Right out of the gate I wanted to tackle one of DC’s biggest, baddest villains of all – DARKSEID!  Believe it or not, Firestorm has gone toe-to-toe with Darkseid on a few occasions and somehow managed to survive!

First up is a scene from Justice League of America #185 (Dec 1980) written by Gerry Conway and drawn by George Perez & Frank McLaughlin.  In this scene Firestorm gives Darkseid a taste of his own medicine!

Now admittedly, the comic above was published back before Darkseid was THE big bad of the DC Universe.  Nowadays, Firestorm probably wouldn’t be able to pull off such a simple stunt against Darkseid.  In fact, the next time Firestorm was face-to-face with Darkseid, things went very differently.  Below is a scene from Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol III #35 (June 2007) written by Dwayne McDuffie and drawn by Pop Mhan & Steve Bird.

Yeah, that’s right.  Darkseid just showed up and literally ripped Firestorm apart.  Wow.  That’s serious power!

Let’s tally up the two battles… looks like the final scores between Firestorm and Darkseid were: One victory each!  I don’t know about you, but I’d gladly accept a tie with Darkseid.  Heck, I’d gladly accept just surviving against Darkseid!

Watch for more UNUSUAL SUSPECTS in the weeks to come!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Dwayne McDuffie passed away due to complications following a surgical procedure he underwent Monday evening. McDuffie wrote the final three issues of the Jason Rusch Firestorm series (Firestorm vol III #33-35).  Additionally, McDuffie wrote nearly all of Jason’s appearances in the Justice League of America series.

To identify Dwayne McDuffie simply as a Firestorm writer is a huge disservice.  McDuffie had a very long and prosperous career in comics and animation.  He was co-founder and editor-in-chief of Milestone Media, for which he created or co-created many characters, including Static, the basis of the animated series Static Shock.   McDuffie’s television credits, in addition to Static Shock, include Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, and What’s New, Scooby-Doo?.   McDuffie also wrote the story for Justice League Heroes video game.

McDuffie was a pioneer and well-respected industry veteran. Comic Book Resources reached out to a number of McDuffie’s friends and colleagues who shared their thoughts about McDuffie and his passing.

I interacted with Dwayne a handful of times on his message board.  He was always very kind and took the time to answer just about any question.  While I didn’t know him well, I was impressed with his work and his passion.  He will be missed.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

As discussed here previously, Firestorm is used in a couple scenes of the film. He is a minor character and primarily appears during a large fight scene in which he battles the evil version of Captain Marvel Jr.  This is the Jason Rusch version of Firestorm and he’s from the “good” Earth. Firestorm is voiced by Cedric Yarbrough and his costume is based upon the Jamal Igle version from Firestorm vol III.  Dwayne McDuffie wrote the story for this movie; McDuffie wrote a few issues of Firestorm vol III and a JLA run with Jason.  Below is a still of Firestorm using his transmutation powers during the large battle. Click here to see how Firestorm handles himself during the fight.

If you’re like me, you were wondering if there was an evil Crime Syndicate doppelganger of Firestorm.  Well for those eagle-eyed viewers, or those that thought to pause, there was a very brief appearance.  The shot below reveals several of Super-Woman’s henchmen.  Among them on the bottom row towards the center is clearly an evil parallel to Firestorm.  Rather than a red headpiece, his is green and features a radioactive symbol.  I can’t help but wonder what his name is.  Meltdown?  Fallout?  Nuclear Winter?

Even though Firestorm’s part is minor, the film is definitely worth checking out.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

• We’ve got a sneak peek of Firestorm from the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD scheduled for release next Tuesday, February 23. These photos confirm that the Firestorm that appears in the movie is the Jason Rusch version and he’s from the “good” Earth.  I guess in hindsight it’s not too surprising that it’s the Jason Firestorm since Dwayne McDuffie wrote the story for this movie; McDuffie wrote a few issues of Firestorm vol III and a JLA run with Jason.  It’ll be interesting to see if there is an “evil” counterpart to Firestorm within the Crime Syndicate.  Firestorm will apparently have a speaking part as Cedric Yarbrough has been identified as doing the voice of Firestorm in this film.  Also worth noting is that Firestorm’s costume is based upon the Jamal Igle version from Firestorm vol III.  Huge thanks to Rob over at the Aquaman Shrine for granting me permission to republish these images here.  Also, my thanks to Joshua Wolf for directing me towards this news.

