Deathstorm (died 2022), also formerly known as the Black Flame, was an evil cold fusion entity. After briefly assuming the identity of Ronnie Raymond to trick Team Flash, Deathstorm gained Ronnie's body. After committing several mass serial murders, Deathstorm was confronted by a newly upgraded Frost who now had the same powers as him. After the two fought throughout the city, Frost absorbed Deathstorm into herself, killing him and her in the process.
Deathstorm was born before the planet Maltus came into existence and witnessed sinkage and collapse of the first gas cloud, as well as the fall of the first beings. According to him, his home is much farther than Hell. It's a lonely place, or at least it was until Ronnie Raymond died in the Singularity. Ronnie's mind found Deathstorm, Ronnie's grief became his hunger, and Ronnie's love became his guiding light. Ronnie's feelings showed Deathstorm how to end his suffering.[1]
Deathstorm then proceeded to deceive Caitlin into using the quantum splicer and give him a body which resembled Ronnie's. Afterwards, he revealed himself to Caitlin.[2]
Attacking Central City[]
Deathstorm followed by the Flash through the sky.
Deathstorm then ran away and fed on more grieving people. Deathstorm possessed Cecile Horton to intimidate Barry Allen, and disguised himself as Esperanza Garcia to psychologically torture Allegra Garcia. After evading the Flash, Deathstorm took Caitlin to Ripley's Wild World where he killed several people to feed on the pain and revealed that he planned to make Caitlin as his bride to end his loneliness. When Deathstorm began to use his powers on Caitlin, he fled upon realizing that Caitlin wasn't ready. Meanwhile, Deathstorm disguised himself as Eddie Thawne to torment Iris West-Allen.[6]
Deathstorm fighting Hellfrost.
Deathstorm appeared as Ronnie to Frost and insulted Frost of not being a real person. Deathstorm simultaneously had glamors of Quincy, Esperanza, Eddie and Nora Allen terrorize Team Flash, steal his victims' grief, and transfer it to complete Caitlin's transformation. Hellfrost then battled Deathstorm through the sky and killed him by consuming him, but Frost died in the process.[1]
Personality[]
Deathstorm is a being of pure evil, but ultimately wanted Caitlin Snow to end his loneliness. He is very similar to a demon in many ways, as he takes on a demonic like appearance, is a master manipulator, and torments others just to get a laugh as seen when impersonating Ronnie Raymond, Quincy P. Runk, Esperanza Garcia, Eddie Thawne and Nora Allen. While ultimately failing in his goal to take Caitlin from Team Flash and making Caitlin into his bride, he did succeed in grief (to Caitlin) as his defeat also came with Frost's death who Team Flash grieved.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
Meta-human physiology: After Ronnie Raymond died in the Singularity near Deathstorm and later gaining his body 7 years later, Deathstorm became a powerful and dangerous meta-human with a wide range of different powers. He was Team Flash's most dangerous foe to date, as his powers allow him to play mind games with his victims and is seemingly immune to Barry Allen's power set. He was also the only big bad that Barry was incapable of defeating in the final battle, and had to be stopped by Frost.
Electromagnetic interference:
Deathstorm appears to Caitlin.
Deathstorm could also distort and put out the lights in the room he was in as well as cause all nearby electrical systems to go haywire.
Flight: In his disembodied form, Deathstorm could fly at high speeds, though not quite as fast as Barry can run. After gaining Ronnie's body, Deathstorm can now fly like Firestorm.[6]
Shapeshifting: Deathstorm can take on the appearance of people close to Team Flash in order to manipulate. Before gaining a physical form, he also had the ability to shapeshift his own flames into a skull like appearance.[2]
Immunity: Deathstorm was completely unaffected by Barry's wind tunnels as well as Frost's ice powers. And due to his biology, it's likely that he was immune to Barry's lightning powers as well.
Intangibility: Deathstorm was able to enter and exit S.T.A.R. Labs through the walls and roof when in his disembodied form. In his physical form, Deathstorm could still go intangible, although he didn't choose to do so too often. He only did this in his physical form when he phased through the doors in S.T.A.R labs before flying away, and when he and Hellfrost phased through S.T.A.R labs' roof when they fought.
Immortality: Deathstorm had been alive for thousands of years and would have likely lived forever if he hadn't been killed.
