Firestar

History

Origin

Bart Jones was a hard working employee of the nuclear industry, a job that kept him and his family moving around the country.  Although he was widowed, he had help from his elderly mother to raise his 13 year old daughter Angelica.  The two would often disagree over how to treat Angelica, with her "Nana" trying to raise her spirits & convince her that she was special, and her "Daddy" trying to be more realistic.  Moving around the country had been difficult on Nana's health and Angelica's ability to make friends.  

After their last move, Angel found it more difficult than ever to make new friends.  The local girls were initially spiteful, and became exceptionally jealous when the most popular boy in school began to show a romantic interest in Angel.  Their taunting in the school cafeteria caused her to subconsciously over-heat her carton of chocolate milk, which subsequently exploded over a teacher and landed her in detention.  They later destroyed her entry for the school's ice-sculpting competition, the anger and pain of which caused Angel's powers to melt all the other entries.  Terrified, she ran to a public telephone to try and speak to her Nana.  However, Angel panicked when Nana didn't answer the phone, causing the telephone to melt in her hands.  Scared, hurt and confused Angelica ran home to discover an ambulance there.  It transpired that on the day that Angelica's mutant powers manifested, her Nana had passed away from a heart attack.

Angelica has kept her powers a secret, for fear of being further outcast in a society that lived in fear of dangerous mutants.  She chose to reveal her secret to her father after her Nana's funeral.  In the snow covered cemetery Bart Jones refused to listen to his daughter's claims that she was "special" until she began to glow and the snow around her began to melt.  Her father was just a wokring class man who had nothing to do with the political implications of mutants in society, but he was scared of what his little girl was growing into.

Training, Tragedy & Treachery

Unknown to Angelica, there were two mutant specialists in North America who were constantly on the look-out for new mutants to train.  One was Professor Charles Xavier who was currently training the New Mutants, and the other was Emma Frost, White Queen of the Hellfire Club and mentor to the Hellions.  Both of the telepathic head-teachers had mutant detecting machinery which traced Angelica's mutant signature when her powers first manifested.  However, by the time that Professor X arrived at the Jones family home he realised that he was too late; Angelica's father had already agreed that she was to attend the White Queen's prestigious Massachusetts Academy.

Emma Frost Observes Firestar's Training

The White Queen had manipulated Angelica's fear of her own mutant powers, to the point that Angel wouldn't associate with any of the 'normal' students at the Academy.  Unlike the Hellions, Angelica was not involved in any group training sessions, which resulted in a combination of intrigue and contempt from her peers.  While Thunderbird attempted to invite her to activities, Empath & Roulette would taunt and bully her with their powers.  She had become a social outcast, and remained awkwardly shy and clumsy during the school dance.  Emma Frost had invited the New Mutants to the Massachusetts Academy for a formal dance, and with a little telepathic coercion (and some friendly cajoling from Roberto DaCosta) Sam Guthrie asked Angelica to dance.  Neither one of them was confident enough to dance so they went for a walk outside.  In the night air Sam and Angel shared a brief kiss, before Emma Frost telepathically interrupted the moment.  She scolded Angelica for endangering Sam's life, causing Angel to run away.  She headed for the stables, but everything suddenly burst into flames.  Despite pulling Butter Rum out of the barn, the horse immediately lost all strength and died in front of Angelica.  Distraught that her powers had killed one of the few living beings she cared for, Angelica ran away into the woods where Emma Frost found & comforted her.

Some time later Ms Frost arranged for Angelica to go home for a visit.  Angel was thrilled at the prospect of going home, and Randall accompanied her for the trip.  Her father met them at the airport, but the atmosphere between them was tense.  As soon as she arrived home Angel scooped up her cat Pum'kin for a cuddle, but her father verbally lashed out at her and snatched the cat away.  He didn't trust her powers, and feared that she would burst into flames at any moment.  This tension caused a great rift between father and daughter.  As such, the visit was cut short and Randall made arrangements to fly back to Massachusetts the next day.  At the airport, Randall was held back by his fellows Hellfire Club henchmen while other under-cover operatives incited anti-mutant violence against Angelica and her father.  Confused and scared, Angelica lashed out at the henchman who had been kicking her father.  Under extreme circumstances, she had finally used her powers against another human being.