• Comic Book Resources had some great coverage of the New York Toy Fair earlier this week.  They managed to get some amazing shots of upcoming DC figures from Mattel.  Below are the images they ran of Firestorm from the Justice League Unlimited line.  This figure is due out sometime in 2010 and will be available online and at Target.  Check out the Comic Book Resources article for pictures of other fantastic figures on the horizon (i.e. Blue Devil, several Aquaman figures, Blue Beetle, Ultra-Humanite, and more.  They’ve even got Cyclotron?!?!)

• I just stumbled across a nice blog post about Shadowstorm, the evil Firestorm doppleganger from the Elemental-era.  The post was written by NicodemusLegend for his Transforming Seminarian blog.  Click here to read the Shadowstorm post.  Additionally, NicodemusLegend did a thorough three-part series on “The Hard Life of Professor Martin Stein”.  Check out that series by clicking on the following links: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

• Steward Cook (a.k.a. bricolage) laid out his Firestorm: Rebirth proposal that he pitched to DC back in the 1990s.  Sounds like it would have been interesting.  Check it out by clicking here.
• The episode of Batman: The Brave & the Bold that featured Firestorm is now available to view online.  Click here to be watch.  My thanks to Jerrod Porter for sending this link my way.

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD this coming Tuesday!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

I like Batman’s demanding nature in this bit.  I think the scene works really well.  I don’t see it as condescending to Jason, but it does point out his inexperience.  Fair enough.  His time on the JLA has really helped the character grow up, or at least make him more comfortable interacting with the “big time” metahumans.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

• Newsarama did a page-by-page summary of Blackest Night #1.  If you didn’t get a chance to read the issue, there are some nice moments related to Ronnie Raymond.  
• IGN featured a really great interview with Geoff Johns about Blackest Night.  Firestorm is mentioned in the interview.
• Can’t wait for the DC Direct Black Lantern Firestorm action figure?  Then check out this custom action figure selling on eBay right now.  My thanks to ComicByComic.com for originally drawing my attention to this.
• The San Diego Comic Con has started and at least three Firestorm-related creators will be there: Jamal Igle, Dwayne McDuffie, and Geoff Johns.  If you’re going to the Con, be sure to attend one of the panels for these guys and tell them how much you love Firestorm!
• If you haven’t been keeping up with Justice League of America, Jason Rusch/Firestorm recently met the Shadow Thief.  For those of you who don’t remember, Shadow Thief is the one who killed Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm.  Luke over at Being Carter Hall published a fantastic page from JLA where Shadow Thief gets some payback from Firestorm.
• Gerry Conway (Firestorm creator and primary Firestorm writer from 1978 – 1986) has been in the news quite a bit lately thanks to the success of his current mini-series, The Last Days of Animal Man.  Here are links to two interviews he’s done recently:
  • Comics Nexus (Firestorm is briefly mentioned in this interview)
  • Cary’s Comics Craze – Part 1 and Part 2
    
• If you like trivia, check out the Firestorm trivia thread over at the DC Comics Message Board.  Please feel free to chime in and join the fun!
• Finally, DC has released a new Firestorm Black Lantern sketch by Ethan Van Sciver.  Enjoy!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

