Firestar

Background

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Powers & Abilities

Firestar is a mutant. She can absorb and control the microwaves’ energy in her environment. She also can project it for a variety of effects. And she can feel the flow of microwaves around her, and notice if certain wavelengths are used.

Microwaves are electro-magnetic waves with frequencies varying between infrared (light radiation emitted by warm bodies) and UHF (radio waves). They are pretty much everywhere in Earth’s atmosphere, with usages such as satellites transmissions, radars, wifi-bluetooth, cable TV, mobile phones, and of course microwave ovens.

Her first year of training, at the hand of Emma Frost, mainly developed her ability to generate intense localized heats, for offensive use:

• Surround herself in an aura of heat able to melt any projectile fired at her.
• Heat the air below her and direct her microwaves flow to fly. She received aerial combat training.
• Generate intense localized heat able to melt or burn anything.
• Fire a devastating blast of microwave.

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Later, with New Warriors training, she developed support abilities for the team:

• Project less intense microwaves to create an EMP  and disrupt electric and electronic devices.
• Spy the radio emissions (though she was not able to actually intercept the communications, just detect if a communication takes place).
• Scramble psionic  powers.

Cosmic power player

She barely suspects her power level, but she can throw blasts on a cosmic level. While on Earth, she always feels compelled to hold back out of fear of damaging the local ecosystem. But in space, she once unleashed enough power to power a Shi’Ar star gate.

Powers related health condition

She can’t suffer any ill effects from microwaves coming from external sources.

However, she learns, later in her career, that her own power, over years of exposure, have affected her health. First they were making her sterile. Then, they gave her breast cancer.

History

When Angelica had reached puberty, the period of life where mutant powers usually manifest, her mother died. She lived with her father and her beloved grandmother.

Her family constantly moved from town to town so her father could find jobs. She never had time to make friends as she changed school too soon. She was often bullied by the girls. She started to provoke incidents and melt things, unable to control her heat generation.

Her grandmother was very supportive. She died too, when Angelica was 13. This extra emotion provoked an outburst of her power. Her dad got very frightened.

This spike of mutant activity was detected by both Professor Xavier‘s Cerebro and Emma Frost’s Multivac. The Hellfire Club beat the X-Men in establishing contact. The White Queen, with nice words and a bit of telepathic scrying, convinced Angelica and her father. The young girl joined the Massachusetts Academy. She would become Firestar.

Secret training at The Massachusetts Academy

Emma Frost wrapped Firestar in a perfectly controlled environment. She limited Angelica’s contacts with other people to herself and an assigned bodyguard. On the other hand, Frost provided Jones with anything that she needed or wanted. This included a stallion the young girl loved to ride.

Frost was grooming the teenager for a suicide mission: to assassinate Selene. Frost and Shaw were feeling threatened by the recently appointed Black Queen of The Inner Circle. The White Queen was giving Angelica personal training sessions where she developed the aggressive usages of her power: flight, microwave blasts and heat bubbles.

Angelica had no contact with the Hellions, the Hellfire Club’s team of super-powered teenagers. Though it was part of Frost’s scheming, they resented Firestar. Being such a kind and pleasant bunch, they teased her.

Frost played numerous mind games with Angelica. She was mainly using her innocence to shape her, and convince her of the evil of the Hellfire Club’s enemies: Pr. Xavier and The X-Men, then Selene.

Randal, her bodyguard, became fond of her. He was starting to guess where the Hellfire Club was going with Firestar. As a consquence a fellow guard, loyal to Frost, removed him.

Priming the weapon

Ultimately, Frost launched her master manipulation. She organized a party, inviting The New Mutants. She arranged for Angelica and Sam Guthrie(Cannonball) to be attracted to each other. When Sam gave her first kiss to Angelica, Frost telepathically scolded the girl.

Frightened, she ran away, finding refuge in the stables where her horse was held. Frost then provoked a fire, and mentally killed the stallion. She made sure Angelica believed she started the fire, and thus killed the animal. All that in front of Sam and The New Mutants.

