Brimstone (DC Comics)

Brimstone is an alias used by several unrelated characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.^[1] The first is a fiery, humanoid creature created by Darkseid to serve him during the Legends event. The second is an identity of Chris King, a boy who can transform into various superheroes. The third, Nicholas Lucien, is a pyrokinetic criminal from Earth-Two. The fourth, Joseph Chamberlain, is a man who gained pyrokinetic abilities after making a deal with an entity known as the Salesman to assist his small town.

Brimstone
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Legends #1 (November 1986)
Created by	John Ostrander John Byrne Len Wein
In-story information
Alter ego	Unknown

Publication history

The construct incarnation of Brimstone was created by John Ostrander, John Byrne, and Len Wein, and first appeared in Legends #1 (November 1986).

The Chris King incarnation of Brimstone first appeared in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #272 (February 1981), and was created by Marv Wolfman and Carmine Infantino.

The Nicholas Lucien incarnation of Brimstone first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983), and was created by Mike W. Barr and Dave Gibbons.

The Joseph Chamberlain incarnation of Brimstone first appeared in The Curse of Brimstone #1 (June 2018), and was created by Justin Jordan and Philip Tan.

Fictional character biography

Artificial construct

Brimstone is an artificial construct created by Darkseid during the Legends event as a part of his plot to turn the population of Earth against their superheroes.^[2][3] Darkseid created Brimstone by implanting a nuclear reactor with a "techno-seed" which modifies it to create a giant, Brimstone. The heroes speculate that it is composed of superheated plasma.^[4] Brimstone is destroyed by Deadshot, who shoots it in the heart, but returns on several occasions afterward.^[5]

Chris King

Brimstone is one of many identities used by Chris King, a wielder of the H-Dial who can transform into various heroes. In one mission, he uses the name Brimstone who has the powers of possession and gadgetry.^[6]

Nicholas Lucien

Nicholas Lucien is a criminal who lives on Earth-Two and has the ability to sense his Earth-One counterpart. His resentment of this unseen counterpart leads Lucien to a life of crime. By 1955, Lucien establishes himself as "Brimstone the Modern Mephistopheles", a criminal themed after Satan. He has superhuman strength, durability, and is able to generate extremely high temperatures which can produce bursts of flame or be used as a flaming sword. A fight with Earth-Two's Batman leaves Lucien in a coma for 28 years. When Lucien awakens in 1983 and finds himself as an inmate at Gotham State Penitentiary, his body has atrophied. Lucien possesses his Earth-One counterpart, who is a respected businessman, in a bid to kill the Earth-One Batman. After Batman defeats Lucien, he is forced back into his own body and paralyzed as a side effect of his mental projection across the dimensional barrier.^[7]

Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain originates from York Hills, a small but semi-prosperous town profiting from coal mining. Eventually, the coal mines of York Hills dry up and many of its residents leave. Joseph leaves town, but his car breaks down and he is picked up by a good Samaritan. The Samaritan introduced himself as "the Salesman" and tells Joseph that he intends to help him renovate York Hills. Joseph agrees and shakes the Salesman's hand in agreement. However, he is transformed into a fiery creature known as Brimstone. The Salesman reveals that he is a powerful entity from the Dark Multiverse who plans to put York Hills on the map by killing all of its inhabitants, an act that Brimstone will carry out. Joseph attempts to battle the Salesman and prevent him from destroying York Hills, but loses control of his powers after the Salesman kills his father, destroying York Hills in a burst of fire. Joseph and his sister Annie obtain a ledger containing the Salesman's plans and go on a road trip to stop him from committing further destruction.^[8][9]

In other media

Television

• Brimstone appears in a self-titled episode of Superboy, portrayed by Philip Michael Thomas.
• A nuclear-powered robot resembling Brimstone appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Initiation".^[10] Though not named on-screen, it is identified as Brimstone in the DVD extra "Themes of Justice".
• Brimstone appears in a flashback in the Harley Quinn episode "So, You Need a Crew?".

Film

The artificial construct incarnation of Brimstone makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.^[11]

Video games

• The artificial construct incarnation of Brimstone appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[12]
• Brimstone appears as an enemy in DC Universe Online.

Miscellaneous

• The artificial construct incarnation of Brimstone appears in Tiny Titans.
• Brimstone appears in All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #5.