Firestar
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For other uses, see Firestar (disambiguation).
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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] Fictional character biography
[edit] Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
The character was originally created for the animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends as a replacement for the Human Torch, the rights to which were tied up in a possible movie venture. Kathy Garver provided her voice. In the series, Firestar is identified as being a former member of the X-Men, along with Iceman, with whom she occasionally appears to have a romantic relationship, although at times she also has dated Peter Parker (Spider-Man) as well, resulting in a love triangle of sorts (though Iceman stated in the episode The Prison Plot that, despite his feelings for Firestar, "fire and ice don't really mix"). In the series, she also had a romance with Sunfire. It is interesting to note that Firestar's civilian identity, Angelica Jones, looked very similar to Mary Jane Watson in the Spiderman comics.
Though the animated series and the one-shot Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends comic book (later reprinted as Marvel Action Universe #1) 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 apparently 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 (see below).
[edit] The Hellions and Firestar
Later, Firestar appeared in comic books as well, beginning with Uncanny X-Men #193. Although she was initially a pawn of the X-Men's enemies, she quickly became a superhero in her own right. A self-titled miniseries then presented Firestar's definitive, in-continuity origin. Angelica Jones, a lonely girl raised by her widowed 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. (Firestar was later to become one of the few surviving original Hellions, after most members were murdered by Trevor Fitzroy.) Angelica was manipulated by Frost into believing that the White Queen was a kind and loving maternal figure, unaware that Frost was secretly grooming her to be a potential assassin and bodyguard.
The mini-series depicts events both before and after Firestar's first in-continuity appearance in Uncanny X-Men, showing her development from a shy, insecure girl afraid of her developing powers to a confident young woman; she eventually learns of Frost's duplicity, attacking the White Queen and decimating the hidden training complex beneath Frost's Massachusetts Academy with the control of her powers gained through the White Queen's training. Afterwards, Jones returns to living with her father (as she was still a minor at the time), but keeps 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 simpler, Human Torch-esque generation of flame that her animated counterpart displayed; the comic-book Firestar essentially harnesses ambient microwave radiation from her environment, making her powers potentially limitless in an environment such as space, where the concentration of microwaves is much greater than within a planetary atmosphere.
After most of the Hellions were killed by the mutant Trevor Fitzroy, Firestar and Warpath, accompanied by Warpath's X-Force teammate Cannonball, went on a mission to inform Empath and another former Hellion (and former teammate of Cannonball's in the New Mutants), 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] The New Warriors
Despite the mini-series' efforts to flesh out the character, Firestar seemed destined to fade into obscurity until she 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.
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] The Avengers
Firestar and Justice later joined the Avengers for a time. During this period, Henry Pym determined that the cause of her potential infertility was that 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 facing a horde of Ultron robots and struggling against Kang the Conqueror's attempted takeover of modern-day Earth, she and Justice left the Avengers and later resurfaced alongside the New Warriors. She also made 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.
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 of Marvel's "Civil War" publishing event. 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), in She-Hulk #8 (2006). 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.
As depicted in Civil War: Front Line #2, Firestar has responded to the Superhuman Registration Act by effectively retiring from her career as a costumed heroine.
[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, or explode, or melt. She can also sense microwave signals (such as cell-phone signals or even remote-control devices) and disrupt electronics with her own microwave emissions. On rare occasions, 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. Due to their electromagnetic nature, her powers are far greater outside of a planetary atmosphere, as she was once able to power a massive interstellar transport gate with virtually no effort.
Firestar has apparently 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. In Mutant X Annual # 1, she was one of the many people trying to resist the rule of Madelyne Pryor. 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 in Exiles #40, 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 of A-Next #7, 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] Another note is that in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, Firestar actually resembles Mary Jane.
- 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.
[edit] Trivia
- The makers of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends had originally intended the stars to be Spider-Man, Iceman and the Human Torch, but legal issues about the rights to the Human Torch character. This led to the Human Torch being replaced by a new character, Firestar (originally named "Heatwave" in pre-production concepts), who had similar powers, but was a mutant like Iceman. She was later introduced into the mainstream Marvel Universe.
- The identity of Firestar's mother has never been revealed, and she has never been mentioned. She has only ever been listed as deceased in Firestar's profiles throughout the years, though the circumstances of her death are also unknown.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends at the Internet Movie Database
- The Women of Marvel Comics Firestar Page
Categories: Fictional heroines | Fictional people from Massachusetts | Fictional characters with the power to manipulate fire | Marvel Comics mutants | Spider-Man supporting characters | The 198 Files | 1981 introductions | Marvel Comics characters who can fly | Comic book characters created from television | Marvel Comics superheroes
