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Martin Stein

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Martin Stein
Martin Stein as depicted in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1 (March 1978). Art by Al Milgrom.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceFirestorm the Nuclear Man #1 (March 1978)
Created by
In-story information
SpeciesMetahuman
Team affiliationsJustice 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.

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

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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

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Martin Stein is an esteemed physicist who created the Hudson Nuclear Power Plant. Following an attack on the plant, Stein and civilian Ronnie Raymond are fused into Firestorm. Due to Stein being unconscious during the accident, Ronnie controls Firestorm's body, with Stein advising him.[1] Stein is initially unaware of their dual identity and unable to remember his actions while transformed before Ronnie informs him of the truth.

After the accident, Firestorm takes to defending New York City from villains. During this time, several supporting characters are introduced: Firestorm's love interest Firehawk and stepmother Felicity Smoak.[3][4][5] After graduating high school, Ronnie enters college in Pittsburgh, where Stein is a professor.

When Conway left the series in 1986, John Ostrander began writing the Firestorm stories. His first major story arc sees Firestorm attempting to convince the United States and the Soviet Union to destroy their nuclear weapons.[6] He later battles Pozhar in Nevada, where an atomic bomb is dropped on them. This forms a new Firestorm, composed of Ronnie and Pozhar and controlled by Stein.[7][8][9]

After Firestorm becomes a Fire Elemental, Martin Stein is separated from the Matrix, but continues to support him.[1] He later becomes the sole Fire Elemental and leaves Earth before returning during Infinite Crisis.[1][10]

In One Year Later, Stein's former assistant Adrian Burroughs / Pupil kidnaps and tortures him before Jason Rusch and Firehawk free him. Later, Shilo Norman informs Stein and Rusch that the Firestorm matrix contains part of the Life Equation.[11] In Brightest Day, Deathstorm kills Stein by turning him into salt.[12]

The New 52

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Martin Stein is later resurrected in The New 52 continuity reboot. He 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.[13][14]

DC Rebirth

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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.[15][16] Despite this, the two continue to work together until Lazarus Pit resin corrupts the Firestorm matrix and causes Stein to age rapidly.[17]

Other versions

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An alternate universe variant of Martin Stein appears in the "Trinity War" event.[18] 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.[19] He is killed by Mazahs, who steals his powers.[20]

In other media

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See also: Firestorm (character) § In other media

Television

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Arrowverse

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See also: Martin Stein (Arrowverse)

Martin Stein / Firestorm appears in media set in The CW's Arrowverse, portrayed by Victor Garber.[26][27][28]

  • First appearing in the live-action TV series The Flash, this version developed the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. matrix before he was exposed to dark matter energy amidst the explosion of Harrison Wells' particle accelerator and presumed dead. As a result, Stein became fused with his matrix and Ronnie Raymond. Stein initially holds primary control over their fused form until Team Flash develops a way to safely separate them. Following this, Stein and Raymond master their powers and assist the Flash in fighting the Reverse-Flash until Raymond sacrifices himself to close a singularity that had opened over Central City. Afterward, Stein continues to assist Team Flash until the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. matrix begins to destabilize without a partner of the same blood type, endangering his life. Eventually, Team Flash find Stein's new partner in Jefferson "Jax" Jackson and the pair leave Central City to master their powers.
  • Stein appears in the animated web series Vixen.[29][23]
  • Stein appears in the live-action TV series Legends of Tomorrow, with Graeme McComb additionally portraying a younger version.[30] In the first season, he and Jax are recruited by Rip Hunter to join his Legends and defeat Vandal Savage. Amidst the team's mission, Stein is captured by and forcibly fused with Valentina Vostok, who intends to use his powers to create a Soviet Firestorm, but he escapes with Jax's help. By the season finale, Stein and Jax develop the ability to transmute matter and use it to foil Savage's plot to undo history. In the second season, Stein helps his teammates combat the Legion of Doom, encounters his past self, and inadvertently causes timeline changes that grant him a daughter named Lily Stein. Despite initially viewing Lily as a time paradox, he eventually comes to accept her. By the third season, Stein has become a grandfather after Lily has a son named Ronnie, prompting Ray Palmer and Team Flash to develop a formula to depower him so he can spend time with his family. During the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover, Stein is fatally injured while helping the Legends and Earth-1's heroes defeat Nazis from Earth-X and drinks the formula to prevent Jax from dying alongside him.[31]

