Real Name: Roberto Da Costa
Other Aliases: Reignfire
Identity: Secret
Occupation: (current) Adventurer, (former) Student, commando, CEO of Da Costa Corporation
Legal Status: Brazilian citizen with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Rio de Janeiro
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Emmanuel Da Costa (father, deceased), Nina Da Costa (mother)
Base of Operations: Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, Westchester County, Upstate New York
Base of operations: (formerly) Camp Verde Reservation, Arizona; Beat Street Club, New York City; X-Force headquarters, Adirondack Mountains, New York
Group affiliation: (current) Unknown, (former)X-Force, New Mutants, Fallen Angels, Gladiators, Hellions
First appearance: MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #4

History: Roberto Da Costa is the son of a deceased Brazilian millionaire and his American wife Nina, an archaeologist. Roberto first manifested his superhuman mutant powers when, at the age of fourteen, he was playing in a championship soccer match for his school team in Rio de Janiero. Motivated by racial hatred, a boy named Keller and another member of the opposing team knocked Da Costa to the ground. The hot-tempered Da Costa retaliated by tackling Keller, who began brutally beating him. It was then that, without being aware of what was happening to him, Da Costa first became able to use his superhuman strength, his body and clothing temporarily turning black in the process. Da Costa used his newfound strength to hurl Keller from him. Bewildered, Da Costa sought help, but both the other players and most of the spectators panicked and fled. However, his girlfriend, Juliana Sandoval, who had been watching the game along with Emmanuel Da Costa, stood by Roberto in his time of need.

Roberto's powers came to the attention of Donald Pierce, the renegade White Bishop of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, who sought to murder any superhuman mutants he found. Pierce's mercenaries failed to abduct Roberto, but then they kidnapped Juliana. The mutant telepath Professor Charles Xavier had learned of Pierce's plan to kill Roberto and sent his colleague Moira MacTaggert and the young superhuman mutants Karma and Mirage to help Da Costa. Roberto agreed to meet with Pierce's men in order to obtain Sandoval's release, but the mercenaries refused to free her and intended to keep Da Costa prisoner as well. One of the mercenaries was apparently about to shoot Da Costa when he again became superhumanly strong and fought them, but the young mutant exhausted his power too soon, and a mercenary was about to kill him when Karma and Mirage intervened. Karm a took control of the mind of the mercenary, and Mirage used her powers to terrify the others. But Da Costa, regaining his superhuman strength, knocked Karma unconscious, thinking her one of his assailants, thus breaking her hold on the mercenary. That mercenary fired at Da Costa, who had returned to normalcy again, but Sandoval leapt in front of Da Costa, taking the fatal bullet herself. Mirage defeated Sandoval's killer. Anguished with guilt that Sandoval had died because he was a mutant and thus had become the target of these killers, Da Costa vowed to take vengeance on Pierce. He joined Karma, Xavier, and another young mutant named Wolfsbane, in tracking down Pierce and battling him and his men. Xavier succeeded in defeating Pierce.

Da Costa decided to stay with Xavier and receive training in the use of his superhuman powers as a member of the New Mutants. (Ironically, his father Emmanuel later became a member of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club.)

At present Sunspot is a member of X-Force, the team that was originally largely composed of former members of the New Mutants. In a battle against the mutant terrorist Reignfire and the Mutant Liberation Front, Sunspot was kidnapped. Months later Reignfire was unmasked as Sunspot. Fortunately, Cable was able to rehabilitate Sunspot through his Askani discipline and training. Whether or not Sunspot is the real Reignfire, and if so, how they could have appeared together, are mysteries yet to be explained.

Height: 5 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 170 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Other distinguishing features: When utilizing his strength at superhuman levels, Sunspot and sometimes all or part of his clothing turn pure black.

Strength level: Athlete, (enhanced) Superhuman Class 10

Special skills and abilities: Good aircraft pilot, excellent soccer player.

Known superhuman powers: Ability to absorb solar energy and convert it for use as physical strength. His physical resistance to impact also increases somewhat when he employs superhuman strength. For unknown reasons small black spots appear in the air around Sunspot when he utilizes superhuman strength. Although Sunspot can absorb energy from stars and reflected solar energy from the moon, the amounts that reach him on Earth are too minuscule to add significantly to his power. Recently Sunspot developed the abilities to fly and project concussive energy blasts from his hands.

Special limitations: When not in direct sunlight, Sunspot can exhaust his superhuman strength by using up the stores of energy within his body.