Firestorm (comics)

The original Firestorm was distinguished by his integrated dual identity. High school student Ronnie Raymond and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Martin Stein were caught in an accident that allowed them to fuse into Firestorm the "Nuclear Man". 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, able to offer Raymond advice on how to use their powers without actually having any control over their dual form. Banter between the two was a hallmark of their adventures.[1] Stein was initially completely unaware of their dual identity, leaving him concerned about his unusual disappearances and blackouts, but Ronnie was eventually able to convince him of the truth, allowing them to bond as separate individuals rather than as parts of a whole.

When Conway left the series in 1986, John Ostrander (with artist Joe Brozowski) began writing the Firestorm stories. His first major story arc pitted Firestorm against the world, as the hero, acting on a suggestion from a terminally ill Professor Stein, demanded that the United States and the Soviet Union destroy all of their nuclear weapons.[10] After confrontations with the Justice League and most of his enemies, Firestorm faced the Russian nuclear superhero Pozhar in the Nevada desert, where an atomic bomb was dropped on them. A new Firestorm resulted, a fusion of the two heroes: this new Firestorm was composed of Ronnie Raymond and the Russian Mikhail Arkadin but controlled by the disembodied amnesiac mind of Martin Stein.[11][12][13]

The Firestorm with Arkadin proved to be a transitional phase, as in 1989 Ostrander fundamentally changed the character of Firestorm by revealing that Firestorm was a "Fire Elemental". Firestorm now became something of an environmental crusader, formed from Ronnie Raymond, Mikhail Arkadin and Svarozhich, a Soviet clone of the previous Firestorm, but with a new mind. Professor Stein, no longer part of the composite at all, continued to play a role, but the focus was on this radically different character.[1] New artist Tom Mandrake would create a new look to match. It was during this phase that Firestorm met and befriended Sango and the Orishas, the elemental gods of Nigeria. He also met their chief deity and Sango's older brother Obatala, Lord of the White Cloth.

By the series' 100th issue, Stein learned that he was destined to be the true Fire Elemental and would have been were it not for Raymond also being there by circumstance. Raymond and Arkadin were returned to their old lives, and Stein as 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 only rarely.

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. Raymond eventually returned in the pages of Extreme Justice.[14] Raymond, at the time 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 Ronnie'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. Firestorm was drafted by Batman into a "replacement" Justice League that was commissioned in case something befell the original team (in this case, being stranded in the distant past in "The Obsidian Age" storyline). After the original team returned, Firestorm stayed on as a reserve member and participated in events such as a team-up with the Justice Society of America (in JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice) and the intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers. He was also briefly a member of the Power Company.

In 2004, DC revived the Firestorm comic for the second time, with writer Dan Jolley and artist Chris Cross, but instead of the original Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond, there was a new protagonist; the teenager Jason Rusch.

Jason was a seventeen-year-old living in Detroit, who wanted nothing more than to escape his home city. He lived with his father who had turned abusive after he lost his hand in an industrial accident. His mother left the family sometime after the accident. With the loss of a job he needed for college tuition, Jason turned to a local thug for money, accepting a job as a courier. It was on that job that he encountered the Firestorm matrix, searching for a new host after Ronnie Raymond's death. In the aftermath, Jason struggled to cope with his new identity and powers – a struggle that led to the death of the man who'd hired him.

In the 2006 miniseries Infinite Crisis it was revealed that Martin Stein, alive in space as the "Elemental Firestorm", had sensed the presence of Jason Rusch within the Firestorm Matrix, but was unaware of Ronnie Raymond's final demise. When Jason, as Firestorm, was gravely wounded in the line of duty, Stein linked with him in a variation of the merge, promising Jason a new Firestorm body to let him return into battle (although Martin had been unable to save Mick) and asking him about Ronnie's fate.

