So that was it, huh? The big revelation of what happened to Ronnie Raymond? I can't really decide which disappoints me more, that he is given such a lackluster "death," that his replacement is so dull by comparison or that it has taken six issues to deliver this explanation, which has had the effect of basically stalling out the now overly extended origin story of the new character. At any rate, while there's nothing particularly wrong with the character who is the new Firestorm, neither is he more interesting than Ronnie Raymond, and this seems like another case of a company trying to revive a cult favorite character by unnecessarily changing everything about him and essentially presenting a new character in his stead. Leaving one to ask: Why not just create a new character? Jolley's scripts ask some interesting questions about the use and abuse of power, but they're mixed in with questions about why and how there was a new Firestorm, and neither of those questions really gets enough play to have satisfactory answers.
The opening sequence of this issue plays out like a flashback to events that haven't yet taken place (unless they are revealed in this week's Identity Crisis, which I haven't yet read, and honestly don't plan to). At any rate, while I don't want to spoil the revelations, certainly if this is the fate of Ronnie Raymond, it seems like another bit of fallout from Identity Crisis that I don't much care for. It plays into the central theme of Identity Crisis, which seems to be dragging the heroes through the mud so that their villains can appear more powerful, capable and dangerous. It also comes across as shockingly anticlimactic, given that many of the readers of this book have now waited six issues for this lackluster explanation.
That would be okay, though, if Jolley had developed his lead into a more interesting character in the meantime. Instead, he's still dealing with the most basic questions of his powers, and doesn't seem to have grown much at all in these six issues. I will admit to being somewhat intrigued by the notion of a teenager using his powers for his own gain, hanging out at softcore porn shoots or taking care of old grudges, but it's hardly unexplored territory. The essential story is that Rusch is still getting used to the powers, still has no real idea why he's Firestorm and still generally isn't doing anything. He's a slacker superhero, but it's not being played for laughs or used as an exploration of the nature of slacker youth, instead it's just an excuse to avoid serving up any real plots.
From the beginning, Firestorm has had strong artwork, and even though Chriscross has departed, that continues with the guest artwork of Chris Batista and Dan Green on this issue. Batista has grown into a real talent, and his style of strong, realistic normal characters and situations plays nicely into the style of Jolley's script. Batista's superhero stuff is equally strong, although I confess that I don't understand who thought it was a good idea to make Firestorm's face look like he was an extra from Tron.
Overall, Firestorm has been a disappointment, and the revelation of what happened to Ronnie Raymond only compounds that disappointment. With his removal from the board revealed to be little more than an editorial whim unrelated to Jason Rusch in any but the slightest way, it becomes more clear than ever that this isn't really a Firestorm book, but an attempt to launch a new concept with an old name. In trying to hit both demographics, however, the creators have lost the strengths of the old character or a new character. If you want to see what Jolley is really capable of, I'd check out his truly new creation Bloodhound rather than this sort of half-way attempt at Firestorm. 4/10
