Who the Clix? Sunspot
Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
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Appearances in Heroclix: Deadpool Weapon X, Avengers - Fantastic Four: Empyre, House of X, Wolverine and the X-Men, Supernova
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (September 1982)
Team Affiliations: New Mutants, Avengers, A.I.M., Hellfire Club, Mutant Liberation Front, New Avengers, X-Corporation, X-Force, X-Men, S.H.I.E.L.D.
Powers/Abilities: Superhuman strength, Flight, Solar absorption and rechanneling, Heat and light manipulation, Concussive blasts, Plasma emission
Created by: Chris Claremont - Bob McLeod
Character is copyright/trademark Marvel; used under Fair Use
Roberto da Costa is the son of wealthy Brazilian businessman Emmanuel da Costa and American archealogist Nina da Costa. Roberto is constantly driven by his father and becomes a star soccer player at school, even being recruited for the Olympic games. During a game, Robert is assaulted by racist members of the opposing team which leads to his powers manifesting. This transformation leads to everyone fleeing the stadium except his girlfriend Juliana.
Soon after, Donald Pierce and members of the Hellfire Club kidnap Juliana and use her as bait for Roberto. Roberto tries to save her but his inexperience leads to him running out of solar energy. Professor Xavier sends Karma and Psyche to save Roberto but not before Juliana is tragically killed in the encounter. Roberto joins Karma and Psyche chasing Donald Pierce. During this, they are also joined by Wolfsbane and Cannonball. Afterwards, Professor X offers to train the five young mutants and they become the founding members of the New Mutants. As a member of the New Mutants, calling himself Sunspot, Roberto travels to space, Asgard, the Amazon as well as the past and future.
When Cable takes over the New Mutants, transforming the team into X-Force, Sunspot leaves the group. He is mentored by Gideon, an External, an old friend of Roberto's father. Gideon believes that Sunspot is also an External and experiments on the young man, granting him new powers. Sunspot is lost in time and eventually returns under the sway of a new persona: Reignfire.
Reignfire returns and takes command of the villainous group the Mutant Liberation Front. Dani Moonstar infiltrates the MLF and sees Reignfire without his mask, believing him to be Roberto. In a battle between the MLF and X-Force, Reignfire unmasks and reveals himself to definitely be Sunspot. However, the reality altering Age of Apocalypse then happens. When reality is restored, Cable “heals” Sunspot of this persona. Reignfire is later discovered to be a protoplasmic mutant symbiote in Sunspot's blood. Sunspot is eventually able to drain Reignfire of his some of his power and then turn it over to SHIELD.
Following these events, all of X-Force minus Cable go on an extended road trip. They end up working a series of odd jobs during this time.
Selene, the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, recruits Sunspot into the Inner Circle in exchange for resurrecting his dead girlfriend, Juliana. While Selene technically keeps her end of the deal, she places Juliana's spirit into the body of a comatose girl. Sunspot becomes Selene's Black Rook but is not happy with the situation. Roberto then becomes head of the Los Angeles branch of X-Corporation and also agrees to become Sebastian Shaw's Black King. Roberto agrees to this because Shaw promises to turn the Hellfire Club into a force for good.
When Shaw is injured in battle by Donald Pierce, he is unable to oversee the Hellfire Club. Sunspot then ascends to Lord Imperial, Shaw's former position, with Sage at his side. Sunspot helps battle the Skrulls alongside the X-Men during the invasion of San Francisco. Donald Pierce soon imitates Cyclops and recruits of a team of X-Men to attack Sunspot, claiming that Sunspot and others have formed a new Brotherhood. This is all a scheme to try and oust Sunspot from his position of Lord Imperial, just as Pierce had done to Shaw.
Sunspot eventually leaves the Hellfire Club of his own accord and joins the X-Men in San Francisco. He is then recruited to train the Young X-Men alongside Danielle Moonstar. The New Mutants temporarily reform to battle Legion before Sunspot is recruited into the Avengers alongside Cannonball. After Cannonball finds a romantic partner in space, Sunspot returns to Earth and engages in a hostile takeover of AIM. He renames the group into Avengers Idea Mechanics and attempts to offer support to the hero community.
Hawkeye and Dum Dum Dugan are sent to spy on Sunspot and the new AIM, but reveal the truth to him. They both feel he has earned his stripes as a hero and offer to help him as AIM battles WHISPER, a group founded by the Maker. Sunspot also uses AIM to free Rick Jones from custody, as Rick Jones had become a whistle blower, exposing crimes committed by SHIELD and the American government. This leads to American Kaiju being unleashed on AIM island. During this time, Roberto is also dealing with an exposure to Terrigen Mists. Every time he uses his powers, it shortens his life.
Roberto eventually makes a deal that allows AIM to continue operating under the American government. Now called the American Intelligence Mechanics. Sunspot adopts the alias of Citizen V. Roberto helps capture the time traveling Golden Skull as well as sending Red Hulk to bring American Kaiju in, as the monster has been rampaging through Europe. Sunspot resists the Secret Empire takeover and eventually travels into space to help his old friend Cannonball. With Sam safe, Roberto returns to Earth and takes the name Citizen X. Roberto is killed helping Mirage during the War of the Realms.
After the establishing of Krakoa, Roberto is one of the first mutants resurrected by the Five. After not being chosen for the X-Men team at the first Hellfire Gala, Sunspot endeavors to found a secret team. This team ends up traveling to the Shi'ar Empire to help the new young Empress.
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