Sunfire (comics)

Sunfire(Shiro Yoshida(吉田 四郎,Yoshida Shirō)) is asuperheroappearing inAmerican comic bookspublished byMarvel Comics. Sunfire is amutantand sometime member of theX-Men.
Sunfire is a Japanesemutantwho can generate superheatedplasmaand fly. Not suited for teamwork due to his temperament and arrogance, Sunfire was briefly a member of the X-Men and has kept limited ties to the team since.
Roy Thomasrecalled that, during his first run onX-Men,
Thomas later commented on the character's costume "I hadDon Heckdesign the character from my verbal suggestion of a costume that was an embodiment of the imperial JapaneseRising Sun flag, as Japanese or Japanese-American.
In a future interview Thomas noted the unique mask of the character "Don Heck gave him that mask — kind of a weird dragony kind of mask — it wasn't just a standard mask."
Created by writerRoy Thomasand artistDon Heck, Sunfire first appeared inX-Men#64 (January 1970).
In 1998, Marvel published theminiseriesSunfire and Big Hero Six, presenting Sunfire's brief membership in a new superhero team sanctioned by the Japanese government.
WriterRick Remenderincluded Sunfire as a member of theUncanny Avengers, starting with issue #5.
Shiro Yoshida was born in Agarashima,Japan. His mother sufferedradiation poisoningdue to exposure to theatomic bombdropped onHiroshima; as a result, Shiro was born as a mutant possessing solar radiation powers.
Shiro's mother died of radiation poisoning when he was young. Shiro grew to hate theUnited States, despite the influence of his father, an ambassador to theUnited Nationswho was more tolerant of the US.Shiro's greedy uncle Tomo inspired him to become "Sunfire" and engage in a one-man battle against the U.S. As Sunfire, he attacked theUnited States Capitoland battled the X-Men, after which he witnessed Tomo murder his father; distraught, he killed Tomo and surrendered to the authorities.
Sunfire battledNamorthe Sub-Mariner but then fought alongside him against theDragon Lord.Sunfire also foughtIron Manbut was abducted by theMandarinand used to power one of the Mandarin's machines. Once freed, he and Iron Man foughtUltimo.
Professor Xrecruited Sunfire to a new team of X-Men to rescue the originals fromKrakoathe Living Island.However, after the mission, he rejected X-Men membership.
Although Sunfire has had one solo story in the anthologyMarvel Comics Presents,Sunfire has appeared mainly in stories teamed with other characters:
Sunfire becomes involved with the X-Men once again whenApocalypsekidnaps him, as Sunfire is one ofthe Twelve, a group of unique mutants Apocalypse required to obtain reality-warping powers.Sunfire then became a member of the Mumbai branch ofX-Corporation, a non-government organization devoted to the protection of mutant rights.
During the early story arcs of the latest edition ofMarvel Team-Up, Sunfire attempts to combat the powerful villain known asTitannus, a reject of theSuper-Skrullprogram who had made his way to Earth after being brainwashed by an alien race to serve as their ultimate weapon. Attempting to contain Titannus, Sunfire summons practically the entire Japanese army to confront him, but the powerful foe defeats them army with ease, and is only barely beaten by a new team that had been hastily assembled byDoctor Strangeto combat this threat.
Later, it was revealed that Sunfire had worked withRogueandMystiqueback when Sunfire was still working with Tomo and Rogue was a member of theBrotherhood of Mutants. Also working with them was a girl calledBlindspot, who had the power to erase and restore memories. The four were on a mission to steal the process to bondadamantiumfromLord Dark Wind, the father ofLady Deathstrike.
Since Blindspot always erased her tracks once a contract ended, she wipes the minds of everyone involved so no one would remember her.Subsequently, Blindspot discovers Lord Dark Wind wanted all four dead for trying to steal his adamantium process. Realizing that the others would be in danger while having no memory of their mission, Blindspot went back to Japan to erase Lord Dark Wind's memory. When she got there, she discovered that his daughter (who later became Deathstrike) had already killed him. Blindspot erased Deathstrike's memories but, as Deathstrike was more machine than woman, Deathstrike was able to restore her own memories from an electronic backup. Deathstrike kidnapped Blindspot, who released a group photo of Sunfire, Rogue, and Mystique to attract their attention to save her. Rogue joined Sunfire, whose reputation had been ruined by the photograph, inTokyoto discover why they were framed and who was responsible.The two ran into Lady Deathstrike who, in a heated battle, cut off Sunfire's legs, leaving him in critical condition. Rogue surrendered to Deathstrike, who imprisoned the two.While imprisoned, Rogue met Blindspot, who restored Rogue's memories and explained what was going on.
