Firestar (Angelica "Angel" Jones) is a superhero appearing in media including American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by John Romita Sr., Rick Hoberg, and Dennis Marks, the character first appeared in 1981 on the NBC animated television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Firestar has the ability to generate and manipulate microwave radiation, allowing her to fly and create intense heat and flames. In the comics, she has acted as a solo hero and also as a member of the Hellions, New Warriors, Avengers, and X-Men.
Development and publication history Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Firestar – spelled as Fire-Star – was created for the NBC animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, with Kathy Garver voicing. This version of the character has the ability to control heat in all its forms, as stated in the 1981 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends one-shot comic.
The creators had wanted to use the Human Torch, but the rights to the character were tied up. Firestar's pre-production names included Heatwave, Starblaze, and Firefly. Dennis Marks, one of the original writers of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, stated in a 2002 interview that he had come up with the name of Fire-Star's alias, Angelica Jones, taken from one of his old girlfriends.
In the series, Fire-Star is identified as a former member of the X-Men, along with Iceman, with whom she occasionally appears to have a flirtatious relationship, and with whom she is sometimes seen on dates. At times, she dates Peter Parker (Spider-Man) as well, resulting in a relaxed love triangle of sorts.
Her origin is explained in "A Fire-Star is Born." Young Angelica Jones was subject to constant bullying by a schoolmate named Bonnie, who calls her "Miss Angelica Jinx" on account of mysterious events that occur in Angelica's presence, which unbeknownst to Bonnie and others around Angelica, are triggered by her newly emerging powers, of which Angelica is gradually becoming aware. As Angelica becomes fully aware that she is a mutant with superhuman abilities, she saves her father at one point during an accident while disguised.
Early in her senior year of high school, Bonnie and her boyfriend framed Angelica for the theft of a school trophy, causing Dean Wilmer to temporarily suspend Angelica from school. A strong need to correct this situation leads Angelica to become Fire-Star for the first time. She finds proof of Bonnie's deception, retrieved the missing trophy, and compels Bonnie to confess, which justifies her expulsion from school. She is later approached by Cyclops, Angel, and Iceman to join the X-Men. She accepted and was seen helping them against Magneto and the Sentinels.
The animated series and the one-shot Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends comic book (which adapted an episode for print) are not considered part of standard Marvel Universe continuity. However, the 2006 one-shot comic Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends (August 2006) features an in-continuity story, "Opposites Attack!", in which the three superheroes work as a short-lived team. This story takes place shortly after the up-and-coming hero Firestar becomes a founding member of the New Warriors.
Firestar mini-series
Firestar's first in-continuity comic book appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985). She next appeared in her own mini-series, which presented her definitive, in-continuity origin. The Firestar four issue mini-series depicts events both before and after Firestar's appearance in Uncanny X-Men #193, showing her development from a shy, insecure girl afraid of her developing powers to a confident young woman capable of easily defeating Emma Frost.
The mini-series also established that Firestar's powers were microwave-based, rather than the more common fire-generation power that her animated counterpart displayed. The comic-book Firestar essentially harnesses ambient microwave radiation from her environment; this makes her powers far stronger in an environment such as space, where the concentration of microwaves is much greater than within a planetary atmosphere.
Established character After her initial miniseries, the character appeared in a five-part serialized story in issues #82–87 of the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents. She subsequently joined the New Warriors, as a regular character in Avengers, and the informal all-female team "Marvel Divas".
After the special Firestar one-shot issue (April 2010), Firestar returned to full-time superheroics as a character in the short-lived comic series Young Allies. Firestar appears as a main character in the I Am an Avenger comic book mini-series.
Firestar was one of the feature characters in the 2011 six-issue limited series Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt.
At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Firestar was announced "to take her place as a major X-Men character for the first time" starring in the new comic book Amazing X-Men in November 2013.
Firestar played prominent role in the 2023 "Fall of X" storyline. At the storyline's inception, Firestar is announced as a full member of the main X-Men team for the first time following a reader vote. During the course of the story, she selflessly plays a double agent role in the villainous organization Orchis, allowing the world and her teammates to believe she has betrayed mutantkind, on instructions from Jean Grey.
