Sunspot (Marvel Comics)

**Roberto "Bobby" da Costa**, also known as ***Sunspot***, is a Brazilian mutant who manifested his powers during a soccer game at the age of fourteen. This attracted the attention of Donald Pierce, who sought to murder any mutants he could find. Sunspot, however, was rescued by Charles Xavier and joined the X-Men.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Solar radiation absorption:**Sunspot can absorb solar energy and utilize it for physical strength. The cells of a normal human body convert energy from food into a form of energy usable by the body. This energy is stored by converting molecules of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) in the cells into adenosine triphosphate (ATP); the energy is released when necessary by breaking a chemical bond in the ATP molecules, converting them back to ADP. Apparently, Sunspot can store solar-derived energy in his cells through the same, or a similar, method and release it when necessary to enhance his physical strength. When using his powers, his body is cloaked in darkness because he drains all of the ambient light from his skin.

Once he has absorbed solar energy, is able to rechannel it to use for a variety of related purposes, including:

* ***Flight:***He possesses the ability to fly by propelling himself through the air by generating thermal updrafts. Sunspot has refined this ability so that he is capable of hovering in the air without leaving a heat trail and can reach speeds of up to 150 miles per hour maximum without over-exerting himself.
* ***Enhanced strength:***When Sunspot's cells are powered by solar energy, he has the superhuman ability to augment his physical strength. The original limit of his strength was two tons; since then, however, his strength level as increased to 50 tons. Presently, Sunspot's strength has further increased to uncontrollable levels as a side-effect of his M-Pox infection. During the game between the Grandmaster and the Challenger, Sunspot considered himself to be the strongest mutant on Earth.
* ***Enhanced durability* (limited):** Sunspot is one of the interesting powerhouses in the universe due to the fact that he is one of the only who does not have a heightened sense of invulnerability. During many fights and battles, Sunspot has been reminded by his teammates that he is super strong but not super durable. Although Sunspot has not been seen able to deflect bullets, his limited durability does provide his body the needed protection to be able to lift the massive weights that his super strength allows him to. However, this recently appears to have been contradicted as he had taken a bomb blast from a device latched to his side and came out of it unscathed, taken blows from Smasher with some discomfort, and survived a laser blast to the face from the A.I.M. scientist supreme.
* ***Thermokinesis**:*Sunspot has the ability to project heat in intense waves when he absorbs and rechannels solar energy from any part of his body to raise the temperature of his surroundings. He can also absorb heat into his body to lower the temperature in his immediate area. This ability works on specific targets as well; he can project and absorb heat directly into/from people, causing intense discomfort at their fluctuating body temperature.
* ***Thermokinetic concussive/energy blasts:*** During Sunspot's time with the X-Force, he was kidnapped by a supervillain named Gideon who performed various experiments on him. Gideon exposed Sunspot's body to massive amounts of solar energy in order to test the limits of his powers. After these experiments, Sunspot's body was overloaded with solar energy, and he gained the ability to fire blasts of heat and concussive force.
* ***Dark solar plasma blasts*:** He has the ability to project concussive dark plasma blasts from his hands with about 20 tons of force behind them at their most powerful.
* ***Energy absorption:*** Sunspot can absorb various forms of energy available to him beyond just sunlight in order to bolster himself even further, even drawing upon and distilling the harmful effects of a laser blast.
* ***Self-sustenance:***While in his transformed state, Sunspot uses his energy abilities to provide nourishment for himself, allowing him to survive exposure to deep space.
* ***Fire and heat immunity*:** As is the norm with most individuals with fire/heat-based powers, Sunspot is immune to all forms of heat and fire, as they simply add to his abilities, and his mutant metabolism is able to convert these two forms and augment his powers. This includes the heat-based powers of others that are directed at him, as well as heat that is present due to weather conditions. Sunspot has demonstrated the ability to absorb the energy that fire gives off and has remained unharmed while walking through it.

**Darkforce conduit (formerly):** Sunspot briefly possessed the powers of the hero known as Cloak. These powers proved to be too much for him, and they were returned to their original owner by Rogue, Magik, and Professor X.

* ***Darkforce channeling* (formerly)**
* ***Darkforce teleportation (formerly)***
* ***Darkforce intangibility (*formerly)**

### Abilities

**Unarmed/armed combat:** As part of the X-Men, Sunspot has been trained by the likes of Wolverine and other mutants in combat. Since joining the Avengers, Sunspot has received further training. He has further honed his skills by fighting and training against strong opponents like Captain America, Black Panther, and Daredevil. He has also trained in the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira.

**Athleticism:** Sunspot is a very skilled soccer player and used to play for his high school team.

**Business:** Since becoming the CEO of Da Costa International, Sunspot has developed skills for business and finance.

**Multilingual:** Sunspot speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He is also fluent in the future language of the Askani.

**Tactician:** Following his acquisition of A.I.M., Sunspot has shown to be a proficient tactician, being able to turn a ploy of the Maker to take over A.I.M. against the villain himself through misdirection and exploiting the flaws in the Maker's own plans.

### Weaknesses

**M-Pox:** Suffering under the effects of the mutant-killing Terrigen Cloud, Sunspot suffers from chronic coughing fits as a sign of the M-Pox. Although he initially misled people into believing that the M-Pox cost him his powers, Sunspot maintained his mutant abilities at a much higher level then before but using them caused him to age prematurely.

**Sunlight requirement (formerly):** Sunspot would quickly exhaust his energy if he was not in direct sunlight. This no longer applies to his current state, however. With his increasing age and experience, he has become able to absorb sunlight even at night if there is a moon, as moonlight is nothing but refracted sunlight.

## Notes

* Reignfire was created from the cellular material of Sunspot and, therefore, is a genetic copy of him.