Martin Stein

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Martin Stein
Martin Stein, PhD. (DC Comics character).png
Martin Stein as depicted in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1 (March 1978). Art by Al Milgrom.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1 (March 1978)
Created by
In-story information
Species Metahuman
Team affiliations Justice League
Abilities
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Expertise in physics

Martin Stein is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly associated with, and sometimes is, the superhero Firestorm.

Contents

Stein has made several appearances in DC-related media. He is portrayed by Victor Garber in the Arrowverse and voiced by Stephen Tobolowsky in Justice League Action .

Publication history

He first appeared in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1 (March 1978), and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. [1] [2]

Fictional character biography

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Martin Stein was caught in an accident that allowed him to fuse into Firestorm the "Nuclear Man" with student Ronnie Raymond. Due to Stein being unconscious during the accident, Raymond was prominently in command of the Firestorm form with Stein a voice of reason inside his mind, able to offer Raymond advice on how to use their powers without actually having any control over their dual form. Banter between the two was a hallmark of their adventures. [1] Stein was initially completely unaware of their dual identity, leaving him concerned about his unusual disappearances and blackouts, but Ronnie was eventually able to convince him of the truth, allowing them to bond as separate individuals rather than as parts of a whole.

After the accident, Firestorm took to defending New York City from such threats as Multiplex and Killer Frost. The 1982 series began with the teenaged Raymond adjusting to his newfound role and later delved into the issue of the nuclear arms race. The Fury of Firestorm slowly developed the lives of Raymond and Stein, as Raymond struggled with high school and moved towards graduation and Stein found a life outside the lab after learning about his bond with Raymond. [3] The series also tried to create a sense of fun, something that Gerry Conway felt was missing during his years writing Spider-Man; [4] the banter between Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein contributed to this. Upon graduation from high school, Raymond entered college in Pittsburgh, where Stein had been hired as a professor. Afterward, together they searched for a cure for their bond.

When Conway left the series in 1986, John Ostrander (with artist Joe Brozowski) began writing the Firestorm stories. His first major story arc pitted Firestorm against the world as the hero, acting on a suggestion from a terminally ill Martin Stein, demanded that the United States and the Soviet Union destroy all of their nuclear weapons. [5] After confrontations with the Justice League and most of his enemies, Firestorm faces the Russian nuclear superhero Pozhar in the Nevada desert, where an atomic bomb was dropped on them. A new Firestorm is created, composed of Ronnie Raymond and Pozhar and controlled by the disembodied amnesiac mind of Stein. [6] [7] [8]

The Firestorm with Arkadin proved to be a transitional phase, as in 1989 Ostrander fundamentally changed the character of Firestorm by revealing that Firestorm was a "Fire Elemental". [1] By the series' 100th issue, Stein learned that he was destined to be the true Fire Elemental and would have been were it not for Raymond also being there by circumstance. Raymond and Arkadin were returned to their old lives, and Stein as Firestorm was accidentally exiled to deep space in the process of saving the Earth. He thereafter spent many years traveling through space as a wanderer, rarely returning to Earth.

In the 2006 miniseries Infinite Crisis , it was revealed that Martin Stein, alive in space as the "Elemental Firestorm", had sensed the presence of Jason Rusch within the Firestorm matrix, but was unaware of Ronnie Raymond's death during Identity Crisis . When Jason, as Firestorm, is gravely wounded in the line of duty, Stein links with him in a variation of the merge, promising Jason a new Firestorm body to let him return into battle. Accepting Martin's proposal, Jason asks Stein to become the permanent second member of the Firestorm matrix. Sensing that his "errors" were the result of his youth and lack of experience, Jason sought the experience and maturity of Stein. Stein refused at first, but later accepted Jason's request, thus ensuring both a new Firestorm body and the reconstruction of human bodies for both Jason and Stein. [1]

Jason Rusch and Martin Stein meet Shilo Norman, and are attacked in succession by the New Gods Orion, the Female Furies, and Kalibak. Shilo informs Stein and Rusch that the Firestorm matrix contains one-quarter of the Life Equation. Darkseid fears that the Life Equation might challenge him and the Anti-Life Equation. Stein is separated from the matrix, then vanishes without a trace. Jason, with Gehenna as a "hidden partner" in their fusion, begins searching for the missing Stein.

