Firestorm Special Blue Devil Preview: A Special Free Gift to You from the New Son of Nimrod

Firestorm #24 Special Blue Devil Preview by Gary Cohn, Dan Mishkin and Paris Cullins (April 1984).
#BlueDevil #Trickster #KidDevil #GaryCohn #DanMishkin #ParisCullins

[@JohnBrenner-re7rf]

Never disappointed with any Son of Nimrod content. Rock on Mate. 7 thumbs up!

[@SonofCapwolf]

Challenge accepted.

[@robert2430]

IIRC this was created with Ditko in mind to draw it but he turned it down. It really seems like something in his wheelhouse, visually at least. But if he had done this we would never have gotten the awesomeness of Speedball and Niels the cat.

[@SonofCapwolf]

Yep, that's why Blue Devil is a mish-mash of previous things Ditko had worked on (Iron Man, Hulk, Doctor Strange). It was basically created trying to appeal to his sensibilities and it still didn't impress the one person it was created for. Just not the same as Hawk and Dove, is it?

[@darthknight1]

I get a definite Mark Gruenwald vibe from this.

[@SonofCapwolf]

Because it's a hodge-podge of the rival company's ideas thrown together?

[@robert2430]

I liked Blue Devil then and still do. I even enjoyed Shadowpact but I haven’t revisited it since. DC had several interesting new characters in the 80s that never seemed to realize their potential. I suppose Booster Gold was the most successful but even that took a long time.

[@SonofCapwolf]

Shadowpact is still decent. The lead-in crossover was the rough stuff, the series was mostly solid. Had some good villains. Much like Blue Devil was originally, Shadowpact is one of those things that they should try again. I guess, they did Justice League Dark but when you've got a name for a series as rubbish as that, what's the point?

[@apilgrim8715]

I like Blue Devil and this introduction because it quickly lays out an origin, a brief fight (what he stands for), and also the future problem. I have 20 years of DC reading to fill in for a gap but my general understanding is Blue Devil is turned into a character that constantly has to sacrifice himself for the human race in various bargains with the devil.

[@SonofCapwolf]

The sacrifice / "actual demon" stuff began in Underworld Unleashed in 1995. His original run, he was just an unfortunate guy who was stuck in the costume and decided to use his affliction to do some good. They REALLY lean into actual demons and soul pacts starting in Underworld Unleashed. And then there's poor Kid Devil...