Will ‘New Mutants’ Sunspot Ever Get His Tan Back?
By: Miguel Machado
Tags: Movies, Culture, X Men, Comics, Race

Will ‘New Mutants’ Sunspot Ever Get His Tan Back?

It’s hard to think the superhero would have chosen to go full Sammy Sosa

“Sunspot” Image: Marvel

With the long-delayed release of Fox’s X-Men film The New Mutants, claims of whitewashing have been lobbed at the film for its casting of the historically Afro Brazilian mutant Robert da Costa, otherwise known as Sunspot. However, this latest incident is not without precedent. For years, comic artists have made Bobby lighter and lighter, subtly erasing his African traits.

But no one has seemed to consider what Bobby feels about the ever-changing status of his skin. In light of this, I’ve penned this open letter to speak directly to Bobby about the issue.

Dear Bobby,

You’re not as dark as I remember you these days.

It seems to be something of a trend: Sammy Sosa, Eva Longoria, Lil Kim, and Jennifer Lopez all seem to be aging into paler complexions. I wonder if the seduction of fairer beauty was too tempting to pass up. After all, it’s easier for you than many: Your crack team of artists and inkers, with the stroke of a brush, can perform the sacar de gracia, that oldest of colonial traditions, the buying of whiteness.

I’ve watched over the years as the rich, black wool of your hair straightened itself into a sea of shiny waves. I’ve watched your stature shoot up to put you more on par with your superhero brethren, even though you’re officially listed as 5 foot 8 inches. I wonder what happened to that short, spunky teen whose teammates would have to stop him from rushing in without a plan and whose powers first manifested in response to a slight against his skin tone. You were a fire directed toward a hostile world — a fire directed toward the standards the world tried to place upon you. You were fire.

When was the last time you stepped unabashedly into the sun? You, who more than any of us, gets your power from its rays and ardent arrows, leaving your flesh a bronze-fired clay. You, who turned the sun into strength; you drank it in, your skin growing darker as you grew more powerful.

I wonder when you will get your tan back, Bobby. Maybe it’s time to have a talk with your team, maybe your avozinha, too.

Do you prefer the shade of a parasol, now that Miles Morales is around to take up the Afro Latino banner, to represent the short, darker-skinned kids who find the world to be so much bigger than them at such a young age? Do your nightly beauty routines consist of fancy skin lightening creams that purport to bleach away the blemishes? Is it really a blemish if it’s all over?

Blemishes can live in the mind, too. I’m sure we learned some as kids, you and me. The warnings heading out to play on sunny days at the beach, and the reproach upon returning: “No te pongas asi de negro!” Do you remember those words the way I do?

I wonder when you will get your tan back, Bobby. Maybe it’s time to have a talk with your team, perhaps your avozinha, too. Tell them that your fans miss Black Bobby; we miss the tan and the crown of curls atop his head. Tell them that we don’t know who this generic-looking White dude is, that he looks like a cross between Reed Richards and Fernando Lamas.

Tell your creators that the inks they use should be a couple of shades darker, that the hair should less wavy.

But first and foremost: Put down the parasol. The sun is what feeds you.

It feeds us, too.