Comic Info
Comic Name: The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Ethan Van Sciver/Gail Simone
Artist: Yildiray Cinar
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2012
Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #4
Reprints The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1-6 (November 2011-April 2012). The Firestorm Protocol is a new form of weapon that gives its user with extreme power. When classmates Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond are forced to activate the Firestorm Protocol when their school is attacked by men searching for the Protocol, the two must find a way to work together despite their differences. Being Firestorm is harder than it appears, and Jason, Ronnie and their friend Tonya are now accused terrorists…and more and more Firestorms are popping up all over the world.
Co-plotted by Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone and penned by Gail Simone, The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Volume 1: God Particle collects the first story arc of the New 52 reboot of the series after the events of Flashpoint. The series received so-so reviews and was one of the weaker selling comics of the relaunch and features art by Yildiray Cinar.
Firestorm has always been a tricky character. The character premiered in his own short lived series with Firestorm #1 (March 1978), but gained more popularity when he was introduced on the Super Friends: Legendary Super Powers Show in September of 1984 as a new member of the Super Friends. His character has gone through many changes and in the most recent series replaced longtime Firestorm Ronnie Raymond with Jason Rusch. Here Simone blends a lot of these aspects of the story into one tale (and tries to appease Jason and Ronnie fans).
The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #6
The story however just misses the mark. Gail Simone has proven herself to be one of comics’ most popular writers and an original voice, but the series (especially the first issue) has poorly scripted characters and a rather confusing plotline. An example would be the “heartfelt” question by Ronnie “Mom…why don’t we have any black friends?” This would be a legitimate question for maybe a six or seven year old, but it sounds like poor cliché writing coming from a character who is supposed to be in high school. It is writing like this which weakens the series.
The art by Yildiray Cinar is interesting, and quite good, but I don’t know if it works well with the story. I loved the original Firestorm costume design and there are allusions to it within the Firestorm Protocol characters, but there is also the problem of all the characters kind of looking alike because Firestorm is a brand instead of an individual. Cinar’s art is good with the fire and explosions, but it also doesn’t do enough to distinguish the already indistinguishable multiple Firestorms.
The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men is one of the New 52’s weakest titles. DC hasn’t known what to do with Firestorm for years and this is not the answer. Gail Simone is a much better writer than this, and I have to question what is involved in the “co-plotting” with Ethan Van Sciver. The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Volume 1: God Particle is followed by The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Volume 2: The Firestorm Protocols.
Related Links:
The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Volume 2: The Firestorm Protocols
