This article is about one of the two humans whose fusion makes up the conjoint meta-human Firestorm. For other characters, see Firestorm (disambiguation).

"Please, tell Clarissa and Lily that I love them. Thank you, Jefferson, for the adventure of a lifetime. I hope your life is long and full of love, just as mine has been." —Martin's last words to Jefferson Jackson[src]



Professor Martin "Marty" Stein (March 16, 1950[1] - November 28, 2017[2]) was a Jewish physicist who was known for leading the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project. He co-wrote a paper on it with Jason Rusch. After the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded he became one half of the transmuted and conjoined meta-human superhero Firestorm alongside Ronnie Raymond and later Jefferson Jackson.

In early 2016, Martin Stein was recruited by the rogue time-traveler Rip Hunter to form the Legends, a team of heroic time-travelers. During several missions, he used the aliases "Elon Musk" and "Max Lorenz". In late 2017, during the Nazi invasion from Earth-X, Martin was shot multiple times by the Sturmbannführer and in his dying moments, he severed his connection with Jax to save him from joining him in his fate.

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Biography

Life prior to the accelerator's malfunction

Martin Stein was born on March 16, 1950, on a roadside in Ivy Town after his mother went into labor. Shortly after being born, his father gave him to Rip Hunter and Mick Rory who were posing as doctors in order to kidnap newborn Martin to protect him from the Pilgrim, a villain who was hunting down past versions of the Legends through time to easily eliminate their present selves. He was brought to The Refuge under the care of Mary Xavier.[1] After the Pilgrim's defeat, Rip retrieved baby Martin from the Refuge and returned him to his parents, restoring his existence in the timeline.[3]

Martin was raised in the Jewish faith and his father made him become a rabbi before he'd allow Martin to enroll at MIT.[4] Martin attended the University of Chicago, where he was classmates with Quentin Quale, as they were both part of class of '70 and protested the Vietnam War together. Their relationship could be seen as more than a mere acquaintance, for Martin was the only person with whom Quentin shared the truth about his brother's death being a suicide.[5]

As a 10-year-old, inspired by his first issue of the "Rick Starr: Space Ranger." comics, Martin dreamed of traveling through space, surviving only by his wits and laser guns. He even built a rocket out of cardboard boxes. Martin eventually gave up on that dream after realizing that NASA has rather strict guidelines regarding nearsightedness.[6]

In October 1975, Martin was mingling at his university campus when he came upon a strange older man and his two friends, Sara Lance and Jefferson Jackson. The man was, in fact, Martin's older self from the future who had come to find his tracker. He invited the three of them to come with him and have some fun. Martin brought the trio to his lab and he shared some marijuana with them. He even flirted with Sara, much to the annoyance of his older self, before being called away. When he came back, he found that they were stealing his ionic tracker and wanted to know who they all really were. He was then knocked out by Sara and left unconscious.

When Martin came to, he went to track down his tracker and get it back. However, doing this caused him to miss a faculty mixer arranged by his future wife's uncle, who was a professor at Ivy University. Martin found the Waverider and was shocked at the technology of the ship. His older self-reprimanded him for being there as he had unknowingly prevented himself from meeting his future wife, Clarissa, thus changing his future. Future Martin returned the tracker to him and tried to bid him a good future, knowing that it wouldn't be the same. However, Rip Hunter was able to "encourage" Martin to attend the mixer, thus preserving the timeline as he met and fell in love with Clarissa.[7]

In 1987, Martin had gone to the White House for the peace summit between the United States and the Soviet Union to serve as an advisor. Originally, he had taken Clarissa to a restaurant for her birthday. Due to a time aberration, Martin had gone to the White House instead and chose to skip Clarissa's birthday in favor of trying to get the President to acknowledge his research. He went to Damien Darhk, who was attending the summit and speaking for President Reagan, in hopes that he could help. However, Martin stumbled on a secret meeting Darhk was having was stabbed by the latter. He was then taken to the Waverider, where he came upon the same man he ran into in 1975, whom he had deduced was his older self.

Martin's future self called him an idiot for selfishly skipping their wife's birthday to pursue his career. When Martin learned of the true nature of the Waverider as a time machine, he called his older self selfish for not sharing the future with him, and was told that it was he who was selfish as his actions nearly got Clarissa killed. Martin's future self told him that after all that he had accomplished in his career, the only thing that gave his life true meaning was Clarissa. Martin affirmed that Clarissa meant everything to him and his future self told him to prove it to her and himself and cherish her. Martin vowed that he would make sure that Clarissa would always know how much she meant to him.[8]

Unknowingly, this set Martin on a new path which resulted in him going on to have a daughter with Clarissa that he didn't have previously. He and Clarissa named their daughter Lily. Martin was a caring, devoted father to Lily as he enjoyed rolling her stroller in the neighborhood to help her sleep and loved it when she smiled at him.[9]

In 1992, Martin went to buy a Beebo doll for Lily as a Hanukkah gift. He saw there was one left in the store and calculated the best way to get it before any of the other shoppers. He found a novelty bow with a toy arrow and used it to shoot an ornament-free to knock the doll into his hands. The shoppers then chased after him and he ran away and somehow found himself back in the past when the Vikings had come to North America. The Vikings had believed that the Beebo doll was a god and Martin tried to act as a translator to stay alive but his ruse quickly ended and was made a prisoner. He suddenly found himself saved by the crew of the Waverider who, especially Jax, were awkward around him. He told them that the Beebo doll would go on to change history and found that the United States would be a Viking country called New Valhalla. He went back to the Waverider where he asked about his future self but the crew told him that he had gone to back to his family for the holidays. He then asked if he could be taken back to his and Jax said that he would take him.

