Firebrand (Marvel Comics)
Firebrand | |
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Powered armor grants:Superhuman strength Flight via flying jets Thermal blasts via flamethrowers Resistance to fire |
Firebrand (Gary Gilbert) is a
Publication history
Firebrand first appeared in Iron Man #27 (July 1970), and was created by Archie Goodwin and Don Heck.[1]
Fictional character biography
Gary Gilbert
Gary Gilbert was born in
In his first appearance in Iron Man #27 (July 1970), Firebrand describes his experiences demonstrating for the civil rights movement in a speech to Iron Man:
"I'm just an all-American boy, Iron Man, one of those wide-eyed innocents who started out to make the world a better place. I sat in for Civil Rights, marched for peace, demonstrated on campus, and got chased by vicious dogs, spat on by bigots, beat on by "patriots", choked by tear gas, and blinded by mace until I finally caught on. This country doesn't want to be changed! The only way to build anything decent is to tear down what's here and start over."
While the story includes some positive messages about the civil rights movement, Firebrand is presented as a villain, because he sets himself outside of the existing political structure, and is willing to let innocents die to further his political and social aims. In his article "Everyday Heroism in Superhero Narratives", Michael Goodrum writes, "Having pursued tactics of accommodation without result, he turns to confrontation, asserting that there is nothing of value left in the system if it treats peaceful reformers with violence — essentially laying bare the coercive nature of power. It is Firebrand's absolutism that marks him as a villain in terms of the narrative."[3]
Firebrand accidentally killed his own father.
When news of the Scourge of the Underworld's initial wave of supervillain murders spread among the criminal community, Gilbert took it upon himself to gather several costumed criminals for a meeting to determine what should be done about this menace. The meeting, held at an abandoned tavern in Medina County, Ohio, known among the criminal underworld as "The Bar With No Name", turned out to be a massacre, as Scourge infiltrated the event disguised as a bartender; a few minutes into the meeting, Scourge slaughtered every criminal present, including Gilbert, with machine gun fire.[7]
Firebrand was later among seventeen of the criminals murdered by the Scourge, who were resurrected by
Russ Broxtel
After Gilbert's death, a man named Russ Broxtel was seen acting as the new fire-themed member of the eco-terrorist group known as the
After
Richard L. "Rick" Dennison
Richard L. "Rick" Dennison was the third Firebrand. He was an anti-capitalist eco-terrorist who worked with a group called the Flaming Sword, and he fought
Baron Zemo later recruited Firebrand,
A female Firebrand was recruited by
Powers, abilities, and equipment
Gary Gilbert wore a suit with an armored exoskeleton that gave him superhuman strength and resistance to fire. It also housed flamethrowers (which allowed him to fire thermal blasts from his hands), one mounted on each wrist, and flying jets that gave him the ability to fly.
In other media
- The Gary Gilbert incarnation of Firebrand appears in the Iron Man episode "Fire and Rain", voiced by Neal McDonough.[citation needed] This version is the son of late ex-Stark Industries employee Simon Gilbert, who had stolen money from Tony Stark and started a fire that killed himself, which Gary blamed Stark for. Calling himself Firebrand, Gary attacks power sources and demands a ransom of a million dollars. After Iron Man and War Machine confront him at a dam that Gary destroyed, Gary attempts to escape via jetpack, but it and Iron Man's armor malfunction. War Machine confronts his fear of water to save them. Once they divert the flood, Iron Man and War Machine hand Gary over to the police.
- Firebrand appears in the Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode "World on Fire" as a fire spirit and the guardian of a Makluan Ring created by the original Mandarin to test his potential successors' temperance. Anyone who fails the test becomes possessed by the Firebrand and turned into a lava monster until someone passes.[22]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1605490564.
- ^ Iron Man #27
- ISBN 9783593506173. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ Iron Man #45-48
- ^ a b Iron Man #48
- ^ a b Iron Man #60
- ^ Mark Gruenwald (w), Paul Neary (p), Dennis Janke (i). "Overkill" Captain America, no. 319 (July 1986). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Punisher vol. 7 #5
- ^ Punisher vol. 7 #10
- ^ Web of Spider-Man #77-78
- ^ The New Warriors #29-30
- ^ Captain America #413
- ^ Dark Reign Files #1
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #13
- ^ Iron Man vol. 3 #4-5
- ^ Avengers vol. 3 #0
- ^ Secret Avengers #30
- ^ Captain America: Steve Rogers #1
- ^ Invincible Iron Man #513
- ^ Iron Man vol. 5 #3 (February, 2013)
- ^ Infinity: Heist #1
- ^ "World on Fire". Iron Man: Armored Adventures. Season 1. Episode 20. October 16, 2009. NickToons.
External links
- Firebrand I at Marvel Wiki
- Firebrand II at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Firebrand III at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe