| Sunspot/Reignfire |
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| Real Name: Roberto Da Costa Powers: Da Costa has the mutant power to absorb solar radiation and convert it into superhuman strength and resistance to injury. When doing so, Da Costa's features melt away into a black mass of crackling dark energy. More recently, Da Costa has learned to use his powers to fly. In unlighted places, Da Costa suffers a slight drop in his power levels. History: Roberto Da Costa is the son of Brazilian millionaire businessman Emmanuel Da Costa and his American wife, Nina, an archeologist. Da Costa first manifested his superhuman powers when, at the age of fourteen, he was playing in a championship soccer match for his school team in Rio de Janiero. Motivated by racial hatred, a boy named Keller and another member of the opposing team knocked Da Costa to the ground. The hot-tempered Da Costa retaliated by tackling Keller, who began brutally beating him. It was then that, without being aware of what was happening to him, Da Costa first manifested his superhuman powers, throwing Keller from him. Bewildered, Da Costa sought help for what was happening to him, but both the other players and most of the spectators panicked and fled. However, his girlfriend, Juliana Sandoval, stood by Roberto. Roberto's powers came to the attention of Donald Pierce, the renegade White Bishop of the would-be world-conquering Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, who sought to murder any superhuman mutants he found. Pierce's mercenaries failed to abduct Roberto, but kidnapped Juliana instead. The mutant leader Professor Charles Xavier had learned of Pierce's plan to kill Roberto and sent his colleague Moira MacTaggert and the young superhuman mutants Karma and Mirage to help Da Costa. Roberto agreed to meet with Pierce's men in order to obtain Sandoval's release, but the mercenaries refused to free her. Da Costa again became superhumanly strong and fought them. Karma and Mirage appeared in the action, but Da Costa knocked Karma unconscious, thinking her one of his assailants. A mercenary fired at Da Costa, but Sandoval leapt in the way, taking the fatal bullet herself. Mirage defeated Sandoval's killer. Anguished with guilt that Sandoval had died because he was a mutant and thus had become the target of these killers, Da Costa vowed to take vengeance on Pierce. He joined Karma, Mirage, Xavier, and another young mutant, Wolfsbane, in tracking down Pierce and battling him and his men. Xavier succeeded in defeating Pierce. Da Costa decided to stay with Xavier and receive training in the use of his superhuman powers as a member of Xavier's new team, the New Mutants. Taking the code-name Sunspot, Da Costa served with the New Mutants throughout their existence, participating in many adventures. At one point, Da Costa discovered that his father had become a member of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. Da Costa left the New Mutants at one point, feeling that the others of the team blamed him unfairly for using his powers to injure their teammate Cannonball during a soccer game. He made his way to Los Angeles, followed by the New Mutant Warlock, and encountered the other young mutants that made up the gang called the Fallen Angels. Da Costa and Warlock stayed with the Fallen Angels for a brief time, until it was revealed they had been gathered by their teammate Ariel, who was a member of an alien race studying mutations. Ariel betrayed the Angels to her alien race, who kidnapped the team for study. Da Costa helped the Angels escape, after which Da Costa and Warlock returned to the New Mutants. Just prior to the disbanding of the New Mutants, Da Costa learned that his father had died, and was contacted by the mutant Gideon who wanted to help Da Costa assume his new role as leader of the Da Costa family fortune and business. In reality, Gideon was a member of the so-called Externals, a subset of the mutant race who believed themselves immortal, and believed Da Costa to be an External as well. Gideon initially groomed Da Costa for his role as an External, even to the point of being responsible for his father's death, although he later learned he was wrong and subjected Da Costa to hideous experiments. Da Costa was rescued by his friends who now made up the team X-Force, and Da Costa joined their number. Da Costa served alongside X-Force for many years. |