebro. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4)
Upon the activation of his mutant cells, he unlocked the superhuman capability to absorb, store, and re-channel vast amounts of solar radiation directly within his body. When drawing upon this stored solar energy, he could instantly augment his physical power to near-superhuman levels, granting him the brute strength required to effortless lift heavy objects and hurl fully grown adult males across a stadium pitch. When his powers manifested, da Costa's body pitched black and radiated with energy where he came to possess super-strength. In his initial manifestation, his cells actively drained the ambient light from his immediate surroundings to fuel his strength, though he lacked the ability to project thermal heat blasts or achieve self-propelled flight, relying strictly on short bursts of raw kinetic power. (Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4)
In other regions, such as Asgard, his power is significantly enhanced, allowing him with much effort to lift an Asgardian like Volstagg off the ground for a few seconds before suffering a backache. (New Mutants Special Edition v1 #1)
Over time, it was shown that his invulnerability had improved to the point that he could withstand the force of a speeding eighteen-wheeler traveling at speeds of 100 mph, and survived an A.I.M explosive charge attached to his side. (Avengers World v1 #18)
He could turn light energy from an energy blast into power and fire it back against his opponent with greater force. (Avengers World v1 #19)
At Ophrah Industries, Gideon subjected Sunspot to experiments where the limits of his solar energy absorption capacities by 3000%. (X-Force v1 #15)
His father was the owner of Da Costa International that was a global worldwide company. (New Mutants v1 #98) It was a business empire that was a diversified corporation with many subsidiaries. In the wake of his death, leadership over the company fell to Sunspots hands. (New Mutants v1 #99)
Through the manipulations of Selene, he came to join the ranks of the elite Hellfire Club where he served as Black Rook. (X-Force v1 #98)
Notes
- Sunspot was created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod where he made his first appearance in Marvel Graphic Novel v1 #4 (November, 1982).
Alternate Versions
- In Gambit and the X-Ternals v1 #1 (1995), an alternate version of Sunspot appeared in the setting of the Age of Apocalypse reality designated as Earth-295 in the Multiverse. Roberto joined with Gambit's band of thieves the X-Ternals. Sunspot accompanied the X-Ternals on a mission to storm Apocalypse's space archives. Sunspot held off soldiers brought by Madri Rictor while Magneto and Peter Corbeau found the location of the Shi'ar Galaxy and unlocked his teammate Lila Cheney's latent mutant abilities so that they could steal a shard of the M'kraan Crystal. They succeeded, and Sunspot, along with the X-Ternals and Madri Rictor, were teleported to the Shi'ar Galaxy. Appearing on Ch'reesharaa, Sunspot and the others were attacked by the Imperial Guard, super-guardians loyal to the mad Emperor D'ken who sought to control the Crystal himself. The X-Ternals escaped thanks to the alien known as Jonath; however they were found by the Imperial Guard who had just recruited Rictor. When a crystallization wave hit the planet, Sunspot and the X-Ternals were rescued by the Starjammers. Teleported to the world where the M'kraan Crystal was kept, Sunspot helped hold off the Shi'ar warriors while Gambit and Lila traveled inside the crystal. During the fight, Sunspot synced up with the Crystal, being able to harness its powers. When Gambit and Lila returned from their mission successful, Sunspot found that he had absorbed too much power from the crystal. With his body about to explode, he urged his friends to escape. Lila teleported her comrades away while Sunspot exploded, vowing that his sacrifice would not be in vain.
In other media
Television
- In X-Men: Evolution, Sunspot appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Mike Coleman. He was a a mutant with the ability to absorb the sun's ultraviolet radiation and use it for his own purposes, allowing him abilities like super-strength and flight. He joins the X-Men as one of the New Mutants, codename Sunspot.