Later, Thunderbird (James Proudstar) went on his personal vendetta against Professor Xavier and The X-Men. He arranged a confrontation in the Cheyenne Mountain, the NORAD center where his brother had died. He set up The X-Men so they took the blame on an intrusion of the military center. Meanwhile, he confronted Xavier with the intention of killing him.

Roulette (Jennifer Stavros) and Empath thought fun to go with him. Abusing his power, Empath made Firestar fall deeply in love with him and convinced her to come along. He wanted to try her conditioning against the X-Men.

Out of control

In the end, Xavier convinced Thunderbird to drop his blood feud. He offered Firestar to join The New Mutants. She declined, staying faithful to Frost who, so she thought, gave her the attention she missed since her teenage years. Back at Snow Valley, Frost severely scolded Empath. She psionically  blocked his power.

The mind games resumed. The goal was to make Firestar believe the Black Queen was after the White Queen. Angelica was ready to go after Selene. Randal, who knew the assassination would be a suicide mission, tried to interfere. Captured, he managed to escape in time to prevent Firestar attacking Selene. He explained the whole setup.

Angelica got angry. She confronted The White Queen. A bit overconfident, Frost was indeed defeated, forced to retreat. Firestar went on a rampage and ruined the Academy’s underground installations. She cornered Frost and threatened to disfigure her.

Angelica went back to her dad. He got over his fear of her powers. She gave up the super-powered life… or so she thought.

The New Warriors

Years later, Night Thrasher hacked the Hellfire Club’s database and procured a way to reach Firestar. He blackmailed her into coming to a mysterious meeting, lest he reveal her powers and identity. Though upset by his method, she finally agreed to join his super-heroes team: the New Warriors.

They had numerous adventures together. For details of these adventures, refer to the New Warriors team profiles. No, seriously, read it. It explains a lot of things we’re just going to skim over here so you don’t have to read about it twice.

Hellfire’s payback

A few months later, Emma Frost sought to even the score with the hacker who had invaded her information system. She also wanted to vent some frustration over Firestar escaping her grasp. The New Warriors confronted the Hellions. Angelica couldn’t agree to clobber them. She knew some of them were not evil but just victims of Frost’s control.

The fight ended when Bevatron was badly hurt. Firestar rescued him. The White Queen retreated, renouncing payback for the hacking and any further claim over Firestar.

Death of The Hellions

After the death of the Hellions at the hand of Fitzroy and his Sentinels, Firestar went to Nova Roma with Cannonball and Warpath.

When they discovered that Magma, and the people of Nova Roma, were under the influence of Empath’s power, Angelica took this personally. He had already abused her with his power. See Magma’s character profile for details.

As she turned this page of her life, she changed her costume, as a way to move on with her life.

Poison Memories

After Namorita made a huge mistake, a member of Poison Memories gang members accessed data related to the New Warriors familie. As a result, Angelica’s father was shot.

He barely survived the assault. This was one emotional shock too many for the young woman. Marvel Boy, her boyfriend, had just been convicted for negligent homicide (see below and read the second New Warriors profile for details). Angelica had to rush her father to the hospital. Thus she used her powers in front of her friend Jupiter, revealing her secret identity to her.

Upon the revelation of Firestar’s secret identity, Jupiter made a point to reassure Angelica about her true feelings for her. Being Firestar’s friend was a source of pride, not of fear.

Romance with Marvel Boy

Marvel Boy (Astro Vance) and Firestar started a relationship.

Her father was apparently unaware that his daughter was with the New Warriors, and was unexpectedly accepting of her boyfriend.

Out of sight… not out of mind

Then, in one of the most tense and tragic story arcs, Vance got convicted for Negligent Homicide of his abusive father. During Vance’s trial, Angelica’s father also confessed he knew she was part of The New Warriors. At least, in this difficult time for her, she had her father’s support.

