Sunspot was forced to cope with a devastating tragedy in his youth, but a story from Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades helps him finally heal.
WARNING: WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades by Alex Segura, Alba Glez, José Marzan Jr., Cris Peter, and VC’s Ariana Maher
The X-Men’s Sunspot is known for being a suave and confident billionaire, but his life hasn’t always been so rosy. When Sunspot first manifested his mutant powers of drawing strength from solar energy, the Reavers — cybernetically-augmented humans who hunted down mutants — immediately targeted him. They shot at Sunspot, but his girlfriend Juliana jumped in front of the bullet and died in his arms. Only fourteen at the time, the tragic loss affected Sunspot deeply. As he grew from a teenager into an adult, joining teams like the New Mutants, X-Force, and the Avengers, he continued to carry this loss.
Sunspot blamed himself for Juliana’s death. While the Reavers fired the fatal bullet, he couldn’t help but think that if only his mutant powers didn’t emerge or if he had somehow hidden them better, she’d still be alive. Or if he were smarter and stronger with his gifts, she wouldn’t have needed to step in that path of that bullet because he would’ve had it covered.
The guilt weighed heavily on Sunspot for years. What he perceived as a personal failure motivated him to train harder. What had happened to Juliana would never happen to anyone else if he could help it. However, no matter how hard he trained, no matter how many lives he saved, Sunspot couldn’t shake the guilt.
In the short story “Homecoming” from the anthology comic Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades, Sunspot visits the stadium where his powers first emerged and decides to drop by Juliana’s family’s house. While approaching, he sees two Reavers, the very same ones who killed Juliana all those years ago, breaking into the home. This time, the Reavers are targeting Juliana’s little brother Javi, who has begun to demonstrate mutant abilities. Sunspot unleashes his fury on the two Reavers. Even after taking a painful blast, he refuses to quit. In the end, he repels their attacks and keeps Javi safe. Finally, Sunspot gives Javi a Krakoan flower so the boy can open a gate to Krakoa anytime he wants.
The encounter, even years later, feels like a second chance to Sunspot. Once again, he found himself in a situation where the Reavers threatened someone he cared about because of a difference in genetics. This time around, though, it wasn’t Sunspot himself targeted. He is older and more experienced, a combatant more than ready to face down the monstrous hatred turned violence of the Reavers. This time around, the playing field felt a bit fairer.
Taking a blast for Javi to save his life mirrors the choice Juliana made years earlier. Doing the same for her brother doesn’t bring her back, but it affirms that Sunspot uses her heroism as inspiration. Moreover, it helps him see how and why someone might make that choice. It wasn’t something he did wrong; it was something she did out of love. Now he can do the same for the people important to both of them.
The death of Juliana was an extremely traumatic event for Sunspot and shaped his thoughts and actions for a long time. Though he still cherishes her memory, the events of “Homecoming” allow him to move on and heal from the tragedy finally.
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