- Born to the Brazilian millionaire CEO Emmanuel da Costa and the American archaeologist Nina da Costa in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- First manifested his power as super strength at the age of 14, when he was attacked by a rival at his championship soccer game.
- After the incident, he encountered mercenaries hired by Donald Pierce to kidnap him. They failed, but nabbed his girlfriend, Juliana Sandoval, instead.
- Roberto was approached by two mutant students of the Xavier School, and the three attempted to rescue Juliana. Though the mercenaries were fought off, Juliana took a bullet for Roberto and died. Vowing revenge, he teamed with Xavier and helped defeat Pierce.
- Roberto stayed with Xavier and went back with him to the mansion, where he became a student and started to learn how to control his powers.
- Eventually, he became one of the founding members of the New Mutants, a student team created by Professor X. As part of the team, he began to bond with his fellow New Mutants, especially Cannonball, who became his best friend.
- Tragedy met the school during his time with the team. During a conflict, it was blown up and the students and faculty were forced to scatter. Roberto took the time to go to Brazil and visit his family. During this time, he worked under his father and began to learn the business.
- It wasn't long before the school was reconstructed, though, and Roberto returned immediately to catch up with his old friends and teammates. Back together again, he has found his place once more with the New Mutants under the mantle of Sunspot.
Trustworthy
When Roberto gives his word, he can be trusted to keep it. He feels that honesty and loyalty are very noble traits and he serves to honor them. This is just one reason he stays in contact with his old teammates.
Temper
Roberto has a bit of a temper, which is what first allowed his powers to manifest when he was younger. He is quick to anger, which can sometimes get in the way of clear decision making, though he does his best to keep it under control.
Sense of Humor
People around Roberto tend to agree that the young man has a good sense of humor. He has been through plenty in his short life already, with the death of his young love and the ups and downs of being part of the New Warriors. His response, even through the toughest times, is to lighten the mood through humor. It may not always be appropriate, but he generally tries to look on the brighter side of things and help others see the light as well. Also, this has led to his being a class clown more often than not.
SOLAR ABSORPTION: Roberto's main power lies in the ability of his cells to absorb and retain solar energy. The energy remains within his cells until they are expunged. When Roberto expends this energy, his form becomes dark, eyes white-hot, and he becomes surrounded by a hazy corona of solar energy. The energy spreads through his muscles, nerves, skeletal structure, and organs, thus strengthening them. Solar energy that is absorbed and stored during the day remain within Roberto, allowing his to unleash it at night until his stores run dry.
STRENGTH & ENDURANCE: Roberto gains superhuman strength when using absorbed solar energy. He can lift up to two tons and he can also take quite a bit of damage, though not as much as others with super strength. He can, by no means, protect himself from bullets and similar projectiles, for example.
LANGUAGES: Roberto is fluent in three written and spoken lanaguages: English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portugese.
SOCCER: Roberto is an excellent soccer player. He has been playing the game since he was very young and continues to compete, though not professionally. He has used his powers in the game in the past, but these days he makes sure not to.
HAND_TO_HAND: Roberto has had basic martial arts training at the school. He has focused on boxing techniques as well as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He is at an average level for someone his age, but puts time and effort into his training.
RESIST_DOMINATION: Through extensive training by Professor Xavier, Roberto has learned how to guard his mind against outside invaders. This acts as a resistance to mid-controlling agents as well.
UNIFORM: Roberto's uniform offers some protection, but for the most part has just been designed to be immune to Roberto's sunspot form, when he emits strong waves of energy.
CONTACTS: Roberto has contacts within Xavier's School for the Gifted. He is in constant contact, specifically, with Professor X and the members of the New Mutants team.
WEALTH: Roberto has a healthy trust fund set up for him, thanks to his father and the family business. He has a bank account that he can access with funds added by his parents, which allow him to spend in a frivolous teenage manner.
POSESSIONS: Roberto has built up a few basic posessions over the years. He owns a '97 Jeep Wrangler Sport that he's very proud of and actually takes care of. In addition, he has the typical range of electronics one possesses: a cell phone, a laptop, etc. All of them are top of the line.
SOLAR DEPENDENCE: In order for his powers to operate correctly, Roberto needs a constant supply of solar energy to store within his cells. After expending stored energy for about an hour when there is no sunlight around, his enhanced strength and endurance will revert back to that of an average human in relation to his size and weight. If Roberto continues to lack solar energy (beginning at about the third day) he will begin to weaken because of the fact thta his body has become used to the energy. This will make him sickly, feeble, and mentally sluggish.
CODE OF HONOR: Roberto has a heightened sense of honor, instilled in him by his parents and by his time at Xavier's school. To those he trusts, loves, and befriends, he offers unwavering support and help. While this may seem like a positive trait, it really is only for those on the recieing end. For Roberto, the responsibility that comes along with his code of honor can be hindering. He will often lose sight of his own goals and personal aims in order to help the ones he cares about, and if betrayal is in the midst, Roberto will be a prime target to unknowingly aid moles and the like.
OVERCONFIDENCE: As part of his cocky nature as well as his powers, Roberto can sometimes be a too self-assured. He is confident to fault, and often believes he can take on tasks and obstacles that are well out of his ability to do so. In many situations, can be both dangerous for himself as well as for others. Even in situations that make his scared, that he should know better than to tackle head on, Roberto can often convince himself he is more capable than he is.
ABSORPTION OVERLOAD: Solar energy is absorbed continuously through a complex cellular process until cellular reserves are met. At that point, Roberto's body switches off the absorption process and conentrates instead containment of that energy. This process occurs naturally when typical amounts of solar energy are present. If Roberto were to become subject to intense amounts of solar energy, either artificially or by finding himself in a location where solar energy is not filtered as much as it is through Earth's atmosphere, the process would be overloaded. This can cause Roberto to expend his energy uncontrollably at levels he is not used to. This can endanger others around him and put intense strain on his muscles and bones.
RADIATION DETECTION: When Roberto powers up and his cells no longer contain the solar energy, but instead let it roam free through his body, a corona of solar radiation forms around him. This makes him visible to anyone using a close or long-range radiation detecting device. When he is not powered up, he still reads as radiadctive with close-range (usually handheld) radiation detectors.