• Dwayne McDuffie, writer of Justice League of America, has been fired from the JLA book.  According to McDuffie, the termination had nothing to do with the quality of his work or the level of sales, rather with his revealing behind-the-scenes creative discussions.  Len Wein will temporarily replace him on the book.  So where does this leave Firestorm (Jason Rusch)?  Not sure at this point.  However, I know that McDuffie wasn’t the one who put Firestorm in the JLA.  That was decided before McDuffie even took the assignment (click here for more on that).  So hopefully that same person will keep Firestorm in the book.
• The Last Days of Animal Man #1 shipped a couple weeks ago.  This book is written by Firestorm creator and long-time writer, Gerry Conway.  This is his first foray into comics in 20 years.  Here are a couple reviews of the book: IGN and  Comic Book Resources.
• Not new news, but still interesting.  On the TV show Big Bang Theory, the character of Sheldon consistently shows off his fondness for superheroes.  He was seen in episode 16 wearing a t-shirt with Firestorm on it (the same shirt that was featured here a while back).  Click here and click here for more information on Sheldon’s shirts.  Additionally, Ed from Ordinary Man reports that a Firestorm action figure appeared in Sheldon’s apartment in one episode!
• Not directly related, but Firestorm Cafe and Books in Asheville celebrates it’s first anniversary.  While it’s not related to the DC superhero in any way, I will be in Asheville in August and plan to try and visit the book store because of the name (and I’m a sucker for book stores).
• Mail it to Team-Up recently re-presented DC Comics Presents #90, featuring Superman, Captain Atom, and Firestorm.  This is an interesting pre-Crisis team-up between the three characters.  Both Superman and Captain Atom were dramatically changed after Crisis on Infinite Earths, so this is a unique look at the characters just before the changes were implemented.
• The message boards are buzzing with speculation about what will happen to Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch after Blackest Night.
• Frank over at …nurgh… posted a gorgeous copy of the advertisement for the 1986 Firestorm/Blue Devil crossover.  I did a scan of the same ad a few months ago, and mine looks like garbage compared to his.  You really gotta check it out!
• Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn (creators of Blue Devil and Amethyst Princess of Gemworld) were recently interviewed by yours truly.  There was some brief discussion of the 1986 Firestorm/Blue Devil crossover.  You can listen to the entire audio interview over at ONCE UPON A GEEK, or download the file and listen at your leisure.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

• Trinity #35 just hit the stands yesterday. As I’ve mentioned previously, Firestorm (Jason/Gehenna) has been featured regularly in the Trinity series.  I can’t vouch for issue #35 (as I haven’t read it just yet), but Firestorm has played an important role throughout the series.
• Justice League of America #29 shipped last week.  While it’s a flashback issue and doesn’t feature Firestorm, it was drawn by CrissCross.  CrissCross was the first artist on Firestorm volume III, and therefore the first artist to draw the Jason Rusch Firestorm.
• The Justice League of America team is about to go through a major shake-up.  They will be losing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.  Here is an article at Newsarama with writer Dwayne McDuffie discussing the changes.  Let’s hope Firestorm stays on the team through these changes.
• Justice League of America: The Second Coming HC reprints Justice League of America #22-26 and is scheduled for release on May 6, 2009.  This volume includes a brief appearance by an alternate reality Firestorm known only as “WE ARE FIRESTORM”.
• Dwayne McDuffie recently stated on his own forum that we will see more of Jason Rusch and Martin Stein in a future story line.  Additionally, he said that “WE ARE FIRESTORM” will appear again.
• According to Dwayne McDuffie’s blog, this summer will see the release of a softcover edition of Justice League of America: The Injustice League.  This softcover will reprint the JLA Wedding Special and Justice League of America #13-16.  This is the story where the Jason Rusch Firestorm is “recruited” by Batman for the Justice League.  The hardcover of this story was released last summer.
• Furious Firestorm is a new website from Mr. Jamester.  The site is dedicated to our favorite match-head and features lots of images, pictures, and even a few videos.  Check it out!
• As we’ve noted here previously, Ronnie Raymond will return as a Black Lantern during the Green Lantern story, Blackest Night.  DC has solicited a few Blackest Night action figures already.  Over at Frank Delano’s Martian Manhunter blog, The IDOL-HEAD of DIABOLU, you can see a glimpse of the Black Lantern Martian Manhunter.  Wow, icky.  Makes me somewhat nervous about how Ronnie Raymond will look as a Black Lantern.
• Also over at The IDOL-HEAD of DIABOLU, Frank has put together a great resource covering the relationship between Martian Manhunter and Firestorm.  He discusses their interactions as well as provides a number of links to other Firestorm-related posts on IDOL-HEAD.  Definitely worth your time to check this out!
• Pat Broderick (the first artist on Firestorm volume II) is scheduled to appear at Florida Supercon in Miami JUNE 5-7, 2009.
• As always, check out the Firestorm section of the DC Comics Message Board for Firestorm-related discussion.

WE ARE FIRESTORM

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!