Below you can see the magazine poly-bagged with the figurine.  The white circular sticker is a warning that if you get the lead figurine anywhere near your house your entire family will die an agonizing death.  Well… something like that.  Its lead folks, don’t put it in your mouth.

Below is a close-up of the lead figurine.  Dude, this thing is a work of beauty!  He’s about 3.75 inches tall, just a bit shorter than the recent Infinite Heroes action figure.  This is probably the most faithful representation of the Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein Firestorm costume ever produced for a figure.  The 1985 Super Powers figure and the 2004 DC Direct figure are probably the closest behind this lead figurine.  They got everything correct – chest emblem, gloves, boots, puffy sleeves, design on the briefs, even the headgear.  It looks great!  It’s just a shame it’s made from lead, rather than plastic or pewter.

The magazine itself provides a detailed history of Firestorm in all his incarnations.  Included are recaps of some classic Firestorm story lines, specifically Legends and Firestorm the Nuclear Man: Reborn (trade paperback collecting the post-One Year Later adventures). There is also a feature on the people who have united to become the Nuclear Man.  Finally, installment #37 of the DC Timeline covering 99 BC to 1 BC (not specific to Firestorm, but obviously a feature every issue of the magazine).

The magazine does a wonderful job breaking up the text with gorgeous images from Firestorm’s history.  I’ve provided a few snapshots below to give you a flavor of how the magazine looks.  Stephen Wiacek, writer of the articles, clearly knows his Firestorm history.  The only thing I found unusual was the disproportionate amount of time spent on the “Blank Slate” incarnation of Firestorm.  While I like the “Blank Slate” version, it was odd to see more space dedicated to him as compared to the Elemental version or Jason Rusch.

Overall this was a great purchase!  The figurine is fantastic and the magazine is an enjoyable read for Firestorm novices and experts.  If your local comic shop doesn’t have it in stock, ask if they can order it.  It’s worth your time and money.

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The second incarnation of Firestorm (or as I call him, the “blank slate” Firestorm) doesn’t get talked about very much nowadays.  I think it’s important to remember this version of the character because it was the first time the Firestorm matrix had been changed in a major way.  Since then, change has become a hallmark of the character.  Regardless of whether someone enjoyed this era, it’s important to recognize the significance of the change and that for nearly two years this was the hero known as Firestorm.  If you ever go back and re-read crossovers like Millennium or Invasion, you’ll find this was the version of Firestorm present for those stories.

Ostrander’s first major story arc pitted Firestorm against the world.  Acting on a suggestion from a terminally ill Professor Martin Stein, Firestorm demanded the U.S. and the Soviet Union destroy all of their nuclear weapons. After tussles with the Justice League and most of his enemies, Firestorm faced off against a Russian nuclear man named Pozhar.  Pozhar had been Mikhail Arkadin, a nuclear technician and survivor of the Chernobyl accident now cursed with nuclear powers. In Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5, Pozhar and Firestorm battled in the Nevada desert.  Meanwhile, the U.S. government decided that the nuclear man had become a threat. The U.S. military then proceeded to drop a nuclear bomb over Firestorm and Pozhar, blasting the whole area way.

When the smoke cleared, a new Firestorm emerged.  The image below by Joe Brozowski was the final panel from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and our first glimpse of the new Firestorm.

The changes to Firestorm’s physical appearance were subtle.  He’d grown four inches taller, his headgear had gained sideburns-like accents, his body had become skinnier, and his facial features and costume lost some definition.

While cosmetically he looked very similar, his internal make-up was drastically different.  The Firestorm matrix was now composed of Ronnie Raymond and Mikhail Arkadin.  Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  Surprisingly, Ronnie Raymond was no longer in control of the Firestorm form.  Whenever they were merged as Firestorm, both Raymond and Arkadin were trapped inside the fused body unable to affect its actions.  The being in control of the Firestorm form was independent from Raymond and Arkadin and acted very detached.  The new Firestorm had his own personality and desires, yet he seemed to lack any life experience and had no memories.  He was a blank slate.

Both Ronnie and Mikhail had the ability to initiate the merger of Firestorm, regardless of the distance between them. Whenever Firestorm was no longer needed, he would separate back into Raymond and Arkadin, returning them to where they originated.  Typically Ronnie would return to the United States and Mikhail would return to the U.S.S.R. Firestorm still functioned as a superhero, but often seemed confused about the situations he was involved in.  As Ron and Mikhail only formed Firestorm when there was a crisis, the Firestorm entity wondered if his only purpose was to fight.