When he returned to 1992, Jax gave him a letter with a date and told him not to open it until then. Martin then admitted that he realized that his future self must've died and this was Jax's attempt to change his fate. Jax told him to open the letter as it would mean his entire future. However, Martin burned the letter as soon as he got home and was not surprised to find Jax visiting him. He explained his actions of destroying the letter and told Jax that he was not scared of the future as it was clear he would go on to have a full life with his wife and daughter and end up having many exciting adventures. He also saw that he would make a great friend in Jax as he was willing to do these things for his sake. He advised Jax that he had to let him go as no one could live forever.[2]

Martin went on to accomplish various achievements in the scientific field and even had a table for all the awards he received, though his wife Clarissa would remark that perhaps he was just a tad too focused on his career. However, Martin still loved Clarissa very much, and often spoke of his affection for her when conversing with his friends.[5] He wrote numerous papers on a vast array of scientific theories, a number of which were for the Oxford University Press; one of them was about the topic of time travel, published around 1990, and became well known in certain circles.[10]

Martin worked as the leader of the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project at Hudson University. He published an 800-page paper regarding the project that was co-written by Jason Rusch. Wishing to get help for it, he went to an unspecified source.[11]

The day of the particle accelerator explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs and afterwards

One fateful day, Martin Stein was on a train back to Central City, the same train Barry Allen rode from his trip back from Starling City. They both interacted, discussing the theories of Albert Einstein. They mentioned the brilliance of Einstein and Barry's own girlfriend problems.[5]

That night, Martin was near S.T.A.R. Labs and happened to be in the middle of an anti-particle accelerator protest. When the accelerator exploded, he became exposed to the Firestorm Matrix and the wave, containing particles of Ronnie Raymond, hit him, fusing the two together. Martin Stein was considered "missing" for a long time afterward, unable to coherently control Ronnie's body as both minds fought for control.[5][12]

One month later, Stein (in Ronnie's body) found himself trashed. He went back to his wife, who could not recognize him as he took on the appearance of a stranger, forcing him to flee from their house and live on the streets.[5]

9 months later, close to the one year anniversary of the S.T.A.R. Labs incident, Ronnie's subconscious loosely gained minimal control of his own body and revealed himself (with Stein still the prominent conscious) to Caitlin Snow. Afterwards Caitlin and Cisco Ramon became persistent on finding Ronnie, not knowing that Martin was the one in most of the control of Ronnie's body. They wanted to help him but he refused. Later when The Flash was being attacked by the Reverse-Flash, Stein came to his aid by blasting the speedster off of him. He then told Caitlin not to look for him again before flying off.[13]

3 months later Stein was still in Ronnie's body then later came to his old schoolmate Quentin Quale asking him for help but ended up losing control of his powers and severely burned Quale to a critical condition. Team Flash eventually tracked him down and managed to persuade him to come in, thanks to Clarissa. As the team ran tests on Stein, they discovered that Ronnie's body was becoming unstable and that he would eventually explode. Hearing this, Stein traveled as far as he could from the city to avoid harming anyone. Caitlin and Barry tracked him down and tried to prevent him from exploding by putting a device on his chest, which didn't seem to work at first, as the explosion still happened with Barry and Caitlin barely escaping the blast.[5]

They succeeded in separating. However, Martin and Ronnie maintained synchrony in their brain waves, enabling them to communicate telepathically to a degree. General Wade Eiling eventually sought to kidnap both of them to experiment on, succeeding in kidnapping Martin. Ronnie sensed Martin being in danger, used a piece of broken glass to carve a message, hoping Martin would receive it; he did, and in return, sent a Morse code respond to share the location where he was kept captive, thus Barry and Ronnie went to rescue Martin. While Barry was occupied, Martin and Ronnie were cornered, and forced to merge. However, this time, having accepted each other and achieved balance, both of their minds were active on a conscious level. Although Ronnie was in control of the Firestorm body this time, Martin was still active to communicate with one another telepathically. With the use of the device, they were able join and separate at will and separated after the incident. Ultimately, they chose to visit a colleague of Martin Stein's in Pittsburgh to get a better understanding of their condition. Having decided this, they joined again to become Firestorm and flew off.[10]

Three months later when Barry realized he was too slow for the Reverse-Flash he called Firestorm and Oliver Queen/The Arrow to help him in his upcoming fight against him. When Wells arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs to use the particle accelerator the Flash confronted him and Firestorm and Arrow soon joined him, but Wells was unimpressed and fought all 3 of them. When Flash was down Firestorm distracted Reverse-Flash so Arrow could shoot him with a special arrow to disable his speed, but Reverse-Flash used his tornado powers to send Firestorm blocks away. Flash quickly recovered him and stopped him falling to his death and resumed the fight shooting a massive ball of fire at Reverse-Flash atop S.T.A.R. Labs when Flash lead him up there, causing him to fall on a car where Arrow finally finished him off with an arrow and made him pass out. Having defeated the Reverse-Flash, the Arrow parted ways with Flash while Firestorm remained.[14]

While incarcerated inside the Particle Accelerator, Eobard Thwane revealed his plan of having Barry Allen opening up wormhole inside the accelerator in order for him to time-travel back to the future. Eobard proposed that when the wormhole opened, Barry should use it to travel back to the night when his mother got killed and prevent her assassination. Hearing this proposal, Martin discussed the complications, calming that if Barry does decide to prevent Nora's death then his entire life and all of the current history up to that point would be completely erased and Barry would never have met all the people in his new life as The Flash. However, Martin remained uncertain of the full extent of the repercussions.[4]