- In X-Men '97, Robert da Costa appeared in the setting of the animated television series of the 1990s show where he was voiced by actor Gui Agustini. The heir to the fortune of Da Costa family, Roberto was afraid to tell his parents that he was a Mutant. He was kidnapped by the Friends of Humanity but rescued by the X-Men, who took him to the X-Mansion. Unwilling to be kept prisoner, Roberto left and went to a nightclub, where the X-Men once again found him before Friends of Humanity could lay hands on him again. After forming a connection with Jubilee, Roberto showed her his powers and gave her his card, before leaving. At some point, Roberto returned to the X-Mansion, where he and Jubilee continued to hang out together on various occasions. At one point, the pair is drawn into a bizarre video-game dimension hosted by the alien mischief-maker Mojo under the pretense of playing a newly-installed game system. But in Mojo's game, players have only one life to wager: their own. Roberto and Jubilee battle Mojo's baddies, but Roberto is attacked aggressively and driven to the edge of death. Fortunately, Jubilee locates an extra life placed by a tester avatar resembling herself and gives it to him. The pair's strength renewed, they eventually locate Mojo, down him long enough to escape the game and eventually kiss after escaping. He was later at the X-Mansion watching the News following the attack on Genosha. He and the X-Men then went to Genosha to help, before leaving to come out to his mom.[4] Roberto and Jubilee later went for some retail therapy at the mall, before Ford and everyone else around them turned into Prime Sentinels. Catching Jubilee, he revealed to her that he had been training in the Danger Room but still had not gotten the hang of steering in flight. Crashing the party, his mom told the pair to go with the Prime Sentinels, who put inhibitor collars and took them away. These would later be deactivated when Magneto unleashed a Global EMP, deactivating their collars and the Prime Sentinels that detained them. The pair were then chased down an alleyway by the Friends of Humanity before being rescued by Storm and Forge. Roberto, now donning an X-Uniform joined Magneto and Rogue after his mom shut him out. He later faced off against an understandably angry Jubilee on Asteroid M. When Professor Xavier's attempt to control Magneto's mind was interrupted by Cyclops to buy the other X-Men time to defeat Bastion on Earth first, an enraged Magneto used his powers to restrain all present on Asteroid M, including Roberto. Roberto was horrified when Magneto proceeded to rip the Adamantium from Wolverine's body in retaliation for nearly gutting him. Just after Xavier used his powers to force Magneto to undo the Global EMP, which rendered both comatose, Bastion arrived on Asteroid M to force the asteroid to crash into Earth to bring another extinction event. Roberto, now calling himself Sunspot joined Rogue to engage Bastion in an aerial battle in space. Eventually the other X-Men arrived and together they defeated Bastion. Unfortunately, the US Government fired missiles at Asteroid M in a vain attempt to stop it from impacting Earth, but the damage caused the asteroid to immediately descend towards the planet. Sunspot saved Jubilee from being sucked out into space and the two flew back to Earth as the other X-Men stayed behind to stop the asteroid's impact. Sunspot and Jubilee watched on Earth as Magneto, who was able to heal his mind thanks to Xavier, used his powers to return the asteroid to space but were shocked and horrified when the asteroid exploded and disappeared, leaving the public to believe the X-Men died in the destruction. He was listed as AWOL on Forge's roster 6 months later.
Films
- In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Sunspot appeared in the live-action 2014 film where he was portrayed by actor Adan Canto. By 2023, the Sentinels had taken over the world in their mission to eliminate mutants and X-Gene carriers. Roberto had joined the surviving X-Men along with Bishop, Warpath, Blink. While they were hiding in an underground bunker in Moscow, Roberto and the other X-Men were warned of a Sentinel attack by Warpath and Blink. At Bishop's command, Roberto generated solar energy for him to absorb. As the Sentinels started to attack them, Roberto powered up in his solar form to fight back, blasting the Sentinels with his energy. While Roberto and the other mutants were holding off the Sentinels, Kitty Pryde and Bishop fled the battle to secure themselves in a safe. There, Kitty began the process of using her powers to send Bishop's consciousness back in time to warn them of the attack. As this was happening, the Sentinels began adapting to the X-Men's powers and mercilessly slaughtered them. Roberto was assaulted by a Sentinel that enveloped itself in ice and counteracted his solar form. Fortunately, Kitty and Bishop were successful in their mission and the timeline was altered, ensuring that Roberto and the X-Men were never in Moscow at all.
- In The New Mutants, Sunspot appeared in the setting of the 2020 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Henry Zaga.
Video games
- In Marvel: Contest of Champions, Sunspot appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
Appearances
- New Mutants v1: (1982)
- X-Force v1:
- X-Treme X-Men v1:
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- Avengers v1:
- Avengers World v1:
- New Avengers v3:
- U.S.Avengers v1:
- Avengers:
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- New Mutants v4:
- Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon v1:
- X-Men: Red v1:
External Links
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