Nonetheless, Angelica was crushed by the verdict. She even planned to jailbreak him during his transfer to The Vault. Hopefully, Vance had more sense. Feeling himself guilty, and having been given a fair trial, he explained to his teammates he still trusted the system and wanted to do his time.

She was so desperate to show him her love she offered him to make love on the spot. But Vance, at this particular moment, was well aware of where he stood in his life. And spoiling her first time (and likely his) like this, a quickie in the middle of a forest, barely out of the scrutiny of The Vault’s guards, was not part of it.

Instead they parted with a passionate kiss, she, broken in tears, he, steady as a rock.

Paroled

After a year in jail, Vance was paroled. He changed his hero name to Justice.

It was in the midst of Graydon Creed’s presidential campaign. Graydon Creed was the non-mutant son of Victor Creed, aka Sabertooth and Mystique. He was using the anti-mutants hysteria to fuel his polls.

The radical wing of Creed’s party, called The Friends of Humanity, had organized a welcoming committee outside The Vault and then at Vance mother’s. A mutant herself, Firestar was deeply affected by the anti-mutant frenzy. Indeed, it was her first direct exposure to the phenomenon. When she expected to finally reunite with her lover, he walked out on her to join Shinobi Shaw.

However, it was a scam orchestrated by Night Thrasher to infiltrate The Upstarts. At one stage, she had to completely trust Vance, letting him deliver her, helpless, to Shinobi Shaw. Thus Justice seemed more credible about joining the Upstarts.

Afterwards, Vance and Angelica stayed close and made a solid couple.

Insecurity and jealousy

Insecurity has been the master trait of Firestar. Her love life was no exception. When they encountered Sabra, Angelica felt threatened by the Israeli super agent. Well, it was quite obvious Sabra was hitting on Vance. And Vance, being Jewish while Angelica wasn’t, made Firestar think he was interested in the older woman. She flatfooted him with a dispute in the middle of the fight.

Later, when the New Warriors teamed with Ultra Girl, Firestar threw another jealousy tantrum. She clearly marked her territory over Vance. Except, this time, she had completely imagined things.

Vance was not above jealousy too. Despite his gentle attitude, he bordered on being a jerk.

After he had taken the leadership of the team, he showed signs of contempt toward Angelica. When Scarlet Spider briefly joined the team, Angelica partly projected her teen-age’s fantasies (of Randal, her bodyguard from the Hellfire Club) on the more experienced super-hero. Vance made sure Scarlet Spider stayed out of the team, out of reach of his girlfriend.

Plans for a bright future

As her romantic life unfolded, she, like your average teenage girl, was making plans to start a family. The kind of plans you like pretending to goof around with when you’re spending quality time with your lover… However, when she learned of her likely sterility, she felt the urge to make it real. She put a little bit of pressure on him.

And Vance did what your average teenager super-hero would do in the situation… he panicked.

However, a bit later, in the calm preceding a climatic battle against Volx, the Dire Wraith’s queen, Angelica fully expressed her deep feelings for him. She even proposed to him. Not saying a word, they kissed passionately.

During their time with the Avengers, they made more serious plans to get married.

Medical condition

Firestar was always reluctant to unleash her full power. At that point, she was mostly worried of their after effects on her environment, not on other people and certainly not on herself.

Her friend Jupiter drew her attention on the long term effects Firestar’s powers may have on herself and her targets. Worried, Angelica started to limit her power usage, sometimes delaying attacks and endangering her teammates.

She finally secretly went to a clinic specialized in fertility issues. The tests were not very good. Angelica was having a hard time explaining how a young woman ended up facing microwaves induced sterility. She was invoking doctor/patient privilege to preserve her secret identity, when the hospital got attacked.

During the fight, her opponent revealed her condition, confirmed by the doctor’s suspicions: Angelica was suffering from radiation poisoning and was becoming sterile. She later discussed the issue with Justice.

