Firestorm the Nuclear Man #3 (June 1978)

With the passing of Gerry Conway, I thought a good way to honor him would be to look at something he wrote this week. Now, Conway left behind a rather extensive body of work, not just in comics, but also in television. And since I wanted to look at more DC stuff, I decided to look at something Conway wrote for DC. And it was an opportunity for me to revisit a character we haven't seen much of in this blog: Firestorm. 

Conway created the character alongside another name familiar to Marvel fans: artist/inker/writer/editor Al Milgrom. Conway wanted to bring some of that Marvel energy to DC and write a youthful Spider-Man like teenage character. Firestorm's flaming head design came from Conway's love of the whole "hair on fire" thing. Firestorm was also unique as the hero was two people merged into one, mainly the iconic combination of teenage Ronnie Raymond and middle-aged scientist. This came about as Conway had wanted to not only play about with the trope of the teenage hero getting powers. His idea was to portray the teenager as not the sharpest guy around and ending up sharing the powers with an older person who would understand the power. Hence why Firestorm is two people fused into one.

Al Milgrom, Firestorm's other creator, also took inspiration from Jack Kirby when it comes to the character's design, in particular the character of Lightray. Mainly, in the headpiece he wears. 

As I have said before, this ongoing series ended up not lasting long thanks to the "DC Implosion" of the late 1970s. It seemed as if Firestorm would be doomed to obscurity...thankfully, Conway was also writing the Justice League book, and brought Firestorm into the group, making him one of DC's icons. I can't help but wonder if Firestorm stayed on the team during the Detroit Era, how would his interactions have gone with Vibe, Steel, Vixen, and Cyndi Reynolds? I think he would have been a great mentor to them. Missed opportunity there. Anyway, let's take a look once again at the early days of Firestorm in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #3!

The cover is an Al Milgrom piece. It's pretty good, depicting the newest member of Firestorm's rogues gallery, Killer Frost, giving our hero a big ol' freezing smooch. Behind her is a group of frozen skeletons. This lady has a weird sense of aesthetics. 

"Kiss Not the Lips of Killer Frost!"
Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciller: Al Milgrom
Inker: Bob McLeod
Letterer: Ben Oda
Colorist: Mario Sen
Editors: Gerry Conway, Jack C. Harris
Executive Editor: Joe Orlando

The story begins with Firestorm arriving at Bradley High School. Is he there to give a pep talk to the student body? Well...sort of.

"Where's my money, Carmichael?!"

If you've looked at my past reviews of Firestorm issues, you may be familiar with Mr. Clifford "Cliff" Carmichael, years before he'd become an incarnation of the Thinker. Firestorm threatens Cliff that if he starts making cracks about anyone in the school, he'll put him six feet under. Martin Stein, the elder half of Firestorm, is naturally rather annoyed by this. It's bad enough that Ronnie can drag him into becoming Firestorm any time he wants (remember, he was unconscious when he and Ronnie were merged), but now he's just going around threatening people. Ronnie's irresponsibility is hurting him as well. 

The Nuclear Man splits back into his dual identities, Martin having no memory of his time being merged. Again, this is due to him being unconscious when he and Ronnie were merged. Ronnie does feel lousy about the whole thing. He heads to school, noticing Cliff walk by, making no smarmy comments. He is so overjoyed by this he fails to notice Doreen Day trying to get his attention so she can ask him out.

Elsewhere, Stein is taken to the Arctic. You see, there's a geothermal plant being constructed there called Project Mohole in response to the energy crisis (remember, this is the late 70s). Stein is there because he had developed a condensing device that'll help the plant work. It's here he reunites with an old student of his.

"SHUT UP GUYS HE'S MINE!"

Meet Crystal Frost, the only woman on this project, but she was the designer of the plant, and she 2recommended Stein be here. The other scientists all crowd around him, much to Frost's fury. She feels they're ignoring her because she's a woman. Uh, Dr. Frost? I don't doubt you had to deal with sexist BS from insecure manchildren (it was the 70s), and that is really not cool, but I think your reaction is a 2bit...much here.

Frost shows Stein around, while being overjoyed to see him again after all these years. You see, when she studied under Stein in college, she was thrilled that he wasn't bothered by her gender but accepted her mind and skills. She ended falling in love with Stein, and she believes he felt the same way. No other man in the college compared to him as far as she's concerned. She found them all boorish, patronizing, and aggressive. Her words, not mine. They gave her a nickname: the Ice Maiden. 

She goes up to Stein and hugs him while diagnosing her problem. She confesses her feelings to him, but he only saw her as a fellow scientist. He never felt the way towards her that she did towards him. Thing is, I can imagine that Stein does have a lot of respect for Frost, considering what she has achieved. I can imagine he would have had nothing but good things to say about her as a student. Heck, I can imagine he'd have no issue with having Frost as a friend. But he never looked at her in the romantic sense. 

Thing is, Stein is being a bit overly brusque about brushing off her feelings. This infuriates Frost, and she tells him to go laugh it up with the other men. She stomps away feeling angry and bitter when she notices that the thermofrost unit (basically a big super-fridge) was left open.

Indeed, it's not. It's always supposed to be closed. For some bizarre reason, she goes inside the unit and ends up knocking the door closed, trapping her inside. 

Frosty, you couldn't close the door from the outside?! Really?! She ends up trapped in there for two hours. Welp, nice knowing you, Frosty! The other men search for her. Stein can't help but feel this is his fault. he tells the others that Frost was a very withdrawn student. He tried to get her to open up. Come out of her shell, as it were. From his perspective, she always seemed to be...at war with herself mentally, and he hoped that helping her open up would, well, help her find some kind of peace. But she clearly misinterpreted his motives, and he didn't realize it. This helps the others discover where she's at. One of the men tries to unlock the door, but a blast of cold air forces it open. Crystal Frost has been reborn.

"Am I pretty now, Ma?! AM I PRETTY NOW?!"

Evidently the transformation also gave Frosty a haircut and a new outfit. I also think it screwed up her brain. She kisses one of the men, freezing him solid. A group of security men arrive, and they become human icebergs as well. She has one main target: Martin Stein. 

Over at Bradley High in Manhattan, Ronnie Raymond is playing basketball. He shoots, and he SCORES! The Bradley High basketball team (I'm calling them the Atoms. Get it? Because Firestorm the Nuclear Man?) is now twelve points in the lead. Ronnie is thrilled as his girl Doreen is there. He also notices someone talking to Principal Hapgood, and it's gotten him concerned. 

"I'm sorry, but you have to know this: your refrigerator is running."

Back in the Arctic, Killer Frost has cornered Stein and gives him her freezing kiss. Ronnie feels the chill and realizes that Stein's in trouble. He races off in the middle of the game and transforms into Firestorm...ending up in Frost's arms.

"Thanks for helping me try this new lipstick, Firestorm!"

I can imagine Frost is a bit weirded out right now.

The kiss traps Firestorm and causes him to become frozen as well. He manages to break out of the ice. He starts to apply a bit of Pokémon logic. Killer Frost is an Ice-Type, he's a Fire-type. Fire beats Ice, right?

2Blasting Frost with fire only seems to make her stronger somehow. She freezes the ceiling, causing it to come down on our heroes. Firestorm turns the ceiling shards into harmless snowflakes. Ronnie tries to use his matter alteration power on her. Stein warns him that he's never used the power on living beings. It could cause a disaster. And he's right.

"AH, THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS!"

Our hero recovers quickly, and pursues Frost, only for her to seemingly crush him with a piece of wall. However, as part of his power set, Firestorm can pass through solid matter, so it doesn't hurt him. He goes through the floor, Frost in hot pursuit. Stein then has a moment of inspiration.

Frost is now a heat vampire. If she needs heat, then what happens if she is trapped in somewhere cold? That gives Ronnie his own idea, using his power to surround Frost and trap her in a refrigeration unit. As the temperature drops, she slowly becomes immobile. She pleads with Firestorm to let her out but then turns around and screams that she'll kill him. The issue ends with her being frozen solid, and Ronnie lamenting the situation. 

This was an... alright issue. I do think that Killer Frost being a heat vampire and using it to fuel her powers is a neat twist on how cryokinetic powers work. Other adaptations tend to ignore this aspect of her powers, and I think it's a shame. But I can understand why. Adaptations like to simplify where possible, after all.  

Honestly, I think Frost's transformation would have had more impact had we gotten to know the character a bit more when she was still human. Also, she talks about how she is treated with disrespect by her male co-workers, I would have liked to have seen more of that here. I also liked the tragic nature of Crystal's story. She thought she had found love with Stein, but he just saw her as a good student who needed a mentor and a friend. If Stein wasn't so brusque towards her, maybe things would have been different. 

I did like the scene where Stein and Ronnie were arguing early on about Ronnie misusing his powers, and how becoming Firestorm upends his own life. It makes sense there'd be friction between the two over being Firestorm. Remember, at this time, Stein has no control over the Firestorm Matrix. It's all Ronnie in the driver's seat. And even worse? At the time, Stein would have no memory of being Firestorm. So yeah, his life gets wrecked because Ronnie is high on being Firestorm. It's a shame this issue doesn't really resolve it or set up some way of resolving it in the future. I do get the intention of the ending, I just think the execution could be better. 

Al Milgrom is a fine artist. His work isn't unique like a Byrne or a Kirby or a Perez, or even the Buscemas, but the man does great artwork in his own right. It does the job just fine. 

Crystal Frost was the first Killer Frost, but she's arguably the most obscure of the Killer Frosts. That's because she didn't stick around too long. In Firestorm #21 (March 1984), it was discovered that her mutation was deteriorating her body, slowly killing her. Firestorm tried to give her his power in order to help sustain her, but her body couldn't handle it and she, well, blew up real good. But it would not be the end for Killer Frost.

Frost had a friend named Louise Lincoln. In her grief and desiring revenge against Firestorm over Crystal's death, she recreated the experiment that transformed Frost and became the second Killer Frost in Firestorm #34 (April 1985). She would be the current Killer Frost until the New 52 reboot.

With the New 52, a new Killer Frost was introduced: Caitlin Snow. First appearing in Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #19 (June 2013), she would be a member of the Suicide Squad and the Justice League. Now, I'm not sure if she was created for the CW Flash series and then brought into the comics, or it was the reverse like it was for the Ava Ayala incarnation of the White Tiger. Based on what I could figure out, she did come from the comics originally, but don't quote me on that. And since the DCU's been through at least twenty thousand continuity reboots since then, Killer Frost's history in the DCU now is basically just...who knows. 