When Deathstrike discovers that the three were not responsible for stealing the adamantium, she attempted kill them to destroy any evidence of what she had done. A weak Sunfire asks Rogue to absorb his powers so she could properly battle Deathstrike. Rogue had previously lost the powers ofCarol Danversthat she had taken and was hesitant. She worries that she could harm Sunfire, but Blindspot pushes her on Sunfire's face, causing her to absorb all his powers and possibly killing him. With it, Rogue now also contains Sunfire's personality, similar to how she also once had Danvers' personality within her. With Sunfire's personality controlling her, Rogue seeks revenge on Deathstrike and severely injures the woman. The X-Men arrive in time to intervene, but Blindspot erases Rogue's memories of being an X-Man causing her to see her teammates as her enemies.After a brief altercation, Rogue's memories are restored and she tells the X-Men what had happened to Sunfire. They discover that his body is missing, leading some of the X-Men to believe he is somehow still alive.
Sunfire loses his powers beforeM-Dayand his X-gene during that moment.It is revealed that Sunfire is rescued by a mysterious ninja group and taken to a hospital inAspen.After being revived from his coma, the world's leading specialist inprosthetic limbs, Masanori Kuzuya, offers him his services. Before the reasoning behind the rescue is revealed,Apocalypseappears and offers Sunfire the chance for vengeance, as well as the recovery of his lost limbs and power, in return for his service as one of Apocalypse's newHorsemen.Sunfire accepts, but after being chained away and locked in a prison while listening to the tortured screams ofGazer(another of the new Horsemen), Sunfire tries to escape. Unable to leave Gazer to his fate, Sunfire attempts to free him. However, Gazer's transformation to the Horseman 'War' had already been completed and he attacks. Captured again, Sunfire is transformed into the Horseman of Famine. When Apocalypse launches his attack on the X-Men, Sunfire causes an intense feeling of hunger and weakness in the mutants and humans on the institute grounds. As he is fighting the X-Men,Havokshoots him down and Rogue, who recognizes him, catches him as he falls. He is taken to the Medical Lab andEmma Frostenters his mind to help him. When Apocalypse departs, he sends War to retrieve Famine, but Shiro breaks free from Apocalypse's control and attacks War.
Sunfire is seen running off with the unconscious body ofGambit, like him a former X-Men turned Horseman. At the temple where Sunfire first took Gambit,Mister Sinistertells them, "I am glad you both feel able to move on from the past... for I am your future!".
Sunfire is shown as a member of theMaraudersstill in the form of Famine.Alongside Gambit, Sunfire attacksCable, who destroys Providence. He subsequently attacks an escapingCannonballandIceman, but is taken down by Cannonball and is taken prisoner. Though Cannonball and Iceman consider interrogating Sunfire for information as to who he is working for, Cannonball decides against it, knowing that Sunfire would never confess. Instead, Iceman neutralizes Sunfire's artificial mutant abilities on a sub-atomic level using his own mutant abilities, while Cannonball fights him.
Sunfire is later held captive in theBlackbirdand is rescued by his fellow Marauders.After being rescued by the Marauders, Sunfire joins fellow membersGambit,Prism,Blockbuster,Malice,Lady Mastermind, andScalphunterwhen they travel to Cooperstown, Alaska to find the Messiahbabybut instead come across thePurifiersand they come to blows.He then participates in a battle alongside the Marauders andAcolytesagainst the X-Men.
The next time Sunfire is seen, he is with Gambit,Vertigo, and Malice at Eagle Plaza, Texas, taking onBishopfor the Messiah baby.He is involved in the battle atMuir Islandover the mutant baby's fate.He is apparently knocked unconscious at some point, as it is revealed later that Bishop cauterized the wound of his severed arm by pressing it against Sunfire's unconscious but still flaming form.After Xavier was injured by Bishop, everyone went their separate ways, including the surviving members of the Marauders.
Years later, Wolverine finds a drunken and disheveled Shiro in a Tokyo alleyway. Shiro is offered a spot on the newAvengers Unity Squad, with Wolverine stating that Professor X always thought he had potential. He is initially hesitant, but agrees to join the Avengers after learning that theRed Skullhas stolen Xavier's brain.
Following a confrontation with the Celestial Exitar, who had come to judge Earth due to the machinations of the Apocalypse Twins, Sunfire was apparently killed byKang the Conqueror, but he was able to use his power to transform his body into a state of pure energy that he could use to absorb most of the Celestials' energy.
Eight months after the events of "Secret Wars," Sunfire is back to his normal appearance. With theTerrigen Mistkilling mutants across the globe, he takes a group of mutant survivors from Asia and attempts to get them to safety, only to end up trapped inWeirdworld.
Sunfire later represented the Japanese government when he attendedBlack Panther's meeting in the Eden Room of Avengers Mountain.
Sunfire is amutantwith the ability to absorb solar radiation, and convert it to ionize matter into a fieryplasmastate which bursts into flame when exposed to oxygen. Referring to his plasma output as "solar fire", he can release this energy through his hands as blasts of searing heat, deadly radiation, explosive concussive force, or simple flames. By ionizing the air around him, he can surround himself with an aura of heat intense enough to melt steel, or fly by focusing his aura downwards in a tight stream of ionized gas to propel him through the air like a rocket. Sunfire can see heat, by shifting his vision from visible light toinfrared.  Sunfire has the ability to form a psionic force field while using his plasma as protection from heat and radiation, both that of his own generation and that from outside sources. In a similar fashion to theHuman Torch's nova burst, Sunfire is capable of increasing his plasma output to temperatures around 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and emitting it as an omnidirectional blast.
