Show pageBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== Eclipse ====== ===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary ===== * **Core Identity: A conflicted mutant with the power to manipulate photons, Marcos Diaz, codenamed Eclipse, is a central figure in the mutant resistance, defined by his fierce loyalty and a past he cannot escape.** * **Key Takeaways:** * **Role in the Universe:** Eclipse is a key leader within the [[mutant_underground|Mutant Underground]], a network dedicated to protecting mutants from persecution, as depicted in the Fox television series //The Gifted//. His primary struggle is balancing his duties to the cause with his profound love for his family, particularly [[polaris|Lorna Dane (Polaris)]]. * **Primary Impact:** As a character created specifically for television, Eclipse's main impact is providing a grounded, emotionally resonant perspective on the mutant struggle. His powers, which are visually spectacular but also cause him physical pain, serve as a constant metaphor for the burden and sacrifice inherent in being a hero. * **Key Incarnations:** It is critical to understand that **Eclipse (Marcos Diaz) does not exist in the Prime Marvel Comic Universe (Earth-616)**. He is an original character from the Fox X-Men television universe. His powers are directly inspired by the long-standing X-Men character [[sunspot|Roberto da Costa (Sunspot)]], but their backstories, personalities, and character arcs are fundamentally different. ===== Part 2: Origin and Evolution ===== ==== Publication History and Creation ==== Eclipse made his first and only appearance in the pilot episode of the Fox television series //The Gifted//, titled "eXposed," which aired on October 2, 2017. The character was created by the show's creator, Matt Nix, as a core protagonist for the series. Played by actor Sean Teale, Marcos Diaz was conceived to serve several narrative purposes. First, his photokinetic abilities provided a visually dynamic power set for the action-oriented series. Second, his romantic relationship with the established comic character [[polaris|Polaris]] was designed to be the emotional heart of the show, creating immediate stakes and a link to the broader [[x-men|X-Men]] lore through her parentage ([[magneto]]). Third, his dark, criminal past as a smuggler for a drug cartel added layers of internal conflict and moral ambiguity, distinguishing him from more traditionally heroic figures. While his powers are a clear homage to the comic character [[sunspot|Sunspot]], the creation of Marcos Diaz as "Eclipse" allowed the writers the freedom to craft a new backstory and personality tailored specifically for the narrative of //The Gifted//, unburdened by decades of comic book continuity. ==== In-Universe Origin Story ==== The origin of Eclipse is unique to the television adaptation he was created for. To provide a complete encyclopedic context, it is necessary to detail his television origin separately from the origin of the comic book character who served as his primary inspiration. === Fox's X-Men Universe (The Gifted) === Marcos Diaz was born in Colombia. At a young age, his mutant powers of light and heat manipulation manifested. Tragically, his parents, terrified of his abilities, threw him out of their home when he was only thirteen. Left to fend for himself, Marcos survived on the streets, eventually falling in with the Cartel del Sol. He used his formidable powers to rise through the criminal underworld, becoming a key enforcer and smuggler. His abilities were particularly useful for coercing information through heat-based torture and for creating blinding flashes of light to aid in illicit activities. During this time, he had a volatile romantic relationship with Carmen, the daughter of the cartel's leader. However, Marcos grew deeply disillusioned with the violent and cruel life the cartel demanded of him. He sought a way out, a path to redemption. He eventually found this path when he was recruited into the nascent Mutant Underground, a clandestine network dedicated to helping mutants escape persecution from government agencies like [[sentinel_services|Sentinel Services]]. Adopting the codename "Eclipse," Marcos became a vital member of the network, using his smuggling contacts and combat skills to guide endangered mutants to safety. It was here that he met and fell in love with Lorna Dane, also known as Polaris. Their relationship became the cornerstone of his new life, representing the hope and purpose he had been searching for. However, his past with the cartel was not so easily left behind, and Carmen's obsession with him would later return to haunt him, forcing him to make impossible choices to protect the people he loved. === Earth-616 (Comic Book Precursor - Sunspot) === To be unequivocally clear: **Marcos Diaz does not exist in the Earth-616 comic book universe.