Firestorm nearly drowns battling Typhoon, who attacks and heavily damages the Concordance Research building. Professor Stein learns his contract will not be renewed by Concordance. Typhoon attacks police officers in Long Island. Ronnie and Cliff fight yet again. Firestorm battles Typhoon over Manhattan.

Firestorm826's Panel-by-Panel Story Summary (Spoiler Alert)

Stunned by massive gale-force blows from Typhoon, Firestorm sinks ever deeper into the ocean depths. Professor Stein, even though it is a critical moment, says he is growing tired of this. He urges Ronnie to pull their shared persona together. Ronnie does not answer…

Before meeting Martin Stein and Firestorm, David Drake was a young marine scientist working for Concordance Research. Injured in an accident at sea, he has been overwhelmed by forces that are beyond the comprehension of humans. The accident has made him something not quite human anymore. He has become a human typhoon…and it has destroyed his life and his mind!

Typhoon churns angrily on the surface above the sinking Firestorm. He beckons out to question where Firestorm and Stein have gone. His angry cries echo in the raging winds from the storm he has created, a mirror image of the churning tempest deep in his soul. The City of New York shudders under the power of the storm winds ravaging through its’ steel and glass landscape. The storm is bad, and it will get worse. Seen through the silhouette of the skyscrapers, Typhoon bellows that Stein can’t hide and he will be ferreted out. The wind roars, and the rain pounds. In the streets below, New York’s millions share a feeling of fear and bewilderment. The voice of Typhoon can be heard, and two citizens stand together listening in the downpour. One says it sounds like someone is shouting in the sky, and his counterpart speculates that it must be some crazy with a loudspeaker up in a helicopter. The darkened sky hides the terrifying truth from their eyes.

Sinking deeper into New York Bay, Ronnie is slowly coming back to consciousness. Rubbing his head, he asks Professor Stein to make a note for them to never do that again, whatever that was. Stein tells him what happened, that Typhoon struck them with the full force of his storm front. The impact caught Firestorm by surprise and resulted in a knockout. Stein explains that whatever animosity Typhoon has for him also extends to Firestorm. Coming to rest on the bottom of the bay amidst debris and junk, Ronnie says Typhoon’s dislike of them is hardly news. As Firestorm then starts to gag on water, Stein reminds him that they are drowning. Quickly bursting back to the surface, Ronnie says that one problem with having atomic restructuring powers is that you can sometimes forget where you are. Looking toward the city skyline, Stein says the storm is now centered over Manhattan, an atmospheric anomaly of the first magnitude. Ronnie sees that the clouds are thickest over midtown, and bets that that is the location where they will find Typhoon. Stein quickly reminds Ronnie that midtown is where Concordance Research is. Flying into the area, Ronnie looks at the evident destruction and tells the Professor that midtown is now where Concordance Research…was.

Typhoon has pounded the Concordance building like a crazy person with a sledge hammer. Firestorm aims a restructuring blast at water molecules above the building, creating a giant umbrella to protect what remains. In the streets below, flooding sweeps through. Although Typhoon has departed for now, the water levels are still slowly rising. Ronnie predicts someone as mad as Typhoon will most assuredly be back. Citizens look a bit restless as the storm drains become blocked. Flying down, Ronnie starts to use nuclear bursts aimed at the drains. Stein warns him not to because the huge amount of heat and water will combine to make a blinding fog of steam. Too late, Ronnie’s error in judgment leads to explosions of steam popping out of manholes and drain covers and makes an already bad situation worse. Stein lectures Ronnie that he’s done nothing but bungle since being summoned. Stein tells Ronnie to act like something other than an overgrown child for once. Ronnie, rubbed a bit raw by the critique, now promises results. With a vow to stop the rain even if it kills him, Ronnie focuses an incredible amount of energy and releases it. A huge explosion of raw power blasts away from Firestorm! Lightning ripples through the night, and the stormy sky is blasted clean.