Angelica had no idea that the White Queen had manipulated all of these events in order to strengthen her and turn her into an assassin.  However, despite Emma Frost's best efforts to keep her away from the Hellions, Angelica did have one brief adventure without adult supervision.  In his grief over the loss of his brother, Thunderbird blamed Professor X for the death of John Proudstar.  Therefore he assembled the Hellions to attack the X-Men.  Empath emotionally manipulated Firestar into joining their cause, and she successfully held her own against the more experienced mutants.  However, the emissions from Angelica's microwave powers weakened Empath's control over her, and as such her returned to bullying her where and whenever he could.  

As such, Angelica remained a social outcast within the Academy, and estranged from her family.  The only people who were friendly to her were Randall and Ms Frost.  However, Randall's suspicions about the White Queen ultimately cost him his life.  He discovered the truth about the Hellfire Club's plans for Angelica; that she was being groomed into an assassin.  With a combination of hallucinations induced by the gold bracelet Emma Frost had given her, and meticulously planned tragic events such as the fire in the stables & the riot at the airport, Emma Frost had ensured that Angelica wouldn't trust anyone but her.  Frost had already begun to insinuate that she as the victim of a murderous plot by someone known as the Black Queen.  This was all part of her plot to have Angelica assassinate Selene.  However,  Randall's thoughts were unguarded, which were evidence enough for a telepath like the White Queen.  He was kidnapped and beaten by other Hellfire Club guards, while Emma Frost told Angelica that he had died.  Randall escaped, but was shot as he fled back to the Academy.  

The White Queen's Defeat

It was only by chance that Randall reached Angelica's room.  As he lay dying in Angelica's arms, he revealed all he knew of Frost's plans and how Angel had been lied to during all the years she had attended the Academy.  

Enraged, and in full control of her powers, Angelica went after Emma Frost.  She successfully defeated all the Hellfire Club guards, and battled through Emma Frost's version of the Danger Room with ease.  Her fiery onslaught left the White Queen exhausted and unable to focus enough strength to fire a protective mind-blast.  Since she was left powerless against Angelica she agreed to leave Angel alone and not to pursue any vengeance against her friends of family in the future either.  A promise that was reinforced by Sebastian Shaw's anger at the time and money which had been wasted in training Angel.

For the first time in her life Angelica Jones was a confident young woman, who had full control of her powers.  She returned home to her father, Bart, and assumed a normal school life.

New Warrior

New Warriors

Angelica's happy and quiet life was interrupted by a mysterious telephone call.  The voice on the other end threatened to reveal her true identity if she did not comply with their demands.  Angered at the attempt to blackmail her, Angelica donned the Firestar outfit which Emma Frost had created for her and flew out to confront whoever it was who had threatened her.  She discovered three young men waiting on the rooftop, but in her anger she didn't wait to hear what they had to say.  Her attack was a warning blast, which burnt through a thick brick wall and impressed (and scared) both  Nova &  Marvel Boy.  However, it was  Night Thrasher who had made the telephone call and subsequently explained his drastic actions.

Thrash had wanted to assemble the four of them together to create a team of young heroes.  Together they would battle all the villains that the larger groups didn't have time for; to fill the gaps left by the Avengers or Fantastic Four.  However, at the same time a local construction site had dug up the remains of Terrax.  As the former herald of Galactus began to attack, the young heroes dived into help. Firestar's microwave blasts managed to hurt Terrax long enough for the others to devise a plan to stop him.  Combined with the strength and powers of Namorita and Speedball, the group of young heroes defeated Terrax.  The new team was dubbed the New Warriors by the local press, and Angelica agreed to help them.

Love & Power

As Firestar, Angelica began to worry about her powers.  Unlike the Human Torch, she was more than just a fire creator and manipulator; she absorbed and re-directed microwave emissions.  She rarely let herself lose control, for fear that she would hurt someone or the environment around her.  It seemed that the emotional manipulation during her years at the Massachusetts Academy still had an effect on her.

Angelica slowly began to make new friends with her fellow New Warriors, as it was a rare chance for her to meet, train and associate with other powered beings of the same age.  She became attracted to Vance "Marvel Boy" Astrovik and soon the two began a young romance.  However, their relationship was temporarily put on hold due to tragic events in Vance's home life.  After years of violent abuse at the hands of his father, Vance lashed out telekinetically to protect himself.  Unfortunately the teke blast critically wounded his father, who soon died from his injuries.  Vance handed himself in to the police, and was sentenced to prison.  As the armoured vehicle took Vance to The Vault, the other Warriors attacked and attempted to free him.  Gradually the foray died down and Vance explained to the others that he wanted to do the right thing; the right thing by the law, by his conscious, for mutant rights, and for the memory of his father.  The armed guards agreed to give Vance a few minutes alone with Angelica to say goodbye.  During their brief time together Angelica offered her body to Vance and began to cry when he refused her.  She had confessed her love for him and wanted to prove it.  But, as he explained, he loved her so much that he wanted their first time to be something special.  Instead of a stolen moment behind a few trees, he wanted her to enjoy their first sexual experience on their wedding night.

