View source for Firebrand (Marvel Comics)

{{Short description|Fictional character in comics by Marvel Comics}}
{{For|other characters with this name|Firebrand (disambiguation){{!}}Firebrand}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|image=Firebrand 001.jpg
|caption=The Gary Gilbert incarnation of Firebrand as depicted in ''Iron Manual Mark 3'' #1 (April 2010).
|character_name=Firebrand
|real_name=*Gary Gilbert
*Russell Broxtel
*Richard Dennison
*Amanda
*Erikson Hades
|publisher=Marvel Comics
|debut=''[[Iron Man (comic book)|Iron Man]]'' #27 (July 1970)
|creators=[[Archie Goodwin (comics)|Archie Goodwin]] (writer)<br>[[Don Heck]] (artist)
|alliances=
|aliases=
|powers=[[Powered armor]] grants:<br>Superhuman strength<br>Flight via flying jets<br>Thermal blasts via flamethrowers<br>Resistance to fire
}}
'''Firebrand''' is the name of several <!--Do not add "fictional" as it is tautological; supervillains (and characters in general) are by definition implied to be fictionalized to some extent.-->[[supervillain|supervillains]] appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]]. The first and most prominent, '''Gary Gilbert''', is an enforcer for corrupt [[industrialist]] [[Justin Hammer]] and a former activist who turned to violence after believing peaceful protest produced no results.

==Publication history==
The Gary Gilbert incarnation of Firebrand first appeared in ''[[Iron Man (comic book)|Iron Man]]'' #27 (July 1970), and was created by [[Archie Goodwin (comics)|Archie Goodwin]] and [[Don Heck]].<ref name=Chronicles>{{cite book |last1=Sacks |first1=Jason |last2=Dallas |first2=Keith |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490564 |page=27}}</ref>

The Russell Broxtel incarnation of Firebrand first appeared in ''[[Web of Spider-Man]]'' #77 (April 1991), and was created by Goodwin and Heck.

The Richard Dennison incarnation of Firebrand first appeared in ''Iron Man'' (vol. 3) #4 (March 1998), and was created by [[Kurt Busiek]] and [[Sean Chen (artist)|Sean Chen]].

The Amanda incarnation of Firebrand first appeared in ''Invincible Iron Man'' #513 (February 2012), and was created by [[Matt Fraction]] and [[Salvador Larroca]].

The sixth unnamed incarnation of Firebrand made his sole appearance in ''[[Deadpool]]'' (vol. 5) #27 (April 2014), and was created by [[Fabian Nicieza]] and Scott Hepburn.

The Erikson Hades incarnation of Firebrand first appeared in ''[[Great Lakes Avengers]]'' #1 (October 2016), and was created by Zac Gorman and Will Robson.

==Fictional character biography==
===Gary Gilbert===
Gary Gilbert was born in [[Detroit, Michigan]]. A superpowered enforcer for corrupt [[industrialist]] [[Justin Hammer]], as Firebrand he is a former radical activist saboteur who turns to violence after believing peaceful protest produced no results.<ref>''Iron Man'' #27</ref> Firebrand's "clenched fist" logo on his chest recalls the [[Black Power]] movement.<ref name=Chronicles/>

In his first appearance in ''Iron Man'' #27 (July 1970), Firebrand describes his experiences demonstrating for the [[civil rights movement]] in a speech to Iron Man:

{{blockquote|"I'm just an all-American boy, Iron Man, one of those wide-eyed innocents who started out to make the world a better place. I sat in for Civil Rights, marched for peace, demonstrated on campus, and got chased by vicious dogs, spat on by bigots, beat on by "patriots", choked by tear gas, and blinded by mace until I finally caught on. This country doesn't want to be changed! The only way to build anything decent is to tear down what's here and start over."}}

