Firestorm (character)

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 being 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 17-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 had 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 death. 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 one 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 Stein'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 teleporter 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 takes 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, the 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 the 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 for 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, transmuting 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]

Sometime after the forceful separation, he lies sleeping in preparation for a party, when a previously heard voice prods him awake—a monstrous construct of Gehenna, made totally of table 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 table salt.[24] Not too long after, he is lying, recovering from a massive binge, when Jason again forces the merger to help several construction workers endangered when the girders at the site are transmuted without warning into 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 reach out from inside Firestorm. Forcibly separating Jason and Ronnie, the 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 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 the Reverse-Flash, Maxwell Lord, the Hawk, Jade, Captain Boomerang, the Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Deadman and Osiris.[28]

Deathstorm and the Black Lanterns teleport to an unknown location, while Firestorm (Jason and Ronnie) ultimately seek help from the Justice League.[29] Firestorm arrives 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's 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 into table 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, the 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 90 days.[36]

After the events of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, The New 52 reality altered Firestorm's personal history to the point of it being 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 among the Justice League (the original team headed by Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman), 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 kills 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 a 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] Subsequent discoveries reveal that the 'Superman Theory' is actually partially correct, as Stein deliberately engineered the creation of Firestorm to make himself a superhuman, even if Raymond genuinely had no idea of this until recently.

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 Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein incarnation of Firestorm appeared in the Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, voiced by Mark L. Taylor and Olan Soule respectively.
• The Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein incarnation of Firestorm appeared in The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, voiced by Mark L. Taylor and Ken Sansom respectively.
• The Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein incarnation of Firestorm was planned to appear in Justice League Unlimited, with writer/producer Dwayne McDuffie stating that the producers had permission from DC Comics to use the character. However, the show's creators could not come up with a story that they liked. They later revealed in Wizard #197 that the producers intended to have Firestorm serve as the focus character in the episode "The Greatest Story Never Told", but replaced him with Booster Gold.[58]
• The Ronnie Raymond / Jason Rusch incarnation of Firestorm appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Bill Fagerbakke and Tyler James Williams respectively.
• The Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein incarnation of Firestorm appears in Justice League Action, voiced by P. J. Byrne and Stephen Tobolowsky respectively.

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

Firestorm appears in media set 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]

• Stein, Raymond, and Jackson first appear in the live-action TV series The Flash, with Stein and Raymond as the first incarnation of Firestorm after they were fused with the former's F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. matrix during the explosion of Harrison Wells' particle accelerator. They initially lack control over their powers until Wells safely separates them, allowing the pair to master their powers and join the Flash in fighting crime until Raymond sacrifices himself to save Central City.[62] After the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. matrix begins to destabilize and threaten Stein's life, Team Flash eventually find Jackson, who joins forces with Stein to become the new Firestorm despite initial hesitancy and leaves Central City with him to hone their powers.
  • Additionally, Jason Rusch appears in the episode "Revenge of the Rogues" (portrayed by Luc Roderique[63]) and Amell portrays two different incarnations of Deathstorm.
• Jackson and Stein appear in the animated web series Vixen, with Drameh and Garber reprising their respective roles.[5]
• Jackson and Stein appear in the live-action TV series Legends of Tomorrow, with Drameh and Garber reprising their respective roles and Graeme McComb portraying a younger version of Stein. Stein and Jackson join the Legends in traveling through and stopping evildoers across time until the events of the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover, during which Stein is killed by Nazis from Earth-X and takes a formula developed by Ray Palmer to save Jackson, who leaves the Legends to resume his life.

• The Jason Rusch incarnation of Firestorm appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, voiced by Cedric Yarbrough. Additionally, an unnamed, alternate universe version of Firestorm appeared as a lesser member of the Crime Syndicate.
• The Jason Rusch incarnation of Firestorm appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, voiced by Phil LaMarr.

• The Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein incarnation of Firestorm appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Nolan North.
• The Jason Rusch / Martin Stein incarnation of Firestorm appears as a playable character in Injustice 2, voiced by Ogie Banks and Fred Tatasciore respectively.[64]
• The Jason Rusch / Martin Stein incarnation of Firestorm appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains.[65][66] Additionally, Deathstorm appears in the game, voiced by Lex Lang.

• The Ronnie Raymond incarnation of Firestorm appeared in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special segment "Real Characters From the DC Universe", voiced by Alfred Molina.
• Firestorm makes a cameo appearance in The Order of the Stick, strip #359.[67]