Some of you Match-heads may not realize that Marvel Comics had their own version of Firestorm. Seriously! Time for a little history lesson…
Back in 1969, Marvel introduced a team of villains to battle the Avengers called the Squadron Sinister. These characters were purposely based upon the Justice League of America from DC Comics. This was done to give the fans what they wanted — The Avengers vs The JLA. Then in 1971, Marvel introduced the Squadron Supreme. Essentially, the same team as the Squadron Sinister, but this time they were good guys. Then in 1977 over at DC Comics, Gerry Conway (formerly of Marvel Comics) created Firestorm. Much of Firestorm was inspired by Gerry’s time writing Marvel’s Spider-Man. In 1980, Firestorm joined the JLA. In 1981 when Marvel’s Squadron Supreme appeared in The Defenders, they featured a new member named Nuke!
So, Marvel’s Nuke was an idea ripped off from DC’s Firestorm. DC’s Firestorm (a member of the JLA) was ripped off from Marvel’s Spider-Man. Marvel’s Squadron Supreme was ripped off from DC’s JLA. *Whew* It’s like a snake eating it’s own tail!
To familiarize yourself with Marvel’s Firestorm, check out below Nuke’s entry from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Click to enlarge.
For fun, here a small shot of Nuke’s original costume! And we thought Firestorm’s was tacky!
Finally, there was an updated version of Nuke in the reimagined Supreme Power series in 2005. I’m not terribly familiar with this incarnation and there isn’t much online. Regardless, he seems to be just a modernization of the original Nuke.
If you’ve never read the twelve issue Squadron Supreme mini-series from the 1980s, I highly recommend it! Written by Mark Gruenwald with art by Bob Hall, Paul Ryan, and John Buscema. If you’ve ever wondered what the JLA would have been like if they’d originated in the Marvel Universe (with Marvel Comics’ sensibilities), this is the story for you! When reading it, you’ll feel there are foreshadowing elements for Kingdom Come and Identity Crisis. Well worth the read (or even re-read)!
Support Firestorm (even over at Marvel)! Fan the flame!
What an unexpected treat. Nuke has never had a decent look, but yeah, he did feature in the Squadron Supreme series which was wonderful, hugely enjoyable and satisfying. The only rubbish thing about it was the logo, with that blocky S.