Doctor Stein began analysing the variables of the wormhole in order to verify Thawne's claims, working alongside Eobard's distant grandfather, Eddie Thawne. Eddie immediately felt unqualified to help so he decided to leave, but he was stopped by Martin who said that he is equally important as anyone else. Eddie gave a rebuttal by mentioning Eobard's claims about the future, how Eddie failed to accomplish anything in his life. However, Martin dismissed these claims by pointing out to Eddie the incredible coincidence of him and his distant grandson existing in the same moment in time and that he is the only person in that era who Eobard is incapable of killing. Martin believed that Eddie is the only individual in this entire scenario he exhibits free-will. Just as he encouraged Eddie to stay, Martin noticed that one of the possible outcomes of opening up the wormhole would be the creation of a singularity, a black-hole capable of swallowing the entire planet and he immediately warns the rest of the team.[4]

When The Flash ran to stabilize the singularity, Martin merged with Ronnie and flew up to the singularity in order to separate it in the eye. They succeeded in stopping the singularity from swallowing up Central city with some consequences. During their effort to destroy the singularity Ronnie and Martin separated and Ronnie was pulled into the singularity which possibly killed him.

New Firestorm

Six months after Ronnie's death, Martin became the new mentor of Team Flash. After meeting and speaking to Jay Garrick, he discussed the implications of the multiverse including Earth-1, Earth-2 and Zoom. He later helped save Patty Spivot and stop Eddie Slick/Sand Demon and questioned Cisco about his odd behavior. He then learned Cisco was a meta-human and persuaded him to use his abilities for the better and tell the team. Stein began talking to the team when he fainted which was found to be the effect of not being merged with his second half for a long period of time.[15]

A few hours later, he recovered from his state and helped to stop Lewis Snart and Leonard Snart/Capitain Cold from stealing the diamonds. He also contributed in helping Lisa Snart. Stein immediately starts bursting into blue flames before falling on the floor unconscious.[15]

The team discovered he needed someone else to merge with Stein in order for him to stay alive. The only two possible matches were Jefferson "Jax" Jackson and Henry Hewitt. Henry Hewitt was not able to merge with Stein as he was incompatible so they had to resort to the second choice Jefferson Jackson. During a fit of rage Henry discovered his new abilities. Henry was both enraged and jealous of this decision and tried attacking Caitlin in the garage Jax was working in, Jax successfully defended her and they both escaped to S.T.A.R. Labs. The team found out Henry was wreaking havoc in the stadium Jax used to play in. After discussing the dangers of Henry the team decided in order to tackle Henry, Jefferson Jackson and Martin Stein had to merge. The merge was successful and Jax had the physical and mental control of firestorm. After a long battle with Henry Hewitt, Firestorm and The Flash succeeded in defeating Henry. Later Jefferson Jackson and Martin Stein decided to leave Central City in order to train.[15]

Joining Rip Hunter

In January 2016, Jefferson Jackson and Stein were still in Pittsburgh, where they were up against a criminal at a chemical plant as Firestorm. Stein told Jax to be careful, as 83% of the chemicals were flammable. Jax however still shot fireballs all over the place. While Firestorm defeated the man, Stein was still upset that Jax doesn't listen to him. Jax told him to stop treating him like one of his "snot nosed undergrads" when they were intercepted by Rip Hunter. Martin and the rest of Rip Hunter's recruits woke up on top of a building where Rip informed them of the impending threat of Vandal Savage's conquest of the world and a chance to join him. Later, Martin and Jax discussed Rip's offer where Jax was firmly against it while Stein relished the opportunity.[16]

Before embarking on Rip's mission, Jax from a few months into the future time traveled to just before the team left due to future Martin sending him back to 2016 to reverse the effects of temporal radiation and he made contact with Martin. Jax and Martin scavenged Eobard's Time sphere for parts to the jump ship with Jax noting that present Martin was more arrogant than future Martin. As they were saying their goodbyes, Martin apologized for being an insufferable know-it-all and Jax told him that his present self would be very angry about Martin drugging him later but that he would eventually consider it the best decision he never made. Jax then left and time traveled back to the Vanishing Point.[17]

Not to be deterred, Stein drugged him and took him on Rip Hunter's mission anyways. Martin and a sleeping Jax arrived with the others at the Waverider where Ray Palmer talked to Martin about being one of his students, which he doesn't remember. Then, Rip took them first to St. Roch in 1975 where Jax was angry with Martin for drugging and kidnapping him against his will and elected to stay behind on the ship. Martin accompanied Rip to speak to Dr. Aldus Boardman to gather information on Savage. After speaking with Aldus, the Waverider was attacked by Chronos and Martin sensed Jax's distress causing the team to return to the ship. Under fire from Chronos, Martin and Ray made a run for the ship. As Firestorm, he and the Atom provided enough cover for the rest of the team to make it to the time ship. Hiding in the temporal zone, the team learned of Rip's status as a rogue Time Master and the murder of his family by Savage. Martin then suggested that everyone needed time to think about their options. Martin apologized to Jax for bringing him unwillingly and offered to go home. However, Jax had a change of heart and wanted to stay.[16]