Still, Firestar kept pulling her own weight on the team and pumped more microwaves. Now, when she held back, it was to save herself, before worrying for her environment. She was constantly scared of pushing one step too far.

Henry Pym designed a special bio-circuitry suit for her. Her mutant body had the potential to develop self-immunity but never had the chance. The suit’s purpose was to tap into her microwaves energy to kick-start this self-immunity process. Angelica was very happy for this new hope.

Avengers

When Morgan LeFay’s minions attacked Rage, Firestar and Justice teamed up with the Avengers. Vance had been so enthusiastic about being a part of it that Angelica agreed to stick around when Captain America reorganized the Avengers. Justice saw an opportunity to prove their worth and together, they captured Whirlwind.

With a nudge from Hawkeye, Captain America offered a reserve members position to Vance and Angelica. It was Vance’s lifetime’s dream. Angelica was not so thrilled but, out of love, she accepted to join, too.

Then, Warbird’s alcohol problem kicked her out of the active rooster, giving Justice and Firestar the opportunity to reach full membership status.

Reluctance

At first, Firestar was uncomfortable about joining the Avengers. Justice’s behavior around his idols was getting on her nerves. He was minimizing New Warriors’ achievements to emphasize their Avengers’. He was bragging about his girlfriend’s power level regardless of the risks to her health. And he was fascinated by anything The Avengers did.

He wanted to permanently move to the Mansion, but they were still living at Namorita’s, thus keeping a bit of connection to their New Warriors friends.

Janet Van Dyne (Wasp) made Jones a new costume. It was revealing – too much so for Angelica. And then again, her boyfriend was acting like a jerk, fascinated as he was at the thought of being part of The Avengers.

Acceptance

After Henry Pym found a solution for her health problem, she started to feel comfortable. She could cut loose again with her powers, as lashing out cured her even more in the process. She did a good job at chairing an Avengers briefing session.

Then Vance started to get nervous on siding with living legends, stammering when his time to speak came. As he felt out of his league, Angelica’s newly found confidence raised his spirit. Next thing we know, she’s the one arranging for them to move in the Mansion.

At last, living among The Avengers, Vance realized they were not flawless living legends but humans, with doubts and making mistakes, just as he. And he did great things to pull his weight, event when he was stuck with a broken leg.

She felt fully an Avenger now. She did not deny her New Warriors past, but when Speedball came to them to rebuild the New Warriors, Angelica and Vance refused.

Sidelining

After some times spent with The Avengers, and after Vance recovered from his broken leg, he and Angelica decided to take a step back from they super-hero business. They wanted to build their relationship up and now seriously thought about getting married. They wanted to get back to their studies too.

They made some small appearances, like infiltrating the Triune Understanding cult to expose its conspiracy.

Overall, if her adventures with the Avengers opposed her to major villains like Ultron, their main effect on her character development was: getting a cure for her microwave self-poisoning and living her boyfriend’s childhood dream.

Retirement

As Firestar and Justice went below the radar after the Avengers, they lived together, caught up with their lives and set a date for their wedding. But as the date was getting close, Angelica had second thoughts. In the end, she felt too young to get married. Instead, they broke up.

When the Superhuman Registration Act  passed, Angelica was shocked. She couldn’t believe the government was forcing her to expose the people around her. She threw her mask in a gutter and gave up being a super-hero.

Description

As a teenager, during her time with the Massachusetts Academy, she was a good looking red haired with green eyes. Her early costume was a very tight fitting yellow body glove. She wore long gloves and boots, red and orange with flames patterns. She wore a small “carnival-like” red mask just hiding her eyes.

As a young woman ending high-school, she was a striking red head with green eyes.

At first, she kept her former costume. Upon the death of the Hellions, she decided to throw away that part of her past and put on another costume. She made it up of leftover clothes from Namorita. It was now a tight fitting black body glove, covered by a red body bustier, with yellow sleeves and flame patterns. On top of it, she wore a short black bomber jacket, with a flaming star on the back.

