Gary Gilbert turned
into a radical activist when he believed peaceful protest got him nowhere. He
"used his talent for physics" to construct thermal blasters, flying jets, and
moderately armored exoskeleton to "make his own" revolution! He was the son of Simon Gilbert, who once tried to
take over Stark Industries; Simon was killed when FB and Shellhead did battle (IM
#48). FB was also the dark horse winner of the
so-called "War of the Super-Villains,"
and journeyed to an alternate Earth with Iron Man
where they learned the secret of the
Black Lama, and battled insanity (IM
#s 80-81). He later made a somewhat gratuitous
appearance during Tony's "drunk period," where Gilbert appeared to be pretty
much a drunk himself! (IM #172.)
He eventually abandoned his radical politics and became the business agent for
costumed baddies seeking mercenary work! He was later "offed" by the doers-in
of "lame" villains, the Scourge!A new type of Firebrand appeared in volume
3. Rick Dennison, who
sort of shared Gilbert's politics, was caught in an explosion while sabotaging
an alternative energy plant. His body became charged with an
experimental plasma, and then he -- as well as his
new protective containment tank -- were stolen by the group
Flaming Sword. Dennison became their chief
operative, now fitted with a control harness which enabled FB to project his
contained energy. His sanity in doubt, FB was dispatched of by
IM in a volcanic explosion (IM
vol. 3 #5) but is now on the loose as he
was lucky enough to slip away.
First IM Appearance (FB I): Iron Man #27.
First IM Appearance (FB II): Iron Man vol. 3
#4.
Gary Gilbert as the first Firebrand.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 July 2008 )
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