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Firestorm (comics)

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Firestorm
Firestorm
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Raymond/Stein: Firestorm #1 (1978) Stein solo as Firestorm: Firestorm vol. 2, #100 (1990)
Created by	(Raymond) Gerry Conway Al Milgrom
In story information
Alter ego	– Ronald “Ronnie” Raymond[1] – Professor Martin Stein
Team affiliations	(Raymond) Justice League Power Company
Abilities	Raymond: Ability to rearrange the atomic and molecular structure of matter Can alter the density of objects, including his own body, and render them intangible Can project bolts of nuclear energy flight absorb explosive force and radiation in to his body harmlessly. Stein: fire elemental flight energy projection

Firestorm (Ronald “Ronnie” Raymond) is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero. Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Al Milgrom, he first appeared in Firestorm #1 (March 1978).

Contents [hide] 1 Publication history 2 Fictional character biography 2.1 Ronald Raymond / Martin Stein 2.2 Death 2.3 Jason Rusch 3 Powers and abilities 4 Television appearances 5 Other versions 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

Publication history

The original Firestorm was distinguished by his integrated dual identity. High school student Ronald Raymond and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Martin Stein were caught in a nuclear accident that allowed them to fuse into the “nuclear man” Firestorm. Due to Stein’s being unconscious during the accident, Raymond was prominently in command of the Firestorm form with Stein a voice of reason inside his mind. Banter between the two was a hallmark of their adventures.

Firestorm possesses great powers, including flight, superhuman strength, and control over matter itself. He also stands out visually, with (literally) flaming hair and a distinctive red and yellow costume.

The first Firestorm series was short-lived. However, The Fury of Firestorm, later called Firestorm: the Nuclear Man, lasted from 1982 until 1990. The series began with the teenaged Raymond adjusting to his newfound role and later delved into the issue of the nuclear arms race and Firestorm’s role as an “elemental.” A new Firestorm series began in 2004 with a new character, Jason Rusch, in the role. Like other superheroes before him, he had a sense of humor which he often used to hide his insecurities.

Firestorm has been a member of the “all-star” team the Justice League and, for two seasons, its 1970s/80s cartoon adaptation Super Friends.

Fictional character biography

Ronald Raymond / Martin Stein

After the accident that created him, Firestorm took to defending New York from such threats as Multiplex (created in the same nuclear accident that produced Firestorm) and Killer Frost. The 1978 series was cancelled abruptly in a company-wide cutback (the “DC Implosion”) with #5 (the first part of a multiple-issue story) the last to be distributed, and #6 included in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade. Writer Conway added Firestorm to the roster of Justice League of America. This led to a series of 8-page stories in the back of The Flash (with art by George Pérez), and a revival of a monthly Firestorm comic in 1982.

The monthly series, written initially by Conway and drawn mainly by Pat Broderick and Rafael Kayanan, slowly developed the lives of Raymond and Stein, as the teenager struggled with high school and moved towards graduation and the scientist found a life outside the lab. A second nuclear hero, Firehawk, was added as a love interest for Firestorm in 1984. The series also tried to create a sense of fun, something that Conway felt was missing during his years writing Spider-Man^{[citation needed]}; the banter between Ronald Raymond and Martin Stein contributed to this. Upon graduation from high school, Raymond entered college in Pittsburgh, where Stein had been hired as a professor.

Firestorm’s list of enemies included such generally forgotten foes as the Hyena, Zuggernaut, Typhoon, and Black Bison. One Firestorm enemy, Plastique, would later play a major role in DC’s Captain Atom; she later reformed and married Atom. He also fought Killer Frost, who was forced by the Psycho-Pirate to fall in love with him during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

In 1986, Conway abruptly left the series, and John Ostrander (with artist Joe Brozowski) took over the reins. Ostrander, a more politically aware writer^{[citation needed]}, sought to make Firestorm more relevant to the world and a good deal grittier. His first major story arc pitted Firestorm against the world, as the hero (acting on a suggestion from a terminally ill Prof. Stein) demanded the U.S. and the Soviet Union destroy all of their nuclear weapons. After tussles with the Justice League and most of his enemies, Firestorm faced off against a Russian nuclear man named Pozhar in the Nevada desert, where both had an atomic bomb dropped on them.

When the smoke cleared, a new Firestorm was created who was made up of Raymond and the Russian, Mikhail Arkadin (the Russian superhero Pozhar), but controlled by the disembodied amnesiac mind of Prof. Stein. The stories featuring this version of the hero were highly political, with a good deal of action taking place in Mikhail Gorbachev’s Moscow.

The Raymond/Arkadin Firestom proved to be a transitional phase, as in 1989, writer John Ostrander fundamentally changed the character of Firestorm by revealing that Firestorm was a “Fire Elemental”. Taking his cue from Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing (an earth elemental), Firestorm now became something of an environmental crusader, formed from Raymond, Arkadin, and a Soviet clone of the previous Firestorm, but with a new mind. Prof. Stein, no longer part of the composite at all, continued to play a role, but the focus was on this radically different character. New artist Tom Mandrake would create a new look to match. It was during this phase that Firestorm met and befriended Shango and the Orishas, the elemental gods of Africa. He also met their chief deity and Shango’s older brother Obatala, Lord of the White Cloth. This was also the situation in which the Shadowstorm entity first appeared.