As the storyline jumps ahead one year (and the series was retitled as Firestorm the Nuclear Man from issue #23 on), it is revealed that Stein had been kidnapped and tortured by the Pupil (Adrian Burroughs), his former teaching assistant. [9] Flanked by the D.O.L.L.I.s, a group of cyborg soldiers of limited cognitive ability, the Pupil questions the nearly dead Stein about the secrets of the universe. Jason and Firehawk, along with Gehenna, free the captured Stein and restore him to full health.

Brightest Day

Stein returns in the 2010 series Brightest Day , where he reunites with a resurrected Ronnie Raymond. [10] While recovering in the hospital, Stein explains to Ronnie that it seems to be dangerous to fuse into Firestorm again. [11] As Firestorm, both Ronnie and Jason visit Stein in an attempt to find out what is happening to them. Stein reveals to them that the Black Lantern Firestorm, known as Deathstorm, still exists in the Firestorm matrix. Firestorm is then told by the Life Entity that they must learn from each other and defeat Deathstorm before he destroys the Life Entity. [12]

After running a test, Stein reveals the origin of the Firestorm matrix. Stein believes that, during the initial experiment, he was able to capture the spark that preceded the Big Bang, thereby making the matrix a trigger for a new Big Bang. If the boys continue to experience emotional imbalance, they increase the likelihood of triggering a new Big Bang. Deathstorm emerges from the matrix and reveals its plan to Stein, stating that it intends to create enough emotional instability between Ronnie and Jason that the matrix will trigger another Big Bang, destroying all life in the universe. To help accomplish this goal, Deathstorm absorbs Stein's mind to use his knowledge of Ronnie against him. [13] [14] While confronting Firestorm, Deathstorm brings Stein out of the matrix to taunt him. Deathstorm attempts to turn Ronnie into salt, but Stein takes the brunt of the attack and dies. [15]

The New 52

After the events of the 2011 Flashpoint storyline, The New 52 relaunch rebooted the continuity of the DC universe. Martin Stein is depicted as a scientist who created the "God Particle" and is uninvolved with Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch, who obtain the Particle and become Firestorm together. [16] [17]

DC Rebirth

Doomsday Clock reveals that Martin Stein is the head of the Department of Metahuman Affairs and deliberately transformed himself and Ronnie Raymond into Firestorm to research metahumans. [18] [19] Despite this, the two continue to work together until Lazarus Pit resin corrupts the Firestorm matrix and causes Stein to age rapidly. [20] [21]

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Martin Stein appears in the "Trinity War" event. [22] This version experimented on humans to unlock the secret of life through death, transforming into Deathstorm and becoming a member of the Crime Syndicate of America. [23] He is killed by Mazahs, who steals his powers. [24]

In other media

Television

Arrowverse

Martin Stein / Firestorm appears in media set in The CW's Arrowverse, portrayed by Victor Garber. [30] [31] [32]

