Firebrand is a name of several characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Fictional character biography

Rod Reilly

Published by

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

from August 1941 to November 1942, Rod Reilly was the bored and wealthy socialite son of a steel tycoon, who decided to fight crime with his servant and friend, "Slugger" Dunn. Originally drawn by Reed Crandall, Firebrand appeared in ''Police Comics'', issues #1 through 13, at which time his series was canceled. Firebrand's costume consisted of a transparent shirt and red pants, with a bandana mask covering the top half of his face. He uses a lariat, and can climb buildings using vacuum cups. After DC purchased Quality Comics, Firebrand was largely left on the sidelines until the mid-1970s, when he joined the Freedom Fighters. He was killed in a fight with the Silver Ghost, but that occurred only in a photocopied issue of ''

Cancelled Comic Cavalcade The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which American comics company DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cu ...

'', which was never released to public and thus unsure as to whether it is considered part of the current DC Universe. When DC collected most of their characters into the

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

, it was

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

ned that Rod had been injured in the surprise attack and replaced by his sister, Danette Reilly. In ''All-Star Squadron'' #5 (1981), Danette discovers that Rod is Firebrand while staying at his penthouse. Musing about Rod's relationship with his bodyguard, Slugger Dunn, she wonders "though what a confirmed bachelor playboy like my brother needed with a bodyguard, I never understood", and then finds a hidden closet that leads her to think that "from the look of these clothes, I didn't know my brother quite as well as I thought I did!".

Danette Reilly

Volcanologist Danette Reilly is the sister of Rod Reilly, the first Firebrand. First introduced in a special "All-Star Squadron" preview in ''Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981), Danette was studying volcanos north of Hawaii when she was kidnapped by the time-travelling villain Per Degaton and the sorcerer

Wotan (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compos ...

. During her escape, Wotan hit her with a magical blast and hurled her into a pit of lava. The combination of his magic and the lava not only allowed her to survive, but gave her the power to control heat and project fire blasts . Her powers surfaced after she discovered her brother Rod's costume and put it on. As Rod had been injured during the attack, Danette decided to become the new Firebrand. Due to Degaton going back to future when he was defeated, the All-Star Squadron forgot his attack. Originally, she was quite racist towards the Japanese, but she visited her brother in hospital and he revealed he had been saved from death by a soldier whose parents were from Japan, and who later died from his wounds. Firebrand realized she had been racist and should show more respect towards those from Japan. Danette appeared in ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

'', wherein she was briefly rejoined by her former lover, the reluctant supervillain

Cyclotron A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Januar ...

. Cyclotron, although deceased, phased into her time to assist her. Danette assumed partial custody of his daughter Terri, along with fellow hero the

Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

. In '' Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.'' (2000), Firebrand is killed by the

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in ...

. She has largely remained dead since. During the '' Absolute Power'' event (2024), Firebrand's spirit is revealed to be held inside the Well of Souls in Themyscira and is used as a power source by the

Amazo Amazo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky and first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #30 (June 1960) as an adversary of the Justice League of ...

android Paradise Lost. Her name is a homage to creator Roy Thomas' wife, Danette Thomas. The

heroine

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

was originally intended to play a major role in the

but DC objected on the basis of her name, which she shared with the

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

member. Instead, Danette Reilly was introduced into the series. Firebrand was ranked 67th in ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

's'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Alex Sanchez

In February 1996, DC introduced a third Firebrand, former police detective Alejandro 'Alex' Sanchez. After nearly dying in an explosion that destroyed his apartment, Sanchez undergoes experimental surgery to restore his mobility. The surgery is paid for by local philanthropist Noah Hightower, who later approaches Sanchez with a special opportunity. Hightower offers Sanchez a suit of advanced armor which, when combined with the implants, gives him enhanced strength and speed for up to four hours. After Sanchez's partner is attacked during an investigation, he agrees to become the superhero Firebrand. In addition to enhanced strength, Sanchez's armor emits green flame, which gives him a demonic appearance. Sanchez's storyline reflected concerns about racial injustice in America, and violence suffered by people of color. Sanchez's tenure as Firebrand lasted only nine issues of his self-titled comic. He reappears in '' JSA: Secret Files'' #2, where he is killed by a

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

knight in

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

's arena.

Andre Twist

In April 2006, Andre Twist was introduced in '' The Battle for Blüdhaven''. He gains control over fire after his exposure to Chemo being dropped on the city. He also appears in the limited series, ''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'', as a member of the new Freedom Fighters. Andre carries a bo staff, and has some measure of athletic and martial arts ability. In the 2007 ''Freedom Fighters'' series, Firebrand strikes up a relationship with Red Bee and is distraught when she is taken over by an alien insectoid race. Together, the Freedom Fighters save Red Bee and repel the insectoid's invasion. In the 2010 ''Freedom Fighters'' series, Firebrand is killed by Charles Lane, the grandson of the

Jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

Janet Fals

The fifth Firebrand, Janet Fals, appeared in '' The Unexpected'', released in June 2018. Janet was killed during the Dark Multiverse invasion, but her father used his

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

connections to bring her back to life, releasing her remains to Civil Solutions, a futurist arms developer, who resurrected her with a new heart called the "Conflict Engine". The device requires her to start fights to stay alive, meaning she could not return to her old life or identity. She quenches her needs by fighting in underground matches as Firebrand. She had a flirtation with Joy, a female receptionist at V.A. Hospital in Mammoth City. Janet Fals/Firebrand's creator Steve Orlando has confirmed that she is a lesbian.

Powers and abilities

An olympic-level athlete and superb hand-to-hand combatant, the Rod Reilly Firebrand possessed no true super-powers, but he was personally trained by ex-heavyweight boxer "Slugger" Dunn to the height of physical perfection.

In other media

* An amalgamated incarnation of Danette Reilly / Firebrand appears in the ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen T ...

'' episode "Humanity", voiced by Vanessa Marshall. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is an android codenamed Red Inferno that

T. O. Morrow Thomas Oscar "T. O." Morrow is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is responsible for the creation of the Red Tornado, Firebrand (DC Comics)#Red Inferno, Red Inferno, Red Torpedo, Red Volcano, and Tomorrow Wo ...

created to infiltrate the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

in the 1930s, though she overcame her programming and seemingly died taking an energy blast from

meant for the Flash. In the present, an android double of Morrow rebuilds Red Inferno and sends her alongside Red Torpedo to capture Red Tornado. However, Red Tornado convinces his fellow androids stop Red Volcano before he causes the

Yellowstone Caldera The Yellowstone Caldera, also known as the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, is a Quaternary caldera complex and volcanic plateau spanning parts of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. It is driven by the Yellowstone hotspot and is largely within Yel ...

to erupt. Red Inferno and Torpedo sacrifice themselves to help Red Tornado avert the eruption. * The Rod Reilly, Danette Reilly, and Alex Sanchez incarnations of Firebrand appear as character summons in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.

References

External links

Firebrand I Index

Rod Reilly at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe

Danette Reilly at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe

Alex Sanchez at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe

Andre Twist at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

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