Firestorm Annual #3 – “Sparx” – Gerry Conway/Rafael Kayanan/Ian Akin, Brian Garvey
This story takes place just before Ronnie’s graduation and Professor Stein’s move to Pittsburgh. It starts with some modern-day pirates robbing a tourist boat on the Hudson River. Firestorm tries to stop them, but his powers conk out when he makes himself intangible (not the first time that’s happened), which results in the Statue of Liberty being damaged. Firestorm fixes it, but he still looks like an idiot for letting it happen in the first place. Ronnie’s dad (Ed Raymond) splashes the screw-up all over the front page of his newspaper. Ronnie knows Ed is just reporting the facts, but it still bothers him. What’s worse, Ed’s girlfriend (Felicity Smoak) loves
Firestorm’s humiliation, hoping it’ll help in her lawsuit against the hero for destroying her business. Ronnie wonders if he’ll ever be able to tell his dad he’s one half of Firestorm, since Felicity hates Firestorm (though she likes Ronnie) and Ed seems to see him only as fodder for the headlines. We get a brief interlude in Miami, where a drug addict named Frido is going nuts from withdrawal pains. His girlfriend Lacy tries to help, but the only thing that’ll make Frido feel better is a fix. In New York, Stein and Ronnie try to figure out why their powers won’t work when they’re at low density and Stein comes up with a theory. He explains to Ronnie that Firestorm is basically a solar 
energy battery, converting energy from the sun to fuel his powers. But there’s been a lot of sunspot activity lately (at levels never before seen), so maybe that’s what’s screwing with their powers. Before they can discuss it further, some of Stein’s colleagues at Concordance Research throw him an impromptu going-away party. While Ronnie listens to Carew lecture him on health food, Martin and Belle slip off to make out a bit and lament the fact that they never quite connected the way they wanted. After the party, Stein and Ronnie merge into Firestorm and head into space to test Steins sunspot theory. As they approach the sun, Stein starts nerding out about the opportunity o study the sun close up. Meanwhile in Miami, the sunspots seem to be affecting Frido
too; after being turned away by a dope dealer (who he already owes money to), he grabs a lamp post and absorbs some of the electricity. The energy turns him into living electricity but it doesn’t take away his craving for dope. He goes straight to the source, attacking a supplier named Carlo and frying him. Carlo’s dealers (the ones who refused to give Frido a freebie earlier) take off, recognizing the electrically-charged attacker as Frido. In New York, Ronnie and Stein discuss the data they collected near the sun. Stein calculates that the sunspot activity has altered some of their powers permanently and outlines the new 
limits. They hear a news report about an electrical man causing havoc in Miami and decide to check it out. Frido’s cravings have driven him nuts and his new electrical powers allow him to vent his rage. He blasts his way across Miami, looking for a way to stop the withdrawal pains and decides to go see Lacy. But apparently Lacy’s not quite as loyal as Frido thought; she’s been banging Jake (one of the dealers) in exchange for some free stuff, but now Jake is ready to take off since he knows Frido is mad at him. Firestorm shows up to tackle Frido (who Stein christens “Sparx”) and gets zapped. Frido sees Jake leaving Lacy’s place and fries him after taking some dope from him, then goes after Lacy so she can give him a fix. Firestorm tries breaking Sparx’s
contact with the ground to dissipate his power, but gets blasted again. Sparx grabs Lacy and heads for the beach. Firestorm goes after him again and Stein realizes the sunspots are responsible for Sparx’s powers. Sparx grabs Firestorm an starts frying him, so Firestorm flies both of them back into the water, which shorts Sparx out and turns him back to Frido. Ronnie admits he didn’t know that would happen, he just wanted some relief from the pain. Frido is still alive, but in bad shape … in more ways than one, as we see he’s still clutching the bag of dope he took from Jake.
Vigilante Annual #1 – “Guilty Until Proven …” – Paul Kupperberg/Denys Cowan, Joe Brozowski/Rick Magyar, Carlos Garzon
This story is set some time in the past, when Adrian Chase was still Vigilante and hadn’t become a judge yet. It begins with a guy named Block having a really bad day, culminating in having to walk up six flights to his apartment because the elevator is broken. But Block’s day is about to get even worse, as a hired gun has just wasted Kaminski, one of Block’s neighbours (and his wife), and is making his escape down the stairs. Block gets pushed down the stairs and ends up unconscious, so the killer figures it’s a perfect opportunity. He puts the gun in Block’s hand and takes off.
Later, Vigilante evades the cops and heads home, where Adrian receives a call from his girlfriend Marcia. She tells him about Block (an old friend) being arrested for murder and says she doesn’t believe he’s guilty. Adrian says he’ll check into it as the assistant D.A., but also plans to investigate as Vigilante. Block is taken to jail, protesting his innocence the whole way, but nobody believes him. Uptown, Kaminski’s boss (Weston) figures the hit on his man can’t go unavenged or he’ll look weak. Since everyone believes Block is the killer, Weston sends one of his men (Taylor) to kill him, even though Block is already in custody. 