The team next headed to Norway, where Savage was holding a black market auction of a nuclear bomb. Against Rip's wishes, they went after Savage during the auction. When the team had difficulty with an ID checker, Martin was able to swindle the guard allowing the team into the auction. However, Savage sensed the presence of Kendra and Carter and ordered the attendees to kill the group. A huge fight broke out and Ray emerged from Martin's pocket and joined the fight. However, the team failed to kidnap Savage and he escaped, activating the bomb while leaving. Firestorm flew the bomb away and absorbed the nuclear energy. Unfortunately, Ray left a piece of his exosuit behind, altering history. Martin and Ray deduced that the exosuit's alpha particles can be tracked with a device created by a younger Martin Stein in 1975. The younger Stein lost opportunity to meet his future wife Clarissa, after meeting with "sexy assassin from the future" Sara Lance, and her proceeding to knock him out, he refused to go to a Facility Mixer. Rip convinced the young Martin Stein to go and meet his dear Clarissa. Stein became depressed upon realizing that despite believing he had matured over the years, he was still just as arrogant as his younger self. After Savage forced a captured Leonard Snart to contact the team, they came to the rescue. Firestorm was able to knock Savage out, but Kendra and Carter were unable to finish him. Savage then killed Carter and wounded Kendra forcing the team to retreat. Rip took Martin back to the university to show him his/Marty's meeting with Clarissa. Back on the time ship, they renewed their commitment to defeating Savage in memory of Carter. Later, Jax helped encourage Stein by showing him that he has indeed matured into a kind, smart and selfless man who is willing to do anything to save the world to make it a better place.[7]

When Kendra's wound worsened, Martin and Ray discovered fragments of the Amon Dagger in her bloodstream. Ray tried to use his A.T.O.M. suit to destroy the fragments with Martin's help but he panicked and stopped the procedure. Ray resented the fact that Martin didn't remember him as one of his top students. Later, Martin confided to Ray that he acted like he didn't remember Ray because he was jealous that as one of his students, Ray seemed more brilliant than he was. In a second attempt, Martin guided Ray through Kendra's bloodstream and managed to destroy all of the remaining dagger fragments. Ray then realized Martin had lied about remembering him as a student, but Martin justified it by saying that Ray needed the push. After the rest of the team recovered Carter's body from Savage, they held a funeral for Carter and Aldus.[18]

During a visit to 1986 to track Savage, Stein attempts to investigate a Russian nuclear program being funded by Savage by himself out of concern for Jefferson's safety, but although he is able to drain off Savage's nuclear reaction by himself, he, Ray, and Rory are subsequently captured by Savage's ally, Valentina Vostok.[19]

Realizing that Savage's plan was intended to recreate his own version of Firestorm, Martin did his best to withstand Savage's torture to keep the secrets of Firestorm safe. However, Savage threatened the lives of Ray and Mick, forcing Martin to give Valentina the equation for Firestorm. Valentina was able to forcibly merge with Stein to create a new Firestorm, but with Jefferson's encouragement and recognition that he had only left Jefferson behind out of fear rather than a lack of trust, Stein was able to separate from Valentina, triggering a nuclear explosion that destroyed Valentina and the gulag where she had been working while Hunter and his team escaped.[20]

After being knocked out of the temporal zone by Chronos into Star City of 2046, Martin stayed on the ship to help with repairs. Due to their psychic link, Jax caused Martin to become irritated that Ray and Kendra were being friendly with each other since Jax had a crush on Kendra. Jax was unsure of himself, but Martin implores him to be confident. Martin then tried to deter Ray from romantically pursuing Kendra, but in actuality gave Ray the idea. When Sara went off to rescue Connor Hawke from Grant Wilson's men, Martin convinced Rip to help her because this potential future is real to Sara. Firestorm, along with the rest of the team, came to help Sara and Oliver rescue Connor.[21]

When Gideon received a distress signal from the Acheron, the team investigated it to retrieve current timeline data. Martin accompanied the away team to investigate the Acheron but stayed behind on the jumpship. Martin snuck on board after Rip, Mick, and Jax were captured by Jon Valor, disabled the weapon systems, and freed Rip, Jax, and captured time master Eve Baxter. Later, the team decided to put down Mick for selling them out to the time pirates.[6]

The Acheron's time data pointed to Savage being in Harmony Falls, 1958. Martin disguised himself as a replacement doctor since the last one was murdered (presumably by Savage). After Rip and Leonard find Betty Seaver injured by with talon wounds, Martin surmised that Savage had an Nth metal meteor of the same kind that gave Kendra and Carter their powers. He proposed that he could come up with a cure for the mutated creatures. Leonard and Martin snooped around the hospital for Jax, meanwhile, Martin grew worried when he couldn't psychically sense Jax. When Kendra failed to kill Savage, Savage released his Manhawks. Martin and Leonard fought off the Manhawks but discovered that Jax had been turned into one. They subdued Jax and took him to the Waverider where Martin and Gideon made a gene therapy to cure Jax of the Nth metal mutation. Before the rest of the crew was onboard the Waverider, Chronos attacked the ship forcing it to take off and strand Ray, Kendra, and Sara in 1958.[22]

When Chronos boarded the Waverider, Rip told Martin and Jax to take the jump ship. However, they were not willing to leave their team behind. As Firestorm, they busted through the bridge to find Rip lying on the floor and Leonard kidnapped. Rip rebooted Gideon to override Chronos' commands and they freefell through time. The team landed in 1960 to pick up Kendra and Ray but found that Sara had rejoined the League of Assassins. The team snuck into Nanda Parbat where the League captured them. After a trial by combat between Sara and Kendra, Chronos attacked. Ra's al Ghul freed the Legends so that they could fight off Chronos. Through their combined efforts, they defeated Chronos but discovered that he was actually Mick Rory. Rip then told the team that their next destination was 2147.[23]

Rip's plan in this leg of the mission was to kill future despot Per Degaton in 2147 before he could provide the platform for Savage to later conquer the world. Martin and others opposed this plan so Rip compromised by abducting him from the timeline. While the rest of the team kidnapped Per Degaton, Martin accompanied Ray and Jax to disable the A.T.O.M. robot army. Later, Tor Degaton's army surrounded the Waverider so Firestorm helped the team hold off the soldiers and A.T.O.M. robots. After trying and failing to kill Per on his own, Rip exchanged Per's life for Sara's and the team escaped the Kasnia Conglomerate.[24]

