Review by Frank Plowright

It’s almost all as it ever was for Firestorm, with Ronnie Raymond controlling the nuclear superhero with a voice that really understands the science there in his head offering guidance if he chooses to take it. The remaining Firestorms were disposed of in The Firestorm Protocols, and Dan Jurgens may not be the bright new voice to take a DC superhero into the future, but as both writer and artist he’s a proven quality.

That’s borne out by his immediately honing in on the shortcomings of the series to date and rectifying them. He realises the strength of Firestorm is the contrasting personalities and priorities of Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch and outlines them both in school scenes and superhero action. He returns schoolfriend Tonya from limbo, one of the handful of people who know who Firestorm is, and feeds in an old DC villain, which for older superhero fans will signal the possibility of another long forgotten hero making an appearance.

From day one Jurgens has been a solid superhero artist, and he’s lost none of his storytelling skills. There’s no attempt to modify his style from timeless to modern, and everything that needs to be seen in a superhero story is here.

As a writer Jurgens also integrates Firestorm more fully into the DC universe. The Justice League appeared in The Firestorm Protocols, but basically as timewasters who phased out as rapidly as they arrived, but while at first it seems the Teen Titans serve much the same purpose, Jurgens ensures they have a reason to be around. There’s a great Superman scene as well. As seen on the sample art, Jurgens also has some imaginatively amusing ideas for Firestorm’s transformation powers, and anybody who loved the Firestorm of old should be happy at seeing almost all his major villains in Takeover.

There’s nothing greatly new or original here, but Jurgens knows what he’s doing and does it to standards to keep most Firestorm fans happy. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t enough to save the revival, which ends here.