Jefferson Jackson

"The best feeling I ever got from being on the field wasn't when I made a great play, or when we won some game. It was when one of my teammates took a tackle for me, and I knew they were going to make sure I was safe. That nobody got to me. Watching all of you rush back to the ship, even those two knuckleheads, to take on Chronos, it made me feel the same way. I like being part of a team, man."

- Jefferson to Martin Stein

Jefferson "Jax" Jackson (born September 12, 1993) is a mechanic. After the death of Ronnie Raymond, he took his place as one half of the transmuted and conjoint Meta-human called Firestorm alongside Martin Stein. Jefferson Jackson was then unwillingly recruited by Rip Hunter on a mission to take down Vandal Savage, but later grew to like being part of the team.

Early life
Two weeks after his birth, Jefferson's father was killed in an IED explosion while serving in Somalia, hurting both him and his mother. He also watched many horror movies with his mother.

As a senior in high school, Jefferson was a promising quarterback. He was also a 4.0 student. On December 11, 2013, Jax led his school to a victory while scouts from college's watched on. He was told by his coach he was talented enough to go where he wished. Shortly after, the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator blew up and Jax aided his team mate to safety. Before he could close the doors, he was struck by the dark matter and crashed too the wall, leaving him unconscious.

Jax woke up in the hospital and quickly learned he could never play football again because of a permanent injury to his knee. Because his family couldn't afford college and his only hope of attending college was with a football scholarship, he was forced to pick up being a mechanic for a living.

Becoming Firestorm
Two Years Later Jax was approached by Barry Allen and Professor Martin Stein in his work place. The two met him because his molecular structure made him one of two perfect matches for the unstable Martin. When he went to S.T.A.R. Labs to learn more about it and met Barry Allen's team, he refused to merge with Professor Stein and become a superhero. He was berated by Caitlin Snow for having the grades to make it into college but didn't, unaware of his family's financial situation, before he left. Caitlin later shows up at his shop and apologizes for her behavior, explaining that her missing husband, Ronnie Raymond, became a hero as Firestorm and saved the city from the singularity, inspiring Jax. They are attacked by Dr. Henry Hewitt (The other candidate to become the new Firestorm) and escape to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Jax agrees to merge with Stein to save him resulting in the two becoming the new Firestorm. When Hewitt is wreaking havoc on Jax's old football field, he teams up with the Flash to stop Hewitt and starts to get used to his new superhuman abilities. Afterwards, he and Professor Stein go to Pittsburgh to train on Firestorm's abilities similar to Ronnie.

Aiding Rip Hunter
In January 2016, Jax and Martin Stein are still in Pittsburgh, where they are up against a criminal at a chemical plant as Firestorm. Stein tells Jax to be careful, as 83% of the chemicals are flammable, however Jax still shoots fireballs all over the place. While Firestorm does defeat the man, Stein is still upset that Jax doesn't listen to him, Jax tells him to stop treating him like one of his "snot nosed undergrads" when they are intercepted by Rip Hunter.

Personality
Jefferson was a very hard worker academically and athletically. Knowing his parents couldn't afford college, he focused hard on school to get a 4.0 and was eventually rewarded with a football scholarship. He also cared about the well-being of other people. During the night of the particle accelerator, he saw an injured person on the field and didn't even hesitate to help them to safety, which resulted in his knee being injured from the explosion. Following that, he entered a depression as all of his hard work had been for naught and he had to work as a mechanic for a living because he lost his only means to afford college.

Jefferson eventually becomes happy again when he found his calling to help people by becoming Firestorm. He also displays high amount of potential as Firestorm as Martin Stein quickly changed his opinion of him when he was chosen to be the next Firestorm. Given, his original opinion was when he knew nothing of Jax other than he was a high school graduate compared to a well accomplished scientist who was the other candidate. Since joining the team, Jeff has developed a crush on  Kendra Saunders, though it has seemed to pass.

Despite his good traits, he is arrogant and egotistical to the point of being immature, when these traits started to put Rip Hunter's team mission to stop Vandal Savage in danger, Martin was then forced to tell him to grow up and not everything is about him. These traits seem to have disappeared after this, especially after Martin was captured by Vandal.