Angelica & Vance

Ghosts of the Past

As a girl in her mid-teens Angelica had lived at the Massachusetts Academy for at least 4 years.  The emotional manipulations of Empath and Emma Frost continued to take their toll on Angelica, and she would take many years more before she truly became comfortable using her powers.  Someone who grew up in the shadow of Emma Frost and the Hellions would continue to have adventures connected to their past.

New Warrior, New Look

With the majority of the Hellions defeated, and after Angelica's speech on morality, the White Queen left her former pupil alone.  The parting was bitter, and it would be the last chance for Angel to see many of the Hellions alive.

Sometime later Cannonball notified Angelica of the tragic events hat led to the deaths of the Hellions.  He and Warpath accompanied Angelica into the dark jungles of South America, searching for their former team-mates Magma & Empath in the ancient city of Nova Roma and tell them the bad news.  There, she realised that something was wrong, and was soon attacked by locals.  She remained reluctant to use her powers, but eventually was forced to use them to a greater degree.  It transpired that Selene had once built the city by kidnapping people from around the world and brainwashing them into believing that they were descended from Ancient Romans.  When that spell began to fade, Empath began to use his own manipulating powers to keep the people there.  However, Firestar's emissions countered Empath's powers, and therefore weakened his grip over Nova Roma and over Magma.  Although his motives weren't malicious, Empath acknowledged that what he had done was wrong and remained in the jungle to help re-integrate the population of Nova Roma into modern day society.  Firestar returned to New York, while Cannonball and Warpath returned to X-Force.

Yet as former Hellions, Firestar, Empath and Magma were soon targeted again by another manipulating super villain.

Justice had been released from prison, but instead of returning to the New Warriors he went into the employment of Shinobi Shaw, son and heir of Sebastian Shaw.  On the surface it looked as if Vance had betrayed the Warriors, but in secret he was acting as their informant.  Shinobi Shaw had ambitions to become a member of the Upstarts, a team of young, sadistic and rich super humans who were awarded points according to various games devised by the Gamesmaster.  The latest 'game' was to collect as many former members of the Hellions and New Mutants.  Shinobi intended to use Vance's connection to Angelica in order to deliver her to Gamesmaster.  However, Gamesmaster changed the rules and took both Firestar & Justice from Shaw.  Although X-Force and the New Warriors teamed up to save their friends, Gamesmaster telepathically forced Firestar, Justice, Cannonball, Boomer, Karma & Moonstar to fight their friends.

Ultimately all the members of both teams were defeated by a single blast from telepathically controlled  Siena Blaze.  They were subsequently saved by the intervention and quick-thinking of  Husk, who wagered that the two teams would provide Gamesmaster greater entertainment in the future after they had all mastered their powers.

New Warrior To Avenger

Firestar continued to battle alongside the New Warriors for many years.  Her adventures took her through time, into space, and back to Earth on various occasions.  Ultimately when the team disbanded, Angelica and Vance stayed together as a couple.  His ambition had always been to join the  Avengers, and together they managed to make his dream come true.  The rest of the Avengers had been defeated by  Whirlwind, but Justice & Firestar had not been a part of the plan to take down the Avengers, and therefore they had the chance to defeat the villain, save the team and secure their positions.

New Avenger

However, Angelica was faced with the terrible news that her own mutant powers were slowly destroying her own body.  Unlike most other mutants, Angelica's X-Gene had not fully developed the ability to protect herself from her own powers.  Therefore by using microwave radiation, her own body was slowly becoming infertile due to radiation exposure.  When she confessed her problems to the rest of the team, it was the scientific genius of Dr Hank Pym who found a way for Firestar to use her powers to the best of her ability without destroying herself in the process.  He created a new suit for her to wear, which would protect her, siphon off excessive radiation and even start to repair the damage that had already been done.  Therefore Firestar could finally use her powers to their fullest without any fear of repercussions.