While hiding in 1871 from the Hunters, Martin went with the team to explore the town of Salvation. Martin played cards with some local townspeople using card skills his father taught him. One of the men at the table got frustrated and grabbed a waitress. Martin picked a fight with him causing the man to draw his gun. However, Leonard was the quicker draw and shot the man, saving Martin's life. Afterward, it evolved into an all-out bar fight until Jonah Hex settled them all down and demanded to be taken to Rip. Martin later returned to the saloon to ask the bartender where to find Jeb Stillwater and also ran into a grieving woman who had a sick son. She took him to her son who had tuberculosis. Martin tried to sneak some medicine off the Waverider but got caught warranting a lecture from Rip. Despite that, he still gave the futuristic medicine to the boy. After Rip won the duel against Jeb Stillwater, the Hunters arrived and assaulted the town. Firestorm and the rest of the team fought off the Hunters. Before dying, one of them told Mick of the Omega Protocol which would initiate the Pilgrim to go after the team. Martin said his goodbyes to the mother and her son who turned out to be the future H.G. Wells.[25]

When the Pilgrim went after Ray in 2014, Firestorm and Rip rescued him. Jax confided to Martin that he never got to see his father since he shipped off to Somalia before he was born. However, when Martin and Ray were kidnapping Jax as a newborn in 1993, Martin saw that his father hadn't shipped out yet. Martin brought back present-day Jax so that he could talk to his father. After the team was successful in rescuing everyone's younger selves, they took them all to the Refuge under the care of Mary Xavier. Gideon then intercepted a message from the Pilgrim threatening the team's family, including Clarissa. The team met her at an abandoned Time Masters outpost where they turned over 10-year-old Rip to her. Firestorm and the rest of the team then ambushed her but she held them off with her time micro-manipulation powers. However, young Rip stabbed her and she was subsequently destroyed by the team. Back on the Waverider, Clarissa didn't remember Martin but Rip assured him that he would return them when the mission is complete.[1]

Next, the team went to London of 2166 at the height of Savage's reign. After an assassination attempt on Savage, Rip took Martin, Jax, and Ray to make contact with the remains of the resistance. Martin and Ray investigated a destroyed resistance camp and discovered Savage's superweapon was The Leviathan, a colossal robot. Martin brought the refugees from the resistance camp on board for protection. The Waverider was then attacked by the robot while trying to escape and took serious damage. Martin was injured in the attack and charged Jax with protecting the refugees before being sedated by Gideon. Martin later woke up and was reassured by Rip that the refugees made it out alive.[26]

When Jefferson was contaminated by exposure to temporal energy while repairing the Waverider's temporal core, Stein sent him back to 2016 in the escape pod to purge him of the radiation.[27] When Stein and the others were captured by the Time Masters, Jefferson was able to repair the pod and return to the future with the aid of the Stein from just before he joined the mission.[17] Reunited, Stein and Jefferson learned that they could transmute elements as Firestorm as well as just shoot fire, but had to prioritize eliminating Savage's plans over exploring this new development in depth. Despite this, the two used this power to destroy one of the meteors Savage was using for his plan.

After stopping Savage, Stein and the others bid Carter and Kendra farewell as they wanted to try to live a life now free from their long time nemesis. Rip asked if the others also wanted to leave but they all wanted to stay with him. Before they could leave, they watched as an identical timeship crashed in front of them. From the ship emerged Rex Tyler who came to warn the Legends that they were in danger.[3]

Protecting the timestream

After spending some months protecting the timeline from other threats in the absences of the Time Masters, the now-named 'Legends' tasked themselves with undoing any disturbances to history. They began to notice that there was someone causing a number of time aberrations, namely giving blasters to assassins to kill the King Louis XIII of France in 1637. Martin was a little happy to be in that time period, dressed in the clothes of the era, to Mick's annoyance. After they saved him and were aboard the Waverider, they felt a massive 'time quake' in the temporal zone. The origin was New York in 1942 where the Nazis had destroyed it with an atomic bomb. Reviewing the timeline, they noticed that Albert Einstein had gone missing prior to the attack and decided to rescue him to prevent the Nazi's from getting the bomb, to Martin's excitement.[28]

Stein was speechless to meet Einstein and tried to convince him to go with them for his own safety but he refused, even when he came under attack from Nazi spies. Stein then went and punched Einstein so they could take him back to the Waverider. Onboard, they realized that taking him didn't change the aberration at all. Stein talked with Einstein and realized that his ex-wife Mileva Maric was the Nazi's target to obtain the atomic bomb. They then learned that Damien Darhk was the one who was heading the Nazi's attack on New York. After saving Mileva, they boarded the Waverider to stop the Nazis from using the bomb. To protect the team from the damage to the Waverider, Rip scattered the Legends through the timeline. Stein and Jackson ended up in the Middle Ages acting as wizards until they were rescued by Mick Rory and new team member Nate Heywood.[28]

After ensuring the Einsteins' safety, the Legends decided to leave 1942 but were intercepted by the Justice Society of America. They had a short battle with them but the Legends were defeated and taken back to their headquarters where they met Rex Tyler again though he didn't know them. As they talked Rex believed that Martin was the group's leader. The JSA asked the Legends to leave after they received a mission in France. When the Legends returned to the Waverider, they discovered that the JSA was in danger.[29]

Martin decided to appoint himself the leader as he felt there was a reason that Rex Tyler assumed that he was their group's leader to begin with. They went to France and found the JSA staking out a night club frequented by the Nazis. Stein pretended to be a famed singer to gain access and sang a song in the club. However, their cover was blown by Ray and a fight broke out where the JSA was reunited with the Legends. To get the amulet, stop the Nazis and ensure the JSA's survival, they decided to team up. When they intercepted the exchange, Kreiger used a serum to turn himself into a Berserker monster and caused the Legends and JSA to retreat but Ray and Amaya were captured. During the battle, Martin had tried to direct everyone but froze when the Berserker attacked, making him realize that he wasn't fit to be the group's leader. After talking with Jax and seeing Sara argue with Rex Tyler to save their friends, Martin saw fit to name Sara as their new Captain.[29]

