Sunturion
Encyclopedia
Sunturion is the name of two fictional character
s that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics
.
The first character, also called Arthur Dearborn debuted in Iron Man
#143 (Feb. 1981) and was created by writer David Michelinie
and penciller Bob Layton
. The second character, Mike Stone, first appeared in Daredevil
#224 (Nov. 1985) and was created by writer Jim Owsley and penciller Dan Jurgens
.
Annual #25 (1991), Spectacular Spider-Man #11 (Dec. 1991), and Web of Spider-Man
Annual #7 (1991).
Mike Stone appeared in one story in Daredevil
#224 (Nov. 1985).
energy called Sunturion who serves as crew and guardian for "Star Well I", a Roxxon solar satellite
that orbits Earth and transmits microwave energy to the planet; the transformation was required as otherwise the cost of developing Star Well to provide for a full crew would have made the project too expensive, but as Sunturion Dearborn's personal requirements were fairly limited.
An accident on Star Well I results in the death of the entire town of Allentown, Iowa
, and Iron Man arrives to investigate and meets with Dearborn. Learning that Dearborn is Sunturion, the pair prevent a meteor shower
from damaging Star Well I. After discovering that Star Well I is in fact a Roxxon satellite, Iron Man locates and deactivates a self-destruct device when company director Jonas Hale learns of Iron Man's presence and attempts to destroy the satellite. Iron Man advises Sunturion that the satellite is now evidence of Roxxon's criminal activities and must be confiscated. Sunturion attacks Iron Man as he disables the satellite, and during their battle Star Well I's core drifts into Earth's atmosphere. Sunturion apparently sacrifices himself to boost Iron Man's deflector beam, allowing the satellite to be harmlessly deflected into the Gulf of Carpentaria
.
Roxxon later develops a suit of armor in an unsuccessful attempt to reform Dearborn. The armor is lost at sea, and is eventually found by truck driver Mike Stone while on a fishing
trip in Florida. Stone uses the armor to take revenge on a former employer and encounters Daredevil
. Lacking Dearborn's mutagenic modifications, Stone is absorbed by the armor, and dissipates into the atmosphere when Daredevil damages it.
Roxxon eventually re-integrates Dearborn's energy form, intending to use him against "Stratosfire", a former female Roxxon employee with abilities almost identical to those of Sunturion. Originally the corporate symbol for Roxxon (as Iron Man is for Stark International), Stratosfire turns against the company when a close friend is murdered for speaking with Tony Stark (Iron Man's alter ego
). Sunturion locates Stratosfire and activates her "Zed Control": a Roxxon-implanted self-destruct
device that dissipates Stratosfire's microwave energies and reverts Dearborn to his human form.
Dearborn regains his powers as Sunturion during an encounter with Spider-Man
, who is attempting to prevent the theft of a payload of the metal vibranium
.
process that converts him into microwave energy. In this converted state Dearborn is capable of projecting microwave energy; creating force field
s; teleportation
; flight
; and absorption of solar radiation to replenish his own energy.
The armor found by Mike Stone provides the wearer with abilities similar to those of Dearborn’s energy form. To power itself, however, the armor converts the wearer into microwave energy.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
.
The first character, also called Arthur Dearborn debuted in Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
#143 (Feb. 1981) and was created by writer David Michelinie
David Michelinie
-Biography:Some of his earliest work is for DC Comics's House of Secrets and a run on Swamp Thing , following Len Wein and preceding Gerry Conway, illustrated by Nestor Redondo. Michelinie did a run on Aquaman in Adventure Comics which led to the revival of the Sea King's own title in 1977...
and penciller Bob Layton
Bob Layton
Bob Layton is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor, who has worked for Marvel Comics, Valiant Comics, DC Comics, Future Comics, and other publishers.-Early life:...
. The second character, Mike Stone, first appeared in Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
#224 (Nov. 1985) and was created by writer Jim Owsley and penciller Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for creating the superhero Booster Gold, and for his lengthy runs on the Superman titles Adventures of Superman and Superman , particularly during The Death of Superman storyline...
.
Publication history
Arthur Dearborn debuted in a two part story in Iron Man #143 - 144 (Feb. - March 1981). The character later appeared in the main story featured in Iron Man Annual #9 (1987) and "Vibranium Vendetta", a storyline that ran through The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
Annual #25 (1991), Spectacular Spider-Man #11 (Dec. 1991), and Web of Spider-Man
Web of Spider-Man
Web of Spider-Man is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran for 12 issues between 2009 and 2010.-Volume 1:The first...
Annual #7 (1991).
Mike Stone appeared in one story in Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
#224 (Nov. 1985).