Accepting Martin's proposal, Jason asked Stein to become the permanent second member of the Firestorm matrix. Sensing his "errors" (including Mick's death) were the result of his youth and lack of experience, he sought the experience and maturity of Stein. Stein refused at first, but later accepted Jason's request, thus ensuring both a new Firestorm body and the reconstruction of human bodies for both Rusch and Stein.[1]

It was revealed in Infinite Crisis that if the Multiverse had survived up to the present, Jason would have been a native of Earth-Eight.[15]

As the storyline jumped ahead a year (and the series itself was now re-titled as Firestorm the Nuclear Man from issue #23 on), Professor Stein has mysteriously vanished, and Jason Rusch has been merging with Firehawk to become Firestorm, allowing him to use her powers as well. The two decided to look for Stein together. Stein had been kidnapped and tortured by the Pupil, a former teaching assistant of Martin's. Flanked by the D.O.L.L.I.s, a group of cyborg soldiers of limited cognitive ability, the Pupil (formerly known as Adrian Burroughs) questioned the nearly dead Stein about the secrets of the universe. Jason and Lorraine, along with the mysterious teleport-er Gehenna, freed the captured Stein and restored him to full health. Jason is a college freshman at New York City's Columbus University and seems to have ties with Dani Sharpe, a member of the senior staff at LexCorp.

The Firestorm team of Jason and Firehawk made several appearances across the DCU before the search for Martin Stein ended. This included dealing with the latest OMAC and teaming up with Superman in the "Back in Action" story arc in Action Comics. Firehawk later introduced Jason to Pozhar, a Russian superhero who was once a part of the Firestorm matrix; together, the trio take on a newly reborn Tokamak. This series ended with Firestorm the Nuclear Man #35 (April 2007).

In the 2009–2010 Blackest Night miniseries, Ronnie Raymond is called by a black power ring to join the Black Lantern Corps. In the following issue, his reanimated corpse is shown confronting Barry Allen and Hal Jordan alongside Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, and J'onn J'onzz.[16] He then attacks Jason Rusch (the current Firestorm), and absorbs him into his own version of the Firestorm Matrix. Then, using Jason's unique abilities, he turns Gehenna into table salt, simultaneously ripping her heart out with a smile. He uses the Firestorm Matrix to absorb Jason's anger over Gehenna's death, providing the Black Lanterns with even more emotional energies.[17] He goes on to attack Barry and co. at the Justice League satellite. Jason then briefly asserts himself, allowing the heroes to escape. Regaining control, Ronnie proceeds to absorb Jason's willpower. Like other Black Lanterns, the undead Firestorm mimics the personality of Ronnie Raymond, often wisecracking and exhibiting other stereotypical teenage behavior.[18] In the final battle against Nekron, Ronnie is restored to life alongside Jason, the two separating from Firestorm. Ronnie is confused, asking Atom where Professor Stein is while Jason is upset with Ronnie killing Gehenna. Ronnie, however, apparently has no memory of doing so.[19]

In the 2010–2011 Brightest Day miniseries, Ronnie Raymond, still clad in casual clothing from a wild party the night before, arrives at Jason Rusch's apartment with Professor Stein and Ray Palmer to attend Gehenna's funeral. Stein and Palmer discuss Ron's return and how he no longer remembers anything since his death at the hands of Shadow Thief. While the two talk about the paperwork needed to have Ronnie's legal status as "dead" reversed, Ron approaches Jason and offers an apology about Gehenna's murder. Jason refuses to accept it, telling Ronnie that he forced him into being an accomplice to his own girlfriend's death, and that he probably doesn't even remember her name. When Ronnie is actually unable to remember Gehenna's name, Jason angrily lashes out and punches him in the face. This causes the two young men to merge into Firestorm, and they begin arguing inside the Matrix while Palmer transforms into the Atom in order to help them separate.[20][21]

Palmer manages to separate Jason and Ronnie, but not before the Firestorm matrix causes a huge explosion, trans-mutating everything in the Professor's laboratory into table salt.[22] While recovering in the hospital, Stein explains to Ronnie that it seems to be very dangerous to fuse into Firestorm again. Also, it is revealed that Ronnie, after quickly leaving the hospital and being threatened by Jason's father to stay away from Jason, lied to everyone, as he seems to perfectly remember murdering Gehenna as a Black Lantern.[23]

Some time after the forceful separation, he lies sleeping in preparation of a party, when a previously heard voice prods him awake – a monstrous construct of Gehenna, made totally of salt, which proceeds to throttle and choke him, taunting him to remember her name; while she is interrupted before killing him, Ronnie is left covered in salt.[24] Not too long after, he is lying, recovering from a massive binge, when Jason again forces the merge to help several construction workers endangered when the girders at the site are transmuted without warning to bubble gum. This time, they again hear the mysterious voice taunting them, and Ronnie accepts he remembers killing Gehenna, and they realize something else is lurking from within the Firestorm Matrix.[25]