Sunfire transferred his powers toRogueto defeatLady Deathstrikewho had just cut off his legs. This (like Ms. Marvel before him) left him still a mutant but powerless.After his transformation into Famine, a Horseman of Apocalypse, his powers and legs were returned, and he could now also use them to create flashes of light that affected the sections of the human brain which control hunger, causing any people who saw his light flashes to feel as if they were starving.Due to further genetic enhancement from Apocalypse, Sunfire is also able to secrete a specialized bio-oxygen from his skin, which allows him to breathe and conjure his flames even in thevacuumof space.
Shiro also seems to be quite an accomplished martial artist. He has displayed impressive hand to hand skills on several occasions and stated that he didn't need to employ his powers to defeatHandninjas.He is trained in karate, judo, and kendo (Japanese Samurai swordsmanship). He is also an expert in the combat use of his superhuman powers. He has at least peak human physical ability.
Shiro Yoshida (Sunfire) is the brother of Leyu Yoshida, alias the superheroineSunpyre, who shares his flame-based powers. He is also the cousin of Wolverine's late fiancéeMariko Yashidaand her half-brother theSilver Samurai.
Yashida and Yoshida seem to be different spellings of the same name. While in his first appearance Sunfire was called Shiro Yoshida, he story arc that introduced his cousin, Mariko, his name was spelled Yashida and this version of the name was carried on in Mariko's next appearances.
InAge of Apocalypse, Japan was destroyed byHolocaust, one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse. Shiro, a survivor of the massacre, was captured and given toMaximus(the Horseman of Death), as a test subject for his experiments. Shiro's powers were pushed to their limits, causing his whole body to be set aflame, injuring him as a result. Shiro was rescued by the X-Men and joined them, taking on the codename Sunfire. Sunfire wore a containment suit to control his powers, although he was constantly on fire. Haunted by the destruction of his nation, Sunfire joined Rogue's task force of X-Men when they were sent to Chicago to fight Holocaust, who had begun a new series of Cullings. The character design of the original Sunfire as Famine (see above) is virtually identical to the Age of Apocalypse incarnation of the character.
After the regular reality's X-Force crossed over into the Age of Apocalypse, Shiro was one of the few X-Men to return to prevent the destruction of Earth-616 by Archangel. Though he fought valiantly against the traitorous Iceman, seemingly killing him for his treachery, Shiro was killed while attempting to siphon energy from Holocaust's weapon of mass destruction, though he managed to buy X-Force precious moments with his sacrifice.
In theAge of X-Manreality, Shiro Yoshida is the Civil Management Instructor of the 10th Year class within the Summers Institute Of Higher Learning, located in Winchester, NY.
In theHouse of Mreality, Sunfire became the Emperor of Japan. Under his rule, the country had prospered, though the poverty levels were extremely high among the baseline human population. In secret, Sunfire was one of the masterminds of Project: Genesis, a project sanctioned by the Japan branch ofS.H.I.E.L.D.with the goal of forcefully mutating baseline humans. When the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives-in-training dubbed theHellionsinvestigated a terrorist attack, they discovered the existence of Project: Genesis and its link to Emperor Sunfire. Sunfire lied to the Hellions and told them that Project: Genesis's purpose was to recycle organic waste into food for poor baseline humans.
InMarvel Zombies, a zombie version of Sunfire andSilver Samuraican be briefly seen slaughtering civilians, while theSilver Surfertravels the globe, as a result ofQuicksilverbeing infected and thus able to spread the zombie plague all over the world.The zombie version of Wolverine traveled to Earth-Z, where at Marvel Zombies Return, seeks an uninfected Sunfire that battles Zombie Wolverine, but was killed instead.
In theUltimate Marvelreality, Sunfire appears as a member ofAlpha Flight. His power levels enhanced byBanshee, theUltimate Marvelversion of the Mutant Growth Hormone, he squares off against new X-Man recruitFirestar.
During the "Ultimate Invasion" storyline,MakerremadeEarth-6160into his own image, reshaping its political status quo into a new world order. Sunfire is seen as the "Sun Emperor" of the Harada-Yoshida Alliance, a consolidated union of three clans that rule over "Hi no Kuni", a regional power bloc which includes Japan's territories. He appears alongsideSilver SamuraiandViperas they attend an event in The City atLatveriaas members of theMaker's Council. When a clone army from the future attacks, they are among those that fight them.
He is with the Alliance's members when they attend a gathering following the death ofObadiah Stane.Emmanuel da Costamentions toHoward Starkthat Sunfire does not speak when his mask is on and that Viper speaks in his name as a intermediary during meetings, when answering Howard's question on why Silver Samurai keeps him from interacting with Sunfire.Sunfire and the rest of the Alliance are among the Council's members that meet after The City closes up with Maker, Kang, and Howard Stark still inside as they make plans to divide the North American Union among themselves.
In an interview withWizard, Alex Ross stated that Sunfire's mask served as the inspiration forKyle Rayner/Green Lantern's original costume mask, which debuted inGreen Lantern#51 (in 1994).