Fictional character biography
The Roxxon Energy Corporation in conjunction with the Brand Corporation, their genetic research subsidiary, convert Roxxon employee Arthur Dearborn into a being of living microwaveMicrowave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
energy called Sunturion who serves as crew and guardian for "Star Well I", a Roxxon solar satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
that orbits Earth and transmits microwave energy to the planet; the transformation was required as otherwise the cost of developing Star Well to provide for a full crew would have made the project too expensive, but as Sunturion Dearborn's personal requirements were fairly limited.
An accident on Star Well I results in the death of the entire town of Allentown, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, and Iron Man arrives to investigate and meets with Dearborn. Learning that Dearborn is Sunturion, the pair prevent a meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
from damaging Star Well I. After discovering that Star Well I is in fact a Roxxon satellite, Iron Man locates and deactivates a self-destruct device when company director Jonas Hale learns of Iron Man's presence and attempts to destroy the satellite. Iron Man advises Sunturion that the satellite is now evidence of Roxxon's criminal activities and must be confiscated. Sunturion attacks Iron Man as he disables the satellite, and during their battle Star Well I's core drifts into Earth's atmosphere. Sunturion apparently sacrifices himself to boost Iron Man's deflector beam, allowing the satellite to be harmlessly deflected into the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
.
Roxxon later develops a suit of armor in an unsuccessful attempt to reform Dearborn. The armor is lost at sea, and is eventually found by truck driver Mike Stone while on a fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
trip in Florida. Stone uses the armor to take revenge on a former employer and encounters Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
. Lacking Dearborn's mutagenic modifications, Stone is absorbed by the armor, and dissipates into the atmosphere when Daredevil damages it.
Roxxon eventually re-integrates Dearborn's energy form, intending to use him against "Stratosfire", a former female Roxxon employee with abilities almost identical to those of Sunturion. Originally the corporate symbol for Roxxon (as Iron Man is for Stark International), Stratosfire turns against the company when a close friend is murdered for speaking with Tony Stark (Iron Man's alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
). Sunturion locates Stratosfire and activates her "Zed Control": a Roxxon-implanted self-destruct
Self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism which causes a device to destroy itself under a predefined set of circumstances.Self-destruct mechanisms are also found on devices and systems where malfunction could endanger large numbers of people...
device that dissipates Stratosfire's microwave energies and reverts Dearborn to his human form.
Dearborn regains his powers as Sunturion during an encounter with Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, who is attempting to prevent the theft of a payload of the metal vibranium
Vibranium
Vibranium is a fictional metal that appears in the Marvel Universe. It is most commonly known as one of the materials used to construct Captain America's shield, but it is also noted for its connection to the Black Panther and his native homeland of Wakanda .-Publication history:Vibranium first...
.
Powers and abilities
Arthur Dearborn is a normal human who undergoes a mutagenic modificationMutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
process that converts him into microwave energy. In this converted state Dearborn is capable of projecting microwave energy; creating force field
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
s; teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
; flight
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
; and absorption of solar radiation to replenish his own energy.
The armor found by Mike Stone provides the wearer with abilities similar to those of Dearborn’s energy form. To power itself, however, the armor converts the wearer into microwave energy.
Television
- The original version of Sunturion appears in the Iron ManIron Man (TV series)Iron Man, also known as Iron Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series based on Marvel Comics' superhero Iron Man...
episode "Cell of Iron" with Arthur Dearborn voiced by David WarnerDavid Warner (actor)David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
and Sunturion voiced by Tom KaneTom KaneTom Kane is a prominent American voice actor with over 25 years of experience. He is most widely known for his animation work...
. His appearance in human form was based on another character named Abner Doolittle who is a scientist working for the Roxxon Energy Corporation. Arthur Dearborn's origin is altered having suffering from a deadly disease that he wiped out with a unique form of microwave energy. The treatment's side effects included the ability to transform into Sunturion, and an uncontrollable emitting of radiation, deadly to all others around him. The Star Well station was created to be his sanctury and was targeted by A.I.M.Advanced Idea MechanicsA.I.M. is a fictional terrorist organization in the . The organization first appeared in Strange Tales #146 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-Publication history:...
causing Iron Man to help Sunturion defend it. Ultimately, Dearborn/Sunturion sacrifices himself stopping the Star Well station from crashing into New York city.
- A large, sun-motif, Makluan construct termed as "The Sunturion" appears in the Iron Man: Armored AdventuresIron Man: Armored AdventuresIron Man: Armored Adventures is a 3D CGI cartoon series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man. It debuted in the USA on the Nicktoons on April 24, 2009, and has already begun airing on Canadian network Teletoon. The series is story edited by showrunner Christopher Yost, who also worked on...
episode "The Might of Doom". The huge construct is shown unmoving at the end of the episode as the sword-wielding guardian of the seventh Makluan Ring when Gene Khan and Howard Stark arrive in its temple. The guardian is stated to have been defeated by Gene (off-camera) when Gene shows he now has the seventh ring that it was protecting as shown in the episode "Enter: Iron Monger".
External links
- Sunturion at Comic Vine