As Firestorm, Ronnie and Jason visit Stein in an attempt to find out what is happening to them. Stein reveals to them that the Black Lantern Firestorm still exists in the Firestorm Matrix. Firestorm is then told by the Entity that they must learn from each other and defeat the Black Lantern Firestorm before he destroys the Entity. Somehow, Jason and Ronnie trade places.[26]

After running a test, Professor Stein reveals the origin of the Firestorm Matrix. Stein believes that during the initial experiment he was able to capture the spark that preceded the Big Bang that created our universe, thereby making the matrix a trigger for a new big bang. If the boys continue to experience emotional imbalance, they increase the likelihood of triggering a new big bang. After explaining this to the boys, the voice inside them speaks again. Declaring that it is not the matrix, a pair of black hands reaches out from inside Firestorm. Forcibly separating Jason and Ronnie, Black Lantern Firestorm stands between them, separate from both Ronnie and Jason and apparently calling itself "Deathstorm".[27]

Deathstorm reveals its plan to Stein, stating that it intends to create enough emotional instability between Ronnie and Jason that the Matrix will trigger another Big Bang thereby destroying of all life in the universe. In order to help accomplish this goal, Deathstorm absorbs Stein's mind in order to use his knowledge of Ronnie against him; then, to torture Jason, Deathstorm brings his father Alvin Rusch to the lab and absorbs him as well. Taking flight, Deathstorm beckons Ronnie and Jason (now merged into Firestorm) to follow it. Deathstorm leads them to Silver City, New Mexico and the resting place of the Central Power White Lantern Battery. Deathstorm tries to lift the battery but is unable to until he infects it with black energy, after which he is able to lift it with ease. After he threatens to destroy the White Lantern Battery and therefore prevent Ronnie and Jason to truly live, a voice beckons him not to. The voice, commands him to bring the Central Power White Lantern Battery to the voice as well as an army, at which point Deathstorm brings back the Black Lantern versions of Professor Zoom, Maxwell Lord, Hawk, Jade, Captain Boomerang, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Deadman and Osiris.[28]

Deathstorm and the Black Lanterns teleport to an unknown location, Firestorm (Jason and Ronnie) ultimately seek the help from the Justice League.[29] Firestorm arrive at the Hall of Justice asking for help.[30] Firestorm is placed in a containment chamber while the League search for a way to stabilize the energy. However, an internal argument between Ronnie and Jason ignites the spark, apparently resulting in the destruction of the universe.[31] Ronnie and Jason quickly notice, after defeating a hive of Shadow Demons, that the universe was not destroyed as they thought but they were actually transported to the Anti-Matter Universe. There they are contacted by the Entity who reveals to them that since Boston Brand has not yet found the one who will take the Entity's place, it is Firestorm mission to protect the Entity.[32] Meanwhile, Deathstorm and the Black Lanterns are shown on Qward delivering the White Battery to someone.[33] That someone is revealed to be the Anti-Monitor seeking to harvest the life energy within the Lantern to grow stronger. Firestorm takes the White Lantern and attempts to fight the Anti-Monitor, but is defeated. Deathstorm then brings Professor Stein out of his Matrix to taunt the two with. Deathstorm then attempts to turn Ronnie to salt, but the Professor takes the brunt of the attack. Angered, Ronnie decides to truly work together with Jason to avenge the Professor. The Entity then declares that Ronnie has accomplished his mission, returning life to him in a burst of white energy that obliterates the Black Lanterns, returns Jason's father to his home, and deposits Firestorm in the Star City forest. Ronnie angrily attempts to make the Entity resurrect the Professor, but is refused. Deadman then arrives, demanding that he be given the White Lantern.[34]

When the "Dark Avatar" made his presence known, Firestorm is part of the Elementals. Ronnie was then transformed by the Entity to become the element of fire and protect the Star City Forest from the "Dark Avatar" which appears to be the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing.[35] The Elementals are then fused with the body of Alec Holland in order for him to be transformed by the Entity into the new Swamp Thing and battle against the Dark Avatar. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, Swamp Thing brought Firestorm back to normal. Afterward, Ronnie and Jason must find a way to contain their Firestorm matrix from the explosion in less than ninety days.[36]

After the events of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, The New 52 reality altered Firestorm's personal history to be completely restarted. Ronnie Raymond is now introduced as a high school senior and the captain of the football team.[37] During a terrorist attack on their school, classmate Jason Rusch produces a vial given to him by Professor Stein, which contains the "God Particle", one of Stein's creations. The God Particle transforms both Jason and Ronnie into Firestorm, and the two teens briefly battle each other before accidentally merging into a hulking creature known as the Fury.[38]

