Cliff Carmichael

Origin

Firestorm The Nuclear Man (1982)

He was a geek in high school he hated Ronnie Raymond and wanted to kill him because he was popular and Cliff wasn’t. They both went to the same high school at Vandemeer University, where Ronnie was a football player. Cliff tried to paralyze or kill Ronnie by ripping his football helmet’s strap before his game. However, Cliff’s cousin used the helmet and was paralyzed instead of Ronnie. In spite of the guilt for paralyzing his own cousin, Cliff blamed Ronnie and hated him even more.

Major Story Arcs

In the new Firestorm series (2004)

In the new Firestorm comic books when Ronnie Raymond returns, (issues 10-13), Cliff comes back as The Thinker, a super villain, and he messes with Ronnie’s mind. Ronnie and Jason Rusch swap control of Firestorm, placing Jason in control. As Cliff only knows Ronnie closely, he is unable to use the same tactics on Jason. Firestorm almost kills Cliff, until Ronnie tells Jason to let him live.

The Suicide Squad

Cliff Joined the Suicide Squad for a couple of missions but he betrayed them. Cliff, along with Marauder and White Dragon joined The General’s side when during the betrayal. He disabled Amanda Waller while she controlled Chemo, and then shot King Faraday. He began to take over Chemo and was shot in the head and chest by Faraday, killing him.

Powers

Cliff’s super villain name is The Thinker. There was a previous villain named The Thinker who was thought to be dead, which explains how Cliff got the “Thinking Cap” and took his place.