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Not even Wallace and Grommet could fix these wrong trousers.
In his solar form, Sunspot possesses the supreme power and cosmic durability of a supernova.
Roberto DaCosta was born in Rio De Janeiro to an extravantly rich family - his father was a wealthy industrialist and his mother was a globe-trotting archaeologist, so he's basically the son of Scrooge McDuck and Lara Croft. Plus, before his powers manifested as a teenager, he was already being groomed for the Brazilian Olympic futebol team and had been on the cover of teen girls magazines, so getting the ability to convert sunlight into superhuman strength was really a lateral move at best, and maybe even a downgrade from his former life. And yet who was his best friend on the New Mutants team? The penniless hayseed. Opposites do attract!
Sunspot's powers (when he's not a secretly reused Minimate) turn his entire body black, with Kirby Dots all around him in a yellow corona. A simple plastic toy can't really do that last bit, but it can at least paint all his exposed skin a solid black. The head is a nice sculpt, with curly hair and a red mask covering the eyes. You know, to keep his identity secret. The identity of the guy whose body turns solid black and obscures all detail.
This figure is wearing his X-Force costume - one of them, at least. He wasn't part of the team at the very start, having left
the New Mutants right before they changed names, so this look didn't come about until later. Which means he technically doesn't fit in with any other characters at all right now. It is a nice costume, with strong red and blue colors forming a V on his abdomen and stripes down the sides of his arms and legs. The shins are new, because the yellow bars on the outsides are raised elements, and he gets bright yellow versions of Mar-Vell's wristbands. There's a raised yellow collar with a red X-logo on the front as well.
He uses the small body, so he's got all the usual
articulation for that. The arm joints feel a little rubbery, though it's hard to say whether that's a result of the plastic recipe that was used, or the oft-used mold beginning to show its age. The head is limited slightly by the collar, the tails of his mask, and the energy effect backpack piece. That's right, while the toy can't be encased in a yellow glow, Hasbro did manage to give him (some of) his dots! They gave him the "bubble" effects to go on his wrists, and a small new piece that spreads across his shoulders. It's just a little thing, but it's clever and sells the idea of his powers better than you'd expect.
Sunspot comes with part of this series' Build-A-Figure, Strong Guy. He gets the torso.
Given the choice between this costume and the one 'Berto was wearing at the end of New Mutants, the NM one would have been the better choice. It definitely would have looked more like it belonged with Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Shatterstar and Cable.
-- 09/25/20
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