My Rating
“Terminal Velocity”
Some need silence to meditate. Others, a mixtape blaring from their Toshiba boombox. For young Ronald Raymond, riding on the back of the Coney Island Roller Coaster was his jam. Normally, Professor Martin Stein could care less what his friend did with his free time, but when they both shared the body of Earth’s most atomic superhero named Firestorm, he found it irritating, to say the least.
Yesterday they had their cage rattled by a robotic-enhanced woman calling herself Byte. They had survived, no problem, however, the shortlist of Meta humans taking a crack at them had begun to grow. Why did that woman want to attack Firestorm in the middle of a crowded city? Ron and Martin need time to think. Unfortunately, today their schedule had just been filled by an old flame from Washington DC and the squadron of robotic fighter jets firing missiles in their direction!
“Special Blue Devil Preview”
Today is the day for the big reveal! Hollywood stuntman and special effects artist, Dan Cassidy, has locked himself away in his workshop attempting to iron out all the bugs in his new stunt suit. Dubbed the Blue Devil after the movie he designed it for, the getup is no mere costume, rather it combines the pyrotechnic wiz-bangs and laser light effects of the biggest Hollywood productions, with state-of-the-art servo-motors and steel forged cable-tendons designed by Dan himself. It’s a real masterpiece, even if studio heads have balked about the price tag.
Elsewhere, at the front gates of the Verner Brothers Films studio lot, a fellow special effects artist and acrobat, James Jesse, has just strong-armed his way past the security guard whom he has known for thirteen years. James is not there for a social visit. No. Word has spread throughout the stuntman community of Dan Cassidy’s new wonder technology, and the Trickster wants it all for himself!
Reviewer Notes
I came here for the Blue Devil origins story and found an action-packed book filled with Firestorm, Firehawk, and the legendary Flash super villain the Trickster. What a blast this was. If only I had read more DC comic books in the 1980s, I would probably have had Firestorm and Blue Devil on my pull list. No worries, the books are still out there and ready to be found.
The days of the home PC computer boom really gave comic book writers new areas to explore. It’s clearly represented here as Firestorm helps take on two energy-based super villains who drag their enemies into the electronic circuitry of a digital world. I had to laugh when I saw Barney Bonner’s computer “kits” which took up most of his bedroom. His mother must certainly have had connections, as his setup looked like mission control at NASA.
If you are into old 1980s DC Comics you can’t really go wrong with this special edition of Firestorm. For me, DC books from the 1970s and 1980s always had a hokey vibe to them, but they are still entertaining. I give Firestorm, The Nuclear Man issue 24, five out of five stars. Get this one if you can.
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