Sunfire (Marvel)
Sunfire is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Shiro Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田 四郎, Hepburn: Yoshida Shirō)
During World War II, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima leaving it a smouldering ruin and had left his mother a hopeless invalid as she was located many miles from the center of the city. She came to be pregnant and later died several years later after giving birth to her son Shiro. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64) He also had a sister by the name of Leyu Yoshhida. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #392) In the aftermath, his uncle Tomo Yoshida helped his father to raise the young Shiro who grew to adulthood. One day, his uncle took him to the site of ruined Hiroshima where his Mutant powers first manifested much to the suspicion of Tomo Yoshida. Tomo then instilled a hatred of the West in his nephew and began training him in his abilities where he was given the name Sunfire. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
At this time, his uncle Tomo Yoshida wanted to make a demonstration of Japan's power to the world and intended to use his nephew for the task. In this moment, Tomo had learnt of the research of Lord Dark Wind that could bond the unbreakable metal Adamantium to a human skeletal system. Yoshida had intended for this to be used to create an army of invincible warriors that could be used to defeat their enemies. To acquire the research, Yomo had hired the services of the mercenaries Mystique, Rogue and Blindspot. Sunfire was set to join them on his first mission in stealing the data from Lord Dark Wind's research facility in the Tokyo Bay. His powers were invaluable in fighting off Lord Dark Wind's followers but he was knocked out in the attack with Rogue using her powers to temporarily assume his abilities which caused further fires in the bay. In this time, Lord Dark Wind managed to escape with the hard drives containing his research thus denying Tomo Yoshida access to them. Thus, he was forced to go forward with his plan without the Adamantium and simply rely on Sunfire alone. (Rogue v3 #10)
By this point, his father was heading a diplomatic mission to the United Nation's being held in North America. Learning of this effort, his brother Tomo Yoshida prepped Shiro to secretly sabotage his efforts. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
His father begged Shiro to end his attacks with the confused Sunfire torn between his father and uncle. Saburo commented that Tomo was a sick man who was overwhelmed with hatred of a long dead war and asked his son to renounce him. Shiro then pleaded to his father that he could not choose at which point his uncle pulled out a gun to kill Saburo Yoshida. He came to reach his father who was dying and in his last moments he asked his son to forge peace from the chains of war. As he died, Shiro held his father in his arms as he grieved the loss of Saburo Yoshida. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
He came to serve as an operative of the Yakiba (Japanese: Cutting Edge) that were a branch of the Japanese military that were responsible for maters of security and served as their super-powered Mutant agent. (X-Men v2 #93)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Shiro Yoshida was a young Japanese male with short dark hair. It was his uncle who outfitted him with his costume that were in the ancient colours of the nation and gave him the name of Sunfire. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
Shiro grew up hating America for the bombing of Hiroshima with this being drilled into him by his uncle. Tomo Yoshida had been responsible for fanning the flames of the hatred felt by Sunfire. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
His father was Saburo Yoshida who was was part of the Japanese diplomatic delegation to the United States. Due to his uncles influence, he came to see Mr. Yoshida as a snivelling spineless fool who was a traitor. Saburo believed that old quarrels were dead and must be forgotten. Despite coming to hate his father, Shiro refused to strike him and believed it to be blasphemous to hurt him with his powers. In fact, he believed that his father was simply confused and mistaken after living among American's for so long. This view changed after his father had been killed as he came to see how his former beliefs on his father were wrong and regretted the events that led to his death. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
He was noted for having a sister by the name of Leyu Yoshida. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #392)
Powers and abilities
Yoshida was notable for being a powerful Mutant who manifested his powers in adulthood. This power was said to be akin to the blazing fire of the sun that he could project from his fingers. His body was said to be capable of storing and discharging these energies similar to the sun itself. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
He could generate incredible heat from his hands. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
By harnessing his powers, he came to learn that he was also capable of the power of flight. Shiro was capable of attaining incredible flight speeds allowing him to depart the scene quickly. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #64)
Notes
- Sunfire was created by Roy Thomas and Don Heck where he made his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men v1 #64 (January, 1970).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Sunfire appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Sunfire" where he was voiced by actor Jerry Dexter.
Video games
- In X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Sunfire appeared as a playable character in the third-person adventure game where he was voiced by actor James Sie.
Appearances
- Uncanny X-Men v1: (1970)
- X-Men v2:
- Rogue v3:
- Uncanny Avengers v1:
- All-New X-Factor v1:
External Links
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