If you’re a Matty Collector subscriber, you’ll be allowed to purchase your Total Heroes Firestorm action figure starting Thursday, 11/13 at 8am PST (11am EST) through Friday, 11/14 8am PST (11am EST). Everyone else will have the chance to purchase starting on Monday, 11/17 at 9am PST (12pm EST).

Be advised that once the figure goes on sale on Thursday, November 13, it is subject to “early access sellout”. That means if too many figures are ordered by Matty Collector subscribers, it may not be available to the general public on Monday, November 17. Also, I’ve been advised by some previous Matty Collector members to brace myself for high prices. Some estimates I’ve heard include $30 for the figure and $10 for shipping. That is simply an estimate and not a recommended price or promise of a price (it could be significantly higher or lower — who knows).

If you want to read the entire announcement, here are the details:

This November, our monthly sale brings new meaning to the phrase “we’re stuffed.” Our warehouse is packed to the rafters with new figures, an updated vehicle, and a pair that’s been waiting to be together since 2011, Bow™ and his trusty steed, Arrow™! Read on for everything you need to know…

Early Access 11/13

• Thursday, 11/13 from 8 a.m. PT to Friday, 11/14 at 8 a.m. PT (subscribers only)
• Products Available: MOTU Giant Stratos®, MOTUC Battle Ram™ with Man-At-Arms®, Bow™, Snake Face™, Firestorm

All Access 11/17

• Monday, 11/17 at 9 a.m. PT (everyone)
• MOTU Giant Stratos®* (Club MOTU™ Giants monthly figure)
• MOTUC Arrow™ (Club Eternia® “variant” figure)Bow™ also available
• MOTUC Battle Ram™ with Man-At-Arms®*
• MOTUC Bow™*
• MOTUC New Adventures She-Ra® (Club Etheria™ monthly figure)
• MOTUC Snake Face™*
• MOTUC Tung Lashor™ (Club Eternia® monthly figure)
• DCU Firestorm*

*Subject to Early Access sellout.

November Subscription Key Dates

• Subscriptions Renew/Cards Charged: Starting Wednesday 11/12
• Subscription Orders Ship: Starting Friday 11/14

I gotta tell ya, a tiny evil voice in my mind considered not promoting this release date to ensure I get my own hands on one of these figures. However, my overall love for Firestorm and my fellow Match-heads won the day! So get ready for the upcoming purchasing frenzy!

My thanks to folks like Earth-2 Chris who sent me information on the upcoming availability!

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Giving credit, I found the images here and here. Keep your eye on Matty Collector for more information on this fig!

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Here is a snapshot of my own personal collection! Click to enlarge.

The very first Firestorm action figure is still the most beloved by many fans…
Super Powers Collection Firestorm (1985)

Next, the miniature DC Direct Pocket Super Heroes Firestorm action figure (Sept. 2002)
Instead of fire-hair, I’m pretty sure that’s just Aquaman’s hair repainted.

Then, the first “inaction” figure, part of DC HeroClix Cosmic Justice – Firestorm (Mar. 2003)
Cool pose, but the paint jobs can REALLY vary.

Next, my personal favorite Nuclear Man action figure, DC Direct JLA Series 2 (Dec. 2004)
Ironically, when this figure was released, Firestorm was already sporting a new look with
Jason Rusch as the new Firestorm, and thus this figure’s design was out-dated at release.

Then, Jason’s first action figure, DC Direct’s Infinite Crisis
Firestorm with flaming stand (May 2007)

Next, Jason’s entry in DC HeroClix Justice League – Firestorm (Sept. 2007)

Then, a pair of figures in Mattel’s DC Universe Classics line,
Firestorm (Jason) and variant (Ronnie) (Nov. 2008)

Next, Jason got animated with Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Rocket Blast with Firestorm action figure (Nov. 2009)

Then, Ronnie got small with DC Universe Infinite Heroes Firestorm action figure  (Jan. 2010)

Next, Ronnie got funky & chunky in this Blammoid Firestorm (Jan. 2010)

Then, Eaglemoss produced this lead mini-figurine as part of the
DC Comics Superhero Collection Figurine Magazine #46 featuring Firestorm (Mar. 2010)

Next, the first piece featuring Ronnie & Jason together was
DC Brightest Day HeroClix Action Pack with Firestorm (Oct. 2010)

Then, these adorable DC Universe Action League figures – Deathstorm vs Firestorm (Dec. 2010)

Next, Ronnie got animated in the Mattel Convention Exclusive
Justice League Unlimited 3-Pack: Angle Man, Firestorm & Killer Frost (Apr. 2011)
Yes, that’s right.. with Angle Man?!? Click to enlarge.

Then, the most unexpected Firestorm toy (and most unrecognizable) came in
McDonalds Happy Meal – Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Apr. 2011)

Next, one of my favorite Nuclear Man action figures, DC Direct’s Brightest Day Firestorm
(July 2011). Ironically (for a second time), when this figure was released, the New 52
costume redesign for Firestorm had already been promoted. That’s twice a new figure
was released just after a new look was revealed, thus making the figure’s design out-dated.

