“Yesterday’s” Comic> Firestorm #1

“Shouldn’t have had that last bowl of chilli.”

Firestorm #1

DC Comics (March, 1978)

It’s the debut of Firestorm! Transfer student Ronald Raymond is having trouble making friends, thanks in part to a jock-hating know-it-all named Cliff Carmichael. He thinks joining an anti-nuke protest movement will help him impress Loreen (who already has taken an interest in the new kid) but it turns out to be a fanatic group planning to blow up an experimental plant. The only person there is Martin Stein, the plant’s designer, thanks to the machinations of his former assistant, Danton Black. Caught in the explosion and hit with a new form of nuclear energy, Ronnie and Stein (the latter knocked out by the bombers) are merged into the powerful Firestorm, who goes to stop the destruction of a second plant. But Black got a dose of the radiation, too.

What they got right: I love the concept here. While you can make the case that the hero with a “ghostly” mentor can be traced back at least to the Fighting Yank, it’s much better here. Ronnie is the jock, and naturally the body, while Stein is the genius, and thus the mind. He has a costume even the New 52 couldn’t screw up (once the story was written the way it should have been thanks to Dan Jurgens) and cool powers. A rather good wish fulfillment story in the vein of the original Captain Marvel. I also like how the jock/nerd dynamic was flipped in reverse from the usual situation. Here the geek is the jerk and the jock is the good guy.

What they got wrong: Black tricks the Nuclear Regulations Commission into stopping the activation of the plant with the false claim that Stein stole his plans. I could see if the plant was unsafe, but why would this lead to the plant not opening? Stein doesn’t own the plant, for one thing. For another, why would this mean no guards? There’s still nuclear material in there, it’s still owned by somebody, there’s still plenty of stuff to steal or (as happens) blow to kingdom come. There should still be guards protecting what’s inside the plant.

Other notes: I was first exposed to the Nuclear Man (no pun intended) thanks to the second-to-last season of Superfriends and I wonder why it took so long for him to get on the show. The character premiered in 1978. Maybe the comic wasn’t popular enough yet or some other reason didn’t get him onto the show, but when he did he was a great addition to the team.

Recommendation: This is a great introduction to Firestorm and I’m glad he stuck around. After Superman, Firestorm was my favorite DC hero and it was great to stumble across his first appearance.