Vigilante checks out the crime scene and finds a few bits of evidence that might indicate Block is innocent. He runs Kaminski’s record and finds plenty of charges but no convictions, which suggests Kaminski was connected. Meanwhile, Block is processed and tossed into a holding cell with actual criminals, which doesn’t do his nerves any good. Vigilante checks out Kaminski’s office and finds an unconscious guard and a couple of scumbags tossing the place. He underestimates them and they end up knocking him out the window where he grabs onto a flagpole. Block is moved to another cell, but due to overcrowding he has to share it with a number of scumbags. Meanwhile, Taylor gets himself
arrested by tossing a garbage can through a window, so he can be placed in the same jail as Block. Vigilante manages to land on the sidewalk without splattering, but he’s stunned by the fall. Weston’s men assume he’s dead and take off, but Vigilante overhears enough of their conversation to know who they work for. He knows Weston is one of the biggest crime bosses in the city, but the cops haven’t been able to touch him. Vigilante follows the men to Weston’s place and confronts him, getting into a gunfight with his goons. In jail, Taylor gets thrown into the same cell as Block and waits for an opportunity to stick a knife in him. At Weston’s place, Vigilante learns that Weston didn’t have 
Kaminski killed, but he is planning to get rid of Block, Kaminski’s supposed assassin. Vigilante shoots Weston, but leaves him alive. He heads for the jail and shows up just in time to keep Taylor from stabbing Block. Vigilante tells the cops to check out Weston and Adrian gets a call from Marcia later telling him Block was released after picking the real killer out of a mug book. So everything works out in the end, although I guess this story is supposed to show that the system doesn’t always work (even when it isn’t corrupt), hence the need for people like Vigilante.
Warlord Annual #4 – “Sins of the Father … Fate of the Son” – Cary Burkett/Pat Broderick/Bob Smith
This story takes place shortly after Warlord 95, so it starts with Morgan bringing back the slaves he helped free. The column is attacked by bog-men and Morgan’s troops fight back, with Morgan personally saving a woman one of the bog-men grabbed. Not far off, in the Valley of the Lion, Faaldren returns from Jennifer’s castle with the scrolls she wanted. Ashir warns him that Jennifer is in the middle of a spell to locate Tinder. Tinder was fascinated by the jewel that once belonged to the Evil One and
now the jewel is missing (as are Ashir’s lockpicks), so Jennifer and Ashir are eager to find Tinder before the Evil One’s spirit can possess him. Jennifer finds him, but Tinder swears he didn’t steal Ashir’s picks or the jewel. They quickly realize the thief is Chakka, Tinder’s simian companion. But they’re too late; the Evil One has already claimed Chakka’s body, transforming it into a duplicate of is own. Morgan and Tara arrive just after the Evil One has blasted Jennifer and the others. The Evil One remembers Morgan as the person who defeated him in the distant past (as we saw in issue 66), 
but Morgan’s weapons can’t harm the Evil One now. The Evil One boasts that his power now comes from the gem and he implants it in his forehead before pinning Morgan and his companions to the roof of the cavern. After the Evil One leaves, Jennifer channels her magic through her own gems and frees everyone. She studies the scrolls Faaldren brought and learns about an earlier incarnation of the Evil One that was slain by some elves and trolls after they forged the Hellfire Sword. Morgan says that’s the same sword he used to wield, but he threw it into a river because it was turning him into a bloodthirsty killer (which we saw in Warlord 43). When Jennifer hears how a hand came out of
the river to grasp the Sword, she knows where to look for it. She takes Morgan to find the word, while the Evil One wreaks havoc on Skartaris. Jennifer and Morgan go to the Kingdom of the Keepers, where special weapons are kept in anticipation of their need by heroes (and Morgan spots what looks like King Arthur’s sword sticking out of a stone). The Queen tells Morgan he can have the Hellfire Sword, but there’s someone else who wants it: Dagon, Lord of the Undead. Morgan and Jennifer go to the Land of the Undead and Morgan fights Dagon. Jennifer is forbidden to interfere, so she watches as 
Morgan collapses a pillar of rock on Dagon’s head. That not enough to kill the Undead Lord, but when Dagon tries to grab the Sword, it jumps from his grasp into Morgan’s hand, and Morgan kills Dagon. The Queen explains that not only does the Hellfire Sword cause bloodlust, it feeds off the wielder’s life force. Since Dagon had no life force, the Sword “chose” Morgan to wield it. Morgan and Jennifer return to the Valley and head out to find the Evil One, who has ensconced himself in a very phallic-looking tower. Tinder follows them unnoticed, hoping he can help Chakka get his soul back. The Evil One sees Morgan coming and sends demons after him, but the Hellfire Sword
gives Morgan the edge. Unfortunately, every kill he makes augments his thirst for killing, driving him into a murderous frenzy. Morgan’s rage blinds him and the Evil One tricks him into stabbing a statue instead of the real thing. Morgan is knocked out by the Evil One, the pain of being separated from the Sword being more than he can take. Jennifer is overwhelmed by the Evil One’s magic, so Tinder slips into the room and grabs the Sword from the statue. Jennifer warns Tinder that he can’t wield the Sword, since it’s bonded to Morgan, but Tinder stabs the Evil One in the chest and kills him. The tower crumbles and Jennifer throws up a protective spell, but is 
knocked out from the strain. When she wakes up, Tinder is gone and she wonders if he could be organ and Tara’s son Joshua, who was supposedly killed through Deimos’s machinations. Jennifer is pretty sure she’s right, but doesn’t want to give Morgan and Tara false hope, so she decides to find tinder and confirm her suspicions before saying anything. (As we saw in issue 96, Tinder accidentally ended up in the Age of Wizard Kings, beyond reach of Jennifer’s location magic, so his secret will stay secret for a while yet; in fact, other than a brief appearance in issue 98, I don’t think Tinder appears again in this series.) This issue ends with Tinder burying what’s left of Chakka’s soulless body and wandering off. There’s also a two-page map of Skartaris (by Broderick and Smith), something fans had been clamouring for at the time. It’s pretty crude, and really out of scale, but it’s still kinda cool.