Though we only get a hint of Robert da Costa’s mutant abilities and we never hear his mutant name, Marvel Comics fans will know him as Sunspot. Introduced in “Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants,” da Costa is a Brazilian kid whose mutant powers manifest when he’s beaten up by an opposing soccer team. After this pivotal moment in his life, he’s lured into a trap by a mutant-hating faction led by Donald Pierce, which results in the death of his girlfriend Juliana. With the help of mutants named Karma, Psyche, and eventually Wolfsbane, they pursue Donald Pierce in an effort to bring him to justice. After the battle, they’re joined by one of Pierce’s misguided mutant henchmen, Sam Guthrie, aka Cannonball.
This garners the attention of Professor X, who offers to train all five of the teenagers, and they become the New Mutants. The team grows into their powers, ultimately traveling to the Amazon, Asgard, and beyond. But when Cable later takes over the New Mutants and turns them into X-Force, Sunspot leaves the team and embarks on a new journey under Gideon of the Externals, a rare subspecies of mutants. His other exploits include an encounter with a protoplasmic mutant symbiote that becomes a villain known as Reignfire, a road trip reunion with X-Force (sans Cable), landing a seat at the table of Hellfire Club, reforming the New Mutants, and eventually using his family’s fortune to take over Advanced Idea Mechanics and turn it into Avengers Idea Mechanics after Roberto and Sam are offered spots on the Avengers roster.
But what does all of this mean for “X-Men ’97” and his journey in the animated series revival?
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