Real Name: Shiro YoshidaSunfire and his cousin the Silver Samurai were approached by Magneto and asked to join his cause against Apocalypse. Sunfire agreed but rushed home to protect his country when Apocalypse began his destruction of Asia. By the time he arrived in Japan, the country was in ruins and Silver Samurai was desperately trying to evacuate the survivors. Wanting to give his cousin time, Sunfire went to battle Apocalypse and his son Nemesis alone. Sunfire fought spectacularly but could not beat the two evil mutants and was battled into submission. Apocalypse and Nemesis then forced Sunfire to watch them brutally murder countless Japanese citizens just to deepen Sunfire’s failure. As a final disgrace, Apocalypse proceeded to try and drown Sunfire in the blood of those murdered victims. Enraged, Sunfire let the full extent of his powers rage out of control as he created a plasma explosion so large that it nearly destroyed all of Japan.
Unfortunately, this attack did not kill Apocalypse or Nemesis and Sunfire was taken prisoner. He was given over to the Horseman Death and forced to endure endless torture until being rescued by Blink and Prelate Scott Summers (Cyclops). The overexertion of his powers in Japan and torture at the hands of Death had burned away much of Sunfire’s skin. To protect Sunfire’s body from his powers, Magneto crafted for him a suit that would protect his body. His spirit was not so easily mended as he was constantly tormented by memories of Apocalypse’s massacre of Japan. The cold-hearted Sunfire fought ferociously against the forces of Apocalypse for years, endlessly seeking redemption for his failure. Towards the end of Apocalypse’s rule, Sunfire and Blink discovered a culling in Chicago and warned the X-Men. Rogue assembled a team to try and stop it and Sunfire went with them. While trying to evacuate the humans from Chicago, Sunfire went berserk on Apocalypse’s primary scanners and Rogue had to absorb his powers to stop him.
A calmer Sunfire later accompanied Rogue’s team to fight Holocaust and rescue captive X-Man Sabretooth from one of Apocalypse’s Infinite Factories. At this factory, Sunfire located pens that housed humans before their extermination and rescued them all. After seeing the looks on the faces of those he saved, Sunfire realized why he must fight on without rest. Not to exact revenge for those that were lost but to fight and preserve those that are still with us. During the final battle on Apocalypse’s stronghold, Sunfire assisted in the evacuation of New York City to give closure to his failure in Japan.
Sunfire rejoined Magneto’s reformed X-Men one year after the fall of Apocalypse and appears to have forgiven himself for what happened in Japan. In the fight against the Sinister Six, Sunfire tried to contain the Phoenix’s tremendous powers but it was too much for him. He miraculously survived but was in need of medical attention. After his recovery, Sunfire returned to Japan with Psylocke, Silver Samurai and Kirika.
829