“Yesterday’s” Comic> Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #2

“I’m busy walking across the country.”

Firestorm #2

DC Comics (April, 1978)

Wanting to “try” Firestorm one more time, Ronnie’s deflated ego isn’t getting a boost. Professor Stein doesn’t remember anything that happens when fused with Firestorm. Cliff is still on his case and ragging on Firestorm and even his dad shows dislike for the Nuclear Man. However, Superman has taken notice. That takes a back seat to Firestorm’s first supervillain, Multiplex. When Danton Black was caught in the explosion he gained fission powers as opposed to the fusion that creates Firestorm. He needs nuclear power to boost his and his duplicate’s strength but while they get past Firestorm when he’s distracted by Superman’s arrival, the new superhero manages to trick them at the second target, draining instead of boosting Multiplex’s powers. Superman says that if Firestorm keeps up he could be Justice League material someday, which is the first good thing Ronnie’s heard say about Firestorm.

What they got right: I like how it’s not easy for Ronnie, something that we saw develop later in the main series I’ve already covered. He has to earn his superhero status, and Ronnie has poor self-esteem (I can relate) that we’ll see him come to terms with in that series.

What they got wrong: Why did Black name himself after a theater complex? Yes, one alternate definition, “combining many signals into a single transmission circuit or channel” could fix Black’s powers, especially as he learns to create more duplicates later on, but it’s still kind of a stretch. Also, Superman doesn’t even offer to help when Firestorm tells him he has another lead on a potential target for Multiplex? Talk about missing a team-up story. Imagine getting to join forces with Superman and not just get a “you’ve got potential, kid” from him with his first supervillain? Meanwhile we’ve seen Spider-Man jump right in to help Darkhawk, although granted it was one of his villains.

Recommendation: It’s nice getting back to the Firestorm that first got me interested in the character. Look this one up.