If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy
DC’s Firestorm origin retcon from Doomsday Clock is fixed in something that’ll make older fans happy, says writer Jeff Lemire
Doomsday Clock inspired longtime Firestorm fan Jeff Lemire to pitch a series to “reconcile” the changes it made to the character
NewsbyChris Arrant, Editor-in-Chief
Published on Tue Jul 14 2026
Popverse’s top stories
- Imagine Backrooms with Amazing Digital Circus characters. Here’s what would happen, according to the cast themselves
- Superhero fatigue isn’t real says Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman… it’s just a dearth of good superhero stories
- Failure is the major theme of The Vampire Lestat, says showrunner
DC’s nuclear hero Firestorm has had his ups and downs, in his stories and also behind the scenes. The 2017-2019 DC Comics event series Doomsday Clock rewrote the hero’s origin story to say the accident that made the dual hero a metahuman wasn’t an accident at all, and that it was all orchestrated by Professor Martin Stein as well as the US Government in what was called ‘The Superman Project.’ The current limited series The Fury of Firestorm is the first major series to pick up on that in the intervening seven years, but as series writer Jeff Lemire explains, he’s also looking to “reconcile” the major changes Doomsday Clock writer (and former DC CCO) Geoff Johns did to the character.
Not that he doesn’t like Doomsday Clock. The series actually spurred him to pitch the series to begin with.
“It was actually the Doomsday Clock story that hooked me and really got my wheels turning. It was the catalyst for me doing the book, not because of any editorial mandate, but because it triggered my own ideas for what became my series,” Lemire says during an AMA on League of Comic Geeks. “BUT I think if you stick with our book until it’s ending you’ll see me reconcile the retcon with the things older fans love and find a nice middle-ground.”
While I won’t go into spoilery detail on the changes Lemire has already made here at the halfway point of The Fury of Firestorm, Lemire says this comes from a long-held love of the character
“I always loved the character of Firestorm since I was a kid reading about him in Crisis on Infinite Earths and JLA. And then when I read Geoff Johns’ Doomsday Clock it gave me the idea that I turned into the new series,” Lemire writes. “I was really inspired by bronze age Firestorm comics that I read as a kid. I always loved the character. For me, the character seemed like a great opportunity to explore themes of identity.”
Lemire cites John Ostrander’s Firestorm run as his favorite in the character’s history, but does lament that “unfortunately not a lot of Firestorm’s stuff has been collected.”
The Fury of Firestorm #5 (of 9) goes on sale on August 12.
Need more? Here’s our picks for the best DC Comics stories of all time
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse’s Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher’s Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing
More News
Scott Snyder at Marvel? The Absolute Batman co-creator reveals he was in talks with Marvel and pitched a full Marvel initiative when DC didn’t say ‘yes’ immediately to the Absolute Universe
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday first look is all the talk of the internet, but everyone’s missing my favorite bit: Mystique’s comic-accurate costume change
Iron Man origin comic art has broken the record for most expensive original comic art ever sold at $3.875 million dollars
Coyote vs. Acme is a love letter to Wile E. Coyote’s inability to quit, say filmmakers
DC Comics is concerned about price-gouging, so is setting down new rules for comic stores & those retailer variant covers
How the real-world response to killing of healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is influencing DC Comics’ Absolute Green Arrow, according to its writer
Marvel Knights’ Inhumans helped revive the Kirby creation…. but the writer refused an offer to do a sequel
The Japanese government is making a $210 billion bet to dominate the global comic, cartoon, gaming, and music industries
Featured events
Florida Supercon
Comic-Con International: San Diego
Jul 22
– Jul 26
D23
Aug 14
– Aug 16
British Week
Aug 24
– Aug 30
PAX West
Sep 04
– Sep 07
New York Comic Con
Oct 08
– Oct 11