Deathstorm can use his powers to open portals which lead to and from his home space in the Hell Dimension.[6]
Cryo-pyrokinesis: Deathstorm's main power is his ability to summon and control fire. His very being is also made of the same fire that he controls.[2] Unlike normal fire, Deathstorm's flames form at a subzero state, making them fire, but also ice at the same time.
Superhuman strength: Deathstorm was incredibly strong, stronger than humans and even most meta-humans. He was able to carry Caitlin Snow around with ease, as well as overpower every opponent he'd faced.
Superhuman durability: Deathstorm was practically invulnerable against most forms of harm whilst in his true form; as shown by how he got blasted by Barry's lightning, and he didn't even flinch.
Telepathy: Deathstorm can get inside the minds of others and speak to them through long distances. An example is when he spoke to Cecile Horton to trick into thinking Ronnie was wanted to die. His telepathic abilities exceed Despero's, as he was effortlessly able to take control of Cecile without the slightest amount of resistance; whereas Mia Queen broke free of Despero's control. However, those with enough training can avoid some of his detection, as Sue Dearbon was able to get to a panic button without him noticing until after.
Empathy: Deathstorm can feel the emotions of humans especially grief and sorrow. But he can also sense other emotions like when he felt that Sue Dearbon was happy.
Emotion detection: Deathstorm can sense the grief in people around him to know who to feed off of. The more grief he consumes the stronger he gets. He can also use this ability to track his targets and see what they're doing.
Remote possession: Deathstorm was able to overwhelm Cecile and speak through Cecile without being nearby.
Illusion projection: Deathstorm was able to create and simultaneously use several projections to mess with Team Flash, while shapeshifting his own physical body into Quincy P. Runk, Esperanza Garcia, Eddie Thawne and Nora Allen.[6]
Dream manipulation: Deathstorm could get inside people's dreams and manipulate them to his liking. An example of this was when Chester fell asleep and Deathstorm slipped inside Chester's dream and made Chester think he was attacking.
Transformation: Deathstorm can transform between his human form and his true form at will.[2]
Abilities[]
Expert of deception/Manipulator: Deathstorm was a master of the art of deception, having been able to trick the members of Team Flash many times.
Weaknesses[]
Hunger: Though not a real weakness, Deathstorm is compelled to consume grief when he kills. Being rebuked by Chester and his experience with the Cold Fusion Sphere weakened him a bit as the Black Flame, although he has become stronger than ever in his physical form.
Quantum splicer: Deathstorm needed the quantum splicer to gain a physical form, indicating if he loses the splicer, he would lose his physical form. This is proven true when Frost ripped the splicer off of his chest, and Deathstorm became vulnerable to Frost absorbing him.
Deathstorm's remark that he's something "beyond death" sets him up as a darker parallel to Ramsey Rosso.
Ramsey claims to have found the secret to eternal life and "defeated death".
Both characters have a CGI-created form.
Deathstorm is also somewhat of a darker parallel to Despero. They have virtually the same powers of enhanced physical attributes, powerful telepathic abilities and the ability manipulate a unique type of fire. But the difference is Deathstorm was a lot darker than Despero, as while Despero was heartless and merciless, everything he did, he did with purpose and nothing more; whereas Deathstorm often went out of his way to take an innocent life just for the fun of it.
Deathstorm can manifest multiple places at once; albeit with his phantoms of loved ones acting off the memories his targets have of them. He mentioned Frost can only see him because she had no one to grieve.
Deathstorm is one of the few villains Team Flash was forced to kill, as he was too evil to be reasoned with, too strong to overpower and could not be contained or trapped by any means.
He is also the only villain Team Flash has faced that technically managed to win even though he lost; as while Frost succeeded in killing him, he managed to make Team Flash suffer by inadvertently taking Frost down with him.
Behind the scenes[]
In the DC Comics main continuity, Deathstorm is two alternate versions of Firestorm:
During the Blackest Night event in the pre-Flashpoint continuity, Deathstorm is initially Ronnie Raymond reanimated by the Black Lantern Corps who attempts to assassinate Jason Rusch (the then-current Firestorm) and subsequently an independent entity who opposes both individuals.
In the Forever Evil event in the New 52 continuity, Deathstorm is Martin Stein of Earth-3 fused with a dead lab subject which provided nuclear powers similar to Firestorm.
Deathstorm's hunger for grief is a reference to his origin in the comics as a former Black Lantern. It's because of how Black Lanterns draw power from death, and grief is a pretty close second to it because it makes him stronger.
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