** His power set is a direct adaptation of Roberto da Costa, a prominent mutant known as Sunspot. The origins of these two characters, however, could not be more different. Roberto da Costa debuted in //Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants// (1982), created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod. Born in Brazil, Roberto was the son of the immensely wealthy and influential industrialist Emmanuel da Costa. Unlike Marcos's traumatic childhood, Roberto grew up in luxury, though his relationship with his domineering father was often strained. His mutant powers manifested dramatically during a soccer game at age fourteen. During a heated match, racist players from the opposing team assaulted him. The intense physical stress and anger triggered his latent X-gene, engulfing his body in black solar energy. This public display of power made him a target. The anti-mutant villain Donald Pierce and his Hellfire Club mercenaries attempted to kidnap him, murdering his girlfriend, Juliana Sandoval, in the process. Roberto was saved by the intervention of two other young mutants, [[karma|Karma]] and [[psyche|Psyche (Danielle Moonstar)]]. This traumatic event led him directly to [[professor_x|Charles Xavier]], who was in the process of forming a new generation of students. Alongside Karma, Psyche, [[wolfsbane|Wolfsbane]], and [[cannonball|Cannonball]], Roberto became a founding member of the [[new_mutants|New Mutants]]. His origin is one of privilege thrust into tragedy, a stark contrast to Marcos Diaz's story of poverty and a struggle for survival leading to a life of crime. While Eclipse's powers mirror Sunspot's, their foundational stories explore vastly different themes. ===== Part 3: Abilities, Equipment & Personality ===== === Fox's X-Men Universe (Marcos Diaz) === Marcos Diaz is an Alpha-Level Mutant with the power of **photokinesis**, the ability to absorb, store, and project photons. His body acts as a living solar battery, constantly absorbing ambient light. * **Powers and Abilities:** * **Photon Blasts:** Eclipse's primary offensive ability is the projection of concentrated beams of light and heat from his hands. The intensity of these blasts can vary dramatically. * //Concussive Force:// He can fire blasts strong enough to knock people off their feet, shatter concrete, or blow open locked doors. * //Intense Heat:// He can increase the thermal energy of his blasts to melt steel, cauterize wounds, or start fires. He often uses this as an intimidation tactic, heating metal objects to a glow. * **Light Generation:** Marcos can release the stored photons from his entire body, creating incredibly bright, disorienting flashes of light. This is a powerful defensive and tactical tool, used to blind opponents, cover escapes, and disrupt electronic surveillance. The intensity can range from a simple glow to a flashbang effect powerful enough to incapacitate a room full of people. * **Light Manipulation:** He possesses fine control over his powers, able to generate a small, sustained light source akin to a flashlight or torch. * **Tactical Acumen:** His years in the cartel and with the Mutant Underground have made him a skilled strategist and improviser. He is adept at guerrilla warfare and understands how to leverage his powers in conjunction with his teammates' abilities. * **Bilingualism:** Marcos is fluent in both English and Spanish, a skill he uses frequently when dealing with his past contacts. * **Weaknesses and Limitations:** * **Light Dependency:** His powers are fueled by light. In complete darkness, he is unable to recharge his energy reserves. Prolonged use of his powers without exposure to a light source will weaken him significantly, eventually rendering him powerless. * **Physical Strain:** Overexerting his abilities, particularly generating intense heat or massive photon blasts, causes Marcos visible physical pain and can leave glowing, scar-like marks on his skin. This physical toll underscores the sacrificial nature of his powers. * **Emotional Volatility:** His powers are tied to his emotional state. Moments of extreme anger or distress can cause his