Takeo Sato was born in a Japanese village near an active volcano. The volacano erupted on the day of his birth, and he inhaled its fumes with his first breath. It was this incident that gave him his powers. Sato grew up like any other normal child, unaware that he was different from everyone else. When he reached adulthood, he became a film actor and made a series of successful movies starring as a Japanese hero called Sunburst.

One day, whilst Takeo was rehearsing a flying part for his latest film, the wires that held him at a great height snapped - but instead of falling, he found that he could fly. Sato really had the powers that his movie character possessed!

With no desire to be either hero or villain - he only wanted to act - Sato said nothing about his powers. However, some criminals discovered his powers and kidnapped his parents in order to force Takeo to commit crimes for them. Sunburst thus became a super villain.

His crimes brought him to the attention of Rising Sun, Japan's premiere hero. As the two battled with one another, Sunburst explained his predicament to Rising Sun, and the pair joined forces to free Sato's parents and capture the crooks. Rising Sun then used a form of hypnosis on Takeo to wipe out his memory of his powers.

Takeo's powers remained dormant for some years until at last something jogged his memory and they came to the fore again. This time he decided he would use his powers for evil purposes and personal gain.

That was until Doctor Light and Harbinger enlisted him during the Crisis on Infinite Earths to battle the Anti-monitor's shadow demons alongside Rising Sun. Sunburst helped to save the city of Tokyo in the fight, but lost his life in the process.