As the blinding flashes fade away, two figures fall away from the heart of the lightning. With luck, they fall only a short few feet before landing on a soggy roof. It is Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein. Knowing that death was only a matter of a few inches in either direction, Stein asks why Ronnie chose that moment to transform them. Rubbing his right arm that was bruised in the landing, Ronnie says the transformation wasn’t his idea. Ronnie explains to Stein what happened during the time they were fused as Firestorm. Ronnie is relieved that they at least stopped the rain. He asks if the Professor is still mad. Stein replies that he is mad only at himself for taking out his recent frustrations and pressures on Ronnie. Ronnie asks what might have become of Typhoon. Stein looks skyward into the now peaceful clouds, saying he is certain that Typhoon is still out there somewhere, waiting. But waiting…for what?

Morning breaks over Bradley High School, and the students step out of their school bus. Ronnie’s friend Jackson asks if Ronnie is psyched up for tonight’s basketball game. Ronnie, who will be playing for the first time since being reinstated to the team by Coach Mason, says he’s ready to kill. As they walk in, Ronnie looks up at a graying sky and asks Jackson if he thinks it looks like rain. Jackson asks if Ronnie is thinking about his fight with Cliff Carmichael, saying Cliff is a loser that’s not worth it. Nearby, Cliff stands with Doreen Day. Ronnie asks what Cliff is doing with his girl. Cliff tells him “Your girl? Dream on.” As the two rivals confront each other, Cliff tells Ronnie that Doreen has been trying to get him to cancel their “little party” this afternoon. Ronnie retorts that maybe Doreen is worried that Cliff’s looks will get spoiled. Ronnie and Cliff get agitated, and Doreen steps between them. Jackson observantly announces that someone else has arrived – Coach Mason. The Coach barks for Cliff and Ronnie to shake hands and tells everyone to get to their homerooms. Grudgingly shaking hands, Cliff hisses that Ronnie owes him for one pair of broken glasses after the eighth bell rings. Ronnie angrily whispers back that he’ll gladly repay him – with interest.

In the battered headquarters of Concordance Research, clean-up efforts are underway. Martin Stein mops the floor of his lab office and thinks of his relief that the police have accepted his innocence in the death of Captain Hammer. A voice calls to Stein, interrupting his thoughts. Quentin Quale, Stein’s project manager, walks in and comments that he’s surprised to find Stein in his lab for a change. With a sense of dread, Stein turns to Quale who reminds him that it is time for contract review. Opening a folder while looking around at the mess, Quale pulls out Stein’s contract. Stein defensively says the damage is certainly not his fault, and that he has worked hard to improve his work attendance and complete assignments on time. Telling him not to beg, Quale announces that Stein’s contract will not be renewed. With a cruel finality, he rips the contract in half. Stepping away, Quale says that Stein will be retained on a week-to-week basis until January. Harry Carew steps in to console Stein. He offers to go with Stein to talk, but Stein tells him there’s no point in talking. He picks up the tattered contract and puts it in his desk drawer. He recalls to Carew that his reputation was seriously damaged after the accident at the Hudson Nuclear Facility and how Concordance was the only company that would hire him. He now has nowhere else to go. In the drawer of Stein’s desk lies the ominous presence of a Scotch bottle.

Children play happily in the yards and streets of quiet Riverhead, Long Island. Veterans Bill loans in the aftermath of World War II allowed for the creation of many new communities in the New York City suburbs. Riverhead was one of them, and people have been coming to this community for thirty years to raise their families. People just like David Drake and his wife.

A boy and a girl play in their Riverhead driveway with a beach ball. The ball starts to bounce away toward the street, and the boy gives chase while telling his playmate that his father gave him the ball. A man walking by stops the ball with his foot. The stranger wears a long trenchcoat, and a hat partially obscures the strange bluish color of his face. He picks up the ball as the boy approaches and asks for it back. The stranger asks if the ball was a gift from the boy’s father. Stepping to the fence next to the stranger, another man introduces himself as the boy’s step-father and asks for the ball. The stranger returns it and walks away. Handing the ball back to the boy, his step-father warns him not to talk to strangers as the city just has too many weirdos.