Sharing the identity of Firestorm, with Ronnie being the brawn and Jason being the brains, Firestorm is considered for recruitment into the Justice League along with several other heroes. They play a large part in the events leading up to the Trinity War, the three-way battle between the Justice League (the original headed by Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman), the Justice League of America (the A.R.G.U.S.-sponsored team led by Steve Trevor, Green Arrow and Amanda Waller), and Justice League Dark (the paranormal team consisting of John Constantine, Zatanna and the Phantom Stranger). When Superman is framed for the death of Dr. Light and the League is taken into custody, Amanda Waller has Firestorm experiment on their ability to create certain elements: specifically, the mass production of Kryptonite. It turns out that the two are indeed capable of using their powers to create it, but with some difficulty. However, this ultimately becomes moot once the Trinity War leads to the invasion of the Crime Syndicate, who supposedly kill the Justice League. In fact, the League is trapped inside Firestorm by his Earth-3 counterpart Deathstorm (a combination of Martin Stein and a corpse he experimented upon), with only Batman and Catwoman escaping the initial fracas. The Leagues are presumed dead for a time but are eventually freed from captivity after the Syndicate is defeated by Batman and Lex Luthor's Injustice League, Batman using Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth to draw her and the others out of Firestorm.

In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Firestorm becomes a subject of controversy after claims arise stating that he was created by the American government. Firestorm profanely denounces the "Superman Theory" and insults his Russian counterpart Pozhar, much to the dismay of Martin Stein.[39] Firestorm subsequently becomes embroiled in a fight with several Russian superheroes before appearing to inadvertently turn a crowd of civilian protesters into glass (a feat previously deemed beyond his capabilities). Firestorm flees with the body of an affected child and is found in hiding at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine by Superman. With Superman's encouragement, Firestorm returns the child to normal. Firestorm and Superman return to the affected crowd and are engaged by the Russian military. The area then becomes engulfed in an explosion of blue light.[40]

A version of Firestorm crafted by Anansi in Volume Two of Justice League of America, he appears to be a form of sentient red energy and is a member of that reality's Justice League.

• The original incarnation of 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), voiced by Mark L. Taylor (Ronnie Raymond) as well as by Olan Soule (Martin Stein; first series) and by Ken Sansom (Martin Stein; second series).

• Firestorm was among the myriad planned guest stars in Cartoon Network's Justice League Unlimited animated series. Writer/producer Dwayne McDuffie said the producers had permission from DC Comics to use the character but the show's creators could not come up with a story that they liked, and revealed in Wizard magazine #197 that the producers intended to use the Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein version as the focus character for the episode "The Greatest Story Never Told" but was replaced by Booster Gold.[58]

• The Jason Rusch / Ronnie Raymond incarnation of Firestorm appears on the Animation TV series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Tyler James Williams (Jason Rusch) and by Bill Fagerbakke (Ronnie Raymond).

• Franz Drameh and Victor Garber reprise their roles as Jefferson Jackson and Martin Stein in the web series Vixen.[5]

• The Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein version of Firestorm appears in Justice League Action, voiced by P. J. Byrne (Ronnie Raymond) and by Stephen Tobolowsky (Martin Stein).

Franz Drameh as Jefferson "Jax" Jackson/ the second Firestorm in the Arrowverse as depicted in Legends of Tomorrow.

Firestorm is featured in the CW's Arrowverse, with Professor Martin Stein portrayed by Victor Garber,[4] Ronnie Raymond portrayed by Robbie Amell,[3][59][60] and Jefferson "Jax" Jackson portrayed by Franz Drameh.[61]

