Shiro Yoshida: Sunfire Appreciation 2020

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Don Heck, Sunfire

first appeared in X-Men #64 January 1970.

[Zelena]

Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Don Heck, Sunfire

first appeared in X-Men #64 January 1970.

I love your threads… it's so peaceful and soothing.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Uncanny X-Men #64 Jan 1970
"The Coming of Sunfire!"
A new mutant named Sunfire has made his debut appearance in New York City,
denouncing all those below him as nothing more than ants.
His activity has set off the X-Men's Cerebro unit, prompting Beast to call Angel to check it out
and the group to go and find out if this mutant is an ally or an enemy.

Sunfire has flown to the United Nations building where Saburo Yoshida, Japanese diplomat,
has arrived to present the "Youth of the World" statue as a gift to the United States.
The imperialist Sunfire finds such a gesture foolish. He crashes the ceremony,
denouncing Yoshida as a traitor and destroying the statue with his microwave powers.
His reign of terror on the crowd is cut short when he is attacked by Angel, Beast and Iceman, who give him a good fight.

After blasting Beast with his heat ray, Sunfire flees, proving he is able to fly faster than Angel could even fathom.
Angel and Iceman take the wounded Iceman to the apartment the X-Men keep in the city,
where Beast's burns are treated by Jean, while they fill Scott in on what happened.

Sunfire, really Shiro Yoshida, son of Saburo, returns to his Uncle Tomo's hideout where he reports back.
When Shiro comments on how he feels his actions are somewhat wrong,
Tomo reminds Shiro of the American's dropping the atomic bomb on Japan during World War II.
He explains how his mother, while miles away from the blast, was affected and died giving birth to Shiro many years later.
Tomo goes on to explain how he took young Shiro under his wing and taught him to despise the America's for what they did during the war.
He later took him to some remaining ruins of Hiroshima where young Shiro's mutant powers manifested,
prompting Tomo to train him in the use of his powers as a supporter of Imperial Japanese ideals, as the costumed mutant Sunfire.
Renewing Shiro's hatred of America, Tomo prepares the angry young mutant for his plot to humble America before the entire world.

The X-Men meanwhile use Marvel Girl's telepathic powers to try and track down Sunfire
and are surprised to find out that he is traveling in a diplomatic vehicle. Deciding to play it cautious,
they follow the car to JFK Airport, where Shiro and those in the car board a plane to Washington D.C.
The X-Men follow and the Angel almost has a near fatal close call when he is
almost sucked into the planes turbine and is saved by Iceman's quick intervention.

In Washington, Tomo and Shiro begin plotting and Shiro's father walks in hearing Shiro talking about getting
revenge against America and slaps his son for his treasonous ideas, and scolds him for having such ideas.
Although Shiro says nothing, he believes that he will soon show his father that he is wrong.

The X-Men have switched to their civilian guises and canvas around Washington, waiting for Sunfire to make another appearance.
When Shiro is changing into his Sunfire costume, he is once more caught by his father
who denounces his son's terrorist tactics and ideas and is struck down for his troubles.
Tomo orders Sunfire to go out and attack the Capital Building. As soon as Sunfire arrives,
the X-Men attack, with Angel and Iceman being the first wave. Warren is easily downed,
however a quick ice shield from Iceman prevents him from serious harm but then Iceman is also easily defeated by Sunfire.
Cyclops has Marvel Girl telekinetically raise him up to Sunfire's level and the two pit their mutant powers against one another.
However Sunfire still proves to be the victor. His attack is stopped when Marvel Girl begins to
attack his mind telepathically, until Saburo appears and once more denounces his son for his actions.

As the two argue, Tomo appears and shoots Saburo in the back, knocking him off of the Capital Building to the ground below.
In anger, Sunfire blasts his own uncle with his powers, killing him. Finding that his father is dying, Shiro pulls off his mask
and renounces his imperialist ways, vowing to undo the wrongs he has committed. As he dies,
Saburo leaves his son with a request; forge the tools of peace from the weapons of war.

With the authorities gathering around the scene, the X-Men decide to depart, leaving Shiro to mourn
the loss of his father, deciding that Shiro had learned the foolishness of his ways at a terrible price.

Script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Tom Palmer

[Flameworthy]

Love Sunfire! I wish he was used more often.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Sun Fire Star

[K7P5V]

I love your threads… it's so peaceful and soothing.

Agreed. Let's hope this will be an everyday event from now until the end of time.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

MAJOR MARVEL PHASE 5 LEAK - Spider-Man, Mutants, X-Men MCU News

[Silvermoth]

Has he appeared on Krakoa yet? I miss him. It’s crazy he was there during such a prominent time in the x-men history albeit briefly

[Sutekh]

I had this whacky idea they were going to have a Big Hero Seven movie after Big Hero Six, with mysterious fires happening around town, and introduce Sunfire, as an amnesiac Tadashi, having survived the big fire at the science fair by gaining powers. But no joy.

I am not surprised he's not as active in Krakoan affairs, as a character, he's been tied pretty strongly to Japan, and doesn't seem to have the same sort of trouble over there that mutants have in the United States. (I guess if giant monsters tromping over from Monster Island are a going concern, the mutant protecting you from them seems less scary and more welcome!)

[K7P5V]

https://www.cbr.com/x-men-marvel-com...shiro-yoshida/

This CBR article considers the most powerful mutant in the Marvel Universe to be...

Sunfire

[K7P5V]

John Byrne, Chris Claremont and Terry Austin's X-Men made first place on CBR's list of Top Comic Runs.

https://www.cbr.com/top-comic-book-runs-2-1/

[Silvermoth]

Geez I love that outfit. Oh we will have to change the tread title soon!

[rdman]

Looking at the early incarnations of Sunfire, you think he was the Japanese version frozen out of time from World War II.
That being said. He needs to be modernized and I would like to see him more in the X-Men titles and definitely more developed as a character than he was in Uncanny Avengers. In the Avengers he was a prop.
Age of X-Man he seemed more promising as a teacher.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I had this whacky idea they were going to have a Big Hero Seven movie after Big Hero Six, with mysterious fires happening around town, and introduce Sunfire, as an amnesiac Tadashi, having survived the big fire at the science fair by gaining powers. But no joy.

I am not surprised he's not as active in Krakoan affairs, as a character, he's been tied pretty strongly to Japan, and doesn't seem to have the same sort of trouble over there that mutants have in the United States. (I guess if giant monsters tromping over from Monster Island are a going concern, the mutant protecting you from them seems less scary and more welcome!)

There's always fanfiction .

[LordAllMIghty]

I never understood why he wasn't a major player in the X-Verse.