I really enjoyed re-reading The Fury of Firestorm The Nuclear Man #4 (Sept. 1982) for the latest Fire & Water Podcast. I remember these tales fondly, but actually re-reading them can reignite my passion for the character or an era. This particular issue featured some exceptional moments for our favorite Nuclear Man!
Below I’m including a few pages from The Fury of Firestorm The Nuclear Man #4 by by Gerry Conway, Pat Broderick, Rodin Rodriguez, and Gene D’Angelo. Not all FIRESTORM FAN readers listen to the Fire & Water Podcast, so I’m including some of my commentary with the pages.
Overwhelmed by stress, Firestorm attacks and takes down the JLA single-handed!! While Firestorm only targets Superman and Zatanna, it effectively takes the entire team out of the fight! While the Nuclear Man was nuts for attacking his teammates, his effectiveness is pretty impressive! Click the image to enlarge.
On the next page, Firestorm finally reveals his secret identity to his teammates in the JLA. Plus, Professor Stein has his first off-world experience! I love seeing Ronnie Raymond and Professor Stein interact with the JLA. These guys are different from Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince. When other JLA members are in their secret identity, essentially they are the same person just in different clothes. For Ronnie and the Professor, they are genuinely different people in their secret identity. It’s nice to see some of my favorite regular people standing shoulder-to-shoulder with these titanic characters! Click the page to enlarge.
This next is a talky-talk page, but it’s one of my favorites. First, I LOVE seeing Professor bringing the science, especially up on the JLA satellite. I like to imagine that Professor Stein and Ray Palmer would have been great, nerdy friends. Second, (and most importantly) the plan to stop Killer Frost and save the day came from Professor Stein and Ronnie Raymond — not Firestorm! Hooray for the men behind the Nuclear Man! Click the page to enlarge.
If you haven’t re-read the early issues of the classic Fury of Firestorm series in a while, better hit the long boxes! There comics are the reason so many of us love the character!
Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!