The best Sunspot comics start with Roberto da Costa's debut in Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (1982), before he joins The New Mutants in 1983. His best leadership reads are New Avengers (2015), where he runs A.I.M., and U.S.Avengers (2017), both written by Al Ewing. For his years as a teammate, browse Claremont's The New Mutants, then the 2009 and 2019 relaunches.
Roberto da Costa is a Brazilian heir: the son of a businessman, Emmanuel da Costa, and an American archaeologist, Nina da Costa, he draws his strength from solar radiation. His career follows a rare arc for a mutant: the student of Charles Xavier's school becomes the head of a scientific organization, then a team leader among the Avengers. This page ranks seven reads where he is the center or the headliner, and leaves out the crossovers where he just passes through the frame.
As always on this guide, we only state verified facts (creators, issue numbers, dates); the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected art or dialogue.
His first appearance
The 1982 graphic novel is written by Chris Claremont, with art by Bob McLeod. Roberto is among the founding students of a class of young mutants entrusted to Charles Xavier. He becomes close friends with Sam Guthrie, a.k.a. Cannonball, and together they will pass through teams that drift further and further from the school.
A dedicated page, Marvel Graphic Novel #4, goes over the book; it shows how the book format weighs on condition and resale. The regular series The New Mutants then takes over, and it is the one that establishes the character for the long haul.
How we ranked the seven reads
Sunspot is a transitional character: his value lies less in an isolated arc than in his changes of status, from student to business owner, from mutant to member of an official team. We placed first the series where he makes the decisions and is the engine, then the team periods where he counts among the pillars. The order favors the reader discovering the character today and working back toward his origins.
1: New Avengers, Al Ewing, Gerardo Sandoval (2015-2016)
Al Ewing writes this eighteen-issue series, launched in 2015 and continuing throughout 2016, and Gerardo Sandoval is the main artist, with other artists filling in on some issues. Roberto runs A.I.M. there, the former organization of criminal scientists renamed Avengers Idea Mechanics, while Songbird commands the field team that takes the name New Avengers.
Roberto puts on the costume of the boss who must prove that a fortune and a lab can serve a cause. Around him, Wiccan, Hulkling, Squirrel Girl, Pod, Power Man and White Tiger make up an offbeat lineup, and Hawkeye plays the declared S.H.I.E.L.D. informant. The Maker, a variant of an Ultimate Reed Richards, runs a rival organization, W.H.I.S.P.E.R., which serves as a dark mirror to Roberto's A.I.M.
Who is it for? Readers who want an adult, responsible, self-assured Sunspot without knowing the New Mutants. How to read it? In order, issues 1 to 18, with no prerequisite other than the scenes in Jonathan Hickman's Avengers where he takes the lead of A.I.M. To continue with the same writer, open the Al Ewing page.
2: U.S.Avengers, Al Ewing, Paco Medina (2017-2018)
Al Ewing writes the series and creates it with Paco Medina, who is on art at launch; issue 1 is cover-dated March 2017. After the breakup of the A.I.M. team, Roberto, under the name Citizen V, assembles a new lineup and founds the U.S.Avengers, in the wake of the partnership between A.I.M. and the American military, which became American Intelligence Mechanics.
What this series brings to the character: a fully owned leadership role. He heads a team whose members come from New Avengers, which makes it a direct sequel to the previous entry. Cannonball is among the founding members, which reconnects with the friendship of their early days.
Who is it for? Readers looking for a short, punchy story without too many references. How to read it? In order, after the previous series if you can; the best Cannonball comics page places Sam in the same lineup.
3: Avengers World, Nick Spencer, Jonathan Hickman, Stefano Caselli (2014-2015)
The series runs from 2014 to 2015 for twenty-one issues. Nick Spencer and Jonathan Hickman are credited on writing and Stefano Caselli on art, with other artists over the run. In issue 1, Sunspot, Smasher and Cannonball fall into the hands of A.I.M. soldiers: the organization he will later lead thus enters his life through a capture.
This series sets up what follows: the future head of A.I.M. is first a prisoner here. At the same time, Jonathan Hickman's Avengers, in issue 35 (2014), shows him taking control of A.I.M. and renaming it Avengers Idea Mechanics. His presence is thus split across two series, which makes continuous reading less simple than elsewhere.
Who is it for? Readers who like global teams and large-scale stories. How to read it? With the best Avengers runs page to place the period, keeping in mind that Sunspot is one member among others here. The work of Jonathan Hickman is listed on his page.
4: Marvel Graphic Novel #4, Chris Claremont, Bob McLeod (1982)
The original graphic novel reads in one evening: Claremont sets up the class of young mutants at the school, McLeod draws their faces. Roberto makes his name known there with his classmates, and the story sets the stage the following series will pick up: a school, a team, a group of friends growing up together.
What this entry brings to the character: his foundation. The future head of A.I.M. is here a Brazilian teenager, plunged into a world of powers he does not control. Who is it for? Readers curious about the beginnings, and the collector who wants to understand why the issue is sought after. How to read it? In one sitting, then straight on with The New Mutants issues 1 to 17.
