Sons of Fire Meet Teams of Justice

Many costumed crusaders aspire to be among the few invited to join their Worlds’ Greatest Superhero Teams. For two young men, Ronald Raymond and Christopher Pike, they too different paths to arrive at the same destination. And with different results.

Ronnie Raymond was a student athlete who fell in with the wrong crowd, a group of criminals masquerading as activists protesting a nuclear power plant designed by Professor Martin Stein. When their sabotage caused the plant’s reactor to explode, Raymond and Stein were merged together, transformed into Firestorm the Nuclear Man. His brief heroic career, with Martin becoming a mentor to Ronnie, led to a team-up with Superman of Earth-One and his recommendation of Firestorm for membership in the Justice League of America.

Chris Pike excelled in academics and scholarly pursuits, inspired by the heroic examples of his childhood heroes, the Justice Society of America. He first joined his mentor Rex “Hourman” Tyler’s Minute-Men of America, where he worked alongside that team of Earth-Two’ teen titans on several cases. When this team dissolved, Chris joined the Junior Justice Society of Earth-Two in their adventures combatting the Injustice Society and the Crimson Claw Gang. Then, tragedy transformed him into Vulcan, Son of Fire!

The experience of joining the Justice League helped mature Ronald, as he developed a self-sacrificing attitude towards his fellow man and became the true hero Firestorm. The experience of joining the Junior Justice Society sadly did not have a lasting effect on Christopher, as he developed a self-loathing for himself and a deep-seated resentment towards his heroes, whom he attacked as the villain Vulcan.

While Firestorm's tenure with the League only lasted for a couple years, before the team was disbanded and then reassembled with a smaller roster in Detroit by charter member Aquaman, the effect his former teammates had on the Nuclear Man was profound. Both Ronald and Martin formed a lasting friendship, developed from their physical bonding spawned by the reactor incident. Firestorm would face and defeat scores of supervillains with powers as great and some greater than his own, relying on the adaptability and instinctive nature of Raymond and the analytical and reasoning nature of Stein.

Since his own mentor Hourman distanced himself from Pike and his former Minute-Men allies, Christopher began relying too much on his own analytical abilities without humbly acknowledging his psychological limitations. When madness gripped him while aboard an experimental spacecraft orbiting the sun, Pike's mind snapped and he slayed his fellow astronauts, while disabling the vessel carrying them across the solar system. Due to the timely intervention of an alien observer saving Chris’ life, Pike was transformed into Vulcan. Instead of appreciating this act of kindness, Pike adopted the alias of Vulcan and became a foe of the Justice Society, later joining the Secret Society of Super-Villains!

Super-Strong Scientists on Borrowed Time

Artificially augmented superhuman strength developed by creative chemists and innovative inventors Walter Davis and Rex Tyler was state-of-the-art. While Tyler employed Miraclo pills and dark-light projectors to enhance his physicality, Haley utilized a variety of treatments throughout the years to produce this same results, for the good of mankind.

Prof Haley constructed a space suit and battle armor with motors compensating for higher gravitational planetary bodies, which he and his fellow Challengers of the Unknown might visit one day. When a time lord sends radioactive boxes to the 20th century, Prof in his techno-armor combat the behemoth beast hiding with one of these objects.

Rex Tyler developed genetically altered skin cells from his exposure to Miraclo, allowing him to possess a high degree of resilience to injury. Because of this, he didn’t need to design a protective suit to wear in his adventures. However, one of his young protégés ended up building a suit of armor similar to Haley’s.

This aspiring adventurer was astronaut Christopher Pike, who as a lad idolized the Justice Society of America and was one of Hourman’s young sidekicks, the Minute-Men of America. With this team of teen titans, Pike joined with his fellow Minute-Men in over a dozen tales with the Man of the Hour. When this team dissolved, he joined the Junior Justice Society, assisting the adult Justice Society against the Injustice Society and the Crimson Claw gang. 

