Friday, May 14, 2010

The Brightest of the Lost Universe

Unless you've been lost in your iPad since the day you were able to get your hands on it then you've probably heard of BLACKEST NIGHT. That event over at DC where heroes and villains alike came back from the dead as costumed Zombies? It's lead to another event entirely entitled BRIGHTEST DAY, that's right - you guessed it, where heroes and villains alike come back to life (for real).

"Brightest Day is about second chances. I think it’s been obvious from day one that there are major plans for the heroes and villains from Aquaman to take center stage in the DC Universe, among many others, post-Blackest Night. 'Brightest Day' is not a banner or a vague catch-all direction for the DC Universe, it is a story. Nor is 'Brightest Day' a sign that the DC Universe is going to be all about 'light and brighty' superheroes. Some second chances work out…some don’t." ~ Geoff Johns via Wikipedia

Both Brightest Day Issue 0 and Issue 1 have come out as of now (it's another DC weekly event) but I'm not going to be reviewing them - that's just not what we do here. Besides I couldn't do any better than the fine people over at IGN...

"Although Blackest Night proved to be entertaining and a commercial success for DC, the ending left fans with a ton of unanswered questions. Now Brightest Day is upon us, poised and ready to give us the answers while hopefully delivering a satisfying story in the process. This first issue features some fantastic artwork, and I found myself enjoying characters that I've never much cared for in the past, but the fact that some heroes got considerably less face time than others fills me with some apprehension about just who the focus of this book will ultimately be. "~IGN

No what were going to do here today is catch all of you up on some of the DC characters who've been lost to us (dead) for quite some time in the DCU ...

RONALD RAYMOND [Firestorm]
Firestorm may be the most powerful character in the DCU, or at least he would be, if he knew how to use/control the full extent of his powers: transmuting scientific elements.
Firestorm has the ability to perceive and rearrange the atomic structure of inorganic matter. He can also alter the density of objects, including his own body, and the ability to render himself intangible. Firestorm can project bolts of nuclear energy, fly at great speeds, and absorb explosive force and radiation into his body harmlessly.

Firestorm has the ability to affect inorganic matter alone. If he tries to affect organic matter, he causes a potentially harmful energy feedback. Also, while intangible Firestorm cannot create energy bolts.

When high school student Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein were both present during an unusual explosion the two became fused into one being: Firestorm.

Nobel Prize winning physicist Martin Stein was the designer of the Hudson Nuclear Facility. One of Stein's colleagues accused Stein of stealing the plans for the facility, thus causing the plant to not open on time. That night, an anti-nuclear power group, including high school student Ronnie Raymond, plans to protest and sabotage the facility. Unbeknownst to Ronnie, the leader of the group plans to sabotage the facility. As Martin Stein attempts to activate the reactor, he is attacked and left unconscious. Ronnie Raymond attempts to rescue Professor Stein, as the reactor goes critical, bombarding Stein and Raymond with radiation, causing them to fuse into Firestorm, the Nuclear Man.

Later Stein himself would be Firestorm (Version 2), and then in 2004 DC would revive Firestorm with a new protagonist: Jason Rusch (Version 3).

With Brightest Day Jason and Ronnie have fused together in the Firestorm Matrix to become Firestorm: The Nuclear Man once again.


BOSTON BRAND [Deadman]
Deadman is a ghost, formerly a circus trapeze artist named Boston Brand who performed under the name Deadman, a stage persona including a red costume and white corpse makeup.

When Brand is murdered during a trapeze performance by a mysterious assailant known only as the Hook (in fact his last words were "Gee, from up here it almost looks like that guy with the hook for a hand has a gun..."), his spirit is given the power to possess any living being by a Hindu goddess (created for the purposes of the story) named Rama Kushna (a corruption of Rama-Krishna), in order to search for his murderer and obtain justice. It is established in Green Arrow Vol 4, #4, that Deadman believes Rama is the supreme being of the universe

In Blackest Night, Boston Brand begins to hear the voices of the dead and his own remains calling for him to protect them. Being a spirit, he is unable to stop his body from being raised as a Black Lantern. He attempts to possess his own body but is ejected after experiencing extreme physical and emotional pain during the attempt.

Boston goes to his own tombstone, demolishing it with a sledgehammer. Afterwords, he picks up a bird that had died falling out of it's nest, and his power ring restores it to life. Boston then hears a voice calling his name, and asking for his help. He then vanishes in a burst of white light. He then appears before the other eleven beings resurrected by the white light, completely invisible to them, and notices that he is the only one still wearing a white ring. He then appears in Star City, where the white ring transforms the area devastated by Prometheus into a lush forest. The voice again speaks to Boston asking him to help the others revived by the light, and to help it live.


Are you reading Brightest Day?

Have a nice weekend,

Caine

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