About a year after this new incarnation of Firestorm came about, it was discovered that the “blank slate” personality of the new Firestorm was in fact the amnesiac mind of Professor Martin Stein.  Though his physical body didn’t join them to create the new Firestorm matrix, his subconscious mind was in control of the Firestorm body.  Stein was found to be suffering from amnesia and living in a Nevada mental institution.

The “blank slate” Firestorm was part of the series from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 (Oct 1987) through Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #84 (Apr 1989).  This nineteen month run was drastically different from the previous nine years.  While  Firestorm still battled supervillains, they also tackled socially-conscious issues like nuclear weapons and famine.  Several stories also took place in Moscow, this being just before the end of the Cold War. To help draw attention to the change in the direction of the series, DC ran the house ad below in November 1987.  I’m not sure who the artist was for this ad, but I don’t believe it was series artist Joe Brozowski.  The advertisement was fairly small (only 1 inch by 3 inches) and was run on the letter column page.

Below you’ll find a drawing I did back in 1988 of the “blank slate” Firestorm that I recently unearthed.  I had been inspired by the changes, so I decided to try my hand at drawing the new character.  I drew it free hand, but based it upon a combination of the artwork above from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and the advertisement.  My drawing measures 13 inches by 17 inches.  Please forgive the patchwork-looking white background.  The original image is so large that I had to do multiple scans and pieced them together digitally.

As I mentioned, for the first year of the “blank slate” Firestorm, Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  It was assumed that he was killed in the nuclear blast that created the new Firestorm.  In Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #75, Professor Stein was found alive in a Nevada mental institution completely cured of his terminal brain tumor.  Stein had no memory of his previous life and was unaware of the part he played in the “blank slate” Firestorm. The institution staff  had no idea how to diagnose Stein as from time to time he would fall into a coma-like state for no apparent reason. Unbeknown to them, these were the times when Firestorm merged and Stein’s subconscious mind was in control of the  Nuclear Man.  The original artwork below comes from our friend Jon over at Fizzit, the Firestorm-themed blog.  This was the last page of Firestorm vol II #75 drawn by Joe Brozowski.  Ronnie Raymond and the amnesiac Professor Martin Stein were finally reunited after a year apart.  When issue #75 was published, I felt this single panel was the most emotionally-moving scene in Firestorm’s publishing history.  Our thanks to Jon for allowing us to reprint this page here.  Click the image to enlarge.

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Firestorm volume II #84 – “Souls of Fire”
Writer: John Ostrander
Penciller: Tom Grindberg
Inker: Sam De La Rosa
Letterer: Duncan Andrews
Colorist: Nansi Hoolahan
Asst Editor: Dan Raspler
Editor: Denny O’Neil

This is a fairly important issue.  This issue Ronnie and Mikhail begin to realize there is more to the Firestorm matrix than they understand.  This issue also features Svarozhich, a failed Russian attempt to clone Firestorm which produced a soulless creature instead.  In the issue following this, Ronnie, Mikhail and Svarozhich combine permanently (somewhat) to create the first Elemental Firestorm.

Here is the cover of issue #84 from Comics.org.

Below is page 2 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  I really like seeing Ronnie and Mikhail meeting face-to-face.  This is something that almost never happened in this run of Firestorm.  Nice work by Grindberg & De La Rosa showing Ronnie & Mikhail sapping power from Svarozhich.

Jon mentioned that the yellower parts in these pages are pre-printed textures that have been stuck to the page. He says it actually gives them a nice touch as opposed to just being straight black and white on the original pages.  I’m not 100% sure, but I believe that process is called zip-a-tone or screentone.

Below is page 4 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  A nice subway chase scene by Grindberg & De La Rosa with Ronnie, Mikhail, and Svarozhich.

Below is page 5 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  Here we also see Firebird, Mikhail’s telepathic niece and leader of the Russian teen team Soyuz.  Soyuz were an interesting group of supporting characters during this run of Firestorm. It’s be nice to see them again.  Also on this page, a great shot of Svarozhich flying through the subway!

Below is page 15 from issue #84.  Click the image for a enlarged version.  Here we see the mysterious Rasputin, possibly the infamous Rasputin who helped cause the Russian Romanov dynasty to fall in the early 1900s.  Regardless of his true identity, this Rasputin eventually helps Ronnie and Mikhail realize the Elemental potential of Firestorm.  Also on this page is Ronnie being a bad ass.  Love it!

Thanks again to Jon from the Fizzit blog!  I’ll be posting some further scans from him in the coming weeks!