Then, the first New 52 Firestorm merchandise produced included DC Heroclix:
The New 52 Justice League with Ronnie, Jason & Fury (Aug. 2012).  Ironically (third time’s
the charm), when these HeroClix were released, the New 52 “Ronnie & Jason merged”
costume redesign for Firestorm had already been promoted. That’s three times a new figure
was released just after a new look was revealed, thus making the figure’s design out-dated.

Next, Eaglemoss produced another Firestorm mini-figurine as part of DC Superhero Chess
Figure Collector Magazine, issue #53 Firestorm White Pawn (Mar. 2014). Ironically
(a fourth time, seriously), when this figurine was released, The New 52: Futures End
costume redesign for Firestorm had already been promoted.  This makes four times
a new figure was released just after a new look was revealed, thus making the
figure’s design out-dated.

Finally, later this year the Mattel’s Matty Collector Club will release a Firestorm
figure as part of their Total Heroes line! It looks so cool and comes
with a floating Professor Stein head accessory!! Click to enlarge.

And just for fun, here is a Firestorm Cubee! A Fan-created do-it-yourself
figure made entirely from folded paper!

Thanks for checking out this Firestorm action figure index! I’ll update it from time to time as more Firestorm toys become available. Reminder, there will be a follow-up post soon featuring Firestorm’s supporting cast and foes. So check back!

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The 111th America International Toy Fair ran February 16-19, 2014. Mattel had quite the impressive display of upcoming DC Comics related merchandise. One of the figures on display included our favorite Nuclear Man as part of their Total Heroes line! Check out the images below for the good news (images found via ToyArk; click to enlarge)! Then scroll further down for the bad news…

Includes interchangeable hands, and heads for Jason-Storm and Fury! Most importantly, it includes an attachable floating Professor Stein head!!

Okay, are you completely over the moon about this figure? I know I am!! Now the bad news. It appears this figure will only be available to members of the Matty Collector Club. The figure is described as, “one of four quarterly deluxe 6” DC Universe Total Heroes figures for 2014.” We’ll keep an eye out for information on this figure and let you know!

My thanks to Michael Bailey, Derek Crabbe, J David Weter, Walter from Boosterrific, Lucien Desar and Michael Wagner for the heads-up about this figure. Thanks, guys!

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The artist is a teenager from Mexico named Jules Suarez. A teenager!! How cool is that?!?! First of all, I don’t know a lot of teenage fans of Firestorm. Second, if his art is this good during his teenage years, just think how good he’ll be as an adult! Great job, Jules!! Keep up the fantastic work! Be sure to follow Jules on deviantART and Tumblr!

Just about every Firestorm is represented in this drawing!! Here is a complete list of all incarnations in Jules’ art:

• Original Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond / Martin Stein)
• Elemental Firestorm (Martin Stein)
• Jason Rusch (1st Firestorm form)
• Jason Rusch (One Year Later design)
• Deathstorm (Black Lantern Firestorm)
• Brightest Day Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond / Jason Rusch)
• Jason Rusch (New 52 Firestorm Protocols)
• Ronnie Raymond (New 52 Firestorm Protocols)
• Fury (New 52 Firestorm Protocols)
• Current Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond / Jason Rusch)
• Crime Syndicate Deathstorm (Martin Stein)

The only Firestorm missing is the “Blank Slate” Firestorm. However, to be fair the only recognizable difference between the “Blank Slate” and the original Firestorm are the red cowl sideburns. So really, the art works just fine without it.

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Be sure to visit Yildiray Cinar’s website and let him know how much you love his art! My thanks to Match-head Keith G Baker for letting me know about this spectacular artwork!

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DC Comics’ “New 52″ comes alive with this all-new take on classic heroes and villains! Featuring all new sculpts and dial designs based upon the “New 52″ Justice League and Justice League Dark comics stories, this DC HeroClix expansion includes more than 20 figures to add to your HeroClix games! Available in individually boxed figures (offered in 24-count displays) or a six-figure “Fast Forces” Starter Set!

The Firestorm Heroclix were featured on the WizKids website a couple weeks ago. Below you’ll find the three different Firestorm figures, their Heroclix dial statistics, and their character cards. Click the character cards to enlarge.

First up, the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm:

Next, the Jason Rusch Firestorm:

Finally, the Fury entity (which appears when Ronnie and Jason merge into one being):

Be sure to visit the Heroclix website for a really thorough breakdown of the powers and abilities available to the Firestorms during a Heroclix game. And be sure to pick up some DC Heroclix: Justice League booster packs today!

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Pre-2000 this was the colorist domain at DC. Today it is all the letterer! Hooray for them being able to bring more of their unique talents to each and every story. Comics really are a collaborative medium.

Therefore, looks like we’ve got Letterer Travis Lanham to thank for these cool artistic additions to the series! Below I’ve highlighted a few panels by Yildiray Cinar to demonstrate these unique word balloons.