When Nate was injured, Martin tried to help him as much as he could but he was dying. Ray had gotten a hold of the serum and modified it for himself but instead gave it to Nate which saved his life to Martin's astonishment. They bid the JSA farewell before they went back to their search for Rip.[29] Martin was talking with Ray about Nate's condition when they were jumped by Amaya who stowed away believing that Mick had killed Rex. Afterward, an accident stranded Nate and Ray in feudal Japan and they had to touch down the ship to rescue them. Martin stayed with Jax on the ship to make repairs when they discovered that Rip had a secret armory. In it, they discovered a message from Barry Allen from the future. The two of them decided to not tell the team about it after they got back.[30]

When the team encountered a distress call from a stranded time pilot, they set down during the time of the American Civil War. He told Jax that it might be best if he stayed on the ship, as it was the time of slavery, but Jax told him that he could handle it. The team discovered that the pilot had been infected with a futuristic disease that turned him into a zombie-like creature. He then passed it on to some Confederate soldiers who were chasing a messenger. Stein freaked out at the sight of them and revealed that he had an inert fear of zombies. When Mick was infected, and then let loose on the ship, he was beyond panicked. However, with Ray's encouragement, he was able to fight past his fear to help stop Rory so Ray could come up with the cure. When Jax returned, Martin saw that he had been affected by his experience and told Jax that he wanted to spare him from facing that dark part of humanity.[31]

Changing his past

Jax began to propose that with the Waverider, they could go and make their own changes to history to try and make it better though Stein argued that they could do just as much damage as their enemies by manipulating the timeline. When the Legends detected an aberration in Washington D.C. in 1987, Martin went off with Jax to the White House to find the cause. He knew that he was in Washington for the nuclear peace summit but was surprised to find his younger self in the White House as he knew that he hadn't been there and knew that time was already changing. Ray and Rory found out that Damien Darhk was there and he quickly warned Sara to not do anything rash but she ignored him. They were almost caught by the Secret Service but managed to escape arrest. He warned Sara that in her quest to try and save her sister by killing Darhk almost 30 years before his actual death could have grave consequences. Stein then listened in when Ray and Rory ran surveillance on Darhk but his younger self had arrived. He was surprised as he remembered it was his wife's birthday today but his younger self had chosen to stand her up in order to try and ask Darhk for a chance to bring his research to President Reagan's attention. His younger self seemed to notice that Darhk was meeting with the KGB for a side deal right before he was stabbed.[8]

Stein was then reunited with his younger self who had deduced who he really was after their last encounter. Stein then yelled at him for leaving their wife alone which had gotten him into this mess in the first place. He then went with the team who managed to gain access into to the White House through Obsidian to interrupt Darhk's deal with the KGB but had run into Clarissa who had come to look for her husband. When they met, she felt as if she knew Martin from somewhere though he claimed that he was one of her husband's work friends. When it was discovered that Darhk had planted a bomb, he and Jax went as Firestorm and got Clarissa to safety. When his younger self was recovered, he gave him a stern lecture of being selfish in abandoning their wife all to further their research. He told her that Clarissa was all that gave his life real meaning, not his work and that he had to cherish her. His younger self seemed to agree and promised that he would never stop loving their wife and always let her know how important she was to him.[8]

Over time, Martin was starting to see flashes of a girl. At first, he thought that he was suffering some kind of mental affliction and had his brain scanned by Gideon though nothing was wrong with him. He discussed what was happening with Jax and together they came to the conclusion that what was happening to Martin was due to his interaction with his younger self in 1987. Martin didn't know who the woman was that he was seeing, though he was certain that he loved her. Jax took this to mean that he might've had another woman in his life other than Clarissa.[32]

When the Dominators came to Earth, Stein went with the other Legends to Central City to help Team Flash and Team Arrow against them. He also met Supergirl who was from another Earth in the multiverse whom Barry had brought to help them. He and Jax decided to inform Barry of the message they found in the Waverider and pulled him aside along with Oliver Queen. The message told of Barry giving a warning about a future war that was brought upon them as a result of him going back in time. He then informed Martin, Jax, and Oliver about Flashpoint and the differences he made to not only his life but several others. Martin then had more flashes of the mystery woman and he asked for Caitlin to take him home. Caitlin was wracked with guilt due to her hurting her friends because of her powers and Stein offered her both advice and solace in the fact that it wasn't really her doing those things.

He then got to his front door to find the young woman he'd been seeing. At first, he was worried that his wife wasn't there because of the change in time but the woman told him that she wasn't here. It was then revealed that this woman was actually his new daughter, Lily Stein. He was shocked at the revelation and quickly made an excuse to leave to the puzzlement of both Caitlin and Lily. He rejoined the others when they received word that The President of the United States had been captured by the Dominators. Before they left, Barry then confessed to the others about creating Flashpoint and most of the team became angry with Barry for taking it upon himself to change history for his own benefit. Stein was one of the few who still trusted Barry.[33]

