Who's Who '87 Firefist

Hey Beetlemaniacs! How's this for a Throwback Thursday? The Who's Who entry for the first villain Ted Kord faced off against in DC's Blue Beetle series...Firefist! 

“This City’s Not For Burning!”

When last we left our hero, he was trapped, pinned beneath the falling supports of a burning building and the culprit, Firefist, appeared to be moving in for the kill. Well, after 30 days of waiting the team of Len Wein, Paris Cullins and Bruce Patterson return to finish Blue Beetle’s first adventure in the post-Crisis DCU.

Outside the Fire Chief laments that fighting this fire is doing no good. “…we just as well be spitting on those flames!” Not sure about the Chief’s grammar, but I get the point. When another fireman asks about BB,and the Chief continues spreading positive energy saying if he’s inside the fire he can “kiss his blue butt goodbye” Firefist has taken his arson skills to a new level!

Inside the burning building BB wonders how he ended up in this mess, and a very cool sequence, of 20 small panels over 1 ½ pages, that take us through Blue’s pinned down, claustrophobic, desperate attempt to escape while pinned in the burning rubble. And just as the building collapses, the Blue Beetle manages an escape worthy of Mister Miracle. But I did have to wonder…where was Firefist? Last issue ended with him closing in on Ted, but now? Ted appeared to be all alone inside. A quick page flip later and we see Firefist has headed back to his secret lair…a seedy hotel! We also get an origin/motivation flashback. See Firefist was once Lyle Byrnes, a lab researcher who was caught in an explosion. When the firemen responded a series of unfortunate events prevented them from saving him…and he although he survived, he was disfigured and full of vengeful hate.

Meanwhile, back at Kord Inc. Jeremiah and Melody are analyzing some charred wood Ted had dropped off. As they wrap it up Jeremiah notices that another piece of equipment is missing, “the fifth or sixth thing I’ve lost this month!” The mysterious janitor from last issue is still lurking around with his mind set on intercepting a delivery of promethium from STAR Labs. And we find out who, but not why, has caused those items to disappear from around the lab…Angie the receptionist! And on Pago Island, Conrad Carapax has set up camp when he begins hearing noises. He grabs a flash light to investigate and we get teased with a shot of one Jarvis Kord’s robots.

Ted has started been doing some detective work and figures out Firefist’s next target…the grand opening of the new Chicago Museum of Firefighting! That’s not all he knows…Ted knows Firefist’s identity. As they fight, Ted calls Lyle Byrnes by name several times which seems to rattle the flammable foe. They battle across the rooftop again, until it collapses, and Firefist is seemingly destroyed by the explosion of his own tanks…and takes out the entire museum with him.

Have I mentioned that I’m a big fan of Paris Cullins’ art? Like Ed McGuinness, a few years later, Cullins’ style had just the right blend of comic art and animation that for me made the pages come alive. The larger eyes, the facial expressions, the action...brilliant stuff!

See you next week! 

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“Out From The Ashes”

My 30 day wait was over! I walked into the comic store, headed right to the “New This Week” wall, and there it was... the “Fabulous 1^st Issue” of ”Blue Beetle”! Written by the great Len Wein with art by Paris Cullins (pencils) and Bruce Patterson (inks) the issue hits the ground running and doesn’t stop. While cruising the skies above Chicago in his “BUG” Ted swings, literally, into action to assist the fire department with a townhouse fire. Though we’re not given a clear timeline, it would seem that Ted’s been at this hero stuff for quite a while. One of the firemen comments after seeing the BUG in the sky, “Oh geez, not him…I thought he’d retired!” Retired?! Does he think Dan and Ted are one and the same? Did I miss something? Is this DC’s way of acknowledging Ted’s activity before they picked up the character?* But I digress…oh look, there’s still a building burning down. It’s no accidental fire though, it’s arson, and the culprit is still on the scene. We’re introduced to Firefist, the Incendiary Man!** Ted mistakes Firefist for a fireman in trouble and tries to rescue him, which leads to a short scuffle. But when Ted finds himself distracted by cries for help, Firefist takes his chance to make a quick getaway. After rescuing a real firefighter, Ted heads back to Kord Inc, but not before giving us a quick recap of the origin we read 30 days ago in “Secret Origins”. We get quick intros for some supporting characters, receptionist Angie Revere, chemist Jeremiah Duncan, and Ted’s scientist girlfriend employee Melody Case, and then Ted heads off to a meeting at STAR Labs. Before he arrives though we get a peek at Pago Island, where a mysterious man named Conrad Carapax is determined to find whatever was on this “cursed island that was worth Dan Garrett’s life…” Wanna bet that becomes an important plot point down the road? Back at STAR Labs Ted catches up with fellow scientist and former college roommate Murray Takamoto, who’s hoping to get some assistance from Kord Inc with metal alloys. Too bad there’s a shifty looking janitor lurking in the background. Wanna bet that becomes an important plot point down the road too? Mid-meeting Ted gets “paged” (who remembers beepers?) and has to leave. The “page” is actually an alert that another fire has been reported, at a firehouse, and it’s time for Blue Beetle vs. Firefist: round two! Only this time, the Beetle finds himself trapped, pinned by the collapsing building with fire, and Firefist, getting closer! Talk about a cliffhanger ending!

Will Ted survive or will Firefist continue torching the city, one building at a time? Check back in 30 days when I cover issue #2! But don’t forget…I’ll be back next week with another blog. See you then!

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*Ted Kord first appeared as the Blue Beetle in Charlton Comics “Captain Atom #83” in 1966, and had his own Charlton Comics title in 1967. He later appeared in AC Comics “Americomics” in 1983, before being acquired with the other Charlton heroes and incorporated into DC Comics continuity during “Crisis On Infinite Earths”

**Well, honestly, he just introduces himself as Firefist. Ted adds the “Incendiary Man” tag later when talking to the fire fighters on the scene.