| Firebrand | |
|---|---|
 The Gary Gilbert incarnation of Firebrand as depicted inIron Manual Mark 3 #1 (April 2010). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Iron Man #27 (July 1970) |
| Created by | Archie Goodwin (writer) Don Heck (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego |
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| Abilities | Powered armor grants: Superhuman strength Flight via flying jets Thermal blasts via flamethrowers Resistance to fire |
Firebrand is the name of severalsupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The first and most prominent,Gary Gilbert, is an enforcer for corruptindustrialistJustin Hammer and a former activist who turned to violence after believing peaceful protest produced no results.
The Gary Gilbert incarnation of Firebrand first appeared inIron Man #27 (July 1970), and was created byArchie Goodwin andDon Heck.[1]
The Russell Broxtel incarnation of Firebrand first appeared inWeb of Spider-Man #77 (April 1991), and was created by Goodwin and Heck.
The Richard Dennison incarnation of Firebrand first appeared inIron Man (vol. 3) #4 (March 1998), and was created byKurt Busiek andSean Chen.
The Amanda incarnation of Firebrand first appeared inInvincible Iron Man #513 (February 2012), and was created byMatt Fraction andSalvador Larroca.
The sixth unnamed incarnation of Firebrand made his sole appearance inDeadpool (vol. 5) #27 (April 2014), and was created byFabian Nicieza and Scott Hepburn.
The Erikson Hades incarnation of Firebrand first appeared inGreat Lakes Avengers #1 (October 2016), and was created by Zac Gorman and Will Robson.
Gary Gilbert was born inDetroit, Michigan. A superpowered enforcer for corruptindustrialistJustin Hammer, as Firebrand he is a former radical activist saboteur who turns to violence after believing peaceful protest produced no results.[2] Firebrand's "clenched fist" logo on his chest recalls theBlack Power movement.[1]
In his first appearance inIron Man #27 (July 1970), Firebrand describes his experiences demonstrating for thecivil 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.[4] He also won theBlack Lama's "War of the Supervillains".[5] He then fell to alcoholism and gave up political activism only to work for other villains because he "needed the work".[6] He later gave up his costumed identity and became a "supervillain agent", brokering employment for other costumed villains.[5][6]
When news of theScourge 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 byThe Hood using the power ofDormammu as part of a squad assembled to eliminate thePunisher.[8] After the Punisher is captured, he is present at the ritual where the Hood intends to resurrect the Punisher's family.Microchip shootsG. W. Bridge in the head, which activates the ritual using Bridge's life force to resurrect Microchip and Punisher's families. The Punisher refuses to accept this, and forces Firebrand to burn his family alive, and then Punisher shoots Firebrand in the back of the head.[9]
After Gilbert's death, a man named Russ Broxtel becomes Firebrand and joins theForce of Nature.[10] With Force of Nature, he also battledCloak and Dagger and theNew Warriors.[11] Firebrand was later hired byR.A.I.D and helped into London byFasaud. TheArabian Knight confronted Firebrand who struck back with a wall of flame. Protected by his magic uniform, the Knight stopped Firebrand.[12]
AfterCivil War, Firebrand returned to the United States. Donning a new suit, he attempted to rob a gas station. He was stopped by Young Avengers membersHawkeye andPatriot.[13] Firebrand escaped and was later seen along withKing Cobra,Mauler andMister Hyde, who attacked Yellowjacket, Constrictor and other Initiative staff and trainees.[14]
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 foughtIron Man on several occasions.[15] After he recovered, Firebrand returned with the Flaming Sword and kidnapped Osborn Chemical vice-president Charles Standish. He was then confronted by theAvengers and he was defeated.[16] Firebrand later appeared as a member of theShadow Council's incarnation of theMasters of Evil.[17]
Baron Zemo later recruited Firebrand,Flying Tiger andPlantman II to join his "New Masters". They later encounter Steve Rogers, the originalCaptain America,Free Spirit andJack Flag. During the fight, Firebrand is defeated by Free Spirit.[18]
A female Firebrand was recruited byMandarin andZeke Stane in a plot to dispose of Iron Man.[19] She is later hired along withLiving Laser andVibro by a Colombian drug lord to protect his bunker from Iron Man, who is after anExtremis virus sample; she ends up knocked unconscious by sleeping gas released fromIron Man's armor.[20] During theInfinity storyline, Firebrand was among the villains enlisted bySpymaster to attack Stark Tower. In this appearance, her first name is revealed to be Amanda.[21]
An unnamed incarnation of Firebrand appears inDeadpool (vol. 5) #27 as a criminal who Deadpool targets and later kills.[22]
Erikson Hades is the sixth Firebrand and one of several villains hired by councilman Dick Snerd to attackDetroit.[23]
Each incarnation of Firebrand wields armor with wrist-mounted flamethrowers and jets that allow them to fly.
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