To Gerry Conway, I say this: Thank you. Thank you for all your contributions to comics and television. Rest well. You earned it.

If you want to read this story for yourself, I suggest tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Firestorm: The Nuclear Man. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!

Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #2 (April 1978)

Back in December 2018, I took a look at the first issue of Firestorm's first solo series. I found it to be an enjoyable first issue, clearly in the vein of early Spider-Man. So, would the second issue be just as enjoyable? Let's find out in my review of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #2!

The cover is a Al Milgrom piece, and it's pretty...interesting. You got Firestorm being ambushed by the new villain he's facing here. He's pleading for Superman's help, but the Man of Steel is basically like "Yeah, you're on your own, kid." This gives the cover a bit of a Silver Age vibe thanks to the whole "Superman is being a jerk" shtick that it's using. It's kind of funny to see in a Bronze Age-era comic.

"Danger Doubled is Death!" 
Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Al Milgrom
Inker: Bob McLeod
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Letterer: Ben Oda
Editors: Gerry Conway, Jack C. Harris
Executive Editor: Joe Orlando

The story begins with Firestorm flying down to help and old man who is being used as a punching bag.

"Here I come to save the dayyyyyyy!"

The men were sent by a "Mister Oswald" to do a little bit of Mafia-style debt collection. Our matter-manipulating hero is able to stop them by turning the sidewalk into tar. Ronnie Raymond wishes his favorite girl Doreen Day could see him like this. Ronnie and Dr. Martin Stein debate in Firestorm's head whether Doreen would be impressed by Firestorm's powers. Firestorm tries to impress a girl by turning a piece of metal into a bouquet of roses. The girl just faints in response. 

Firestorm flies off, then splits into Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein. Because Stein was unconscious when the bomb that turned him and Ronnie into Firestorm went off, he has no memory of his time as one half of the Nuclear Man, which ends up bewildering a cop that was trying to get some answers out of him out about the Hudson plant explosion. 

"Ay! Ah'm a cop, and you will respect mah authoritah!"

He's then confronted by a furious Danton Black, who is going to sue him. He claims Stein stole his plans for the plant's reactor and caused the explosion to cover it up. Stein calls him a fraud, and Black stomps away, vowing to get Stein back. However, he starts to feel strange. He gets a splitting headache, and he's starting to see double. Remember, in the last issue, Black was also caught in the explosion that created Firestorm. I think it's going to cause problems for him, too...

Back at school, Doreen is reading about Firestorm in the paper, and she thinks "Hey, this guy's pretty cool." Future Thinker Cliff Carmichael is not so impressed. He sees Firestorm as just another violent moron.  Ronnie angrily tries to introduce Cliff's mug to his fist, but Doreen gets him to calm down, and tells Cliff to get bent. 

Later, at Chez Raymond, Ronnie asks what he thinks of Firestorm. Mr. Raymond tells him that he thinks Firestorm is taking the law into his own hands, and he feels that is not a good thing. A disheartened Raymond goes out for a walk. It seems like he can't get anything right for a change. But enough of this teenage angst. This comic promised us Superman, so let's deliver on that, shall we?

"This is Clark Kent for WGBS, and Rao, I miss my old job..."

Yes at the time, Clark Kent was working as a television reporter for WGBS. After delivering his report, he sheds his suit to go check out this new nuclear-powered hero. In the Hudson power plant, Dr. Martin Stein is working on some repairs. He's lamenting about Danton Black's court order, and the governor's concerns about the plant. However, his worry session gets interrupted by a guest. Or should I say, a pair of guests.

"That's right, Stein! Danton Black is TWINNING AT LIFE!"

Meet the new and improved Danton Black, aka...Multiplex. He has the power to show multiple movies at once! ...how'd he get a supervillain costume so fast? Ronnie felt the ambush, realizing that he and Stein in their civilian forms share a Corsican Brothers-style connection. Ronnie tries to make his way to the plant, but he can't quite there. So, he tries to trigger the transformation into Firestorm. It not only works, but it allows Firestorm to go instantly to the plant, where he confronts Multiplex.

Multiplex believes that since the radiation of the plant gave...him? them? their powers, further exposure will make those powers stronger. Firestorm and the twin terrors brawl, but each of the individual Multiplexes are really strong, and combined with their teamwork, are able to knock the Nuclear Man around. Luckily, Superman arrives to help.

"Everyone gets one, Ronnie."

However, Multiplex is able to get away. Firestorm is left confused, until Stein points out that there's an experimental pile in the physics lab at State University. Rejuvenated, the Nuclear Man flies off. What does Superman do? He just decides to stand there. Did Zack Snyder write this?

Anyway, Firestorm makes his way to State U, which was near Central Park. Multiplex tries to absorb the radiation in the pile, but they discover the pile is empty, and they're starting to weaken. You see, when Ronnie first engaged Multiplex here, he seemingly tried to blast the twin supervillain...and missed. But in actuality, he was aiming for the radioactive uranium in the pile, changing it to phosphorescence. 