She completed it with small red gloves and red boots. She covered her eyes with visor-like shades.

During her time with the Avengers, she had a costume similar to her early one.

Personality

Uncertainty is the master trait to describe Firestar.

During her early teenage years, she was very insecure. Moving from school to school, she had no time to make friends, was bullied, and was constantly isolated. Her grandmother helped a lot to keep some confidence. When she died, the way was wide open for Emma Frost to take it.

Angelica was particularly gullible and easy to manipulate. She had a crush on Randal, her bodyguard from the Hellfire Club. Of course, she wouldn’t imagine confessing it to anyone, but it left her with a slight attraction toward more experienced men.

Growing pains

When she joined the New Warrior, she gained a bit more confidence in her everyday life. But she was still insecure in various aspects of her life:

• As a super-hero, she was reluctant to violence. She mostly held back – except when her teammates were in danger, especially Vance. When she discovered her powers were affecting her own body, she became even more reluctant.
• As a girlfriend, she was deeply in love with Vance. While he was in jail, her frustration let her a bit loose, and she gladly vented some steam when villains got in her hair. She even threw jealousy tantrums when she felt threatened by women hitting on Vance. He was Jewish and she was not. Though he never made it an issue, when Sabra made a pass on him, Angelica snapped.
• As a daughter, she felt like she had deeply failed her father when he was shot by members of the Poison Memories.
• As a friend, she was so depressed to be powerless when her friend Jupiter was raped.

She’s a good team player. When the team argued, with other parties or internally, she was of the compromising type. However, when it related to her loved ones’ welfare, she was another matter entirely. She fiercely stood for them: her father, her lover, her school friend, her teammates.

Quotes

“Oh Nana ! You always make me feel so good ! I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Ms Frost ? Gee, I would hate to have her disappointed with me.”

“What’s the matter now Ms Frost ? Afraid ? You wanted me to learn how to kill ? Well, you may just get your wish.”

Night Thrasher: “Can you carry me all the way to the Queens ?”
Firestar: “Gee, I’m not really sure… I guess we’ll find out… Somewhere over the East River.”

“Some of them aren’t evil… They just couldn’t break free of The White Queen’s hold like I did.”

“I’m not going with you. I have to stay with Vance… Help him through this.” (beat) “I love him… I do… And he’s going to jail !”

(On their attack run to the van transporting Vance to The Vault)
Nova: “I have a baaaad feeling about this !”
Firestar: “Not nearly as bad as the feeling the guardsmen are going to have in a second.” “(FZEECHAK)

(On their parting moment, before he gets to The Vault, after Angelica asked the guardsmen the favor to be left alone with Vance)
Firestar: “Vance… I love you… I want to be… with… you know… I want us to be together…”
Marvel Boy: “I want that too, Angel.”
Firestar: “Then should we… Can we..?”
Marvel Boy: “No. Not like this. Not now.”
Firestar: “D-Don’t you… love me..?”
Marvel Boy: “Of course I love you. But our first time is going to be special… It’s going to be on the day we’re married. Okay ?”

(At her father’s bedside)
Angelica: “No, he may just die, Jupes, and I can’t stop it. I’m nothing but a normal girl after all.”
Jupiter: “Angelica Jones, you’ve been nothing but normal since the seventh grade. I’m thrilled to find out you’re really a mutant super-hero !”

(After she shot Sabra)
Justice: “My God, Angel… I said stun her, not kill her !”
Firestar: “Will you stop mooning over that slut ?! Maybe you should’ve just charmed her into submission with these lovely eyes of yours, Vance ! Then you could’ve finally settled down with a nice Jewish girl !”
Justice: “Angel… You know that was never an issue for me.”