powers to flare uncontrollably. * **Personality:** Marcos is defined by a fierce, almost reckless loyalty to those he loves. He presents a confident, sometimes cocky exterior, a remnant of his cartel days, but this bravado masks a deep-seated insecurity and a desperate desire for redemption. He is a pragmatist, willing to make morally gray decisions if it means protecting his family or the Mutant Underground, a trait that often puts him at odds with more idealistic members. His love for Lorna Dane is the central driving force of his life; he is willing to endure torture, betray trusts, and face down impossible odds for her and their daughter, Dawn. === Earth-616 (Roberto Da Costa - The Inspiration) === Roberto da Costa is an Omega-Level Mutant ((As stated in //House of X #1//)) with the power of **solar radiation absorption and metabolization**. While superficially similar to Eclipse's photokinesis, Sunspot's powers operate on a much grander scale and with different mechanics. * **Powers and Abilities:** * **Solar Radiation Absorption:** Sunspot's cells can absorb all forms of solar radiation and store it for a variety of effects. Unlike Eclipse, he is not limited to just the visible light spectrum. * **"Powered-Up" Form:** When he utilizes his power, Roberto's body becomes pitch black, save for his glowing white eyes. This form is a physical manifestation of him metabolizing solar energy. In this state, his abilities are active. * **Superhuman Strength:** The primary result of his energy metabolization is immense physical strength. Initially, he was in the 10-25 ton range, but his powers have grown to the point where he can trade blows with incredibly powerful foes like Gladiator. * **Concussive Energy Blasts:** Sunspot can channel his stored solar energy into powerful concussive blasts of force and heat. These "solar blasts" are often depicted as black, Kirby-crackle-infused energy, distinct from Eclipse's pure light. * **Thermokinesis:** He can project intense heat, capable of melting metal or creating waves of thermal energy. * **Flight:** By projecting his solar energy downwards, Sunspot can achieve supersonic flight. * **Superhuman Durability:** In his powered-up form, Roberto is highly resistant to physical injury, energy attacks, and extreme temperatures. * **Business Acumen:** As the heir to the Da Costa fortune and later the leader of both [[avengers|Avengers]]-sanctioned teams and his own version of [[aim|A.I.M.]], Roberto is a brilliant strategist, CEO, and tactician, far surpassing Marcos's street-level experience. * **Weaknesses and Limitations:** * **Energy Depletion:** Like Eclipse, Sunspot's powers depend on a stored energy source. If he is cut off from sunlight for an extended period and expends all his reserves, he will revert to his normal human form and be powerless until he can recharge. * **Personality:** Initially, Roberto was portrayed as hot-headed, arrogant, and impulsive, often clashing with his more level-headed teammates like Cannonball. Over decades of character development, he has matured into one of the most capable and confident leaders in the Marvel Universe. He retains his immense self-assurance but has tempered it with strategic genius and a genuine sense of responsibility. He is fiercely loyal to his friends, particularly Cannonball, and has proven willing to play complex, morally ambiguous games—like taking over the evil science organization A.I.M. and rebranding it—for the greater good. ===== Part 4: Key Relationships & Network ===== //This section focuses primarily on Eclipse (Marcos Diaz) as depicted in //The Gifted//.// ==== Core Allies ==== * **[[polaris|Lorna Dane (Polaris)]]:** The defining relationship of Marcos's life. Their love is passionate, intense, and tumultuous. They are bound by a deep understanding of what it means to be a powerful and feared mutant. Their powers are shown to be highly compatible, creating a dazzling aurora-like effect when used in tandem. Their separation at the end of Season 1, when a pregnant Lorna joins the Hellfire Club, forms the central emotional conflict of the series. The birth of their daughter, Dawn, only intensifies Marcos's desperate and unwavering commitment to reuniting his family. * **[[thunderbird|John Proudstar (Thunderbird)]]:** John is Marcos's closest friend and the co-leader of their Mutant Underground cell. Where Marcos is impulsive and emotionally driven, John is stoic, strategic, and calm. They share a strong bond forged in combat and a mutual respect