Yeah, a little science lesson here. Phosphorescence is not a substance, it's a property a substance can have. Materials that are phosphorescent don't emit radiation it absorbs right away. For example, have you seen a watch whose face can glow in the dark? That's because the watch's face is made of materials that are phosphorescent. Basically, Firestorm turned the radioactive uranium into a material that absorbs radiation. So, when Multiplex tried to absorb it, they essentially...short-circuited. Looks like Stein's smarts are rubbing off a bit on Ronnie.

Superman arrives as Ronnie unmasks the twin terror. And yup, they're Danton Black. The two heroes take them to a hospital, where the two Dantons merge back into one, presumably due to the radiation charge wearing off. Ronnie and Martin worry that Danton may remember being Multiplex, and he may return to menace them again.

On a happier note, Superman thinks our neophyte hero has potential. Perhaps one day, Firestorm may be able to call himself a member of the Justice League. The story ends with the Nuclear Man flying through the air in joy. Yeah, his day was not a complete loss after all. He stopped Multiplex, and Superman gave him props. 

I honestly enjoyed this comic. With the origin out of the way, we're able to delve into Ronnie and Martin starting their crimefighting career including facing their first supervillain. As I said about the first issue, there is a bit of early Spider-Man vibe, and that vibe continues on here, with things seemingly not ever working out right for Ronnie. It's a classic way to convey relatability, as everyone had felt like they had one of those days where nothing has ever seemed to go right. And Al Milgrom's art is wonderful to look at.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Firestorm: The Nuclear Man. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time when the Legion of Super-Heroes continue being haunted by a great darkness... 

Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1 (March 1978)

Firestorm. The Nuclear Man. Since 1978, this fiery fury had been bringing the heat to the bad guys. The people using the mantle may change, but there was always one constant: The Nuclear Man would always burn brightly. The character was rather unique for one thing: Firestorm was actually two people who would merge into one being. One was the body, and the other would take the form of a spectral head. The most iconic combination is high school/college student Ronnie Raymond and physicist Martin Stein. Over the years, other people would combine to form Firestorm, most notably Jason Rusch.

The character would go on to appear in various media outside of comics, mainly focusing on the Raymond/Stein combination. The character first appeared outside of comics in the final two incarnations of the long-running Superfriends cartoon series. He was intended to be the focus character of the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told", but got changed to Booster Gold. Sadly, the creatives of that story could not come up with a story starring the character that they liked. I think he did appear in the comic tie-in, though. Incarnations of Firestorm would continue to appear in other cartoons and animated movies, as well as in the Arrowverse family of TV shows.

But how did the character get his start? Well, that's what we're going to look at here. Let's take a look at the beginnings of the original Firestorm in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1!

The cover is pretty cool. It showcases the big unique gimmick of Firestorm: That the Nuclear Man is actually two people in one superpowered body. The cover promises an explosive first issue, and it's not kidding about that. You'll see what I mean. I also love seeing Firestorm fly out at the reader, and I have noticed there's something rather Kirby-esque about it. Maybe Al Milgrom was feeling the desire to channel his inner Jack Kirby when drawing this.

"Make Way for Firestorm!"
Writers: Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom
Artist: Al Milgrom
Inkers: Klaus Janson and Josef Rubinstein
Letterer: Todd Klein
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Editor: Jack C. Harris
Executive Editor: Joe Orlando

The story begins with Firestorm flying through the sky.

He's feeling pretty good. He can fly, and he is just enjoying it so much. A two-page spread then is used to show off his powers as he is flying the friendly skies over New York City. He stops a car accident by turning a taxi into water with his power to alter atoms, flies right through a police helicopter to show his intangibility, and the like. A voice in his head reminds him of more serious matters they have to attend to. And that serious matter? One Eddie Earhart, the man who made Firestorm what he is today.

The scene then shifts to a classroom, presumably earlier in the day. A teacher asks when Charles I of England was beheaded. Ronnie Raymond thinks he's got this nailed, but his classmate and future Thinker Cliff Carmichael is quicker on the draw.

Carmichael gets his hand up first again with the next question. With the third question, a frustrated Ronnie yells he knows the answer, but is admonished for being rude.

At the cafeteria, Ronnie is having lunch with a girl named Doreen. Ronnie wonders why Cliff acts the way he does, but Doreen thinks he's just jealous. Ronnie can't see why Cliff would be jealous of him, as he is a "B- Average" student, but Cliff is a genius. Really, it's because Ronnie had a bit of a thing for Doreen, and Cliff makes him feel like an idiot. Cliff taunts Ronnie about his supposed stupidity. Ronnie angrily leaps up to confront the future Thinker, but accidentally causes his lunch to be spilled all over Doreen.

Cliff has some laughs about it, but Doreen thinks he's being a jerk. A depressed Ronnie decides to go take a walk on the school grounds. He was hoping that after all the constant moving thanks to his father's newspaper job, he could finally put down roots. But it does fell like nothing is going right for him lately. The principal, Dr. Wallace Hapgood, notices Ronnie walking around and figures maybe the kid could use a friendly ear.

Meanwhile, at the new experimental Hudson Nuclear Power Plant, we meet one Professor Martin Stein.

A Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Stein was the man who designed and built this plant. Fully automated and foolproof, it's the first plant of its kind. He notices the protesters outside on a screen, worried about the plant's safety. A bit ahead of its time, considering this comic did come out a year before the accident at Three Mile Island. However, Stein isn't worried about this plant becoming a prelude to it because of all the fail-safes he put in. He then gets a visitor.

The visitor's name is Danton Black, and he's got a bit of a beef with Stein. He claims that Stein stole his plans for the plant during his time as Stein's assistant, but Stein angrily denies it. Black has a representative of the Nuclear Regulations Council with him. The rep states that the Council will have to deny him permission to start the plant until they can investigate this. Stein is furious, claiming that he fired Black because he stole equipment from him.

As they leave, Stein goes into a panic. He fears that if the public learns that this plant was ordered to shut down, they'll believe it was due to a fault in the plant's design. And since people are a bit skittish about nuclear power, they'll fight to keep the plant closed...and all of Stein's work will be for nothing. Stein decides that he's not going to listen to the Council. The plant is going online tonight!

Back at the Raymond home, Ronnie is making himself some dinner when he gets a call from his father. He's working late, so he can't join his son for dinner. Ronnie is watching TV alone, when he sees news report about the protests at Stein's plant. They're led by a man named Edward "Eddie" Earhart. This gives Ronnie an idea. To prove to Doreen that he's not an idiot, he's going to join the protest. Uh, Ronnie? I don't think Doreen minds that you're not as smart as Cliff Carmichael. You could just work on improving your study habits. That would be more helpful. Doreen tries to convince him that this was a bad idea, but Ronnie hangs up and heads out. He arrives at Earhart's group's HQ.

Earhart has much darker plans than a simple protest. He doesn't just plan to keep the plant from activating, he wants to make sure the plant no longer exists. Earhart and his group, with Ronnie in tow, heads to the plant and sneaks inside. Ronnie understandably is not comfortable with this. Protesting is fine, but what Earhart plans to do is illegal. Ronnie refuses to go along with blowing up the plant, as it could kill someone. Earhart is understanding of this, and shows that he has considered Ronnie's point by giving him a Mighty Punch to the jaw.

Martin Stein is watching this from a screen, and goes to stop this. Because the plant has no guards. Because guards would TOTALLY not be needed in a situation like this.

Sheesh. Anyway, Stein also eats a Mighty Punch from Earhart. Earhart decides that he'd better get rid of these two. So he figures, "Hey, put them near the atomic pile. When we blow it up, it'll rid us of them, too!" Earhart and his men flee, as they have another plant to blow up. Ronnie slowly wakes up.

As this is going down, Danton Black arrives at the plant. He's snuck in to copy some plans from the plant's computers. He noticed that the plant had already had been broken into. Ronnie tries to get Stein out before the pile explodes, but...

Ronald Raymond and Martin Stein should be dead. But fate had other plans. Danton Black also ends up eating a blast of radiation from the explosion. Ronnie and Stein seem to merge together, forming a brand new being.

This new combined being discovers he can read the atomic structure of the broken wall. Not just that, he can alter the molecular structure of the air to repair the wall. He also discovers that he needs a pair of pants. Clearly. No problem! He makes himself a fancy new costume.

He also decides to call himself Firestorm, because that's what you get after a nuclear explosion. Okay. Ronnie then hears an odd voice in his head. It's Martin Stein, allowing the two to actually "meet" for the first time. Ronnie has general control over the combined body, as Stein was unconscious during the explosion. The first thing the two decide to do is get Eddie Earhart, as he's got plans to destroy an atomic plant in Jersey. But first, they have to test out their new powers. Unknown to either Ronnie or Martin, Danton Black is still in the plant's remains, and his body is starting to glow.

But that was all in the past. Let's go to the present. Firestorm is thrashing Eddie's gang. Which is not surprising as he can make himself transparent and can turn their weapons into cucumbers. Earhart hears police sirens, and panics. He's not going to be caught. After all the failures in his life, he's not going to suffer being taken by the police. He tries to use his explosives to kill himself, but Firestorm is able to absorb the blast while leaving Eddie unhurt.

Firestorm gives Earhart a Mighty Punch, and flies off. A little payback from Ronnie Raymond. He flies off and heads to Manhattan. There, he catches sight of his reflection in a store window. He freaks out for some reason. Seriously, did Ronnie expect to not have changed in appearance at all after the explosion? Well, his freaking out triggers another transformation.

Ronnie and Martin split back into their normal selves. This leaves Ronnie wondering if this is permanent...or only temporary. Martin Stein is confused, as he has no memory of his time as Firestorm. Evidently, this can be presumed to be another effect of his being unconscious when Firestorm was created. The story ends with Ronnie helping Martin to his feet, and introducing himself as his friend.

This story was quite enjoyable. It's pretty obvious that Gerry Conway was trying to basically repeat the formula of the sadly late Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's work on Spider-Man. The average teenager with the alliterative name, the high school drama, all reminiscent of Spider-Man. I guess that's why I like this issue.

Firestorm's first solo series would not last very long, only about five issues. This was due to an event known as the "DC Implosion". In 1978, due to poor sales in the winter of 1977, DC cancelled 40 percent of its books and laid off some of its staff. Al Milgrom, who did the art for this comic, was one of the people who got axed. Firestorm's story would not end, though. Gerry Conway would bring the character into the Justice League title, where he was portrayed as the rookie hero learning the ropes of heroism from the best.