(To Ultra Girl)
Firestar: “Yeah, it’s all cool. Remind me to thank you. I know, I’ll invite you to the wedding ! You did know Vance and I are engaged, right ? You knew your flirting wouldn’t lead to anything, right ?”
Nova: “Uh… I think I should be anywhere else right now.”
Ultra Girl: “Huh ? I don’t know what your talking about. Look Firestar, I am just trying to help during a crisis-type situation. I am not like trying to ruin your relationship, okay ?”
Firestar: “I’m sorry… I only meant… You know what I meant.”

(First mission with The Avengers)
Firestar: “Honestly, Vance, you’ve been to space before… With The New Warriors…”
Justice: “Yeah. But this is different, Angel. It’s… It’s just different !”
(Later)
Justice: “Awright ! Did you see that Firestar ? Five of ’em… With one telekinetic blast.”
Firestar: “Are you crazy, Vance? Keep score later… We’re in the middle of a battle here !”

“Well, I guess I have been pretty happy lately. You all know the problems I’d been having with my powers affecting my health… But The Avengers hooked me up with Dr Henry Pym, and he gave me this special suit to wear… And everything is fine now ! Every time I use my power… I cure myself a little more !”

(Witnessing the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act in a bar)
“I guess that’s what it boils down to: I just can’t afford this anymore… I can’t afford to be Firestar anymore. I quit.”

DC Universe History

(This assumes a sliding time scale, for a change).

In the DCU, Angelica Curtis was born in 1940. She is the child of vulcanologist Danette Reilly and atomic physicist Terry Curtis. The couple met in college, and became an item during the late 1930s. Their careers and the war would separate them in 1941. Ms. Reilly would go on to become Firebrand, and Mr. Curtis would become Cyclotron.

Angelica hadn’t been planned, and ran into severe health issues even in the womb. Curtis’ DNA had already been damaged by radiation, and Reilly was a mutant – though that wouldn’t be visible until her her immersion into artificial lava. Angelica was thus had an active metagene since day one, and would have killed her mother during pregnancy if not for Danette’s latent powers.

Curtis found a solution using technology confiscated from the Ultra-Humanite back in 1939. It was an artificial womb where the embryo could be kept in suspended animation, while slowly bleeding off its radiation emissions. However, Curtis and his work soon became Top Secret as part of Project: Manhattan.

Time traveller of a sort

Though Cyclotron died during the war, his baby daughter Terri was raised by Danette and her friend Al Pratt, a.k.a. The Atom. Terri was told of her half-sister, which was part of what sparked her interest in scientific research. Terri eventually became a NASA employee and had a son, Al Rothstein, a.k.a. Nuklon (and later on Atom-Smasher).

Terri Rothstein was hoping for NASA tech to catch up with the Ultra-Humanite’s device, so her baby half-sister Angelica could be brought to term and start her existence. But it was actually her son Al’s exposure to thorium that provided the key. Nuklon could harmlessly absorb his aunt’s excess radiation, saving decades.

Little Angelica was thus finally born in (sliding time scale year of Infinity, Inc.’s debut, plus one). Wielding both radiation and heat, she in a way has both the powers of Firebrand and Cyclotron.

The machinations of the White Queen would be replaced by those of the Ultra-Humanite. And the equivalent of the New Warriors would be a next-gen team called Infinity² – reusing some themes and equipment from Infinity, Inc..

Alternative timeline

As an alternative, Angelica could be the granddaughter of Firebrand and Cyclotron. Curtis would have had another daughter, who married Barthlomew Jones but died in childbirth. This also avoids shades of the Black Canary 1980s retcons.

Just like Terri and Arnold, the mutation skips a generation (Terri and Angelica’s unnamed mother) and affects their kids (Arnold and Jessica).

By Nicolas Lemaçon.

Source of Character: Marvel Comics (1^st appearance in X-Men and New Mutants, then New Warriors up to v1 #75 in September 1996, Ultra Girl mini-series, Avengers v3 #1-28, I ♥ Marvel #2, Civil War: Front line #2).

Helper(s): Ethan Roe, Darci, Sébastien Andrivet.

Writeup completed on the 20^th of July, 2017.