for each other's abilities and dedication. They often disagree on tactics—with Marcos willing to bend the rules further than John—but their friendship remains a stabilizing force for the group. * **Clarice Fong (Blink) and The Strucker Family:** Marcos acts as a mentor and protective figure for the younger or less experienced members of the Underground, including Clarice Fong. His relationship with the Struckers ([[reed_strucker|Reed]], [[caitlin_strucker|Caitlin]], [[lauren_strucker|Lauren]], and [[andy_strucker|Andy]]) is initially one of necessity, but he develops a genuine bond with them. He respects Reed's sacrifices and Caitlin's fierce maternal instinct, seeing a parallel to his own desire to protect his family. ==== Arch-Enemies ==== * **[[sentinel_services|Jace Turner and Sentinel Services]]:** As the face of governmental persecution, Jace Turner represents the primary institutional threat to the Mutant Underground. For Marcos, the conflict is both ideological and personal. Sentinel Services captured him and Lorna, tortured them, and is the force that constantly threatens to destroy the lives they are trying to save. Turner's obsessive, grief-fueled hunt for mutants makes him a relentless and dangerous adversary. * **The Hellfire Club (Inner Circle):** Led by the telepath Reeva Payge and her enforcers, the Frost Sisters, the Inner Circle represents a more radical, pro-mutant supremacist ideology. They become Marcos's direct antagonists in Season 2 after they recruit Lorna to their cause. They manipulate her, separate her from Marcos, and plan to establish a mutant homeland through acts of mass terrorism. For Marcos, this fight is deeply personal, as he is not only fighting for the soul of the mutant rights movement but also to save the woman he loves from a dark and destructive path. * **Carmen and the Cartel del Sol:** Carmen represents Marcos's inescapable past. As his former lover and cartel boss, she holds a deep-seated grudge against him for leaving her. She repeatedly uses her resources and his past crimes as leverage, forcing him back into the cartel's service in exchange for information or passage. This dynamic creates a powerful internal conflict for Marcos, forcing him to dirty his hands once more to achieve a greater good. ==== Affiliations ==== * **[[mutant_underground|Mutant Underground]]:** His primary and most defining affiliation. Eclipse is not just a member; he is a co-founder and leader of the Atlanta station. He is fully committed to its mission of saving mutants and providing them with a safe haven. * **Cartel del Sol (Formerly):** His affiliation with the Colombian drug cartel is a source of deep shame and a part of his history that he can never fully escape. His skills, contacts, and reputation from this time are a double-edged sword, providing useful resources at the cost of moral compromise. ===== Part 5: Iconic Events & Storylines (The Gifted) ===== ==== Season 1: Founding the Resistance ==== The first season establishes Eclipse's role as a cornerstone of the Mutant Underground. The story begins with him using his criminal contacts to help Clarice Fong (Blink) escape Sentinel Services. A key turning point is his capture alongside Lorna. During their imprisonment, they are brutally interrogated, and Marcos is coerced by the threat of Lorna's torture. Their eventual rescue by the Strucker family and the rest of the Underground cements their bonds. Throughout the season, Marcos struggles to balance his pragmatic, sometimes brutal methods with the group's more hopeful ideals. The season finale is a watershed moment for his character: after the Underground's headquarters is destroyed, a pregnant and ideologically hardened Lorna chooses to leave with the Hellfire Club, believing their proactive approach is the only way to secure a future for their child. This decision shatters Marcos, setting the stage for his primary motivation in the next season. ==== Season 2: A Divided Front ==== Season 2 is defined by Marcos's desperate and all-consuming quest to find Lorna and their newborn daughter, Dawn. He becomes more reckless and willing to cross moral lines, exemplified by his decision to work for his ex-girlfriend Carmen and the cartel in exchange for information on the Inner Circle. This arc explores the depths of his desperation and how far he is willing to go for his family. A major subplot involves the mysterious illness of his daughter, which is caused by the separation of her parents' conflicting powers. This forces