FIRESTORM SHITSTORM What should've been a triumphant return to prominence for one of DC Comics' most popular heroes of the 1980s has been tempered by the reaction to some creative changes in the character's new book. We've only seen one issue of Firestorm, and by now everyone in the comic book community is aware that the role of the Nuclear Man has been changed from the original, Ronnie Raymond, to newcomer Jason Rusch. From where I'm sitting, I have no problem with this as long as there's a reasonable story behind the change. Right now it's still a mystery, and some stories to be released over the summer may go a long way into explaining what happened.

It should be a non-issue for anyone with a brain or conscience that the Caucasian Ronnie Raymond has been replaced by African-American Jason Rusch. I for one applaud DC's move toward diversity. I think some better recognition of Asian and Latino communities in superhero stories is due, but that's as much the responsibility of said ethnicities as it is the powers-that-be in the comic book industry. With every generation, I do see us getting closer to that. But Firestorm is really a comic book character in a long line of them that represents a costume and abilities that transcends civilian identities. You'd think that some people have forgotten that the Flash that everyone knows and loves today is not the same guy who was introduced to the funny pages in the late 1950s. Shoot, even back then, the DC editorial staff, led by the recently deceased Julius Schwartz, decided to take the dormant Flash character from the 1940s, Jay Garrick, and redesign the costume and create an all-new character who was inspired by the original, this time named Barry Allen. It was through that desire to make change that we got the most popular Scarlet Speedster ever. In 1986, in the landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry Allen sacrificed his own life to save the universe, and DC subsequently replaced him with his nephew, Wally West (previously serving as Kid Flash), who has endured ever since in the lead role. But some of that acceptance may have been due to the familiar Wally taking on the role inhabited previously by his own uncle. To some diehards it may have made for a smoother transition, keeping it in the family. Who knows?

And how many Green Lanterns have we had since 1940? The whole concept was originated with the Alan Scott character, then for the same reasons that the Flash concept was practically nonexistent in the 1950s, DC reintroduced Green Lantern as Hal Jordan, without a doubt the most popular secret identity the character has ever had. But as Hal Jordan was introduced, so was the idea that there were thousands of GLs across the universe, serving their respective galaxies as members of an intergalactic police force. Plenty of kids these days are familiar with Jordan's 1993 replacement, Kyle Rayner, or the African-American substitute for Jordan in the politically active Seventies, John Stewart (never mind that in the Eighties, another Jordan sub, Guy Gardner, saw more action by the end of that decade in the super-team book Justice League International). Stewart, as a character, has endured to the point that he was the Green Lantern of choice when Warner Bros. revived the Superfriends concept with Justice League, currently on Cartoon Network.

Even the infamous sidekick Robin is not immune to change. As we speak, DC is presenting what I believe to be the FIFTH, character to don the red and green to work at Batman's side. In a brand new story, Tim Drake, the current bearer of the Robin title, has given up the superhero life after basically getting busted by his dad, and the job has given to his girlfriend, Stephanie Brown (this young lady is the daughter of a longtime Batman enemy, so she's been acclimated into "the life" already). To date, the Robin character has been handled by Dick Grayson (by far, the most famous), Jason Todd (murdered by the Joker in the comics over 15 years ago in a well-documented fan vote), Tim Drake (handling the chores for over a decade now), and even a possible future version that we saw in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Carrie Kelley.

About the only two DC characters who are immune to drastic change are Superman and Batman. That's just how it works as their existence as literary characters has transcended genres. Just about anyone can identify Superman as Clark Kent (or maybe even Kal-El), and Batman as millionaire (or is it billionaire by now?) Bruce Wayne. So people should really give the new Firestorm a chance and at least see if an interesting story develops. We could do worse, but if change in comics was taboo we'd still be reading about Batman & Robin's adventures in space, while in Metropolis Lois Lane attempts for the one-millionth time to expose Clark Kent as Superman, while Jimmy Olsen turns into a werewolf.

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM I find it kind of funny that the other night I had a very detailed dream regarding The Sopranos after what we got on the show last week. I know I wasn't alone last Sunday in scratching my head and going "What da fug???" I watched the third to the last episode of the current season with my roommate, and we were both a little dumbstruck, especially when the show's 25-minute dream sequence just kept going and going and going… The one thing I said to my viewing partner as the show wrapped up was that I was glad they didn't run a sequence like this in the finale. That would not have gone over well with devoted fans of The Sopranos. A couple of years ago, Tony Soprano had a food poisoning-induced dream before he and his cohorts whacked the traitorous Big Pussy, and that was weird enough with Tony talking to a fish. But as much has this last week's episode went on a weird tangent, I have to give them props for invoking ideas of what someone really experiences in a prolonged dream state. Teeth falling out? People sitting in for others? Annette Bening as herself? Pretty clever, little chum.

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