<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Firestorm
Gender	Male
Publisher	DC Comics
Origin	Detroit
First Appearance	Firestorm #1 (1978)
Creator(s)	Gerry Conway Al Milgrom
Alter ego	Ronald Raymond & Martin Stein, Jason Rusch & Various.
Aliases	The Nuclear Man
Abilities	Can molecularly transmute inorganic matter, fly, can alter density of matter, nuclear blasts.
Affiliations	Justice League of America

Firestorm is a fictional comic book superhero owned by DC Comics. Firestorm is actually a matrix of inter-dimensional energy referred to as the Firestorm Matrix. It usually plays off the term “nuclear fusion” by being a composite of two or more characters with one in control and another as an advisor. When Firestorm changes back to his alter ego, the two characters separate and go their separate ways until Firestorm is needed again. In some incarnations of the character, the “advisor” character is unconscious during the fusion, with its subconscious talking to the controlling character and having no memory of their adventures when separated.

Firestorm's look has changed a bit over the years, but iwo things remain consistent. First, he never looks anything like either of his alter-egos who have fused together to become him. Secondly, his hair is made up of the flames of an atomic furnace.

The Bronze Age Firestorm

The original Firestorm was teen-ager Ronald Raymond and nuclear power expert Professor Martin Stein who were caught in an atomic explosion at a sabotaged power plant. Ronnie, who, unlike Stein, was conscious during the explosion, maintained control during the “fusion” of the two characters, and could transform into Firestorm at will, summoning Stein from wherever he happened to be.

The Ronald Raymond/Martin Stein Firestorm character became a member of the Justice League, and was featured in ABC's Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. These were the last of the “Super-Friends” cartoon series.

When John Ostrander took over the character in 1989, he did a riff on the character making Martin Stein the sole occupant of the Firestorm Matrix, making him a “Fire Elemental” , taking a page out of the book of Alan Moore’s run in Swamp Thing. Eventually, Ronald was restored to the character.

The New Firestorm

Jason Rusch was an African-American teen-ager struggling to get enough money to escape his abusive home. When the Ronald Raymond Firestorm was mortally wounded in a fight with a super-villain, he exploded over the car that Jason was driving. Firestorm’s nuclear life force colided with Jason’s body, fusing him with the Firestorm Matrix.

By melding his mind and body with others, Jason could become the new Firestorm. Being a superhero and the responsibiulities that this role entailed was the push Jason needed to get his life together. He became his own man, independent of his father, and eager to prove himsef both as Jason and as Firestorm. He eventually became linked with the original Firestorm, Ronald Raymond, and later with Martin Stein. Some time after the limited crossover series Infinite Crisis (2005), he became linked with Lorraine Reilly, formerly known as Firehawk. Reunited with Martin Stein, the New Gods characters have become interested in Firestorm since Darkseid has been convinced that part of the anti-life equation has been concealed inside the Firestorm Matrix.