CLIFF CARMICHAEL

Real Name: Clifford Carmichael

Class: Human technology-user

Occupation: Supervillain

Group Affiliation: Suicide Squad

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Thinker

Base of Operations: NYC, NY

First Appearance: Firestorm I #1 (March, 1978)

Powers: Cliff  had cybernetic brain implants that gave him superhuman intelligence,  telekinesis and mind control.

History: (Firestorm I #1) - Cliff was a high school whiz kid at Bradley High with a crush on his friend Doreen day. When Ronnie Raymond transferred to their high school Doreen fell for him, and Cliff was jealous. He did everything in his power to make Ronnie look like a dope, and antagonized him, trying to get him to take a swing at him. Doreen saw exactly what he was doing and told him to drop dead.

(Firestorm I #2) - Raymond became the superhero Firestorm, and was pleased to see that Doreen was impressed with his alter ego's exploits. Cliff baited Ronnie again, claiming Firestorm was like him, solving problems with brawn instead of brains

(Firestorm I #3) - Ronnie used Firestorm the scare the daylights out of his nemesis Cliff Carmichael, telling him the next time he heard Cliff referring to Firestorm, as a "mental midget" he'd bury him.

(Firestorm I #4) - Cliff berated Ronnie for scoring lower than him on a chem test.

(Firestorm I #5) - Cliff saw Firestorm on the grounds of Bradley High and speculated that he might be a student. Based on Firestorm's previous threats he knew the hero was someone who hated him, but as he walked through the halls he realized everyone hated him, either because he was a brain, because he made unwelcome advances on girls or because he was just generally unlikable.

(DC Comics Presents #17) - Ronnie Raymond left a basketball game because fate had dictated that he return to heroics as Firestorm. Cliff watched from the audience with Doreen Day, and told her Ronnie was obviously a wimp for abandoning the game.

(Firestorm II #11-13) - Cliff had faked his death, with his cybernetic implants allowing him to barely survive, and kept a low profile for a number of years. Over the years his body slowly healed, and he upgraded his mind with more tech implants in his brain. The original Firestorm seemingly died, but Cliff got a call from Firestorm s old enemy Killer Frost, who assured him his old foe lived on in the new Firestorm, a matrix of the new hero and the old one. He learned that Firestorm was his high school rival Ronnie Raymond, and couldn t believe he d never figured that out for himself. Cliff was reluctant to get back in the super villain game, but knew it would be worth it to see Firestorm suffer, and he was still utterly obsessed with making Roy Raymond fall into ruin. He recruited Multiplex and Typhoon to his cause, and Typhoon created a destructive storm in Detroit, Firestorm s new base. Firestorm responded, and was ambushed by the villains. Firestorm defeated them, but discovered that both villains had circuitry in the back of their necks implanted by Cliff. The circuitry drained him, at which point Carmichael confronted him, and began tearing apart Ronnie s mind, telling him that Killer Frost had given up his identity. The process started disintegrating Ronnie in the Firestorm-Matrix, and when Firestorm broke free he wanted to contact the JLA to save Ronnie.  Ronnie told him that after Cliff invaded their minds he knew all about their families, and would target them next, so they had no choice but to stop him, even if it meant Ronnie s death. He told Jason being a superhero was like being a soldier, and they always had to stay true to their responsibilities. They confronted Cliff again, and burned out the cybernetic brain implants that gave him his powers, leaving him catatonic. Ronnie faded away, and told Jason he d do a fine job continuing his work.

Comments: Created by Gerry Conway & Pat Broderick.

Cliff Carmichael had a cameo in Flash I #289.