His sixth issue would be adapted into backup stories in the Flash's solo title [Issues #289-304 (September 1980 - December 1981)]. He also would get a second solo series: The Fury of Firestorm. This series would last from 1982 until 1990. Ronnie Raymond would get killed off in the Identity Crisis mini-series in 2004, and a third series would arrive that same year, focusing on a new Firestorm: Jason Rusch. That series would last for thirty issues, and Ronnie Raymond would return in the Blackest Night event.

With DC semi-rebooting its universe in the wake of Flashpoint in 2011, a fourth series was started that focused on Raymond and Rusch as Firestorm. This one lasted about twenty issues. If you want to read this issue yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Firestorm: The Nuclear Man. It collects Firestorm's original five-issue series, and it also has the sixth issue in its original form. It also has the backup tales from the Flash solo series.

Next time...well, this is it. After one whole year, it finally comes to an end. Next time, we take a look at the final issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths....

Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 (April 1985)

As the 1980s rolled on, DC Comics was nearing a big birthday. 1985 was DC's 50th Anniversary, having debuted with the title New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (February 1935). This title, during its run, which lasted until 1947, introduced some stalwarts of the emerging DC Universe, like the Spectre, Doctor Fate, and Superboy. They need something big, something epic.

Enter Marv Wolfman and his dream story.

Growing up in the 1960s, he was a fan of the Justice League comic, especially their yearly team-ups with the Justice Society. These stories were given titles like "Crisis on Earth-One" and "Crisis on Earth-Two", etc. He wanted to see a story featuring all of DC's heroes, past, present and future, in one big epic story. He even came up with a villain for it: The Librarian. Yeah, not the most intimidating supervillain name. As Marv Wolfman himself said in introduction to the 1998 trade paperback: "What's he gonna do? Charge the heroes a nickel a day for overdue books?"

Still, the idea stuck with Wolfman, even staying with him when he became a comic book writer. Further inspired by The Prisoner, he wanted to make his epic Librarian story a limited series, but it was the 1970s, and the Big Two felt such a thing would be impossible to sell. At the time, first issues of comics sold poorly, and readers liked big numbers on their covers. But then the 1980s would roll around, and by then, Wolfman was using his Librarian concept in the New Teen Titans series, renamed "The Monitor". While writing Green Lantern, Wolfman got a fan letter who was confused about a continuity question. This inspired Wolfman to bring back his idea with "the Monitor" as a way to clean up DC's continuity to make it more inviting to new readers.

You see, at the time, DC had a full-blown multiverse. There was Earth-One, the primary setting and the focus of much of DC's books. Earth-Two, which was the home of the Justice Society and various other heroes, including elder versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Earth-Three, the home of the Crime Syndicate, basically an evil version of the Justice League. Earth-X, an Earth where the Axis Powers won WWII, and a resistance stood against them (Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, Human Bomb, etc.)

See what I mean? Quite a few Earths out there. Even though they didn't all get books focused on them, those various Earths had appeared in quite a few stories, mainly thanks to the yearly "Crisis" team-ups between the JLA of Earth-One, and the JSA of Earth-Two. DC also had acquired characters from other companies, like Charlton (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Question, Nightshade), and Fawcett Comics (The Marvel Family and Dr. Sivana). Those characters got their own earths as well. Earth-Four and Earth-S, respectively. Old-time readers had no problem tracking it, as it was old-hat to them at this point, but new readers...yeah.

CoIE was announced at a comic convention in New York City in 1981, but due to the sheer volume of continuity research, not to mention Wolfman and Perez were also working on New Teen Titans, it was held off until 1985. Yup. Keep in mind, the Internet as we know did not exist in the early 80s. Wolfman couldn't just consult a wiki or Google the character's histories. The timing was a nice bit of serendipity as DC would be celebrating their 50th Anniversary that year. What better gift for such an occasion than an epic story that involves DC's history in such a manner?

The event truly did live up to its promise. It changed everything. Even thirty years later, Crisis still reverberates and echoes throughout the DC Universe.

And with all of that out of the way, let's take a look at the first issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths #1!

This cover is AWESOME. Seriously, it's simple but very effective. You got a string of Earths in a starfield, one about to explode. You got a bunch of characters just being sent flying, various expressions on their faces. Pariah (The guy below the old Superman) is having a really bad migraine. You got Harbinger (the blonde in the red helmet and blue number), just watching this impassively. Behind her is...Zordon? Well, that makes sense. In the trade, the energy erupting from the one Earth in the cover is pink. Too much pink energy truly is dangerous.

"The Summoning!" 
Writer: Marv Wolfman, Robert Greenberger
Penciler: George Perez
Inker: Dick Giordano
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Letterer: John Constanza
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with basically a recap of the origins of the Multiverse. When the Big Bang hit, it created a variety of worlds, similar but different, only kept apart by differing vibrational rates.

We then next see a wall of white heading towards one of these many Earths, slowly consuming it. People in a city flee the wall of white, while a figure in a green cloak watches this. He laments that there is no escape for these people. They can run, they can pray, but there is no hope. Nothing can be done to save them. There are no heroes, there is no day for them to save. There is only oblivion.

