FIRESTORM #22

In which the recently deceased Firestorm is rebuilt from the ground up.

by Frank Pittarese

After dying (again) in INFINITE CRISIS #4,  Jason Rusch’s “essence” meets up with Martin Stein (formerly Firestorm’s other half) inside the Firestorm matrix, where together they reconstruct a physical body for themselves. This month, we get a rundown of Firestorm’s new powers. Next month, we get to see what he’ll look like.

I was a huge fan of the original Firestorm, and when Jason came along, I was one of the biggest opponents to the concept of anyone other than Ronnie Raymond wearing the suit and being The Guy. But in recent months, Moore has changed my mind. Jason is a really likeable kid, and we’re getting some fun, superheroic stories. With the return of Professor Stein to the Matrix, this as as close to Firestorm’s glory days as we’re ever gonna get. And it’s not a bad place to be.

On the downside, it seems that next issue is part of DC’s “One Year Later” stunt, in which all the books—you got it—jump forward one year in time. Stein will be out of the mix, which is a damn shame. Based on Moore’s writing, I’ll give it a try, but a Ronnie-less, Stein-less Firestorm isn’t likely to hold my attention.