Video games

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Wallace, Dan (2008), "Firestorm", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 123, ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1, OCLC 213309017
  2. ^ McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (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. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  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. ^ "Felicity Smoak" "Comicvine", Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  5. ^ Conway, Gerry. "Nuclear Reactions: Just Your Average Hot-Headed Hero," The Fury of Firestorm #1 (June 1982). DC Comics.
  6. ^ Firestorm (vol. 2) #64. DC Comics.
  7. ^ Firestorm (vol. 2) #67. DC Comics.
  8. ^ Firestorm (vol. 2) #68. DC Comics.
  9. ^ Firestorm (vol. 2) #69. DC Comics.
  10. ^ Johns, Geoff. Infinite Crisis #5 (April 2006). DC Comics.
  11. ^ As seen in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #33. DC Comics.
  12. ^
    • Brightest Day #1 (May 2010). DC Comics.
    • Brightest Day #3 (June 2010). DC Comics.
    • Brightest Day #7 (August 2010). DC Comics.
    • Brightest Day #10 - #12 (September - October 2010). DC Comics.
    • Brightest Day #15 - #18 (December 2010 - January 2011). DC Comics.
    • Brightest Day #22 (March 2011). DC Comics.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Men #1 (September 2011). DC Comics.
  15. ^ Yaws, Jay (March 6, 2019). "Doomsday Clock #9 review". Batman News. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  16. ^ martingray1 (March 6, 2019). "Doomsday Clock #9 review". Danger Mart. Retrieved July 15, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Ray, Aaron (January 31, 2023). "Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1 review". Batman News. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Justice League (vol. 2) #23
  19. ^ Johns, Geoff (w), Reis, Ivan (p), Prado, Joe, Eber Ferreira, Rob Hunter, Andy Lanning (i), Reis, Rod, Tomeu Morey, Tony Avina (col), Napolitano, Nick J. (let). "Forever Numb" Justice League, vol. 2, no. 26 (February 2013). DC Comics.
  20. ^ Forever Evil #7
  21. ^ "The Justice League Watchtower: The Greatest Story Never Told". Jl.toonzone.net. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  22. ^ Jim Krieg [@jim_krieg] (December 3, 2016). "@Tobolowsky is a super-genius PLAYING a super-genius on #JusticeLeagueAction. #typecasting" (Tweet). Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ a b "Martin Stein Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 17, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  24. ^ Paul Dini (writer); Doug Murphy (director) (November 27, 2016). "Nuclear Family Values". Justice League Action. Season 1, Episode 6. Cartoon Network.
  25. ^ Ernie Altbacker and Jennifer Muro (writers); Shaunt Nigoghossian (director) (September 2, 2017). "Nuclear Family Values". Justice League Action. Season 1, Episode 34. Cartoon Network.
  26. ^ "The Flash Casting: Victor Garber To Recur As Dr. Martin Stein". Deadline Hollywood. October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  27. ^ Prudom, Laura (July 9, 2014). "The Flash: Robbie Amell Cast as Firestorm". Variety. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  28. ^ Cairns, Bryan (May 19, 2015). "Amell Teases Wedding Bells, Tragedy & Matter Manipulation in "Flash's" Season Finale". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  29. ^ Damore, Meagan (July 20, 2016). "CASSIDY'S BLACK CANARY, ATOM & MORE WILL APPEAR IN "VIXEN" SEASON 2". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  30. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 27, 2015). "Arrow/Flash Superhero Team-Up Spinoff In Works At CW; Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Wentworth Miller, Caity Lotz Star". Deadline. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  31. ^ Keene, Allison (November 29, 2017). "Crisis on Earth-X Crossover: The Best and Worst Moments". Collider. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  32. ^ Romano, Sal (March 13, 2017). "Injustice 2 adds Firestorm". Gematsu. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  33. ^ LEGO DC Game (July 19, 2018). "Official LEGO DC Super-Villains SDCC Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  34. ^ "LEGO DC SUPER-VILLAINS REVEALS DARKSEID'S VILLAINY IN ACTION IN NEW CLIP". mailchi.mp. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
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