Roberto da Costa

**Roberto "Bobby" da Costa** (*Sunspot*) is a mutant.

## Relationships

* Emmanuel da Costa (father, deceased)
* Nina da Costa (mother)
* Reignfire (genetic copy, deceased)

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Solar radiation absorption:** Bobby 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 in the cells into adenosine triphosphate; the energy is then released when necessary by breaking a chemical bond in the adenosine triphosphate molecules, converting them back to adenosine diphosphate. Apparently, Bobby 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. His body is cloaked in darkness because he drains all the ambient light from his skin.

* ***Flight:*** He possesses the ability to fly by propelling himself through the air by generating thermal updrafts. Bobby has refined this ability to be able to hover 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 Bobby's cells are powered by solar energy, he has the superhuman ability to augment his physical strength. The original limits of his strength were two tons, but his strength has increased to fifty tons since. He is one of the interesting powerhouses of the universe due to the fact that he does not have heightened durability. He has to be reminded that he is super strong but is not supe rdurable.
* ***Thermokinesis:*** Bobby has the ability to project heat in intense waves when he absorbs and re-channels solar energy from any part of his body to raise the temperature. Bobby can also absorb heat into his body to lower the temperature in his immediate area. He can also project and absorb heat directly into or from people, causing intense discomfort at their fluctuating body temperatures.
* ***Energy and thermal blasts:*** During Bobby's time with X-Force, he was kidnapped by a super villain who performed various experiments on him. Bobby's body was exposed to massive amounts of solar energy in order to test the limits of his absorption. After these experiments, Bobby'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 energy blasts from his hands with about twenty tons of force behind them at their most powerful.
* ***Energy absorption:*** Bobby 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:*** Bobby uses his energy abilities to provide nourishment for himself, allowing him to survive in the cold of deep space.
* ***Fire immunity:*** As is the norm with most pyrokinetics, Bobby is immune to all forms of heat and fire as they simply add to his abilities, and his mutant metabolism is able to simply convert these two forms and augment his abilities. This includes heat-based abilities that are directed at him as well as the heat that is present due to atmospheric conditions. Bobby has also been seen with teh ability to absorb the energy that fire gives off and has remained unharmed while walking through it.

### Abilities

**Combat:** As part of the X-Men, Bobby has been trained by the likes of Wolverine and others in combat. Since joining the Avengers, Bobby received further training. He has further honed his skills by training with and fighting against strong opponents. He has also trained in the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira.

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

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

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

**Tactician:** Following his acquisition of A.I.M., Bobby 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 plants.

### Weaknesses

Suffering under the effects of the mutant-killing Terrigen cloud, Bobby is now suffering from chronic coughing fits as a sign of the M-Pox. Although he initially misled people into believing the M-Pox cost him his powers, Bobby actually maintains his mutant abilities at a much higher level than before but using them causes him to age prematurely.

Previously, Bobby would quickly exhaust his energy if he was not in direct sunlight. This no longer applies to his current state. 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.