While the story includes some positive messages about the civil rights movement, Firebrand is presented as a villain, because he sets himself outside of the existing political structure, and is willing to let innocents die to further his political and social aims. In his article "Everyday Heroism in Superhero Narratives", Michael Goodrum writes, "Having pursued tactics of accommodation without result, he turns to confrontation, asserting that there is nothing of value left in the system if it treats peaceful reformers with violence — essentially laying bare the coercive nature of power. It is Firebrand's absolutism that marks him as a villain in terms of the narrative."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goodrum |first1=Michael |editor1-last=Wendt |editor1-first=Simon |title=Extraordinary Ordinariness: Everyday Heroism in the United States, Germany, and Britain, 1800-2015 |publisher=Campus Verlag |isbn=9783593506173 |pages=260–262 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FO14DQAAQBAJ&q=firebrand |access-date=14 September 2020 |chapter=It Must Have Been Cold There in My Shadow: Everyday Heroism in Superhero Narratives|date=10 November 2016 }}</ref>

Firebrand accidentally killed his own father.<ref>''Iron Man'' #45-48</ref> He also won the [[Black Lama]]'s "War of the Supervillains".<ref name="Iron Man #48">''Iron Man'' #48</ref> He then fell to alcoholism and gave up political activism only to work for other villains because he "needed the work".<ref name="Iron Man #60">''Iron Man'' #60</ref>  He later gave up his costumed identity and became a "supervillain agent", brokering employment for other costumed villains.<ref name="Iron Man #48"/><ref name="Iron Man #60"/>

When news of the [[Scourge of the Underworld]]'s initial wave of supervillain murders spread among the criminal community, Gilbert took it upon himself to gather several costumed criminals for a meeting to determine what should be done about this menace. The meeting, held at an abandoned tavern in Medina County, Ohio, known among the criminal underworld as "The Bar With No Name", turned out to be a massacre, as Scourge infiltrated the event disguised as a bartender; a few minutes into the meeting, Scourge slaughtered every criminal present, including Gilbert, with machine gun fire.<ref>{{cite comic|writer = [[Mark Gruenwald]]|penciller = [[Paul Neary]]|inker = [[Dennis Janke]]|story = Overkill|title = [[Captain America]]|volume = |issue = #319|date = July 1986|publisher = Marvel Comics}}</ref>

Firebrand was later among seventeen of the criminals murdered by the Scourge, who were resurrected by [[The Hood|Hood]] using the power of [[Dormammu]] as part of a squad assembled to eliminate the [[Punisher]].<ref>''Punisher'' vol. 7 #5</ref> After the Punisher is captured, he is present at the ritual where the Hood intends to resurrect the Punisher's family. [[Microchip (comics)|Microchip]] shoots [[G. W. Bridge]] in the head, which activates the ritual using Bridge's life force to resurrect Microchip and Punisher's families. The Punisher refuses to accept this, and forces Firebrand to burn his family alive, and then Punisher shoots Firebrand in the back of the head.<ref>''Punisher'' vol. 7 #10</ref>

===Russ Broxtel===
After Gilbert's death, a man named Russ Broxtel becomes Firebrand and joins the [[Force of Nature (comics)|Force of Nature]].<ref>''Web of Spider-Man'' #77-78</ref> With Force of Nature, he also battled [[Cloak and Dagger (comics)|Cloak and Dagger]] and the [[New Warriors]].<ref>''The New Warriors'' #29-30</ref> Firebrand was later hired by [[Advanced Idea Mechanics#Splinter groups|R.A.I.D]] and helped into London by [[Fasaud]]. The [[Arabian Knight (comics)|Arabian Knight]] confronted Firebrand who struck back with a wall of flame. Protected by his magic uniform, the Knight stopped Firebrand.<ref>''Captain America'' #413</ref>

After [[Civil War (comic book)|Civil War]], Firebrand returned to the United States. Donning a new suit, he attempted to rob a gas station. He was stopped by Young Avengers members [[Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)|Hawkeye]] and [[Patriot (comics)#Patriot|Patriot]].<ref>''Dark Reign Files'' #1</ref> Firebrand escaped and was later seen along with [[Cobra (Marvel Comics)#Klaus Voorhees|King Cobra]], [[Mauler (comics)|Mauler]] and [[Mister Hyde (Marvel Comics)|Mister Hyde]], who attacked Yellowjacket, Constrictor and other Initiative staff and trainees.<ref>''Avengers: The Initiative'' #13</ref>