Life After The Avengers

Firestar & Justice had a successful time with the Avengers.  They went under-cover, faced an army of Ultron robots, and even helped defeat Kang the Conqueror from taking over the Earth.  Together they had joined the Avengers, and together they left the Avengers in order to return to the New Warriors.  They had grown together, and been in love for the last couple of years, and it was time to get married.

Retirement

They left the world of super heroics, and Angelica enrolled in college.  She began to spend less time on the wedding preparations, eventually leaving everything for Vance to organise.  He grew suspicious of her actions, and when pressed Angelica confessed that she had been having second thoughts.  The whole of her adult life had been dedicated to being a super hero, and she wanted to experience more of a 'normal' life before she committed herself body & soul to marriage.  However, Vance was deeply offended and in a fit of rage stormed out leaving their relationship apparently broken.

Marvel Diva

Powers

Firestar's powers includes the ability to generate, absorb ambient radiation and manipulate it into microwave radiation, fire/plasma blasts, light generation, disruption of electronics and psionic powers and flight.  Her surrounding environment provides differing amounts of radiation for her body to absorb, and therefore she can use her powers to greater effect.  Such instances have been shown during adventures in Space, when she was able to soak up cosmic rays and redirect them with impressive effect.  Even when back on Earth, she is not limited to the amount of radiation she can absorb, however she chooses to use her microwave blasts less offensively for fear of harming the local population and environment.

Firestar's Powers

Her blasts look fiery in nature, but they are in fact intensely burning microwave blasts.  She can focus the blasts, and the spectrum range of the radiation she emits.  Usually she manipulates the radiation causing a target to burst into flame, explode, or melt.  She has the capability to melt thick red-brick walls, as was demonstrated when she first encountered Night Thrasher, Nova and Marvel Boy.

Ultimately by creating enough of a downwards thrust, she can force her body upwards into the air and therefore create the power of flight much in the same way as the Human Torch or Sunfire.  Although she can not match the speed of Nova, she is more agile in flight than Cannonball, and is adept at firing off blasts of fiery radiation with impressive accuracy in mid-flight.

Although she had been manipulated by the White Queen, it was that training to be an assassin which has enabled Firestar to use her powers so expertly.  

Alternate Realities

Earth-3062: Exiles 

Earth-398

Earth-982: MC2

Earth-2149: Zombieverse

Earth-1610: Ultimate

In a twist upon the television series, Firestar joined Iceman and Spider-Man to form the Amazing Friends.  Liz Allen suddenly burst into flame while attending a beach party with her friends Peter Parker, Bobby Drake, Johnny Storm, Kitty Pryde and Mary Jane.  She was shown talking to herself, telling herself not to be a mutant because of her innate fear of them.  She went on to become a being of living flame, and had adventures alongside the X-Men and even became a temporary member of the Fantastic Four. 
 

Television

Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends

Spider-Man's Amazing Friend

Spider-Man was a student who lives with  Iceman & Firestar, his  Amazing Friends.  The three of them have many animated adventures which takes them into space, and through time.  Firestar doesn't commit to any permanent relationships, but has been linked with  Sunfire, Spider-Man, Iceman and  Flash Thompson on different occasions.  She and Iceman used to be members of the X-Men, and were once trapped in the mansion by a psychotic cyborg who blamed her for forming half of his body.  

Unlike the Firestar of Earth-616, this Firestar's powers are purely fire based, exactly the same as Sunfire's.  Also, unlike 'mainstream' Firestar who is shy & insecure, she is extremely feisty and confident.   She can change in and out of her Firestar outfit by radiating a blinding glow, and when in her normal every-day persona of Angelica Jones she bears a striking resembles to that of Mary-Jane Watson (who does not appear in this reality).

This was the first time that Firestar was seen in any media.  Her character was created as a fiery counter to Iceman's powers, at a time when the Human Torch was not available for use.  The animators of the show have subsequently admitted that in order to create Firestar, they would draw her naked form and then add small details such as the flames and her collar.

In the series, Firestar owned a pet dog called Ms Lion.   Ms Lion recently made his comic books debut in Lockjaw & the Pet Avengers.  Although Ms Lion no longer belongs to Firestar (who owned a cat named Pumkin in Earth-616 continuity), he did still retain some distant connection to Spider-Man.

Wolverine and the X-men
Fiestar appeared as one of the future x-men. At first her powers were restrained, but when able to use them she blasted a hole in the wall of the Sentinels' prison, allowing Professor Xavier and Bishop's ragtag team of X-Men to escape.  When she powered-up, her hair would burst into flames.  She was not seen in later episodes.