The green-cloaked man tries to save a child, but to no avail. He wonders how much longer he has to suffer for his sins. He pleads to be consumed by the wall of white, but he only vanishes.

The wall of white next reaches Earth-3, the home of the Crime Syndicate of America. They were basically an evil version of the Justice League. The costumed criminals try to stop the destruction, but it's no good. You're probably thinking, "Wait, if they're villains, why do they care if the Earth gets destroyed?". Well, as Kingpin from the 90s Spider-Man cartoon said, "There's no profit in the destruction of the planet. It is very bad for business." Johnny Quick and Owlman lament that despite their abilities allowing them to be masters of their Earth, they can't even save themselves.

This world's only hero, Alexander Luthor, witnesses Superwoman get consumed by the wall of white, and mourns her death, and the end of his world. He heads to his home, and his wife Lois. They just had a baby boy, and Lois is heartbroken that he'll die before he ever got to have a life. But there is hope. As the Crime Syndicate vainly fight to save their world, Luthor puts his son in a pod. Ultraman flies into the wall, determined to go out fighting. As the wall consumes Earth-3, Alex's pod breaches the vibrational barrier between the Earths, ensuring their son may find safety somewhere else. The wall gets Alex and Lois as they share one last kiss.

You know, it always struck me as kind of funny that in this version of the Crime Syndicate's world, there's only one superhero, Luthor. You'd think an evil Wonder Woman would be opposed by a heroic Cheetah, or an evil GL facing off against a heroic Sinestro. Heck, an evil Flash fighting a heroic version of the Rogues would've been neat.

Anyway, Alex's pod reaches Earth-1, where it ends up in the remains of the Justice League's old satellite headquarters. A mysterious being in another satellite nearby observes the pod arriving. The unseen being then summons an equally mysterious blonde woman.

He tells her that she knows her assignment, and she knows who to get. She wonders why she doesn't just get the various Earths' versions of Superman and Wonder Woman for this, as they would bring a ton of raw power. The being explains he has analyzed various powered individuals and the ones he has chosen are best for the job. He orders while he retrieves the pod from Earth-3. She obeys, but reminds the "Monitor" that she is his equal, not his slave. In an incredible sequence, she heads out, seemingly splitting into various duplicates.

The woman, Harbinger, heads towards Gorilla City. There, King Solovar is overseeing some business. After sentencing a criminal to "conversion", he finds Harbinger in his private chambers, saying he is needed. Solovar tells her he is not going anywhere without an explanation. Some gorilla guards burst in and try to blast Harbinger, but she vanishes, taking Solovar with her.

In 30th Century Metropolis, Dawnstar of the Legion of Super-Heroes flies towards Suicide Slum in answer to a telepathic call. She's suspicious about it because it's not Saturn Girl calling her. Her ability to track things (Yeah, she's a Native American character, and her power is to track things. Go figure) to find the source of the call. She examines a warehouse door and...

Yup. Off Dawnstar goes. The scene then shifts to Earth-Two in 1942. A USO Bond Rally is being held, and a woman is fussing over a stove. A beautiful redhead tells her to find some matches, and she'll see what she can do. When the woman leaves, the redhead, one Danette "Firebrand" Reilly of the All-Star Squadron, secretly uses her pyrokinetic abilities to ignite the stove. Firebrand then hears someone calling her by her hero name, and notices everyone and everything is frozen in place.

And with that, Harbinger collects Firebrand. Next, the comic takes us to a city. A Detective Karp is talking on a megaphone to some hostage-takers. One of them, with a gun to a woman's chin, scoffs at this. He retorts that if they let the woman go, they'll get shot into paste by the cops. He demands some money and a fueled chopper. But these men would get a special visitor tonight.

Yup, it's Ted Kord, the Silver Age Blue Beetle! Hurray! He swings down from his flying Bug, and beats up the hostage-takers. He does it in a very Spider-Manesque style, throwing quips and fighting with an acrobatic style. It does make sense, as Ted's creator, Steve Ditko, also co-created Spider-Man. It's a shame that DC and Marvel don't do inter-company crossovers anymore, as Peter Parker and Ted Kord having an adventure together would be awesome. Heck, you could do a two-part team-up with Peter and Ted starting a case, and then the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle and the Miles Morales Spider-Man following up on it.

Anyway, Ted deals with the criminals and saves the hostage. Harbinger appears to him and tell him that like Solovar, Dawnstar, and Firebrand before him, the Blue Beetle is needed. Beetle, figuring that she won't take no for an answer, agrees to go with her. After all, there's nothing good on TV that night.

We next go back in time: 45,000 years in the past. Harbinger speeds across an icy desert in search of Arion, the immortal sorcerer who defends ancient Atlantis before it sunk under the waves. Unbeknownst to her, a dark being, a Shadow Demon, observes her. The Demon attacks, and before she can respond...

The demon seemingly overtakes the duplicate of Harbinger, her eyes solid black. The scene then shifts to the then-present 1980s of Earth-Two. Harbinger comes to an insane asylum, looking for her next chosen character, one Roger Hayden, aka the second Psycho-Pirate. Hayden is suffering from a bit of an imbalance due to his addiction to absorbing emotions thanks to the Medusa Mask. He tells Harbinger to go recruit Charles Halstead, his predecessor. Harbinger reminds him Halstead is dead. Harbinger makes his Medusa Mask reappear, and makes it fly onto his face in a really cool sequence.

