SUNFIRE: PARTICIPATION ON HIS OWN TERMS

SUNFIRE: PARTICIPATION ON HIS OWN TERMS Sunfire is another returning character. Shiro Yoshida debuted in X-Men #64, so Giant-Size X-Men #1 recruits someone with an established identity and a difficult history with the X-Men. His conversation with Xavier in Japan gives little suggestion that he's looking for a new home or a teacher. He considers the invitation from his own position. Getting him to the mansion doesn't settle whether he'll cooperate once he hears what the mission involves. He initially refuses the rescue, then catches up with the departing team. That reversal puts him on the mission without erasing the friction. He's prepared to act, but the others still have to deal with someone who speaks and behaves as though their approval means very little to him. His red-and-white costume and radiating sun design make him easy to pick out. Flight and intense heat attacks give the squad another powerful airborne member, with a different visual identity from either Storm or Banshee. Shiro gives Cyclops access to considerable firepower without making his leadership any easier. He can agree to help the missing X-Men and still have little patience for the people doing the rescuing. The others have to work with him as he is. Sharing mutant powers hasn't given them a shared outlook, and his participation carries no promise of a permanent commitment.