Ronnie Raymond – red word balloons, yellow outline and yellow letters

Jason Rusch – yellow word balloon, red outline and red letters
Firehawk – white word balloon, red outline and red letters
Hurricane – black word balloon, yellow outline and yellow letters

Pozhar – white word balloon, red shaky outline and red letters
Rakshasi – violet word balloon, red outline and white letters

Fury – black word balloon, shaky red outline and white shaky letters

Wrath – salmon word balloon, shaky black outline and black shaky letters

Love those distinctive word balloons!

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Here you’ll find a brief guide to each of the New 52 Firestorms. These entries will provide you with their name, appearance, country of origin, and perhaps a few other details. I plan to update this guide from time-to-time, so be sure to visit again and look for new content. This guide is intended to be a brief overview, not a complete encyclopedic entry.

It appears that some Firestorms have unique powers, while other Firestorms share similar powers. Some of the more common powers seen across multiple Firestorms include: flight, energy blasts, heat generation, matter transmutation, creation of constructs, and super-strength.

If you’re wondering why there are so many Firestorms, here is the explanation as given by Zithertech Director Candace Zither…

The idea was that every country that had a nuclear program would have a Firestorm, a national defender. A hero with the capabilities of mutually assured destruction. Eliminating the need for defense budgets even the richest of countries could no longer afford. All based on Stein’s Protocols.

OUR HEROES

Code Name: Firestorm
Real Name: Ronald “Ronnie” Raymond
Country: United States of America
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1

In The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #10, Ronnie was seen wearing a new costume (see below). It appears this new costume and his energy left hand are new manifestations of his powers.

Code Name: Firestorm
Real Name: Jason Rusch
Country: United States of America
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1

Code Name: Fury
Real Name: Unknown/Not applicable
Country: United States of America
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1
Notes: Fury is a being created by the merging of Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch, yet Fury possesses its own independent personality.

Code Name: Wrath
Real Name: Unknown/Not applicable
Country: Appeared in France
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #9
Notes: Wrath is a being created by the merging of Jason Rusch and Firehawk, yet Wrath possesses its own independent personality. The merger proved to be too unstable, resulting in Jason and Firehawk being thrown into the Quantum Field.

OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED FIRESTORMS

Code Name: Pozhar
Real Name: Professor Mikhail Arkadin
Country: Russia
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1 (cameo); The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #4 (in full)
Notes: Mikhail claims to have invented the original Firestorm Protocols along with Professor Martin Stein. He has refereed to himself as “A Red Shadow”.

Code Name: Helix
Real Name: Roger (husband of Director Candace Zither)
Country: United States of America
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #3
Notes: Roger was selected to be the defender of the United States. He was the first to experience Professor Stein’s Firestorm Protocols. Unfortunately the experiment went horribly wrong. Helix was killed by Fury and Jason Rusch.

Code Name: Firehawk
Real Name: Therese
Country: France
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1 (cameo); The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #8 (in full)

Code Name: Hurricane
Real Name: Unknown
Country: United Kingdom
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1 (cameo); The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #8 (in full)

Code Name: Rakshasi
Real Name: Unknown
Country: India
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #10

Code Name: Unknown
Real Name: Unknown
Country: China
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1 (cameo)
Notes: We haven’t seen this character in action yet. He was briefly shown on a Zithertech computer screen.

ROGUE FIRESTORM PROTOCOLS

Code Name: Not applicable
Real Name: Haji Al-Farishtaa
Country: Qurac
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #4
Notes: Haji Al-Farishtaa was an illegal arms dealer selling Rogue Firestorm Protocols to Qurac terrorist cells. Al-Farishtaa was killed by Pozhar.

Code Name: Not applicable
Real Name: Unknown
Country: Qurac
First Appearance: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1 (cameo); The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #5 (in full)
Notes: Several Qurac terrorists have been transformed into Rogue Firestorm Protocols, each look similar to the Firestorm below. They appear to be working for someone named Ashra Khan.

My thanks to Joe Slab for suggesting this guide! Thanks, Joe!

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1. Fury’s persona is an amalgamation of Ronnie and Jason’s subconscious minds; or
2. Fury’s persona comes from the nuclear power itself.

However, after reading the panel below, I’m left wondering if there is another possible answer…

Seeing Ronnie and Jason operate consciously inside Fury reminded me of the “Blank Slate” incarnation of Firestorm.  In that incarnation, Ronnie and Mikhail Arkadin were trapped inside the Firestorm persona, much like Ronnie and Jason in this issue.  In the “Blank Slate” version, the Firestorm persona was being controlled by Professor Stein’s subconscious mind.

The panel above has me wondering if there could be a third person in the Fury matrix with Ronnie and Jason? Could Ronnie’s murdered friend Trev have something to do with Fury’s persona? Could Fury’s persona be derived from Professor Stein in some way?

What do you think?

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