Back in ancient Atlantis, Arion senses some strange energy, which is causing his own power to grow. He conjures an ice bridge and encounters Harbinger demands he come with her, but Arion thinks she's trying to attack him, and he tries to fight back. This Harbinger was possessed by the Shadow Demon from earlier, hence her more aggressive nature towards Arion. Arion plunges towards the icy mists below, but the possessed Harbinger saves him, thinking it's not his time to die...yet.

In present time Earth-One Gotham, Firestorm (The Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein version) flies towards a prison. Using his powers, he goes through the wall, and finds his quarry: Louise Lincoln, aka Killer Frost. She's imprisoned in ice because she is a body heat vampire, and despite her cryokinetic powers, being in cold places can make her dormant.

Firestorm melts the ice to free her. Frost is confused for a moment. Firestorm tries to explain why he freed her, but decides "Don't care, wanna kill you". Harbinger and Psycho-Pirate arrive, and Pirate uses his power over emotions to make Lincoln fall in love with Firestorm.

Yeah, it's played for laughs, but I can see why some would see it as rather creepy. Harbinger's boss watches this on a monitor. He thinks about how he rescued Lyla (Harbinger's real name) as a child floating lost at sea. He recalls how he raised and nurtured her over the past twenty years. He sees her as the daughter he could never have...and she's going to kill him. Yeah, he knows about one of Harbinger's duplicates being possessed by the Shadow Demon. However, he is more worried about Harbinger, as the fate of the cosmos will be in her hands.

Harbinger brings Psycho-Pirate, Killer Frost, and Firestorm back up to her boss's big golden Death Star-like satellite, where the rest of the heroes and villains she has gathered are waiting...and wanting some answers.

My tablet hates trying to scan these double-age spreads. In addition to the earlier characters, she also gathered Psimon, Cyborg, Geo-Force, Obsidian, the Earth-Two Superman, the John Stewart Green Lantern, and the Neal Emerson Dr. Polaris. Cyborg and Psimon were part of Wolfman and Perez's New Teen Titans run at the time they were making this, so I bet they could not resist bringing some elements of that into this, heh heh. In a minor funny moment, Arion inquires about Dr. Polaris's powers, thinking he's a sorcerer, but Polaris basically tells him to not touch him or else. Interestingly, John Stewart thinks about the owner of the satellite, the mysterious "Monitor". He also recalls this "Monitor" was selling weapons to various supervillains and criminals [See my review of Vigilante #6 (May 1984)], and is wondering why he's brought this ragtag group of misfits here.

The group talk amongst themselves, observed by a shadowy being. Psimon offers a truce to Cyborg and Geo-Force. Cyborg tells him to shove it. Psimon exclaims that he senses danger, and the group is about to be attacked.

A group of Shadow Demons come at the Monitor's little assemblage. Let's call them the "Harbinger Group". Green Lantern tries blasting them with his Power Ring, but has no effect. Lyla reintegrates her duplicates, feeling very weakened from having separated for so long. As such, she is unable to help. She seemingly falls asleep, but the narration hints she will wake up changed. The group of heroes and villains try to fight off the Shadow Demons, but they're not having much of an effect. Obsidian notices that the Shadow Demons can't seem to harm him in his own shadow form, and he presses his advantage.

Despite this, the Harbinger Group still can't seem to make much of a dent in the Demons, only slowing them down at best. A flash of very bright light sends them fleeing. A figure assures the heroes that this attack was not unexpected, but also unplanned for. He also tells them this attack wasn't Harbinger's fault. You see, several of the group are convinced Harbinger set them up, like E-2 Superman and Psimon. The figure dims the lights so the Harbinger Group can see again, and they get a good look at Harbinger's benefactor.

The Monitor stands revealed for the first time, and he brought this group together because they are the only hope of saving their worlds from imminent destruction.

This issue is rather enjoyable. It is mainly a set-up issue, but it does the job well. The group of heroes and villains that Harbinger brings together are a rather fascinating bunch, with a variety of superpowers. The issue also does a good job establishing how dangerous these Shadow Demons are. The Earth-2 Superman, one of, if not the, most powerful heroes in DC's canon at the time can't hurt them. Except for Obsidian, none of the gathered heroes and villains could do much good against them...and even Obsidian could only do so much.

I do have one complaint about the story, though. If the Monitor knew Lyla would eventually kill him, why did he not try to stop her? He clearly cares about her, and the issue clearly hints that she may not do it willingly, so why not at the very least warn the heroes that this would happen? I get the villains would not likely care, but the heroes would.

As for the artwork, well...it's George Perez. What can I say? It's detailed, dynamic, expressive, it's just a joy to look at. His art always makes my eyes happy. Some of the layouts and sequences are amazing to look at, and I highly recommend you get this comic to experience them yourselves. Trust me. My tablet would try to murder me if I tried scanning some of that for you here. Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 is a great start to the mini-series, quickly giving the idea that this story is going to be of epic scope, showing stakes the likes of which the heroes of the then-DC Multiverse have never encountered before. Next time, we'll take a look at the debut of the Hobgoblin...