The Fury of Firebrand!

A new costumed individual calling himself Firebrand uses his flame powers to break open the lock of a construction site where a new community center is to be built in Bay City. This is to give access to a group of black activists to occupy the construction site in advance of the ground-breaking ceremony scheduled in the morning. Firebrand hoped that the activists would tear down the construction site, but they are more interested in trying non-violent means to protest the construction of the community center first. Firebrand is annoyed with this and flies away, promising he’ll be back later.

Not far away, city councilor Lyle Bradshaw is on the phone with Tony Stark, whose Iron Man Foundation is making a donation to help build the community center. Tony confirms that Iron Man will be present as well as the Eddie March, the retired boxer, who he has selected to run the center.[2] March has been selected partially because he grew up in Bay City. What Tony doesn’t know is that Bradshaw is connected to Bay City Construction and Northside Real Estate, the two companies involved in the construction of the community center and he stands to make a fortune. After getting off the phone with Stark, Bradshaw hides his ledgers in a hidden safe.

The following day, Tony Stark escorts Eddie March to the airport for his flight to Bay City. Eddie is uncertain about accepting the role as the head of the community center since he is a fighter. Tony points out that the center is primarily focused on youth sports activities and that March will be acting as head coach and mentoring underprivileged children. Eddie is still uneasy about accepting the role because it sounds more like charity than any real help. After March’s plane takes off, Tony changes into Iron Man and hitches a ride on the aircraft. After a press conference upon their arrival, Iron Man and Eddie March take a tour of Bay City. When they get to the north side Eddie sees that not much has changed as the area is predominantly African-American and it is still a slum and begins warming up to the idea that a community center will be a benefit to the people who live there.

However, when they arrive at the construction site, they witness the police dealing with the activists. Their leader says that the construction of the community center was decided without their input and is not what their people need. When Lyle Bradshaw arrives, they hand him a list of their demands. The city councilor is annoyed and tells them that the community center was voted upon and they aren’t about to change their plans over a small vocal minority. He then rips up the list of demands and is about to order the police to get rid of the protestors. That’s when Iron Man steps in and suggests that he and Eddie try to talk to them instead so things don’t flare out of control. That’s when Firebrand returns and accuses Iron Man and Eddie as being nothing more than mouthpieces for the establishment. Noticing Firebrand’s flame blasters, Iron Man tries to subdue him before he can use them. This causes the protestors to become violent and clash with police. Eddie pulls a woman named Helene Davis who is unhappy with how Eddie is siding with the city. He asks her to help him understand instead of calling him names.

Meanwhile, Firebrand has fled to the rooftops with Iron Man following behind. During their fight, Firebrand makes it clear that he supports the black community and espouses his belief that their cause can only be achieved through violent means. Their battle sends them crashing through an abandoned tenement and Firebrand escapes by setting it on fire, forcing Iron Man to stay behind and combat the flames before the entire neighborhood goes up. Iron Man arrives back at the construction site in time to stop Bradshaw from ordering a riot squad in to deal with the protestors. The Avenger believes that this can be resolved peacefully and Bradshaw agrees to give him twelve hours to find a solution.

Not far away, Helene takes Eddie on more intimate tour of the neighborhood. She points to all the closed down businesses and explains that while the construction of the community center had their best interest, the people in the area would rather bring in new businesses as it will bring in much needed jobs into the area. What they want is money to be invested in revitalizing the community. This convinces Eddie and they head back to Bradshaw’s office to tell him their proposal. Unfortunately, Lyle is uninterested in hearing it, sticking to his guns about the construction of the community center. Iron Man points out that he still has time to try and find a peaceful solution to the problem, and that there is still the danger posed by Firebrand to contend with. That’s when Firebrand comes crashing in the window and uses his flame powers to keep everyone at bay so he can kidnap Lyle Bradshaw. The attack shatters Bradshaw’s safe and in the aftermath of the battle, Eddie and Helene find the ledgers that connect Lyle to Bay City Construction and Northside Real Estate.

Having uncovered this conflict of interest, Iron Man — carrying Eddie and Helene — flies back to the construction site to hand over the evidence to the police. Firebrand is also there trying to convince the activists to use Bradshaw as a hostage to get their way. The leader of the protest thinks this is going too far and his people refuse to side with him. Iron Man quickly blasts Firebrand’s flame blasters forcing the rabble-rouser to retreat. With the danger passed, Bradshaw is arrested. With the corruption around the community center exposed, Iron Man is confident that Eddie March can still represent the Iron Man Fountain and provide the community with the resources they need.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, Firebrand, Eddie March

Continuity Notes

1. Firebrand’s real name is revealed in Iron Man #48 and 59, identifying him as Gary Gilbert.

2. Eddie March had to retire from boxing due to blood clots that formed in his brain after all his years of fighting. He got involved with Tony Stark after March was briefly tapped to become the new Iron Man. Stark pulled Eddie from the role after learning about his medical condition. See Iron Man #21-22.

Topical References

• The members of the press that appear in this story are depicted as using dated camera technology and recording audio on reel-to-reel tape recorders. These depictions should be considered topical since all of these technology are long obsolete.

• Firebrand and the activists call Eddie an “Uncle Tom”, this is a term used by African-Americans to describe someone who is compliant to the will of the establishment. It’s a term taken from the story Uncle Tom’s Cabin, about a obedient slave and is as racist as you’d expect a book published in the 1800s to be.

• Firebrand speaks of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s as thought he actually participated in the protests that happened. This should be considered a topical reference, as the Sliding Timescale makes it impossible for Firebrand to have been alive let alone participate in this historical event. Modern readers should instead assume that Firebrand was involved a generalized series of protests as opposed to one that is a real-world event.