Barry Allen may be the lead superhero on The Flash, but he won’t be the only costumed crime fighter on the series. No, I’m not talking about that archer in green that appeared two weeks ago. I’m talking about Firestorm, a DC superhero that’s been around since the 1970s and is being set up as an important character for the rest of the season. The character had a moment of heroism in the midseason finale, and now we have a sneak peek at the costume he’ll be wearing when he returns.
Robbie Amell, who plays Ronnie Raymond on the series, posted this Instagram photo of him in the costume during a late-night shoot. Firestorm’s comic book costume has always been odd-looking (even compared to other comic book looks), so it was to be expected that the show would tone it down significantly. It's a far cry from this.
One thing that’s been kept intact is the insignia that’s been emblazoned across Firestorm’s chest for decades. Presumably the costume will act as some kind of containment suit for Ronnie. From what we’ve seen so far, Ronnie doesn’t have the greatest control over his abilities, so the S.T.A.R. Labs team might create this for him to help him out. The suit may even help him concentrate his powers so that he can pull off his abilities from the comics, specifically transmutation.
As in the comics, Firestorm on the show will be a combination of two individuals: Ronnie and Doctor Martin Stein. First appearing in “Things You Can’t Outrun,” Ronnie was believed to have died in the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion. However, he popped up again at the end of “Flash vs. Arrow” looking worse for wear and now having cool fire powers. Ronnie reappeared in “The Man In The Yellow Suit,” only when he was found by Caitlin, he told her that he wasn’t Ronnie and mentioned the word “firestorm.” Ronnie later saved Barry from the Reverse-Flash and told Caitlin not to go looking for him before flying away.
Stein, played by Victor Garber, will debut in Episode 12, which will hopefully acknowledge either how he and Ronnie were fused or at the very least how Stein’s consciousness is stuck in Ronnie’s body. Another possible use for the suit may be to split Ronnie and Stein back into two separate individuals. The series will also introduce Jason Rusch, Ronnie’s current Firestorm partner in the comics. On The Flash, Jason, played by Luc Roderique, is described as having worked with Stein on the “F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project,” which sheds some light on why Ronnie uttered that word. The mystery of Firestorm is one of the many plot threads that the show will pick up on when it returns in 2015.