An hour later and twelve miles away, the stranger stands alone along the edge of a bridge. A police car is passing by. The officers look at the stranger and assume he is a suicidal jumper. They pull to a stop and quickly grab the man, telling him that they have a friend he should meet at Bellevue. In a burst of rage, the man throws the two officers away from him. Angrily yelling that their kind has done enough, the threatening form of Typhoon now stands before them! He says he has lost his wife, his children, and now cannot find the man who helped destroy him. He tells of knowing nothing but anguish for months. Getting back on their feet, the officers draw their weapons and fire. Telling them they don’t know the meaning of the word mad, Typhoon raises his arm to summon the power of the storm. With a raging splash, an angry wave sweeps onto the bridge and crushes the officers into the side of their patrol car. Typhoon yells to an unseen Martin Stein, bellowing that he could never forget the man who ruined him. Rising into the air on a swirling whirlpool of energy, Typhoon says he could never forget the man who stole his children, who made him into a monster with nothing left but broken dreams. Promising that the lull is over through his clenched teeth, Typhoon yells that he is now coming for Martin Stein!

The school day has ended at Bradley High. Two bitter rivals confront each other as their friends and fellow students look on. Cliff promises to make this quick, and Ronnie dismisses his big talk. He promises to permanently close Cliff’s yap. The two take off their shirts in preparation. Jackson tells Ronnie that fighting is first-class stupid, and Ronnie asks him to back him up or split. In the distance behind them, a storm cloud is rising above the city. Cliff points a warning and tells Ronnie to look who is coming. It is a sneaky diversion, and Ronnie looks away only to be struck across the jaw by Cliff’s fist. Pronouncing him a jerk and lemon-head for falling for the gag, Cliff then gets hit with a blow from Ronnie. A twinge of pain races through Ronnie’s arm, which is still aching from the rooftop landing the night before. A jab from Cliff connects, and Ronnie is surprised at Cliff’s strength and has to keep his guard up. Doreen runs in and yells to Ronnie to stop fighting now. Cliff takes advantage and lands a heavy punch on Ronnie’s jaw. Doreen is stopped in her tracks and softly calls to Ronnie as he falls. Slumping to the ground against a basketball net pole, Ronnie confusedly mumbles that he’ll be with Doreen in a minute as soon as everything stops spinning. Doreen reaches for him, apologizing and seeing that Cliff has hurt him. Nearby, Cliff stands in disbelief that he actually did it, he actually beat Ronnie Raymond. Jackson and Doreen support the still-groggy Ronnie under his arms and help to get him to his feet. Cliff, ever the class act, tells Doreen that maybe she’ll now think twice about dating such a wimp. Doreen pokes him in the gut and tells him not to press his luck. A friend of Cliff tells him that all those weeks of working out have paid off. Cliff watches as Ronnie is helped away. He asks himself, if he just won, why does he feel like the loser?

The Emerald Shamrock is a shady bar on a side street not far from Concordance Research. Martin Stein sits at the bar, drink in hand. Harry Carew had gone out looking for him and sits down beside him, telling him that people shouldn’t drink alone. He tells Stein that he’s had some rotten breaks, that he’s depressed, but shouldn’t fall to pieces. Stein, clearly a bit drunk and slurring his words, claims he’s just having a little pick-me-up. Stepping to the bar next to Stein, a soaking wet man asks the bartender for a stiff drink. Pointing to the outside, the man says it’s like a flood out there. The word “flood” catches Stein’s ear. He looks out at the downpour knowing what the unexpected flooding must mean. He starts to leave and Carew asks him not to run off, suggesting that the two talk things over. Stein steps out of the bar and into the storm, berating himself for the foolishness of drinking while Typhoon, his poor friend David Drake, was still on the loose. He reminds himself of his responsibilities to both Ronnie and their shared persona of Firestorm, and to himself. Knowing that confronting Typhoon will be dangerous, Stein wonders what effect Ronnie’s massive nuclear outburst will have had on Firestorm’s powers. Thinking that Typhoon is their responsibility, Stein decides he has no choice but to summon Ronnie.

In his upper West Side Manhattan apartment, Ronnie sits on his couch as Doreen treats his injuries from the fight with Cliff. Jackson asks if he’ll be ready for the game later tonight. Doreen says to forget the game, but Ronnie says all he needs is some rest and a week’s supply of anti-humiliation pills. Jackson reminds Doreen that Stella is waiting for them at the Bun ‘n’ Bun restaurant. Doreen has promised to help Stella get a job there. Doreen tells Ronnie to take care of his bruised eye. Jackson reminds Ronnie to be ready at 7:00 pm sharp for the game. As his friends leave, Ronnie wonders if the secret to winning women is to get punched out and lose a fight. A familiar tingle of energy starts to seep through Ronnie, and his thoughts are interrupted by more serious matters demanding the attention of…Firestorm!

