The Fury of Firestorm #2 – Jeff Lemire, Writer; Rafael De La Torre, Artist; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Firestorm’s been a character who has been in flux for a long time, switching between different identities and going through several failed revivals over the last two decades. But Jeff Lemire is doing something that’s never been done before – turning it into a horror story. The bones were always there, as the story is essentially one of body horror. One character winds up transformed into a living weapon, while another becomes a ghost, as they share a single body that’s somehow neither of theirs. A flashback explains just how Ronnie Raymond was pulled into this world, lying his way into an internship with Professor Martin Stein to impress a girl. Although he was obviously unqualified for the intense physics-based job, Stein saw potential in him and decided to teach him on the go. Of course, knowing what we saw in Doomsday Clock, one has to wonder if Stein knew what he was doing all along.
In the present day, Martin Stein is nowhere to be seen (appearing burning documents in a cabin briefly last issue), while Ronnie finds himself in some weird dreamscape. He’s being kept there by Firestorm, who for the first time seems to have gained sentience – and is anything but benevolent. He destroyed an entire town through the power of transmutation, and seems to be evolving in menacing ways by the moment. As the government contemplates its next move, this series seems to be evoking the themes of something like Watchmen, with Firestorm essentially being a God without the bindings that Raymond and Stein put on him for so long. Turning one of the DCU’s most powerful heroes into a villain suddenly is a big risk, but so far it’s been a fascinating series. I was a little surprised that Firehawk wasn’t in this issue after being teased last month, but this was a great close-up on one of the men who made Firestorm tick.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