Video games

References

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  2. McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 177. ISBN   978-0-7566-6742-9. If inventiveness is the fusion of ideas, then Firestorm was one of the most original characters to emerge from a comic book in years. Penned by Gerry Conway and by Al Milgrom, the Nuclear Man was a genuine sign of the times—the explosive embodiment of a nuclear world.
  3. Wilson, Matt D. (July 1, 2013). "Gerry Conway Starts Blog Aimed At Fair Compensation For DC Character Creators". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Gerry Conway, the writer who co-created the character with artist Rafael Kayanan in a 1984 issue of Firestorm.
  4. Conway, Gerry. "Nuclear Reactions: Just Your Average Hot-Headed Hero," The Fury of Firestorm #1 (June 1982). DC Comics.
  5. Ostrander, John  ( w ),Brozowski, Joe ( p ),De La Rosa, Sam ( i ),Hoolahan, Nansi ( col )."Through the Gauntlet" Firestorm ,vol. 2,no. 64(October 1, 1987).DC Comics.
  6. Ostrander, John  ( w ),Brozowski, Joe ( p ),De La Rosa, Sam ( i ),Hoolahan, Nansi ( col )."Dialogues" Firestorm ,vol. 2,no. 67(January 1, 1988).DC Comics.
  7. Ostrander, John  ( w ),Brozowski, Joe ( p ), Howell, Richard  ( i ),Hoolahan, Nansi ( col )."Planetfall" Firestorm ,vol. 2,no. 68(February 1, 1988).DC Comics.
  8. Ostrander, John  ( w ),Brozowski, Joe ( p ),De La Rosa, Sam ( i ),Hoolahan, Nansi ( col )."Back in the U.S.S.R." Firestorm ,vol. 2,no. 69(March 1, 1988).DC Comics.
  9. Moore, Stuart  ( w ), Igle, Jamal  ( p ), Champagne, Keith  ( i ), Baron, David  ( col )."Good-Bye" Firestorm ,vol. 3,no. 27(September 1, 2006).DC Comics.
  10. Johns, Geoff ; Tomasi, Peter  ( w ), Reis, Ivan ; Gleason, Patrick ; Syaf, Ardian ; Clark, Scott; Prado, Joe ( p ),Cifuentes, Vicente; Irwin, Mark; Albert, Oclair; Beaty, David ( i ), Steigerwald, Peter  ( col )."Second Chances" Brightest Day ,vol. 1,no. 1(July 1, 2010).DC Comics.
  11. Johns, Geoff ; Tomasi, Peter  ( w ), Reis, Ivan ; Gleason, Patrick ; Syaf, Ardian ; Clark, Scott; Prado, Joe ( p ),Cifuentes, Vicente; Irwin, Mark; Beaty, David ( i ), Steigerwald, Peter ; Starr, John; Sotelo, Beth  ( col )."Revelations" Brightest Day ,vol. 1,no. 3(August 1, 2010).DC Comics.
  12. Johns, Geoff ; Tomasi, Peter  ( w ), Reis, Ivan ; Gleason, Patrick ; Clark, Scott; Prado, Joe ( p ),Cifuentes, Vicente; Beaty, David; Irwin, Mark; Alamy, Christian ( i ), Steigerwald, Peter  ( col )."The Secret of Life, Part One" Brightest Day ,vol. 1,no. 7(October 1, 2010).DC Comics.
  13. Johns, Geoff ; Tomasi, Peter  ( w ), Reis, Ivan ; Gleason, Patrick ; Prado, Joe ( p ),Buchman, Rebecca; Champagne, Keith ; Nguyen, Tom; Reis, Ivan ( i ), Steigerwald, Peter  ( col )."A Change is Gonna Come" Brightest Day ,vol. 1,no. 10(November 1, 2010).DC Comics.
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  15. Johns, Geoff ; Tomasi, Peter  ( w ), Gleason, Patrick ; Reis, Ivan ; Prado, Joe ( p ),Irwin, Mark; Albert, Oclair; Rapmund, Norm ; Alamy, Christian ( i ), Steigerwald, Peter ; Eyring, Nathan; Aspen Studios ( col )."The End and The Beginning" Brightest Day ,vol. 1,no. 22(May 1, 2011).DC Comics.
  16. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 109. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
  17. Van Sciver, Ethan ; Simone, Gail  ( w ), Çınar, Yıldıray  ( p ),Çınar, Yıldıray ( i ), Buccellato, Steve  ( col )."God Particle"The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men,vol. 1,no. 1(November 1, 2011).DC Comics.
  18. Johns, Geoff  ( w ), Frank, Gary  ( p ),Frank, Gary ( i ),Anderson, Brad ( col )."Crisis" Doomsday Clock ,vol. 1,no. 9(May 1, 2019).DC Comics.
  19. Johnston, Rich (March 6, 2019). "Doomsday Clock #9 Rewrites Firestorm's Origin (Spoilers)". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved May 30, 2025. Professor Martin Stein groomed Ronnie Raymond to turn them both into a government-controlled superbeing, to be named Firestorm. A suggestion that others were formed in similar ways. And now Raymond has seen the truth – at least the truth shown him by Manhattan.
  20. Culver, Dennis ( w ), Merino, Jesus  ( p ),Merino, Jesus ( i ),Fajardo Jr., Romulo ( col )."Rain of Terror!" Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn,vol. 1,no. 1(March 1, 2023).DC Comics.
  21. Sawan, Amer (February 3, 2023). "Lazarus Planet Made a Drastic Change to a Classic Justice League Hero". CBR . Retrieved May 30, 2025. Doctor Stein had it even worse, being aged to the equivalent of a human at the end of their natural lifespan and left comatose as a result. Whereas once the firestorm matrix only asked for a temporary sacrifice of autonomy, it now drains more from one person using the matrix. The process has become more parasitic than symbiotic.
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