Gehenna

GEHENNA

Real Name: Gehenna

Class: Human clone mutate

Occupation: Adventurer

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: NYC, New York, formerly Montana

First Appearance: Firestorm II #17 (November, 2005)

Powers: Gehenna was a telepath who could teleport herself and others. She was prone to wild emotional outbursts.

History: (Firestorm II #17, 19 (fb, BTS), 31 (fb)) - Gehenna was a young woman of childlike and insane outbursts cloned from the DNA of Firestorm foe Tokamak, now going by the name of his cloned son Victor Hewitt. She grew up at an accelerated rate speed learning with her father, who told her he was close to the superhero Firestorm, and that he’d be part of her future, never hinting at his motives of destroying the new incarnation of his old foe. Tokamak knew he could use her as a pawn, but found himself legitimately feeling like a father, despite himself. Gehenna reached early adulthood after five years. Tokamak drugged hetr and handed her over to Luthor’s Society to power a top-secret Brazilian site. Tokamak had no interest in helping Luthor, but knew Firestorm was also being used to power the facility, and he had no doubt the hero would win the day and rescue his “daughter.“ As predicted Firestorm broke loose, and rescued Gehenna from her captivity. The heroes were beset by Black Adam, Parasite, Syonide, and the new Royal Flush Gang. Firestorm was fascinated by the attractive Gehenna, even though she seemed quite unstable, but her teleportation skills were useful in evading the Society. Gehenna kept calling him boyfriend, which only slightly irritated him, and she suggested he use a cell to call help. He didn’t know why he trusted her, but he did, so he changed back to his civilian identity Jason Rusch, but couldn’t reach the JLA. The battle was joined by Queen Bee and the H.I.V.E., but they couldn’t stop Firestorm from blowing up the installation and escaping. Gehenna freaked out when she was in open air, and teleported away, but promised her “boyfriend” she’d see him again.

(Firestorm II #19) - Gehenna’s father started acting strange, so she sent a telepathic hologram to Firestorm, asking for his help. He was in the middle of dealing with the Infinite Crisis with a number of other heroes, and promised he’d get back to her. Gehenna noticed the pulchritude of some heroines with him, and started to get jealous, saying he preferred their company because of their curves. Firestorm assured her he was saving the universe, but she was insulted, and cut off their telepathic conversation.

(Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #25 (fb, BTS), 24, 25) - Gehenna’s father disappeared, and she moved to a NYC apartment and started dating Firestorm, who revealed his secret identity as Jason Rusch to her. She desperately wanted him to help find her father, but the trail was cold. She was frustrated that the new Firestorm-matrix used him and senator Lorraine Reilly, and was so unstable that they could never be more than a mile apart. After a hearing in Washington that made Jason late for a date Gehenna made no attempt to disguise how irked she was. She reiterated that she didn’t like Jason spending so much time with Lorraine, and felt he put Firestorm above her. He promised to make it up to her when a news bulletin announced that Killer Frost was slaughtering innocents on the upper west side. Jason and Lorraine were about to go into action when Jason’s dad Alvin Rusch arrived, and refused to be turned away. Lorraine told Jason the wets side was under a mile away, and she’d handle the villainess herself. Alvin said they had important matters to discuss, but when Killer Frost started hurting Firehawk Jason felt it and knew he had to leave to help her. Alvin wasn’t sure what to make of Gehenna, and he asked her how intimate she was with her son. She surprised him by replying that they’d soon be quite intimate. Gehenna told Alvin what his son had been up to, and when she realized she was rambling a lot she showed her teleportation powers to him. Alvin was not impressed with his son’s girlfriend.

(Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #26, 27) - Jason went to classes, and Gehenna snuck around Columbia University shadowing him. When she saw him talking to a pretty female student she got jealous and teleported between them. Jason told her not to use her powers in public, and she responded that she had a right to show off her talent. Jason said he wanted a normal life with her, but she replied that she didn’t know what normal was. Jason and Lorraine found Prof. Stein’s journals, and learned that he’d been abducted on the campus. They were about to rescue him when Gehenna demanded to go along, saying she needed to share in every aspect of Jason’s life. Jason told her no, worrying she’d get hurt, and she burst into tears. Lorraine hated to say it, but with their powers weakened after dealing with Killer Frost, a teleported would be useful. Gehenna was overjoyed, and they teleported into Stathis Hall, where Stein was being held by the Pupil and his Dollies. The Dollies defeated Firestorm, split the matrix and put an inhibitor hood on Lorraine so she was powerless, and Gehenna could only watch from the sidelines. The Pupil presented the dead Stein to Jason, saying he’d been too rough on him seeking information, and offered him the chance to form the Firestorm-matrix with a dead man. Jason tried to make the matrix, and found a small spark of life in Stein. Gehenna removed the hood from Firehawk, and she joined the matrix, enabling them to bring Stein back from the brink. The Pupil captured Gehenna, and recognized her. He wanted to know all her secrets, and started torturing her, and Lorraine wanted Firestorm to stop him, but Jason said she could handle herself, and continued to pour energy into Stein. One of the Dollies recently developed empathy and staid the Pupil’s hand. Firestorm was revived and forced the Pupil and his Dollies to flee. Jason rebuilt Stein‘s body with Pupil‘s cellular scanner, and Stein then broke Firehawk from the matrix, and restored himself as the principle matrix partner. Lorraine was overjoyed, and left for Washington, but not before telling Gehenna that Jason had put Stein ahead of her. Later Gehenna confronted Jason, told him she didn’t like what she saw in him, and stormed off.

(Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #28) - Gehenna stopped taking Jason’s calls, even though their breakup had her in tears. To show how much she meant to him he searched the lab where she was born for clues about her father’s whereabouts, but came up empty.

(Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #30, 31) - Jason found Gehenna in a diner, and they apologized to each other, him for ignoring the most important person in his life, and she for acting like a child. They reconciled, and Gehenna asked to be included on the adventure he was on, pursing clues to the identity of the madman threatening nuclear armageddon. They investigated an upstate lab that Stein was suspicious of, and fought off more plasma monsters before discovering resting chambers that looked familiar to Gehenna. When she said she’d had her accelerated growth in a similar chamber Jason realized that Gehenna had been created by their master villain. He reached out to Stein and formed Firestorm, slamming her against a wall and demanding to know if she was a spy. Stein was horrified, he told Jason to let her go and stop acting like the bully his father was. Jason calmed down, and realized Gehenna had always been truthful with him. When she described her father, Firestorm realized he was Tokamak. The heroes reconvened at Hewitt Enterprises, where Tokamak, the Pupil and the Dollies were waiting. Tokamak revealed he’d been posing as his own son, in actuality he was a clone. He was detonating explosives set in nuclear power plants around the world, and using a giant energy-collecting Dollie orbiting Earth to transfer the power to himself. He said he planned on bringing the planet to the brink of destruction with a nuclear blast from his own body to warn people against nuclear proliferation. He used a trigger word to bring Firehawk under his command; a power he had over all his creations. Firestorm made her snap out of it by reminding her of her Central Park speech about fighting men of power. Firestorm added Firehawk to the matrix, and Tokamak told them the nuclear energy flooding into him was keyed to his DNA, so even if they killed him he’d still win. Jason remembered that the Firestorm matrix had its own DNA, and hoped that Tokamak and his clone’s matrix did as well. Against Stein’s warning that it was unethical to use their power on a person he separated Tokamak, who was still dying of radiation poison9ing after his final confrontation with the original Firestorm. He died in Firestorm’s arms, amazed that he’d been defeated. His dying words were that he knew Jason Rusch, who he was, and why he became Firestorm, and with his death Jason would never know. Gehenna was horrified by the adventure’s conclusion and the revelations about her father.

(Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #32) - Firestorm wrapped up some odds and ends in the Tokamak affair, and Gehenna wanted him to know that she realized she never actually knew her father, and didn’t blame Firestorm for his death, because he should have died a long time ago. She wanted to be a happy couple, and asked him to go to Times Square with her on New Year’s Eve. Jason, Stein and Gehenna rang in the new year , and Jason was happy to be with the people he considered his family.

(Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #33-35) - Jason was forty minutes late to a date with Gehenna, but she forgave him because she knew he was out saving the world. She said Jason could make it up to her by watching some Uwe Boll DVDs she picked up, and revealed that directionless art made her hot. They went to Jason’s apartment and found Mr. Miracle waiting for them. Gehenna was ensconced, because not only was Miracle one of the New Gods, he was also a world-famous escape artists. Jason told her to stop flirting, and she reminded him that she was only seven. Miracle explained that Prof. Stein had unlocked part of the anti-life equation, which the evil New God Darkseid coveted, during his investigations into the Firestorm-matrix. Miracle and the newly arrived Orion wanted to protect Stein, but Darkseid’s Female Furies arrived and subdued the heroes. Gehenna teleported out, but returned with Firehawk, saying no one messed with her boyfriend. The Furies were vanquished, and Metron appeared inside the Firestorm-matrix, revealing that Stein had not unlocked anti-life, but life itself in understanding the elemental nature of Firestorm. The full life equation would threaten Darkseid, and Metron warned that the villain wouldn’t rest until Stein was in his clutches. Orion offered sanctuary on New Genesis, but Firestorm knew that wasn’t the answer. Darkseid sent his son Kalibak to Earth to claim Stein, and he was accompanied by Parademons that wrecked havoc in Manhattan. Kalibak attacked Firehawk, and threatened to kill her, so Firestorm distracted him, allowing Firehawk to escape. Stein added her to the matrix, and told her to drive a mile away from the conflict. Firestorm and Kalibak clashed, and when Firehawk was a mile away her unstable connection to the matrix caused a nuclear explosion, knocking out Kalibak. Firestorm created a star to send the Parademons away, and the day seemed won until Darkseid appeared, told Firestorm he was tired of playing games, and broke the matrix, grabbed Stein, and escaped through a Boom Tube. Gehenna asked Jason to form the matrix so they could save Stein as Firestorm. Jason knew she was aware of the risk, so they became Firestorm, and went off in search of Stein.

Comments: Created by Stuart Moore & Jamal Igle.

Gehenna had cameos in Firestorm II #21 & Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #29.