- This article is about the transmutation project. For other uses of the term "Firestorm" see Firestorm (disambiguation).
- "I saw Martin Stein the night S.T.A.R. Labs went boom. He walked right past me. You see, Stein specialized in transmutation. Molecular transmography. Quantum splicing. Taking two things and making them one."
- —Hartley Rathaway to Cisco Ramon[src]
Fusion, Ignition, Research Experiment and Science of Transmutation Originating RNA and Molecular Structures (F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M.) was a project regarding transmutation. The project was led by Professor Martin Stein at Hudson University. It majorly focused on perfecting transmutation – essentially reworking atoms on a sub-atomic level, by unzipping the atoms and rebuilding them into new elements.[1]
History[]
- "Transmutation, the ability to alter matter on a molecular level."
- —Caitlin Snow to Jason Rusch[src]
Through Hudson University, the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. Project began, led by Professor Martin Stein. An 800-page research paper on the topic was published by Professor Stein, co-written by graduate student Jason Rusch. They were able to successfully transmute sand grains, though Stein didn't believe in "baby steps", thereby skipping to stage three, melting a concrete wall. The project was then threatened to be shutdown by the university. Knowing this, Stein decided to visit a friend in the hopes of securing private backing. However, the following day, the army showed up and confiscated the entire project's research, and Professor Stein couldn't be reached.[1]
It turned out that Martin brought a part of the project physically, presumably to see this potential "private backing" and was on the train ride with it back to Central City. The same night, as the particle accelerator was to be activated, Martin was near S.T.A.R. Labs, still carrying an object in the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. labeled case. Not long after, the inevitable malfunction resulted in an explosion and caused the ground to shake, leading Martin to fall off the stairs of an alleyway next to the lab, losing his grip on the case, causing the case to open on the impact of hitting the ground, unintentionally letting out the object.[2]
The object seemed to have some sort of curious reaction with what was happening around; upon taking a closer look to inspect it, Martin was caught off guard when a wave of particles, including the essence of Ronnie Raymond, hit him, merging all of three of them together.[2][3] The object Martin held during the accident hadn't been seen since then, even when both Martin and Ronnie had resurfaced.[2]
General Wade Eiling and a few of his army men knew about F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. to a great extent; belatedly connecting the dots with what she'd been informed, Caitlin Snow deducted Eiling and his men were in fact "the army" responsible of confiscating everything on the subject matter.[2] The general wanted to get his hands on the project, hoping to use it as an enhancement for soldiers, such as making them able to generate energy blasts barehanded. It was unclear how Eiling came to this conclusion, as prior to S.T.A.R. Labs' accident, F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. was not known for the outcome he envisioned.[4]
When two men, instead of the project itself, happened to be the cause of the most recent nuclear-like explosion, Eiling switched his target and started hunting down The Burning Man; for with whichever one, be it the project or the conjoint meta-human, he would still be able to get the same end result. Eiling somehow was certain that The Man on Fire, even openly referring him as Firestorm, had direct connections with F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M., later getting confirmation from Harrison Wells, who enabled him to capture Stein. The general questioned the professor on both the project and Stein's newfound abilities, as he regarded them equally with intensive interest and felt it could be beneficial with further studies. Although the successful kidnap of Martin Stein was short-lived, Eiling's fixation on acquiring either or both F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. and Firestorm was unlikely to change so long as he lived, and could be expected to make another move if given the chance.[2][4]
Due to Martin Stein's time traveling as part of Rip Hunter's team, Vandal Savage caught wind of the meta-human's existence in 1975 and defected to the Soviet Union with the information regarding it. With Savage's help, Dr. Valentina Vostok's research team was able to start a similar project known as "Operation Svarog", intent on creating a Soviet Firestorm.[5]
Known members[]
Former members[]
- Martin Stein (leader; deceased)
- Jason Rusch
Appearances[]
The Flash[]
Season 1[]
- "Revenge of the Rogues" (mentioned)
- "Crazy for You"
- "The Nuclear Man"
- "Fallout" (mentioned)
Season 5[]
DC's Legends of Tomorrow[]
Season 1[]
Season 2[]
- "Compromised" (mentioned)
Behind the scenes[]
- The introduction to the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. paper that Barry Allen reads for Caitlin Snow uses lorem ipsum, a common filler text.[1]
- The object Martin held during the accident is so far never officially referred as any names by the two known members of the project themselves; however, during Martin's captivity, Eiling's scientist stated "we've been able to isolate the Firestorm matrix inside the subject's cellular structure," indicating Firestorm Matrix is at least what the army called the item that was placed inside the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. case.[4]