Sumo joins the visible MLF roster in the Madripoor story, New Mutants #93–94. His attacks emphasize bulk, strength and impact. He does not need an elaborate trick to put somebod…

Sumo joins the visible MLF roster in the Madripoor story, New Mutants #93–94. His attacks emphasize bulk, strength and impact. He does not need an elaborate trick to put somebody in danger if he can bring that force down on them. That gives the New Mutants a different problem from the one posed by concealment or time manipulation. They can see the threat coming. They still need a way to survive it. The answer has to come from using their own abilities together rather than hoping one of them will suddenly become stronger than he is. Warlock and Sunspot eventually make that cooperation work against him, using Warlock’s changing form and Bobby’s strength to send him out of the fight. It is a good example of a battle being resolved through the combination of two familiar powers. Neither hero needs a new ability invented for the occasion. There is not a great deal of personal history supplied for Sumo in these early issues. A full account of his life would be pretending the story has already told us more than it has. His role here is clear enough: he adds a physical threat to the Madripoor contingent and forces the young heroes to think about movement, weight and teamwork. A roster can include a character with a simple role without making that role meaningless. In Sumo’s case, the response he forces out of the heroes is more developed than his own background at this point.