The original Firestorm was distinguished by his integrated dual identity. High school student Ronald Raymond and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Martin Stein were caught in a nuclear accident that allowed them to fuse into the "nuclear man" Firestorm. Due to Stein's being unconscious during the accident, Raymond was prominently in command of the Firestorm form with Stein a voice of reason inside his mind. Banter between the two was a hallmark of their adventures.

Firestorm possesses great powers, including flight, superhuman strength, and control over matter itself. He also stands out visually, with (literally) flaming hair and a distinctive red and yellow costume.

After the accident that created him, Firestorm took to defending New York from such threats as Multiplex (created in the same nuclear accident that produced Firestorm) and Killer Frost. The 1982 series began with the teenaged Raymond adjusting to his newfound role and later delved into the issue of the nuclear arms race and Firestorm’s role as an "elemental." Written initially by Conway and drawn mainly by Pat Broderick and Rafael Kayanan, The Fury of Firestorm slowly developed the lives of Raymond and Stein, as the teenager struggled with high school and moved towards graduation and the scientist found a life outside the lab. A second nuclear hero, Firehawk, was added as a love interest for Firestorm in 1984. The series also tried to create a sense of fun, something that Conway felt was missing during his years writing Spider-Man, the banter between Ronald Raymond and Martin Stein contributed to this. Upon graduation from high school, Raymond entered college in Pittsburgh, where Stein had been hired as a professor.

Firestorm's list of enemies included such generally forgotten foes as the Hyena, Zuggernaut, Typhoon, and Black Bison. One Firestorm enemy, Plastique, would later play a major role in DC's Captain Atom; she later reformed and married Atom. He also fought Killer Frost, who was forced by the Psycho-Pirate to fall in love with him during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Subsequently, Raymond was killed during the Identity Crisis mini-series. It was revealed in Identity Crisis #5 and Firestorm (vol. 3) #6 that during a battle with a villain called the Shadow Thief, Raymond was impaled by the Shining Knight's sword, which the Shadow Thief had stolen. The magical sword ruptured the nuclear man's containment field, resulting in Firestorm's body exploding and his residual essence funneling into the body of Jason Rusch, the new host of the Firestorm Matrix. His name was featured posthumously on Rip Hunter's chalkboard in Booster Gold (vol. 2) #1 in the statement "Ronnie Raymond + X = Firestorm".

This is what STOPPED me altogether on collecting COMICS because of CRAP like this...

Ronnie Raymond would return, as a member of the Black Lanterns.

There you have my ALL-TIME favorite HERO in the DC COMIC UNIVERSE... and why you ask is he NOT NUMBER 3 in my SUPER POWERS COLLECTION... well there's a LOT of heroes i like besides SUPER HEROES you know...