Marcos and Lorna into a temporary, uneasy truce to save her. The climax of the season sees Marcos and the Mutant Underground confronting both the fanatical anti-mutant Purifiers and Reeva Payge's Inner Circle. He ultimately helps foil Reeva's plot and is reunited with Lorna, but the series ends on a cliffhanger as Blink sacrifices herself to open a portal to a new, unknown future, which Marcos and the others resolve to explore. ===== Part 6: Variants and Alternative Versions ===== As Eclipse is a television-specific creation, the concept of "variants" is best understood by examining the character who inspired him, Sunspot, across different media. ==== The Prime Inspiration: Sunspot (Earth-616) ==== The main comic book version of Roberto da Costa is the template from which Eclipse's powers were drawn. His journey, however, is vastly different. After co-founding the New Mutants, he had a long and storied career. He joined the violent, proactive team [[x-force|X-Force]] under Cable's leadership, where he learned to master the more offensive aspects of his powers. He eventually graduated to the world's premier superhero team, becoming a member of the [[avengers|Avengers]]. His most significant character arc came when he used his vast fortune to buy out the villainous science organization Advanced Idea Mechanics ([[aim|A.I.M.]]) and rebranded it as Avengers Idea Mechanics, serving as its Supreme Leader. He led his own Avengers team from this position, using questionable methods for the greater good. Most recently, he has been a central figure in the Krakoan era of the X-Men, serving on the Quiet Council and operating in space. Roberto's evolution from an arrogant teenager to a global power player and leader is a far cry from Marcos's more street-level, emotionally-driven story. ==== X-Men: Days of Future Past (Film) ==== Sunspot made his live-action debut in the 2014 film //X-Men: Days of Future Past//, portrayed by Adan Canto. This version of the character appears in the dark future timeline, fighting alongside the last remnants of the X-Men against the futuristic Sentinels. His powers are visually impressive, showing him engulfing his body in solar fire, flying, and firing powerful heat blasts. This interpretation is purely a warrior, given little characterization beyond his role in the desperate final stand. His power visual, a fiery aura, is distinct from both Eclipse's light-based powers and the comic book's pitch-black energy form. ==== New Mutants (Film) ==== The 2020 film //New Mutants// featured a younger, more comics-accurate version of Roberto da Costa, played by Henry Zaga. This portrayal captured his wealthy, arrogant, and insecure personality from the early comics. The film depicts his origin, showing that he accidentally burned his girlfriend Juliana alive when his powers first manifested, a source of deep trauma and guilt for him. His powers are shown developing over the course of the film, culminating in him taking on his fiery solar form to battle the Demon Bear. This version is much closer to the source material's personality than Eclipse, focusing on the themes of guilt and learning to control one's power. ===== See Also ===== * [[sunspot]] * [[polaris]] * [[thunderbird]] * [[mutant_underground]] * [[sentinel_services]] * [[new_mutants]] * [[x-men]] ===== Notes and Trivia ===== ((Eclipse was portrayed by British actor Sean Teale in all 29 episodes of //The Gifted//.)) ((The name "Eclipse" is a fitting codename, as an eclipse is an event involving the blocking of light (like his blinding flashes) and is often associated with the sun (the source of his power).)) ((While his powers are based on Sunspot, his backstory of being a reluctant criminal with a heart of gold is a common archetype and shares some thematic similarities with characters like [[gambit|Gambit]].)) ((//The Gifted// was officially canceled on April 17, 2019, after two seasons, leaving the cliffhanger ending of the series unresolved.)) ((The visual effect for Eclipse's powers often shows veins of light under his skin, emphasizing the biological and often painful nature of his abilities. This is a unique element not typically seen in depictions of Sunspot.)) ((Source Material for Sunspot (Earth-616): //Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants// (1982), //New Mutants// (Vol. 1), //X-Force// (Vol. 1), //Avengers// (Vol. 5), //U.S.Avengers// (Vol. 1), //House of X/Powers of X// (2019).)) ((Source Material for Eclipse: //The Gifted//, Seasons 1-2 (2017-2019).))