DC Comics was in firm control of the comic industry until the ’60s, when Marvel Comics began their rise. However, it wasn’t until Spider-Man that the House of Ideas had a solo hero that could overcome Superman and Batman in sales. Since then, DC has been searching for a hero to overcome the Wall-Crawler in the esteem of fans. Spidey worked so well because he caught a generation of older readers in his web; they saw themselves in him. They tried with several heroes, but it wouldn’t be until 1978 that they’d create a hero that could rival Spider-Man: Firestorm, a hero that DC has just brought back in the excellent Fury of Firestorm #1.
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Fury of Firestorm #1 is a haunting tale, as the familiar hero destroys a small town, his blank visage swinging through emotional highs and lows. His former girlfriend Firehawk is called in to investigate, leading to some shocking discoveries. It’s an excellent comic, but it is also very far from the original conception of the character. Firestorm was created to be the next big thing, a character who combined the wit of Peter Parker with the mind-numbing power DC characters were known for. The publisher knew what they were doing, as they got the perfect writer to bring the Nuclear Man to life.
Firestorm Hits Many of the Same Notes as Spider-Man
Gerry Conway took over The Amazing Spider-Man after Stan Lee, during a formative period in the character’s life. Peter was getting older, going to college, and the book had to change. Conway is the man who wrote the story where Green Goblin killed Gwen Stacy, as well the original Spider-clone story, and had proven adroit with a young character. Eventually, he’d find his way to DC and team with the talented Al Milgrom to create Firestorm.
Firestorm was created with the Spider-Man mold. The book starred Ronnie Raymond, a young student who would get caught up in an experiment by Professor Martin Stein. An accident occurred and the two of them were fused together, gaining power over matter and energy. They could combine at any time to form the Firestorm matrix, using their new power to fight evil around the world. Ronnie was sassy kid in charge of his body and Stein was the brains, trying to temper the younger, more impulsive Raymond.
Over the years, Conway has talked about how much he was inspired by the characters of the Marvel Universe when creating Firestorm. Science was a key part of his origin and his enemies, something that Marvel Comics had done with most of their Silver Age legends. Ronnie was a young person, using slang and making jokes like Marvel characters, a change from DC’s usual formula. He had a colorful, eye-catching costume that didn’t really look like anything else at the time. He found himself in the middle of Cold War drama, battling evil Soviets, taking Marvel’s approach of “using the world outside your window” to inform his stories.
The formula worked, and Firestorm the Nuclear Man was a hit. Younger fans loved the character and he ended up joining the Justice League of America. He made his appearances on the mega-popular SuperFriends and had his own action figures and t-shirts. The character was one of the more popular DC characters of the ’80s, but the continuity shuffle of Crisis on Infinite Earths changed all of that. He started to wane in popularity, and by the ’90s would be a thing of the past. DC has tried to bring him back several times over the years, but he’s never stuck.
Firestorm Represented DC Admitting Marvel Was Right
Spider-Man was the kind of success that doesn’t come around too often, and he changed the entire comic industry. Many characters tried to step into his shoes, and Firestorm is one of the most successful attempts at this. Getting one of the greatest Spider-Man writers ever helped, but what made it all work so well was the fact that DC was willing to admit that they were wrong. Marvel’s more grounded, relatable heroes were a great thing and the only way to beat them was to join them. Firestorm was white hot for years, all because ’80s kids could see themselves in him.
The new Fury of Firestorm series is seemingly quite different from the older version of the character, but the first issue pays homage to the original era of the character beautifully. Firestorm is a character who played a huge role in ’80s DC, one of the publisher’s most important eras, and is more important than his failures make him seem. He was able to get as popular as did because they learned the lesson that Marvel’s success taught them, and created their own Spider-Man, giving a readers a new icon.
Fury of Firestorm #1 is on sale now.
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