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5: The New Mutants, Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, with several artists (1983-1991)
Chris Claremont writes issues 1 to 54 of the series, and Louise Simonson takes over afterward, notably for issues 55 to 80. On art, McLeod handles issues 1 to 3, Buscema issues 4 to 17 and Sienkiewicz issues 18 to 31, with a looser, darker style that changes the look of the series. Roberto is part of the starting lineup and counts among the team's pillars for years.
What this series brings to the character: his settling into the team, his relationship with Sam Guthrie and the school setting where he grows up. He is not the star of every issue, which explains its place below the stories where he calls the shots; but it is in this series that you see him change.
Who is it for? Readers who want the patient read of a teen team and accept the patina of the 1980s. How to read it? In blocks: issues 1 to 31 for the atmosphere, then issues 86 to 100 for the transition to X-Force, whose team Roberto does not follow. Our best New Mutants runs page guides this path, and the page on New Mutants #87 explains Cable's arrival.
6: New Mutants, Zeb Wells, Diógenes Neves (2009-2011)
Zeb Wells writes the third series starting in 2009, with Diógenes Neves on art for the first issues. Issue 1 is dated July 2009: Sam Guthrie gathers former students, including Sunspot, Magma and Magik, and the reconstituted lineup faces Legion in the first arc, issues 1 to 4.
What this series brings to the character: a reunion with his old classmates. Roberto is not the center of the story, but he counts among the pillars of the lineup, alongside Sam Guthrie.
Who is it for? Readers who prefer reunions to origins. How to read it? In order, from issue 1, with the key issues of Magik page for Illyana's context.
7: New Mutants, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brisson, Rod Reis (2019-2022)
Jonathan Hickman and Ed Brisson launch the fourth series as part of Dawn of X, with Rod Reis as main artist; Vita Ayala takes it over from issue 14. Roberto, who vanished in War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men in 2019 and was then brought back to life on Krakoa, returns in this series with the New Mutants.
What this series brings to the character: his return after death, in a team that resembles the one from his beginnings. The opening sends the characters far from Krakoa, which changes the scale of the story. Who is it for? The Krakoa-era reader who has already read Hickman's core series. How to read it? In order, after the page on Hickman and the return of the X-Men to understand the setting.
Where to start based on your profile
If you want the best Sunspot of today, read New Avengers (entry 1), then U.S.Avengers (entry 2): thirty issues that form a single whole. The reader who prefers teen teams should go to the 1982 graphic novel (entry 4) and then to The New Mutants (entry 5).
For anyone arriving from Krakoa, the door is the 2019 New Mutants (entry 7), supplemented by the 2009 relaunch (entry 6). If you have just one evening, take the original graphic novel. To place Roberto among his classmates, also browse the pages on Colossus and Iceman.
The key issues to know
The method is the same as for any team character: find the first appearance, then the issues where his status changes. For Roberto, these turning points are almost all changes of side or rank.
- Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (1982): the first appearance of Roberto and of the class of the New Mutants.
- The New Mutants #1 (1983): the start of the regular series.
- X-Force #98-100 (2000): Selene offers him a seat in the Hellfire Club, and he becomes the Black Rook.
- Uncanny X-Men #454 (2005): he takes the title of Lord Imperial there.
- Avengers #2 (2013): his arrival among the Avengers.
- Avengers #35 (2014): his takeover of A.I.M.
- New Avengers #1 (2015): he runs A.I.M. at the center of a series.
- U.S.Avengers #1 (March 2017): the birth of the team where he is Citizen V.
- War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #2 and #3 (2019): his disappearance, before his return on Krakoa.
Before any purchase, compare the condition of the spine and corners, because on a team single issue that is what separates two copies of the same number.
Frequently asked questions
It is the graphic novel Marvel Graphic Novel #4, cover-dated 1982 and credited to Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, that introduces Roberto. The regular series The New Mutants starts in 1983. To read rather than collect, begin with issues 1 to 17 of the series.
Sunspot absorbs solar radiation and converts it into strength and energy. Roberto is the son of Emmanuel da Costa, a businessman, and Nina da Costa, an American archaeologist. His powers manifest during a racist attack outside a soccer match, and this principle stays constant from one series to the next.
He ran A.I.M. in New Avengers (2015-2016) and then founded the U.S.Avengers team (2017-2018) as Citizen V, two series written by Al Ewing. He also joined the Avengers in 2013, in issue 2 of the relaunched series.
No. New Avengers and U.S.Avengers work without prerequisites, and Roberto's stakes are clear from issue 1. Reading the first issues of The New Mutants enriches the character, but it is not essential to enjoy his years with the Avengers.
Yes. Selene offers him a seat in the Hellfire Club in place of his father, and he becomes the Black Rook in X-Force #98-100, in 2000. He later carries the title of Lord Imperial in Uncanny X-Men #454, in 2005.
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