Stein went to S.T.A.R. Labs to try and work on a weapon to use to stop the Dominators. Caitlin had revealed that she had brought Lily to come and help them. He was surprised to see that Lily was a technical expert and she was eager to help her father. However, whenever Lily tried to engage Martin in conversation, he tried to distance himself from her. Caitlin asked why he was shutting Lily out and he revealed to her that Lily was a time aberration he created by interacting with his younger self. Caitlin then asked if he was going to go back in time and erase her and he told her that he was going to restore the timeline back. When Lily started to lose her temper at not being able to find a solution to the weapon and was ready to take off. Caitlin told Stein that Lily was really upset over her father keeping her at arms length and not understanding why. He argued that it wasn't the time for family drama but she argued that they needed Lily's help. Stein went to apologize to Lily and told her that he was being distant because of the new complications in his life. What he said seemed to spark inspiration in Lily and together, they were able to find the missing piece in creating the weapon. Martin then realized how remarkable his daughter truly was.[34]

When the team learned that the Dominators were going to drop a bomb to eliminate meta-humans, along with millions of normal humans, he and Jax went off to try and stop the bomb before it hit the ground. They tried to transmutate it but it was too big. Stein begged Jax to try harder as he now had a daughter and it seemed to spark the power they needed to destroy the meta-bomb. Firestorm then joined the other heroes in fighting against the Dominators as Felicity Smoak activated his and Lily's weapon which forced them to retreat. When they were celebrating back in Central City, Jax went to Stein and asked how he now had a daughter. He then revealed how he had lectured his younger self about neglecting Clarissa and that it caused him to pay more attention to his wife which made them go on and have a child. He then told Jax that he couldn't tell the team about it as he decided that he didn't want to lose his daughter.[35]

After this, Stein started receiving more flashes as new memories of Lily started to come to him. He told Jax that every one of them was a gift though Jax warned him that it would only be a matter of time before the team discovered the truth about her. The team then discovered a new aberration in Chicago of 1927. When Ray let Eliot Ness go with some corrupt policemen that worked for Al Capone, they passed by Stein though he didn't notice as some more memories of his daughter were triggered and came to him. Sara asked him why he didn't stop them though Jax covered for him as he guessed what must've happened. They then moved for the docks and rescued Ness from Capone. To keep history back on track, they had to get the ledger of Capone's dealings for Ness and Nate guessed it was in his speakeasy. The team was ready to move in when they ran into Damien Darhk. But then his speedster ally arrived and Stein along with Sara were kidnapped.[9]

They then learned that Malcolm Merlyn had joined them as well and tried to make a deal with Sara for the amulet that they took from Darhk in 1987 but Sara refused as she said that you couldn't manipulate time for your own benefit which made Stein uncomfortable. When he asked if she had considered taking the deal, she did consider it but he taught her better than that. Stein then confessed about him causing an aberration which resulted in him now having a daughter. Sara was surprised and angry, especially with how he had convinced her to not try and save her sister when they were interrupted by Damien Darhk. He had Stein taken away where he met the speedster, who Stein felt he knew from somewhere. The speedster admitted that their past was complicated and then used a device to painfully steal his appearance. He was then taken by Capone to be thrown in the river but his friends realized the deception and Sara had made a deal to trade the amulet to learn where he was. They then saved him and brought him back to the Waverider. Sara approached him and she told Stein that she understood his decision and she would help in protecting his new daughter and he thanked her before telling Sara her his daughter's name.[9]

The Legion of Doom

Stein stumbled upon Rory who revealed that he had been seeing a ghost of Leonard Snart. He asked Stein for his help but told him to not tell the others that he was seeing him. He was trying to help Rory learn what could be causing this when Sara came and told them that Rip had been found in 1967. He had been arrested and to get him out, Stein played the role of a psychiatrist. He, Rory, and Sara were shocked to see Rip again, though the man didn't recognize them and was now Phil Gasmer. He resisted going with them as they thought they were to take him to a mental facility. Rory knocked him out and they tried to take him out but Darhk and Merlyn had arrived, looking for him as well. They were barely able to get Rip to the Waverider just as Darhk and Merlyn found them. They then learned from Gideon that Rip's mind was altered and he was reprogrammed with a new identity. Rory then had an idea to use Gideon to find out what was making him see Snart, though Stein told him that his visions weren't neurological or psychological. However, Rory insisted. He ran the scan and found that Rory had some kind of chip in his head that looked like a receiver that was placed there by the Time Masters when he was Chronos. Stein guessed that when Snart died in the Oculus blast, the chip honed in on the wavelength of the energy letting him see Snart. Rory asked him to remove it though Stein was a bit nervous. Stein managed to remove it but learned that the chip hadn't been able to work in months so it wasn't the cause. He guessed that it simply the reason Rory was seeing Snart was simply how he was emotionally dealing with his friend's death.[36]

The team was still reeling from facing the Legion and losing Rip to them. They now had the medallion yet they were lost on how it worked. Stein suggested they go to 2017 as he had a colleague in Central City that he felt could help them understand the medallion's mysteries. Stein and Jax went to Jitters to meet with this person though Stein insisted that Jax didn't have to stay. It was then revealed that the person he was meeting was his daughter Lily. Jax was stunned to actually meet her while Lily was happy to see her father again. He then brought out the medallion for Lily to analyze and she pulled out a portable ionic particle scanner which he was surprised as he had never seen one in a compact version before and she revealed that she developed it herself. Using her device, she was able to activate the medallion's power and he then decided to bring Lily back to the Waverider to better help them analyze it. The team was surprised to meet Lily as they thought that Martin didn't have a child and it was then revealed that she was a time aberration. He told the team that Lily could help them but asked that none of them tell Lily about her being an aberration. Later, Lily was able to develop an algorithm to track the fragments of the spear and Martin was full of pride at her accomplishment but she was angry as she had learned that she was an aberration. Stein went off to drink alone following this and was found by Jax. Martin then revealed that the reason that he and Clarissa didn't have children the first time around was because he didn't have a good father himself and feared he would have become just as bad as him. Jax then suggested that he speak with Lily and tell her how he really feels. The team was trying to identify their speedster enemy when Stein went to them looking for his daughter. When the team theorized that the speedster must no longer exist, Martin realized that their enemy was Eobard Thawne.

