Shiro Yoshida, aka Sunfire, is a mutant who can absorb solar radiation, then convert it into plasma to shoot blasts of heat, flames, radiation, and concussive force. Along with his ability to blast what he calls “solar fire,” Sunfire is immune to radiation, can see infrared, and he can fly.

Shiro was born in Agarshima, Japan to a mother who had radiation poisoning because of the atomic bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima. As a result of the radiation exposure, Shiro was born a mutant with powers over solar radiation. The character was created by Roy Thomas and Don Heck, who introduced him in X-Men #64 (January 1970).

Shiro’s mother died when he was young, and his uncle Tomo convinced Shiro to use his abilities to fight the country he blamed for his mother’s death. When he attacked the US Capitol, the X-Men stepped in to stop him. Meanwhile, his duplicitous uncle killed Shiro’s father, so the newly minted Sunfire killed his uncle and turned himself in for the crime.

He straddled the line between villain and hero, joining Namor in a fight against the Dragon Lord, but then fighting Iron Man. The Mandarin kidnapped him because he wanted to use his powers to run a machine, but Iron Man saved him, so Sunfire joined the hero to defeated Ultimo. When the original X-Men went missing on the living island Krakoa, Professor X asked Sunfire to join his new team to save the original group. He helped, but after the mission was completed, Sunfire chose not to become an official member of the X-Men.

Sunfire was kidnapped by Apocalypse because Shiro was one of the mutants that the villain could use to gain the power to warp reality, but he was saved by the X-Men. He joined the X-Corporation, an organization that sought to protect mutant rights, at their location in Mumbai.

Rogue, Mystique, Sunfire, and Blindspot joined forces to steal the process used to bond adamantium from Lord Dark Wind. Things got complicated after the mission when Blindspot used her powers to erase their memories – a move she always made after completing a contract. Blindspot learned that Lord Dark Wind wanted to kill them for what they had done, so she went to Japan to erase his memory. She discovered that his daughter, Lady Deathstrike, had killed him and then released information condemning the group for what they had done.

Since Sunfire, Rogue, and Mystique had no memory of what they had done, they thought they were being framed for something. It was then that Lady Deathstrike caught up to them and cut off Sunfire’s legs in retaliation. In his weakened state, Sunfire told Rogue to absorb his powers and defeat Deathstrike before she could kill all of them. She was reluctant to do what he requested, so Blindspot forced her to touch him and get his power. Once Rogue seriously injured Deathstrike, she sought the X-Men to help with Sunfire, but he wasn’t where she had left him. He didn’t stay missing for long, reappearing in the Decimation crossover event.