Just as student Ronnie Raymond was mentored by the physicist Martin Stein whom he merged with to become Firestorm of Earth-One, student Christopher Pike was mentored by Rex Tyler is his Hourman persona. And yet, while Ronnie spurned his delinquent tendencies and matured under Stein’s tutelage, Christopher spurned the teachings of Tyler over time and grew mentally unbalanced. 

Although Pike achieved lofty goals as an astronaut, he nurtured murdeous tendencies when trying to kill his fellow space travelers during a mission around the solar system. When granted atomic powers from the sun by an amiable alien, Pike hardened not just his containment suit into a piece of armor, both also hardened his heart to humanity as Vulcan Son of Fire. With his metallic frame and solar power, the one-time Minute-Man gained superhuman strength like Hourman, which he used against the hero’s Justice Society allies time and again.

Prof Haley with his Challengers, just like Hourman with his Minite-Men, were men literally living on borrowed time. This didn’t just highlight their dangerous work as costumed crimefighters, but also in their temporary superpowers. What helped them persevere and proper wasn’t their cosmic capacities, but their consistent courage in the face of danger!

Support Staff of Spandex Suit Studs

Prof Davis and his teammates in the Challengers of the Unknown as well as Hourman and his allies in the Minute-Men of America were tasked with hunting down various mad scientists and would-be supervillains. However, such as task was to… well… challenging for these fantastic foursomes, as they tackled threats from across the United States and worldwide! Each team has resident experts in various fields, but were in need of a communication network

The Earth-One Challengers consisted of Walter “Prof” Davis (expert deep sea diver and resident scientist), Matthew “Red” Ryan (expert mountain climber and electronics expert), Lester “Rocky” Davis (professional boxer), and Kyle “Ace” Morgan (professional pilot and tram leader). The Earth-Two Minute-Men were composed of Rex “Hourman” Tyler (team mentor and master chemist), Jimmy “Minute-Man” Martin (team leader and ham radio expert), Thorndyke “Second Sweep” Tompkins (amateur sidekick and rough-houser), and Les “Sparks” Watts (amateur pilot and ham radio expert),

In fact, the Challenger Corps was founded by several civilians from across Earth-One whom the Challengers of the Unknown had saved in the past. Its most well known member was Count Anthony Dragio, who was pursued by an ancient evil eye automaton which sought out he and his family. While untrained in the adventure arts like their heroic idols, this Corps evidentially provided a valuable service and instilled in the actual Challengers the belief that their self-sacrificing pursuit for truth and justice was appreciated by people the world over, even amidst the burgeoning number of superhuman protectors appearing shortly after this fantastic four were established as costumed crusaders.

As for the Minute-Men of America, they grew from its mentor and three core members of Jimmy Martin, Thorndyke Tompkins and Les Watts to include Rodney Moravan. Christopher Pike aka "Vulcan" along with other boys and girls. These various non-combatants formed an information network for their heroic teams to help coordinate their missions. Rex Tyler tutored and inspired this next generation of guardians to aid humanity, with his protégées carrying on his heroic legacy. They were definitely a strong counter-balance to the criminal Hourmen who impersonated the original around this same time, before their Man of the Hour himself brought then to justice!

The Challenger Corps and the Minute-Men were short-lived footnotes in the history of Prof and his colleagues as well as Hourman and his sidekicks. While there were other “B-teams” on both Earths, such as the New Teen Titans and Infinity, Inc. who were the protégées of the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, these auxiliary groups’ members had powers and/or abilities matching their mentors. Additionally, both worlds had a Blackhawk team, as well other international heroic organizations, such as the Sea Devils of Earth-One and the Boy Commandos of Earth-Two. However, those teams could stand on their own, and face global threats on par with the League and the Society.

Much of their contributions of the Challenger Corps and the Minute-Men of America were undoubtedly their behind the scenes assistance as their costumed role models directly addressed the varied and divergent threats which these “fan clubs” were ill-equipped to do themselves. Still, their international network of radio broadcasts altering their heroes to threat around the globe proved an invalidate aid, and made them notable for inclusion in our consideration on this occasion.