===Richard L. "Rick" Dennison===
Richard L. "Rick" Dennison was the third Firebrand. He was an anti-capitalist eco-terrorist who worked with a group called the Flaming Sword, and he fought [[Iron Man]] on several occasions.<ref>''Iron Man'' vol. 3 #4-5</ref> After he recovered, Firebrand returned with the Flaming Sword and kidnapped Osborn Chemical vice-president Charles Standish. He was then confronted by the [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]] and he was defeated.<ref>''Avengers'' vol. 3 #0</ref> Firebrand later appeared as a member of the [[Shadow Council]]'s incarnation of the [[Masters of Evil]].<ref>''Secret Avengers'' #30</ref>

Baron Zemo later recruited Firebrand, [[Flying Tiger (Marvel Comics)|Flying Tiger]] and [[Plantman]] II to join his "New Masters". They later encounter Steve Rogers, the original [[Captain America]], [[Free Spirit (comics)|Free Spirit]] and [[Jack Flag]]. During the fight, Firebrand is defeated by Free Spirit.<ref>''Captain America: Steve Rogers'' #1</ref>

=== Amanda ===
A female Firebrand was recruited by [[Mandarin (character)|Mandarin]] and [[Zeke Stane]] in a plot to dispose of Iron Man.<ref>''Invincible Iron Man'' #513</ref> She is later hired along with [[Living Laser]] and [[Vibro (comics)|Vibro]] by a Colombian drug lord to protect his bunker from Iron Man, who is after an Extremis virus sample; she ends up knocked unconscious by sleeping gas released from [[Iron Man's armor]].<ref>''Iron Man'' vol. 5 #3 (February, 2013)</ref> During the ''[[Infinity (comic book)|Infinity]]'' storyline, Firebrand was among the villains enlisted by [[Spymaster (character)|Spymaster]] to attack Stark Tower. In this appearance, her first name is revealed to be Amanda.<ref>''Infinity: Heist'' #1</ref>

=== Unnamed Firebrand ===
An unnamed incarnation of Firebrand appears in ''[[Deadpool]]'' (vol. 5) #27 as a criminal who Deadpool targets and later kills.<ref>''Deadpool'' (vol. 5) #27 (April 2014). Marvel Comics.</ref>

=== Erikson Hades ===
Erikson Hades is the sixth Firebrand and one of several villains hired by councilman Dick Snerd to attack [[Detroit]].<ref>''Great Lakes Avengers'' #1 (October 2016). Marvel Comics.</ref>

==Powers, abilities, and equipment==
Each incarnation of Firebrand wields armor with wrist-mounted flamethrowers and jets that allow them to fly.

==In other media==
* The Gary Gilbert incarnation of Firebrand appears in the ''[[Iron Man (TV series)|Iron Man]]'' episode "Fire and Rain", voiced by [[Neal McDonough]].<ref name="btva">{{cite web |title=Firebrand Voice - ''Iron Man'' (1994) (TV Show) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/Iron-Man-1994/Firebrand/ |access-date=September 12, 2024 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> This version is the son of late ex-[[Stark Industries]] employee Simon Gilbert, who had stolen money from Tony Stark and started a fire that killed himself, which Gary blamed Stark for. Calling himself Firebrand, Gary attacks power sources and demands a ransom of a million dollars before Iron Man stops him.
* Firebrand appears in the ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'' episode "World on Fire". This version is a fire spirit and the guardian of a Makluan Ring created by the original [[Mandarin (character)|Mandarin]] to test his potential successors' temperance. Anyone who fails the test is possessed by Firebrand and transformed into a lava monster until someone passes.<ref name="World on Fire">{{cite episode|title=World on Fire|series=Iron Man: Armored Adventures|network=NickToons|season=1|number=20|airdate=October 16, 2009}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.marveldatabase.com/Gary_Gilbert_%28Earth-616%29 Firebrand I] at Marvel Wiki
* {{Marvunapp|http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/firebrandbroxtel.htm|Firebrand II}}
* {{Marvunapp|http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/firebranddennison.htm|Firebrand III}}

{{Iron Man}}
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[[Category:Characters created by Archie Goodwin (comics)]]
[[Category:Characters created by Don Heck]]
[[Category:Characters created by Kurt Busiek]]
[[Category:Characters created by Matt Fraction]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1970]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1991]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1998]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 2012]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 2016]]
[[Category:Fictional activists]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from Detroit]]
[[Category:Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics female supervillains]]
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[[Category:Marvel Comics supervillains]]