The Fury, Part 1

Lemire and De Latorre come out swinging with one of the most unsettling debut issues DC has put out in years. The genius of this first issue is that Firestorm isn't the hero, he's the threat. The Matrix is running the show now, and watching something that looks like Ronnie Raymond move through a small Colorado town with cold, alien purpose is genuinely creepy stuff. Firehawk makes for a perfect anchor character. She knows what Firestorm should be, which makes everything he does here hit twice as hard. The Silver Age flashback sequence in the middle is a brilliant move, giving just enough warmth and context for the real Ronnie before yanking it away. De Latorre's art shifts effortlessly between tripped-out cosmic horror and classic four-color nostalgia, and that tonal range is seriously impressive. The biblical prose narration in the opening pages sets the tone perfectly. This isn't a superhero story. It's a horror mystery wearing a superhero costume, and Lemire is exactly the right writer for it. Minor gripe: if you're not already familiar with the Firestorm Matrix concept, the issue doesn't hold your hand much. But for those who are, or who are willing to lean into the mystery, this is a hell of a start.