Firestar
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Firestar (Angelica "Angel" Jones) is a fictional mutant superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She has the ability to generate and manipulate microwave radiation, which allows her to generate intense heat and flames and to fly. She has been a member of the Hellions, the New Warriors, and The Avengers.
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[edit] Publication history
[edit] Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
The character was originally created for the animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. The creators had originally wanted to use the Human Torch, but the rights to the character were tied up. Kathy Garver provided her voice. In the series, Firestar ( whose pre-production names included Heatwave, Starblaze and Firefly) is identified as being a former member of the X-Men, along with Iceman, with whom she occasionally appears to have a romantic relationship. At times she has dated Peter Parker (Spider-Man) as well, resulting in a relaxed love triangle of sorts (though Iceman stated that, despite his feelings for Firestar, "fire and ice don't really mix"[1]). Firestar also had a one-episode romance with Sunfire. It is interesting to note that Firestar's civilian identity, Angelica Jones, looked very similar to the '70s design of Mary Jane Watson, the sometimes-girlfriend (and later, wife) of Peter Parker in the Spider-Man comics.
Though the animated series and the one-shot Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends comic book[2] which adapted an episode for print are not considered part of standard Marvel Universe continuity, a recent one-shot comic, Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends (August 2006), featured an in-continuity story, "Opposites Attack!", where the three super-heroes work as a short-lived team, and Firestar and Iceman have an equally short-lived romance after Spider-Man plays matchmaker for the pair. This story takes place shortly after Firestar becomes a member of the New Warriors.
[edit] Firestar mini-series
The Firestar four issue mini-series depicts events both before and after Firestar's first in-continuity appearance in Uncanny X-Men #193, showing her development from a shy, insecure girl afraid of her developing powers to a confident young woman. Though despite the mini-series' efforts to flesh out the character, Firestar seemed destined to fade into obscurity until she joined the New Warriors a few years later.
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Hellions
In Firestar's first in-continuity comics appearances,[3] she was a pawn of the evil mutant Emma Frost, but she quickly became a superhero in her own right. Published immediately after Firestar's first appearance in Uncanny X-Men 193, the miniseries then presented Firestar's definitive, in-continuity origin.
Angelica Jones, a lonely girl raised by her single father and paternal grandmother, was recruited by Emma Frost, the original White Queen of the Hellfire Club, for the Club's team of young mutants, the Hellions. She was never sent on field missions with the other Hellions, however, because of her lack of control over her lethal powers and because the White Queen wished to instill cruelty and callousness in Firestar's personality, and befriending other young mutants would work against that goal. The White Queen manipulated Angelica into perceiving Frost as a loving mother figure, unaware that Frost was secretly grooming her to be a potential assassin and bodyguard.
While a student of the Massachusetts Academy, Jones eventually learns of Frost's duplicity, attacking and defeating the White Queen and decimating the hidden training complex beneath Frost's Massachusetts Academy. Afterwards, Jones returned to living with her father (as she was still a minor at the time), but kept the unique costume and identity of Firestar given to her by Frost. The mini-series also established that Firestar's powers were microwave-based, rather than the more common fire-generation power that her animated counterpart displayed; the comic-book Firestar essentially harnesses ambient microwave radiation from her environment, making her powers far stronger in an environment such as space, where the concentration of microwaves is much greater than within a planetary atmosphere.
Firestar was later to become one of the few surviving original Hellions, after most members were murdered by Trevor Fitzroy. Firestar and Warpath, accompanied by Warpath's X-Force teammate Cannonball, went on a mission to inform Empath and the former New Mutant, Magma, of their teammates' deaths. The trio then went to the Massachusetts Academy, where they removed the few remaining files on record of the Hellions' existence. Currently, only Firestar, Warpath, Empath, and a resurrected Tarot remain of the White Queen's original team of Hellions; however, Emma Frost, now allied with Xavier's School due to guilt over her original students' deaths, would later train a new team of young mutants, Generation X, on the Massachusetts Academy grounds, and establish a training squad at Xavier's School called the Hellions.
[edit] New Warriors
Firestar became a founding member of the New Warriors. There, she became engaged to fellow teammate Vance Astrovik (also known as Justice, formerly Marvel Boy). Late in the first volume of New Warriors, she discovered that her microwave powers were damaging her ability to have children, and further use might render her completely infertile.
During a revenge scheme by a gang of thugs, Firestar's father was shot in the chest. He nearly died but recovered.
Firestar also faced a time without Vance, as he had to serve a prison term for the involuntary slaying of his own abusive father.
Firestar also provided vital assistance in helping Spider-Man tackle Carnage during the "Maximum Carnage" storyline, when he was also forced to ally himself with Venom, Black Cat, and Morbius to stop Carnage's reign of slaughter. Her microwave powers proved the only weapon truly effective against Carnage following his 'upgrade'- his vulnerability to sonics having been weakened - but she still refused to kill Carnage, even to stop his murders.
[edit] Avengers
Firestar and Justice later joined the Avengers, after an alternate-universe adventure and a struggle against Morgan LeFay. Firestar helped demonstrate her fitness for the position when she and Vance took down Whirlwind, a villain that had literally foiled most of the other Avengers at once.