Near-Miss-Meet-Ups: Crisis on Infinite Crises

Several counterparts of Earths One and Two have had opportunity to meet, such as members of twin teams the Justice League and Justice Society... such as the Supermen, the Green Lanterns, the Atoms, the Hawkmen, the Robins, and of course the Flashes. This occured not just during their annual meetings with the respective groups, but also individually when the need arose. However, several dopplegangers nearly met, but not quite.

Two such examples (in the accompanying picture) are Firestorm and Vulcan Son of Fire... as well as Black Lightning and Amazing-Man. Onboard the Monitor's universe-travelling satellite, all four of these men were nearby. In the bottom left panel, you'll note atop it is Black Lightning, and just below him is Amazing-Man. And next to Lightning, is Firestorm.

Interestingly, Firestorm's girlfriend and partner Firehawk was nearby that lad's cosmic twin, Vulcan... in the bottom right panel. And previous to this, in the interdimensional void known as Limbo, both Firestorm and Vulcan were prisoners in that realm for a brief period simultaneously, though never met up!

Cosmic Crusaders Conversions Create Chaos

Atomic restructuring is a highly precise power, necessitating not only the right amount of energy but also the perception to reorganize the molecular structure of matter correctly. Few superhumans have the ability to accomplish this. And of the minority of metahumans, Firestorm the Nuclear Man and Vulcan the Son of Fire were in the elite status.

When Ronald Raymond first transformed into his heroic alter ego, after having merged with Professor Martin Stein following a nuclear emission incident at Hudson Power Plant, he used this power to fabricate a red and yellow spandex suit. Similarly, Christopher Pike used a similar metamorphosis to convert his radiation containment suit into a stylish armor, following his startling transformation when his rocket ship fell into the Sun’s radiance with him aboard.

Fiery-Haired Flaming Feminine Firestorms

Lorraine was initially kidnapped by industrialist Henry Hewitt, with the purpose of blackmailing her father Senator Reilly into voting for a bill allowing Hewitt's company to have vast control over nuclear energy research. However, Hewitt also used the young woman as a test subject for his own experimentation, as he attempted to replicate the nuclear incident which initially birthed school student Ronald Raymond and physicist Martin Stein's alter ego of Firestorm. As Firehawk, Reilly was initially a pawn of Hewitt and later allied with Firestorm against him.

Danette Reilly was vulcanologist and New York steel mogul's daughter and sister of Rod "Firebrand" Reilly, who adopted the Firebrand alias once energy-based powers were granted to her as well. This occured when she was held hostage by Per Degaton and his supervillian henchmen, and during an incident his lieutenant Wotan struck Danette with a bolt of energy as she fell into a pool of lava within Degaton's artificial volcano. She also gained the power to emit heat and later, flight.

While Ronnie Raymond and Lorraine worked alongside one another, a romance ignited between the two. This occurred when Ronnie as Firestorm and and Lorraine as Firehawk worked side-by-side as costumed crusaders. While there was a brief meeting between Christopher Pike and Danette, as their fiery alter egos Vulcan and Firebrand, they were on opposite ends of the law. Although not having a relationship with Pike as Lorraine had with Raymond, Danette fell in love with another nuclear man named Terry "Cyclotron" Curtis. This relationship disintegrated while Terry delved into his research, and tragically ended soon after they were reacquainted when he adopted the alter of Cyclotron.

Son of Fire... storm? Are We Splitting Atoms?

While Ronald Raymond and Martin Stein had a long amiable relationship, after first inadvertently merging into the superhero known as Firestorm, their counterparts of Earth-Two never had opportunity to meet. This was due to their differences in age, and the circumstances of their lives taking them in vastly different directions. Nevertheless, there were similarities: two eager young men with dreams of heroism, and two older intellectual men who developed devices allowing others to access vast cosmic energies.

Ronald Raymond was a high school student and an aspiring athlete who sought the attention of Doreen Day, and to that end joined a protest of the Hudson Nuclear Plant. As this power plant was being discommissoned, there were no security staff on site, only the plant's designer Professor Martin Stein. While confronting these protestors, both he and Ronnie were left unconscious, to become victims of a stick of dynamite left behind to detonate the nuclear material. When this occured, both Ronald and Martin fused into the combined Nuclear Man, who after designing a uniform embarked upon a heroic career* as Firestorm. While Ronnie was the dominant persona of this new hero, Martin became his mentor guiding the lad's actions.

