DC’s Most Underrated Series Just Turned a Controversial Idea Into Something Great

DC releases a lot of comics every month. Between classic all-stars, essential teams, and a cavalcade of Elseworlds, it can be very, very hard to know what comics to pick up each Wednesday. The safest bet is to stick with the books you know you like, or the characters you’ve always loved, but in doing that, you skip out on countless other comics that could become classics. These underrated hits never get the love or attention their quality deserves, and today we’re talking about one such comic. Fury of Firestorm (2026) has consistently been one of DC’s greatest books for months now, and now it’s taking everything to the next level.

The premise of this awesome series is very simple. Firestorm has gone rogue, taking over the city of Bradford, Colorado, and transforming all of its citizens into statues. The government called in Ronnie’s ex-girlfriend Lorraine, better known as Firehawk. When she proved incapable of snapping Ronnie out of whatever funk he was in, she enlisted the help of the man who helped make Firestorm, Martin Stein. As of Fury of Firestorm #5, Professor Stein has revealed the truth behind the Firestorm Matrix, and this revelation uses one of DC’s most interesting but controversial retcons as its basis.

A Man-Made God Made by a Man With a God Complex

Martin Stein has always been an arrogant man who believed he was the smartest person to ever exist. When his son died as a result of a metahuman attack, he decided to create the ultimate metahuman that he alone could control. With that desire and government backing, Professor Stein groomed Ronnie Raymond to be the perfect complacent partner, even setting up the “accident” that fused them into Firestorm. He did all this under the banner of the Superman Project, which was the United States’ plan to create their own elite metahuman heroes that they could control. This is a genuinely interesting twist that totally reframes everything about Firestorm, but it didn’t come from this comic.

This new twist on Firestorm came from the controversial pages of Doomsday Clock. The twelve-issue series is definitely contentious among fans. For one, it served as a direct follow-up to Watchmen, which many consider the pinnacle of serious comics, which makes the idea of a crossover sequel unnecessary and even insulting. Secondly, insane production issues turned a one-year release plan into an uneven two-year plan, which soured fans’ opinions even more. Couple all of that with DC dramatically changing its mind about the direction it wanted to take its stories, and you have a comic that everyone seems keen on burying. Yet, despite that, this retcon is becoming one of DC’s best.

A New Idea Given the Direction It Needed

Doomsday Clock is one of those stories that lies in what I call Schrödinger’s Continuity. This even definitely left an impact on DC, and some stories directly reference it, but only certain aspects. Doctor Manhattan existed and restored DC, but every other aspect of the comic and its characterization is ignored. That included the Superman Project, until now. Fury of Firestorm is giving this retcon the chance it needed to actually take hold, exploring the implications and impact of Professor Stein’s actions, showing how much of a twisted individual he was just beneath the surface. This twist gives him and Ronnie a whole bunch of tension, and adds so much to their characters.

All too often, great ideas get left behind because they emerge inside of subpar or controversial stories. This is giving one of those ideas a chance to be something great, and it gives all of these characters a new direction that they desperately needed. It’s even throwing its own ideas into the mix, like the Firestorm Matrix becoming sentient and everything that’s happened being a part of one big plan by Professor Stein. This story is building its backbone from a long-forgotten, disregarded story. This comic saw the potential it had, and that is always something awesome to see.

Firestorm is back and better than ever, and I cannot wait to see how this climactic battle ends when Ronnie has to battle himself. Here’s to more good retcons.

Fury of Firestorm #6 is on sale now!

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