Sunturion is the name of two
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
s appearing in
American comic books published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
.
Publication history
The first character, also called Arthur Dearborn debuted in ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' #143 (February 1981) and was created by writers
David Michelinie
David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in '' Action Comics''. Among the characters he create ...
,
Bob Layton
Bob Layton (born 1953) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for his work on Marvel Comics titles such as ''Iron Man'' and '' Hercules'', and for co-founding Valiant Comics with Jim Shooter.
Early life
Bob Lay ...
, and penciler
John Romita Jr.
John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr.
Early ...
The second character, Mike Stone, first appeared in ''
Daredevil'' #224 (November 1985) and was created by writer
Jim Owsley
Christopher James Priest (born James Christopher Owsley, June 30, 1961) is an American writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993. He was the first black writer-editor in mainstream co ...
and penciller
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens (; born June 27, 1959) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw and Booster Gold. Jurgens ...
.
Fictional character biography
Arthur Dearborn
The
Roxxon Energy Corporation
The Roxxon Energy Corporation (otherwise known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation or simply Roxxon) is the name of a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in Ameri ...
in conjunction with the
Brand Corporation, their
genetic research
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar working i ...
subsidiary, convert Roxxon employee Arthur Dearborn into a being of living
microwave
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different fre ...
energy called Sunturion, who serves as crew and guardian for "Star Well I", a Roxxon solar
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
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 and he could do far more work than any normal man.
An accident on Star Well I results in the death of the entire town of Allentown,
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
, and
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
arrives to investigate and meets with Dearborn. Learning that Dearborn is Sunturion, the pair prevent a
meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extr ...
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, despite his admiration for Dearborn's goals, 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
The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary ...
.
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
Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company is depicted as being owned an ...
), Stratosfire turns against the company when a close friend is murdered for speaking with Tony Stark (Iron Man's
alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differe ...
). Sunturion locates Stratosfire and activates her "Zed Control": a Roxxon-implanted
self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism that can cause an object to destroy itself or render itself inoperable after a predefined set of circumstances has occurred.
Self-destruct mechanisms are typically found on devices and systems where malfunction could ...
device that dissipates Stratosfire's microwave energies and reverts Dearborn to his human form.
After Kathy Dare shot Tony Stark, paralyzing him, Arthur speaks as a character witness in support of Stark during her trial. At the time, Stark was preparing to withdraw from public life and become Iron Man full-time, but the testimony of Arthur and others convinces him that there was still value to being Tony Stark.
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
Vibranium () is a fictional metal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, noted for its extraordinary abilities to absorb, store, and release large amounts of kinetic energy. Mined only in Wakanda, the metal is associated w ...
.
Dearborn learns that his energy form is starting to dissipate, and that he will soon die. After Roxxon refused to help (as it wasn't "cost-effective"), Dearborn attacks their facilities all over the world. In one attack, he encounters the
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
, and finds his phasing abilities countered by
Vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
's own. After fleeing the scene, Dearborn is tracked down by Vision, and convinced to go to the Avengers for help. When the Avengers tell him they need more time to analyze his condition, he decides to return to his original plan. Attacking another Roxxon facility, he reveals to the Avengers that Roxxon is replicating the process that created him on others (without telling them of the dangers). After Vision destroys the equipment, Dearborn is convinced to return to Roxxon who no longer having the resources to make more Sunturions has no choice but to try and cure him.
Mike Stone
After Sunturion apparently sacrifices himself to boost Iron Man's deflector beam, allowing the satellite to be harmlessly deflected into the Gulf of Carpentaria, Roxxon 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
A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
Mike Stone while on a
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...
trip in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
. 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.
Powers and abilities
Arthur Dearborn is a normal human who undergoes a
mutagenic modification process that converts him into microwave energy. In this converted state Dearborn is capable of projecting microwave energy; creating
force fields;
teleportation
Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...
;
flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can b ...
; 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.
Other versions
''What If?''
*In the ''What If'' story "The Leaving", which takes place fifty years into an alternate future, Sunturion is a member of the Avengers.
In other media
The Arthur Dearborn incarnation of Sunturion appears in the 1994 ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' animated television series episode "Cell of Iron", with Arthur Dearborn voiced by
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Others ...
and Sunturion voiced by
Tom Kane
Thomas Kane Roberts (born April 15, 1962) is a retired American voice actor. He is best known for his work in animation and video games, most notably in the '' Star Wars'' franchise.
Career
Kane began his voice-over career in 1977, at fifteen ye ...
.
This iteration of Dearborn suffers from a deadly disease that he wiped out with a unique form of microwave energy. The treatment's side effects include the ability to transform into Sunturion and an uncontrollably emitting deadly radiation. While the Star Well station was created to be his sanctuary, it was targeted by
A.I.M., leading Iron Man to help Sunturion defend it. Ultimately, Dearborn / Sunturion sacrifices himself to stop the Star Well station from crashing into New York city.
References
External links
Sunturionat Comic Vine
{{John Romita Jr.
Characters created by Bob Layton
Characters created by Dan Jurgens
Characters created by David Michelinie
Characters created by John Romita Jr.
Comics characters introduced in 1981
Comics characters introduced in 1985
Marvel Comics mutates
Marvel Comics supervillains
fr:Liste des ennemis de Iron Man#S