In battle, he is willing to put all of his power to use and not restrain them. He is shown to be willing to kill in battle, such as using a gun to fight in the Old West and he personally tried to deal a death blow on Chronos until he was revealed to be Mick Rory.

Powers

 * Firestorm Matrix: When Jax merges with Martin Stein, the two create the nuclear-powered composite being Firestorm. The F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. Matrix is controlled by two individuals, or "halves"; when they achieve physical contact, the Matrix takes over their biology and merges them into a singular being. When the two halves of Firestorm merge, the Matrix has them take on the form of the individual that has the stronger body.
 * Nucleokinesis: Firestorm is virtually a living reactor, and as such, creates great amounts of nuclear energy via the innumerous atomic reactions constantly occurring in his body. That and his mental capacity to process both fission and fusion, allow him to harness the energy emitting from his either his own body or any near source of energy that’s near.
 * Pyrokinesis: Due to the nuclear nature of the transmutation of the two bodies, Firestorm is able to produce nuclear energy in the form of fire from parts of his body. He can use his control over the energy to project it willingly in the form of concussive blasts. These “nuclear blasts” are often shown to be quite powerful and have shown to be able to knock unarmed humans out unconscious and are hot enough to burn through solid structures and even cause harm to meta-humans.  The impact of these blasts sometimes create an explosive-like force.
 * Psychic link: Jefferson can hear Martin's disembodied voice while the two of them are merged into Firestorm. Even when they are separated, their link allows them limited communication of sensations or emotions.
 * Flight: Firestorm has so far seen to have at least two methods to achieve flight. The first and most common is when he uses fires nuclear blasts downward at a consistent rate, thereby defying generating enough force to defy gravity and allow for stable prolusion and gliding. This flight style is his preferred and most practiced choice. The second method is unclear, as he is shown to be able to fly at impressive speeds without the need of his blasts. How he achieved this skill or how he even does it is unclear.
 * Nuclear absorption: Firestorm has shown the ability to not only generate nuclear power, but also contain the energy coming from outside sources by absorbing its output. He did so when he absorbed the blast from Vandal Savage’s nuclear warhead.
 * Matter transmutation: While fighting Nazis in 1944, Jax and Martin discovered that their nuclear powers can manipulate matter at an atomic level and arrange its subatomic structure into a different substance all together. He first used this by turning a rifle into dust by grabbing it. Using this ability, Firestorm is able to transform a radioactive meteorite into water.

Abilities

 * Skilled athlete: Jefferson is gifted with great natural talent in athletics. During his time in high school, he was a star quarterback who earned a full scholarship to any college/university of his choosing. However, after the particle accelerator explosion, his leg was too damaged to ever play football again, costing him his scholarship.
 * Hand-to-hand combatant: While unknown to what degree, Jefferson has shown some skill at hand-to-hand combat, being able to fight off and even tackle a member of Vandal Savage's cult while the team attempted to reclaim Carter Hall's body. This is probably due to his past experience as a quarterback. He is also shown to have a very effective punch, able to knock out a League of Assassins member with a single strike.
 * Skilled marksman: In the Old West, Jax used a revolver to shoot a gun out of a man's hand while on a horse.
 * Skilled mechanic: Whilst he lacks a college degree, Jefferson is highly intelligent and a very competent mechanic, having held a job in a car repair facility and adapting his skills to the various needs of the Waverider and technology encountered on their travels.

Weaknesses

 * Torn ACL: Due to being hit by dark matter rather hard and subsequently slamming into a wall, Jax's ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) was badly damaged and as a result cannot run too hard on it. This is shown when he ran across the Koshmar prison courtyard to get to a power switch only to barely make it due to his knee cramping.

Behind the scenes

 * Jax's background borrows plot elements from the New 52 origin stories of both Ronnie Raymond and Victor "Vic" Stone aka Cyborg of being a former high school football quarterback with a promising future before an incident occurs that ends that dream but leads him into the life of a superhero instead.