Firestar demonstrated a more restrained fashion sense, refusing to wear a cleavage-baring costume designed by the Wasp. Though she is seen wearing exactly that in an Avengers promo poster and in some early Avengers appearances, she quickly altered the costume to be more modest, which was consistent with her personality.
During this period, Henry Pym determined that the cause of her potential infertility was her natural immunity to the effects of her own powers (which all mutants possess) had never fully developed. He designed a costume for her that would siphon off the excess radiation, give her natural immunity the opportunity to manifest fully and heal the damage already done. After a distinguished tenure with the Avengers, including going undercover in a bizarre cult, facing a horde of Ultron robots and struggling against Kang the Conqueror's takeover of modern-day Earth, she and Justice left the Avengers and later resurfaced alongside the New Warriors. She also made a tentative peace with Emma Frost during this time.
Angelica started college and enjoyed a "normal life", but she abandoned wedding preparations, leaving Vance with all of the responsibility. When Vance confronted her about this, she confessed that she needed more life experience before settling into married life. Vance left in anger and presumably ended their engagement.
[edit] Retirement?
Firestar is one of the few mutants left on the planet with her powers intact, after the Scarlet Witch changed reality at the end of the House of M crossover event. Firestar was not among the New Warriors who died in the catastrophe that sparked the events Civil War. She was presumed to be among the Warriors who confronted the operator of an anti-Warriors hate site created in the wake of the catastrophe, revealed to be former Warriors associate Carlton LaFroyge (Hindsight Lad).[4] Though not depicted in detail, a flaming female form is depicted flying in the background, above the confrontation; it could be inferred that Firestar agreed to join her former teammates in a show of force against LaFroyge, but wished to keep her distance from Justice, shown in the foreground, due to their recent estrangement.
Firestar has responded to the Superhuman Registration Act by effectively retiring from her career as a costumed heroine.[5] Whether the retirement is permanent has yet to be revealed.
The New Warriors will be reforming as a new team in the aftermath of Civil War, and the membership will consist of both new and familiar faces in the Marvel Universe. It has been confirmed that one of them will be a founding member of the original group. With the deaths of Night Thrasher and Namorita, and with Justice and Speedball on other teams, the member in question may most likely be either Firestar or Nova, who will be returning to Earth soon in the aftermath of Annihilation.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Firestar has the ability to absorb, generate and manipulate microwave radiation. She can focus microwaves on a specific target, and cause it to burst into flame, explode or melt. She can also sense microwave signals (such as cell-phone signals or remote-control devices) and disrupt electronics with her own microwave emissions. Firestar has also been able to disrupt the psionic powers of others using her own powers (namely, Emma Frost, Empath, and the Darkling).
By superheating the air around her, Firestar can surround herself with an aura of flaming plasma. By projecting microwave energy downwards in a tightly focused stream, she can generate enough upward thrust to fly at high speeds and lift objects as heavy as Colossus from the X-Men. Due to their electromagnetic nature, her powers are far greater outside of a planetary atmosphere, as she was once able to power a massive Shi'ar interstellar transport gate with very little effort. She is apparently immune to most of the damaging health effects of her powers, although it has adversely affected her fertility.
Firestar has only touched upon her potential for destructive power, as it was mentioned numerous times that she is capable of unleashing a blast of microwave energy strong enough to incinerate an entire continent, and possibly affect the entire planet's atmosphere.
[edit] Alternate versions
- In the Mutant X Universe, Firestar's powers had evolved to the point where her entire body was composed of microwave energy. She was one of the many people trying to resist the rule of Madelyne Pryor.[6] She, along with numerous other heroes, died in battle in the final issue of Mutant X.
- An alternate verion of Firestar was forced to join the team known as Weapon X, a group of alternate reality-hopping super-people bound to repair broken world. Joining the team,[7] Angelica was soon killed in a mega-blast unleashed by her own powers. Because her body was reduced to ash, it was not returned to its native universe.
- Firestar also made a small cameo in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Mary-Jane watches Spider-Man and Firestar battling crime together, causing MJ to become jealous.
[edit] MC2
Firestar appeared in a flashback,[8] detailing the last story of the Original Avengers. Firestar was among the team members that died in their final battle.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Firestar has also made other media appearances besides Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends:
- In a scene toward the end of the short-lived TV series Once A Hero, Captain Justice returns to the "Real Earth" and a group of comic book characters can be seen cheering for him. The group included Spider-Woman, Firestar, and Skeletor.
- In 1987, Marvel Comics decided to re-enact the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson with live-action characters on the field at Shea Stadium. Live actors portrayed Spider-Man, Iceman, Firestar, The Hulk, and Captain America. [1]
- In the video game Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage for sega genesis and Super Nintendo, Firestar is one of the backup characters that can be called in a limited number of times to assist, but cannot be controlled directly. Her attack is exceptionally damaging to Carnage himself due to his vulnerability to heat-based attacks. She did not, however, have as much presence in the plot as she did in the Maximum Carnage comic event.