However, the series ran out of steam at its one hundredth issue^{[citation needed]}, by which time Stein learned that he was destined to be the true fire elemental and would have been were it not for Ron Raymond also being there by circumstance. Raymond and Arkadin were returned to their old lives, and Stein, now Firestorm, was accidentally exiled to deep space in the process of saving the Earth. He thereafter spent many years traveling through space as a wanderer, returning to earth on only two occasions: the War of the Gods crossover event, and again in Extreme Justice #5, where Stein cured Raymond of his leukemia and allowed Raymond to retain the original Firestorm persona on his own.

After the transition to the elemental Firestorm, all of the main characters from the series vanished from the comics for some time after the cancellation of the Firestorm comic in 1990 (except for a brief cameo in the War of the Gods crossover event). Raymond eventually returned in the pages of the JLA spin-off, Extreme Justice. Raymond, who at the time was undergoing treatment for leukemia, regained his original powers after a chemotherapy session. It took the combined might of the Justice League, led by Captain Atom, and the returned elemental Firestorm to restore Ronald’s health. Firestorm began to appear regularly in a number of DC titles, though lacking the guidance and knowledge necessary to use his skills wisely. He would play a role in several company-wide crossovers and, in 2002, returned to active duty with the Justice League and also appeared briefly in Kurt Busiek’s heroes-for-hire comic The Power Company.

Death

Subsequently, Raymond was killed off during the Identity Crisis mini-series. It was revealed in Identity Crisis #5 and Firestorm #6 that during a battle with a villain called the Shadow Thief, Raymond was impaled by the Shining Knight’s sword, which the Shadow Thief had stolen. The magical sword ruptured the nuclear man’s containment field, resulting in Firestorm’s body exploding and his residual essence funneling into the body of Jason Rusch, the new host of the Firestorm Matrix. However, Ronald might end up making a post-death appearance. His name was featured on Rip Hunter’s chalkboard in the first issue of the new ongoing Booster Gold series, “Ronnie Raymond + X = Firestorm”. A Firestorm, possibly Ronald’s version, appeared on the last page as well, destined to appear in a future issue of Booster Gold.

Jason Rusch

Firestorm (Jason Rusch)

In 2004, DC revived the Firestorm comic for a third time; instead of Ronald Raymond, there was a new protagonist, Jason Rusch, an African American teenager. The Martian Manhunter explained in the latter issue that he examined the new Firestorm’s mind telepathically for any trace of Ronald Raymond, but could not find any, which would have seemed to indicate that Raymond was indeed gone. Raymond returned within the Firestorm matrix in Firestorm #9, and remained with Jason as part of Firestorm until he appeared to dissipate in Firestorm #13.

Powers and abilities

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Firestorm has the ability to rearrange the atomic and subatomic structure of matter, rearranging subatomic particles to create objects of different atomic characteristics of equal mass. He can not only change the atomic composition of an object (e.g., transmuting lead into gold of equal mass) but he can also change its shape. He cannot, however, affect organic matter. If he does there may be painful, even lethal, feedback. This organic limitation does not extend to his person as he can change himself at will, allowing him to regenerate tissue, to shapeshift, and to survive indefinitely without food, water and air. Much like a Green Lantern’s limitations, Firestorm can only create items the “driver” of the Firestorm matrix is able to understand the workings of. Unlike a Green Lantern’s creations, Firestorm’s alterations are permanent unless he reverses them.

Other abilities include:

• The ability to fly at speeds up to 750 mph.

• The ability to emit powerful blasts of nuclear energy.

• The ability to absorb energy (electromagnetic, kinetic, radioactive) into his body harmlessly.

• Molecular vision which allows him to perceive the structure of atoms and molecules.

• The ability to see into the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums.

• Telescopic and microscopic vision.

• Superhuman strength.

• “Phase” which allows him to pass unhindered through solid objects & energy. However, this ability is theorized by Professor Stein to result in a disassociation effect on the Firestorm entity from reality if used indiscriminately. Most versions of Firestorm are unable to use other powers (e.g., fusion blasts) when in a phased state.

Television appearances

Firestorm appeared in ABC’s Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (the last two Super Friends series). Mark L. Taylor provided Ronald Raymond’s voice while Olan Soule provided Martin Stein’s voice. The crew responsible for the first series depicted the flames on Firestorm’s head as a static, fire-shaped ornament. The second series’ authors made another change, transforming the hair into a waved haircut.

Firestorm was among the myriad planned guest stars in Cartoon Network’s Justice League Unlimited animated series. JLU writer/producer Dwayne McDuffie said the animated series had permission to use Firestorm, but the show’s creators could not come up with a story using him that they liked.^[2] In Wizard #197, McDuffie said they would have used Raymond and Stein’s version of Firestorm for the series. Firestorm has appeared in issues #3 and 16 of the JLU tie-in comic. He was to have been the focus character for the episode “The Greatest Story Never Told”, but was replaced by Booster Gold.^[3]

Through recently taken photos, it has been revealed that the Ronald “Ronnie” Raymond version of Firestorm will appear in the new series “Batman: The Brave and The Bold.”^{[citation needed]} A voice artist is yet to be confirmed.

Other versions

• Firestorm (Ronald Raymond) has appeared in the Justice League Unlimited spin-off comic book. His appearances are in issues #3, 8, and 16
• On Earth-37, Ronnie Raymond and Nathaniel Adam were fused to become “Quantum-Storm,” a Firestorm/Captain Atom hybrid.
• The Earth-12 version of Firestorm is a futuristic descendent of the original.
• Earth-11‘s Firestorm is a female version of Jason Rusch.
• On Earth-9 the secret society Nightwing, uses armed agents called Firestorm Troopers.

See also

• Brother Power the Geek
• Naiad
• Red Tornado
• Swamp Thing

Notes

References

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• Last updated on September 6th, 2009
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