• Firestorm first appears on the 2014 series The Flash, with Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein as the two halves. Ronnie is an engineer at S.T.A.R. Labs and Caitlin's fiancé while Professor Stein is the creator of the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. matrix. Ronnie is presumed deceased from the particle accelerator explosion while saving his co-workers' lives. However, he survived and merged with Stein, having the matrix on his persons, to become the entity later named Firestorm. The two spend months trapped together, with Stein in primary control of Firestorm, until Caitlin discovers information from Jason Rusch (Luc Roderique),[62] Stein's old assistant. Harrison Wells manages to separate the two, and they eventually learn to control their shared powers. A scene introducing Firestorm's ability to manipulate matter was filmed but was ultimately cut due to time constraints.[63] When a singularity threatens Central City, Firestorm flies into to disrupt the singularity, triggering the halves' separation but Barry Allen is only able to recover Stein while Ronnie is presumed dead. After the deaths of Eddie and Ronnie, Professor Stein becomes a member of Team Flash as the group's scientific advisor. Eventually, Stein begins exhibiting symptoms that the Firestorm matrix has become unstable without a partner, endangering his life. When Team Flash searches for a likely candidate among people who have been affected by the dark matter explosion in a similar manner who also possess the same blood type, Jax Jackson ultimately becomes the new partner. A former high school football star (like Ronnie in the comics), Jax gets injured by the particle accelerator explosion, ending his collegiate career before starting. Jax is hesitant at first to become Firestorm's new half but agrees when the only other candidate uses the powers for revenge. Jax and Stein later leave Central City to train in using their Firestorm powers. When Barry, Cisco and Harry Wells travel to Earth-2, Deathstorm (Ronnie Raymond's Earth-2 counterpart) is encountered. In addition to being Killer Frost's significant other, Deathstorm is Ronnie in control as he has not let his partner out in years and can no longer hear him. When Deathstorm and his boss Reverb nearly kills Barry, Zoom kills Reverb and Deathstorm both, leaving Killer Frost to mourn Ronnie's death.
• Firestorm also appears in the spin-off Legends of Tomorrow, with Martin Stein and Jax Jackson as the two halves while Graeme McComb portrays the former's younger incarnation. In season one, Jax initially does not want to participate in Rip Hunter's mission, to the extent that Stein has to knock him out to get on board the timeship. Eventually, Jax starts to appreciate being part of the team. During a trip to 1986, Stein is forcibly merged with Valentina Vostok to create a Soviet Firestorm, but he is able to break free of the sociopathic villain with Jax's encouragement; the separation and improper merge trigger an explosion that apparently kills Vostok. The season one finale introduces Firestorm's ability to transmute matter, subsequently turning a meteor into water before Vandal Savage could use it as part of a complex plan to undo history. In season two, Stein briefly takes on the role of team leader, before handing the reins to Sara Lance. During a trip to 1987, Stein has an encounter with his younger self, during which he berates his younger self for his attitude towards his wife. When Stein returns to the present in the "Invasion" crossover, he discovers that the exchange has led to him now having a daughter named Lily. Initially, Stein views Lily as a temporal paradox, but eventually becomes close and protective to Lily and thus accepting his new life as a parent. By season three, Stein has become a grandfather after Lily has Ronnie (named after his original Firestorm partner), prompting Jax to ask Ray Palmer for help in working out how they might separate the Firestorm matrix so that Jax can channel the power on his own. During the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover, Stein is badly injured trying to help the heroes escape Earth-X and Jax gets injured as well due to the connection of the Firestorm matrix. Stein sacrifices himself by drinking the formula created to separate the Firestorm matrix, saving Jax's life. Afterwards, Jax, still distraught over Stein's death, attempts to change history when he comes in contact with a version of Stein from 1992 that has been displaced into the eleventh century, but the younger Stein rejects the offer to avoid the risk of negatively changing history, prompting Jax to depart the Legends to heal from his grief. Jax returns in season three's finale to help the Legends in the final battle against the demon Mallus. This version of Jax is presented as having been away from the team for five years, now happily married with a daughter named Martina after his deceased partner.

• The Jason Rusch version of Firestorm appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, voiced by Cedric Yarbrough.
• The Jason Rusch version of Firestorm appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, voiced by Phil LaMarr.

• The Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein version of Firestorm appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Nolan North.
• The Earth-3 incarnation of Martin Stein as Deathstorm appears as one of the central antagonists in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Lex Lang,[64][65] and the Jason Rusch / Martin Stein version of Firestorm is a playable character.

• The Jason Rusch / Martin Stein version of Firestorm appears as a playable character in Injustice 2, voiced by Ogie Banks (Jason Rusch modeled after Jefferson Jackson) and by Fred Tatasciore (Martin Stein).[66]

The Ronnie Raymond version of Firestorm appeared in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special, voiced by Alfred Molina. He was featured in the second part of the segment "Real Characters From the DC Universe" where the narrator (voiced by Kevin Shinick) of that segment doesn't take him seriously.

Firestorm also makes a cameo appearance in the Order of the Stick strip #359.[67]