Fictional character biography
Hellions A lonely girl raised by her widowed father Bartholomew and paternal grandmother, Angelica Jones discovered that she possessed mutant powers. After her grandmother's death by heart failure and her revelation that she was a mutant, her father sent Angelica to the Massachusetts Academy.Firestar #1 (March 1986) The Hellfire Club's original White Queen Emma Frost began training Angelica in the use of her powers for the Hellfire Club's team of young mutants. She was never sent on field missions with the other Hellions, however, because of her lack of control over her lethal powers and because Frost wished to instill cruelty and callousness in Firestar's personality, and befriending other young mutants would work against that goal. Frost manipulated Angelica into perceiving her as a loving mother figure, unaware that Frost was secretly grooming her to be a potential assassin and bodyguard. Angelica did meet the New Mutants at a Massachusetts Academy dance and, with Frost's telepathic prompting, formed a crush on Cannonball.Firestar #2 (April 1986)
Firestar was later emotionally manipulated by Empath, and accompanied the Hellions Thunderbird, Empath and Roulette on a mission against the X-Men, in which Thunderbird sought revenge on Xavier, thinking him responsible for his brother John's death. Angelica felt terrible guilt over the incident once she was free of Empath's power, however. Professor Xavier offered her a place at the Xavier School, but although she declined out of loyalty to the White Queen, she was touched and pleased by the offer.Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985)
While a student of the Massachusetts Academy, Angelica had Hellfire mercenary Randall Chase assigned to her as a bodyguard. Growing close to Angelica, Randall eventually began to suspect the White Queen's true motives and was to be terminated. He escaped, mortally wounded, and managed to warn Angelica of Frost's duplicity just before he died. In retaliation, Jones attacked and defeated the White Queen, and decimated the hidden training complex beneath Frost's Massachusetts Academy. Afterwards, she returned to living with her father (as she was still a minor at the time) but kept the unique costume and identity of Firestar given to her by Frost.Firestar #4 (June 1986)
Firestar is one of the few surviving original Hellions after most members were murdered by Trevor Fitzroy.Uncanny X-Men #281 (October 1991) She, Warpath and Empath were the only members of the team not present during the massacre. Firestar and Warpath (accompanied by Warpath's X-Force teammate and Firestar's former love interest Cannonball), travelled to Nova Roma in Brazil to inform Empath and former New Mutant Magma of their teammates' deaths. The trio then went to the Massachusetts Academy where they removed the few remaining files on record of the Hellions' existence.The New Warriors #31 (January 1993)
New Warriors Shortly after her resignation from the Massachusetts Academy, Firestar became a founding member of the New Warriors when she was invited (or rather blackmailed) by Night Thrasher into joining, and helped them battle Terrax.The New Warriors #1 (July 1990) She also aided Night Thrasher against Midnight's Fire.The New Warriors #2 (August 1990) She also helped Thor defeat the Juggernaut alongside the New Warriors.Thor #411-412 (December 1989) The team battled the Mad Thinker and Primus,The New Warriors #3 (September 1990) and then battled Psionex.The New Warriors #4 (October 1990)
Firestar falls in love and became engaged to teammate Vance Astrovik (also known as Justice, formerly Marvel Boy).The New Warriors #75 (September 1996) She later discovered that using her microwave powers could eventually render her infertile.The New Warriors #64 (October 1995)
During a revenge scheme by a gang of thugs called the Poison Memories, Firestar's father was shot in the chest.The New Warriors #37 (July 1993) He nearly died but recovered.The New Warriors #43 (January 1994) Firestar also faced a time without Vance, as he had to serve a prison term for the involuntary death of his own father.The New Warriors #20-26 (February - August 1992)
Firestar also provided vital assistance in helping Spider-Man tackle Carnage during "Maximum Carnage", when he was also forced to ally himself with Venom, Black Cat and Morbius to stop Carnage's reign of slaughter. Her microwave power proved the only weapon truly effective against Carnage following his 'upgrade'—his vulnerability to sonics having been weakened—but she still refused to kill Carnage, even to stop his murders.The Spectacular Spider-Man #202 (July 1993) For a time, she was briefly attracted to Spider-Man's clone, Ben Reilly, when he joined the New Warriors under the identity of the Scarlet Spider,The New Warriors #62 (August 1995) but their relationship never went beyond an interest due to Firestar's engagement to Justice and Reilly's secrecy causing him to avoid revealing his identity.
Avengers Firestar and Justice eventually left the New Warriors together. Some time later, the two joined the Avengers after an alternate-universe adventure and a struggle against Morgan le Fay.The Avengers (vol. 3) #1-3 (February - April 1998)
During this period, Hank Pym determined that the cause of her potential infertility was that her natural immunity to the effects of her own powers (which all mutants possess) had never fully developed. He designed a costume for her that would siphon off the excess radiation, give her natural immunity the opportunity to manifest fully and heal the damage already done.The Avengers (vol. 3) #12 (January 1999) After a distinguished tenure with the Avengers, Firestar and Justice leave the group. She also made a tentative peace with Emma Frost during this time.Generation X #59 (January 2000)
Angelica started college and enjoyed a "normal life",Nova (vol. 4) #20 (February 2009) but she abandoned wedding preparations, leaving Vance with all of the responsibility. When Vance confronted her about this, she confessed that she needed more life experience before settling into married life. Vance left in anger and presumably ended their engagement.I ♥ Marvel: Masked Intentions one-shot (May 2006)
Marvel Divas