The Nuclear Man appears flying through a driving rain. Stein hopes he hasn’t disturbed Ronnie’s afternoon, pointing out that their problem has returned. Ronnie guesses quickly that Typhoon is back. Perceiving a bad feeling within Firestorm, Ronnie says he doesn’t feel too hot. Stein takes fault for that feeling and has to confess that he has fallen off the wagon only to land with a resounding crash. Ronnie suggests that they both sober up – and fast. Looking down, he sees that Typhoon has returned with a vengeance as heavy rain and floods pound Manhattan. The rain feels like a thousand fists on Firestorm’s body, making it hard to see, hear, or even move. Stein urges Ronnie to keep trying. Ronnie tells Stein that he was beaten up once today, and he’ll be damned if he is going to let it happen again!

The sky roars like an angry beast. Black clouds ripple and churn. Elemental forces have been channeled to serve one human’s rage. In its heart it was once a man, but this thing is a man no longer. David Drake, overcome by his emotions, has lost himself to the storm. He has become the storm. The storm’s rage is his rage, and its’ heart is his heart. Now and forevermore, he is Typhoon. And now, Typhoon howls!

Horrified people look on in disbelief at the spectacle as one storm flies up to meet another. Stein warns Ronnie to be careful as they may not survive another energy blast like last night. Flying with outstretched arms with focused determination, Ronnie tells the Professor that right now, he just doesn’t care. An atomic ring of energy flies up to the angered face of Typhoon and explodes in a cataclysm of nuclear energy! A massive burst of light flashes through the sky above Manhattan!

From out of the clouds, Firestorm falls. Ronnie realizes…they are still alive! Stein reminds him not for long in their present trajectory. Ronnie quickly uses a restructuring burst aimed at the ground and creates a giant mattress to cushion and stop their fall. Stein cannot yet grasp with understanding how Firestorm used more energy that last night and has not only survived, but apparently triumphed! The storm is over, and the clouds are slowly breaking over the city. Typhoon is gone! Stein wonders where the energy could possibly have come from. As Firestorm stands amidst the citizens in the receding flood waters, Ronnie tells Stein to never look a gift nuclear burst in the mouth. Stein tells Ronnie to go ahead and joke if he must, but still he wonders…

It is evening at Bradley High School, with just fifteen minutes until game time. Jackson stands with Coach Mason. The Coach tells Jackson that Ronnie is a no show, and wonders why he let Jackson talk him into reinstating Ronnie to the team. The Coach tells Jackson that he knows Ronnie has it hard with his father working all the time and his mother passed away. Pronouncing that Raymond has just one last chance, he says he has a basketball team to run and not a lonely hearts club.

Walking in, Ronnie greets Coach Mason and Jackson. They both smile at Ronnie and the Coach takes notice of the shiner on Ronnie’s eye. He reminds Ronnie of the warning about fighting. Ronnie says he’s ready to play and asks if he’s in or not. Coach Mason tells Ronnie he’s in, and tells him to suit up. The game starts in just ten minutes! Walking away, Coach Mason tells Ronnie that if he does good, he’ll write off all the garbage that’s happened this past year. If Ronnie jerks around, he’s finished. As Ronnie breathes a sigh of relief, he comments to Jackson that the Coach doesn’t make things easy. Jackson reminds him that making things easy is not the Coach’s job and asks how it feels for Ronnie to be back on the team. The two friends trade a high-five and Ronnie happily says it feels great! They jog toward the waiting court, and Jackson asks if Ronnie is still burned about Carmichael the creep. Ronnie says he has done all the brawling he wants to do. He’s learning that being on the right side of a fight is a heck of a lot harder than he thought. Pronouncing basketball as being much simpler, he tells Jackson it’s time to go win the game! Jackson joyfully agrees saying “Way to go, Ronnie! Way to go!”