Firestorm has always seemed like a cool character but he’s never been one I’ve followed. Once I saw Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone attached to the project I immediately decided to give it a try. “The Fury of Firestorm” #1 is a completely new start for Firestorm giving it a more contemporary feel. It’s also a new start for the two moody, angry teenagers who Firestorm inhabits. It’s a decent introduction to the characters. Too bad the characters aren’t very likable.

Both Ronnie and Jason spend most of their time complaining or insulting the other and neither turn out to be characters I care about. Simone goes overboard trying to develop the two into such polar opposites. This is never more evident than in their conversations which features juvenile arguments and some of most contrived and artificial racial dialogue you’ll find. More interesting than the main characters is the background story of a brutal mercenary group for hire tracking down the power behind Firestorm. They end up crossing paths with Ronnie and Jason in a conclusion that has a lot of fire (literally) but it can’t save the rest of the issue and it’s numerous flaws.

Yildiray Cinar’s art is actually pretty good. The characters look unique and distinct and they maintain a consistency throughout the issue. Most of the pages look solid with the exception of the clunky and uneven football sequence. When we do finally see Ronnie and Jason transformed and they look great. The ending action is well laid out and turns out to be much more effective than the actual story.

This is an issue that had the ingredients for a successful first book but Van Sciver and Simone fail to mix them all together. Their main characters are nothing more than angst-filled teens spitting out all sorts of petty, forced dialogue. They aren’t likable and certainly aren’t characters I care to invest in. This book clearly should have been better than it was and they lost a major opportunity to give this character a welcomed kick-start.