Christopher Pike was a young man who idolized the Justice Society, and like Ronald, he aspired to living up to the example of his World's Greatest Heroes. Achieving the rank of a Commander at NASA, Pike was assigned to the Vulcan Probe One, with a mission parameter whereby he and two colleagues would journey around the Sun for a hundred days. Going insane while onboard, Pike slayed the other two astronauts, yet was preserved alive when his vessel plunged into the Sun. This was thanks to the vessel becoming a protective shell for Pike, along with the intervention of a benevolent alien stabilizing Pike's physical condition. Granted the ability to irradiate tremendous heat, which he used to fly and to project blasts of heat, Pike also gained transmutational abilities. He used this latter power, as the supervillain Vulcan Son of Fire, to both transform his molten metal armor into a harder metallic substance... and to generate a flaming axe as a weapon... which he would recreate on a later occasion. 

Vulcan then attacked the Justice Society, seeking misguided vengeance upon them for his appearance, and later joined their foes in the Secret Society of Super-Villains, shortly after the time that Professor Styne had made a monumental discovery. 

Professor Styne (yes, the counterpart of Professor Stein) had developed an experimental "Strato-Balloon", he enlisted a few volunteers including reporter Happy Terrill in order to fly it. When it had been exposed to a strange electrical storm surge, Happy attempted to fix repairs on the outside of the vessel and was mutated by these enigmatic energies into becoming the Ray. Styne's research assistant Cliff was also imbued with power from the storm, becoming the Dark. Later, the Ray would join fellow members of the All-Star Squadron in migrating to Earth-X where there were no heroes, leaving his native Earth-Two behind as the Freedom Fighters. 

As for Ronnie and Martin, they eventually accepted their symbiotic nature following the nuclear incident that melded them together. This new young potent powerhouse even gained enough acclaim to join the Justice League of America for a period of time. Ronnie continued his studies in high school, eventually attending a university in order to further his studies. Martin bounced around between employers, given the erratic nature of his mysterious disappearences, caused when Ronnie summonded Stein to merge into their colorful costumed crimefighter alias. 

During this period, Firestorm battled a range of adversaries, including Killer Frost (one time work associate to Martin), Multiplex (a former assistant to Martin) and Hyena (sister to Raymond's girlfriend Doreen) Among Ronnie's most persistent adversaries was Cliff Carmichael, counterpart of the Dark. Carmichael in one alternate future had himself become a supervillain known as the Thinker.

Decades after first journeying to Earth-X, both Ray and his Freedom Fighter teammates migrated once more to a third Earth, Earth-One (following a brief reunion on their native Earth-Two). 

On Earth-One, Happy finally had a rematch with Cliff, as the latter's alias of the Dark confronted the Ray seeking vengeance. Apparently, this villain was pulled from Earth-Two to Earth-One by the Shade, who used his Ebony Cane to traverse universes and entered a Dark Dimension. Cliff aka the Dark was one of his minions, used versus the Flash of both Earths.

Meanwhile, Vulcan had been residing within interdimensional limbo between Earths following his first with the Justice Society. It was shortly thereafter that he had encountered six members of his world's Secret Society of Super-Villains, themselves also exiled in that limbo. Joining forces with them, Vulcan journeyed decades into the past (during the time period that Styne was alive), in order to once more battle members of the Justice Society as well as the All-Star Squadron, while under leadership of the Super-Villains' leader Ultra-Humanite. On this occasion, Vulcan briefly met Danette Reilly, aka the fiery Firebrand, although only in passing. Eventually, he and the other villains were defeated by the All-Stars, and returned to their limbo prison.

However, Vulcan would once more reappear during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, along with an assembled of both heroes and villains. All were summounded to the Monitor's transdimensional satellite, in order to recruit them to face a threat to the entire Multiverse. In an alternate future, Vulcan returned to villany, and was once more defeated by Power Girl... a woman for whom his cosmic twin Firestorm had a long and enduring romantic crush.

* Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein’s Firestorm adventures on Earth-One mirrored the adventures of Johnny Thunder and Archibald the Thunderbolt’s adventures on Earth-Two, both solo and as members of the Justice League and Justice Society respectively. Their counterparts on each others’ Earths were recurring foes of the League and Society during their few apprarances.

Furious Firestorms Fighting Fabled Foes

Professor Martin Stein and Professor Martin Styne were each two scientists who spawned the twin energy emitters known as Firestorm and the Ray. Although these two heroes were not counterparts of each other, they each had notable careers on their respective worlds of Earths One and Two. For the Ray, his counterpart on Earth-One was the New Genesis occupant known as Lightray, each possessing the ability to transform into forms of energy, comparable to Stein's alter ego, Firestorm.

Firestorm was two heroes merged into one. Stein's partner, in the driver seat of the Firestorm persona, was athlete Ronnie Raymond. They had encountered one another during a failed protest at a nuclear power plant during a meltdown, when an atomic blast melded these men into a superhuman. After a few adventures in his costumed persona, Firestorm joined the Justice League*, who were his idols.

The Earth-Two counterpart to Ronnie was Christopher Pike, a young man who idolized the Justice Society, and aspiring to live up to their example, he sought to sail the stars as an astronaut. Achieving the rank of a Commander at NASA, Pike was assigned to the Vulcan Probe One, with a mission parameter whereby he and two colleagues would journey around the Sun for a hundred days. Going mad onboard, Pike slayed the other two astronauts, yet was preserved alive when his vessel plunged into the Sun thanks to the intervention of a benevolent alien. Granted the ability to irradiate tremendous heat, which he used to fly and to project blasts of heat, Pike also gained transmutational abilities. He used this latter power, as the supervillain Vulcan Son of Fire, to both transform his molten metal armor into a hard metallic substance... and to generate a flaming axe as a weapon. He then attacked the Justice Society, seeking misguided vengeance upon them for his condition, and later joined their foes the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

The after-effects of the merger between Ronnie and Martin had adverse effects on the latter. As Raymond was awake during the incident at the Hudson Nuclear Power Plant which spawned his flame-haired alter ego, it was the unconscious side of Stein that was aware of this fact. As such, each time Ronnie called upon the two to merge, Martin was unaware as to what was going on, and figured he may be having a mental or emotion breakdown. This led to alcoholism, until Ronnie finally admitted to Martin that their frequent disappearances were the result of Firestorm. They formed a friendship, as each could now initate the merger, and on occasion Martin controlled Firestorm when Ronnie was unconscious.

As for Professor Styne, it was while testing his experimental "Strato-Balloon" that reporter Happy Terrill was exposed to a strange electrical storm surge which mutated him into the Ray. Later, the Ray would join us members of the All-Star Squadron in migrating to Earth-X where there were no heroes, leaving his native Earth-Two behind. 

After decades on Earth-X battling the Axis Powers alongside his fellow heroes, Ray and the Freedom Fighters finally triumphed. Following this, they sought out a third Earth to start their costumed careers anew, and traveled to Earth-One. However, there stay there proved shortlived, as they were hounded as criminals instead of crimefighters. Just prior to returning to Earth-Two and then Earth-X, the Ray encountered a villian known as the Dark. This man followed him from Earth-Two, the former assistance to Styne named Cliff who had opposite powers to the Ray and sought to destroy his foe. Apparently, Ray defeated the Dark, who disappeared. This Cliff was as much an annoyance as was his Earth-One doppelgänger, Cliff Carmichael, who tormented Ronnie since their days together in school.

* Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein’s Firestorm adventures on Earth-One mirrored the adventures of Johnny Thunder and Archibald the Thunderbolt’s adventures on Earth-Two, both solo and as members of the Justice League and Justice Society respectively. Their counterparts on each others’ Earths were recurring foes of the League and Society during their few apprarances.