He came upon Lily trying to ask Gideon to return her to 2017 but Martin had asked Gideon to not let her leave. Lily felt that she was a mistake but Martin sternly told her that he made many mistakes in his life but Lily wasn't one of them. He then told her that he originally didn't want children but he learned from his travels that time often doesn't give them what they want, but what they need and he needed her. He and Lily then hugged and he happily watched her off.

When a time quake was felt and traced back to 1776, Stein was shocked when he learned it was due to George Washington being killed before his trip across the Delaware. He and Jax stayed on the ship as the rest of the team moved to protect Washington but felt a jolt when Rip used a device to send an EMP through the area which shut down the ship and his and Jax's quantum splicer. He was shocked when Sara was brought aboard, suffering being shot by Rip. Jax told him to try and help Sara without Gideon but Martin tried to remind him that he wasn't a doctor but Jax told him that today he would have to be. He tried to help Sara as much as he could before Rip came aboard the ship and knocked him out. He came to and found that Sara had been suffocated by Rip and Jax had watched it. Ray managed to get Gideon back online and he quickly moved to heal Sara before the damage could be permanent and managed to succeed. He then was in the ship's mess hall, celebrating Christmas with the rest of the team.[37]

When his daughter's algorithm located another fragment in 3000 A.D. Stein was excited to go into the distant future. He and the team went to a research lab where they found Dr. Mid-Nite dead, killed by Rip. Martin found some advanced tech lying around and pocketed it. They then found another fragment in 507 A.D. but Martin chose to stay on the ship so he could analyze the tech he got from Mid-Nite's lab. However, Mick caught onto him and found that he stole the tech though he quickly told him that he 'borrowed' it which Mick laughed at in amusement. When Jax returned with some mind control tech that Rip and Damien Darhk were using on Camelot's knights, Martin saw that it went as a set to the device he took from the lab. He learned that the 'commander' wore the one that he took while the 'soldier' wore the one that Jax brought to him. They then hoped that they could hack the signal from Rip's commander device and disrupt his control. Martin tried to use it to control Mick but it didn't have any effect. When Sara and Amaya managed to get Stargirl to give them her piece of the spear, they were set to leave but Ray had chosen to stay behind to help Camelot fight against Rip and Darhk's army. The team then started arguing about whether it was best to stay or leave and Martin voted to stay and not leave Ray behind. When he, Jax, and Mick tried again to undo the mind control, Jax had a theory. He had Mick use the commander device and Stein wore the soldier one and when he fell under Mick's sway they learned that the key was intelligence but intensity. They then moved to interrupt Rip's command of the soldiers and return the knights to normal. He then saw that Sara managed to capture Rip and they threw him into the brig. Stein also refused to admit to Rory that it was his brain that saved the day, over his.[38]

When the Waverider was in the temporal zone, Stein was enjoying a drink in the mess hall when Rip escaped his cell and then locked down the ship. Stein was confused as he was trapped and the ship then crash-landed in the Cretaceous Period as he assumed that Rory had been piloting the ship. When Ray, Nate, and Amaya left to track down a piece of the ship that broke away, the rest of the team was left to try and get Rip back to normal. Rory told them of a method to go into someone's mind and Sara and Jax volunteered. Martin was against Jax going in but he insisted on going and Martin relented. As they were inside, Martin began pacing as he worried about Jax's safety. Rory told him that he had to let Jax make his own decisions and learn to do things his way as Stein wouldn't be around forever. He told Stein that Jax was his partner so he had to treat him as a partner and trust more in him. Stein then saw that Sara and Jax succeeded and Rip was back to his old self. He was with the rest of the team as they welcomed Rip back. He then notified the team of the location of Commander Steel and the last fragment of the Spear of Destiny.

Rip took them to the moment where he left Henry Heywood in 1965 but they couldn't find him anywhere as he had disappeared and gone to ground. Stein and the rest of the team began checking his background and guessed that he might have gone to work to NASA and found a photo of Henry in the Apollo-13 mission control in 1970. The team went to the site to look for him and were able to quickly find Heywood who punched Rip as soon as he saw him. They then learned that Henry arranged for his fragment of the spear to be placed on the moon in order to protect it. However, they saw that the history of the Apollo mission had changed which meant that the spear fragment was in danger. Stein, Jax, and Rory were taken to mission command by Heywood where they posed as technicians from the British Space Program to serve as the rest of the team's eyes and ears as they headed for the moon. They moved to cut mission control's feeds and their radio contact in order to give the others time. Stein and Rory were surprised when a teenager by the name of Hank Heywood arrived in mission control and found that it was Nate's young father whom Henry had rigged a contest so he would have an opportunity to meet him. When the shuttle was safe, Stein and the others let it regain contact with mission control but Stein knew the team was in trouble as the Waverider had sustained damage. The team contacted Stein about what angle the ship needed to be to re-enter Earth's orbit safely but he couldn't be sure which prompted Ray to seek Thawne's help, who they had prisoner on board. Stein and the others were reunited with the team and found that Henry Heywood sacrificed himself to get the Waverider back to Earth safely and Thawne escaped.

With all the pieces of the spear now accounted for by the Legends and the Legion, they knew that eventually there would be an attempt by the Legion to try and take their fragments which meant that the Legends had to strike first. Martin was with the rest of the team as Rip told them that the Legion was operating from the Vanishing Point. The team carefully moved through the destroyed outpost of the Time Masters in separate teams. Firestorm was with Rip and they managed to find the safe where the Legion was keeping their fragments. To get inside, Firestorm converted the safe into jelly beans and then fled with the last two fragments. Back on the ship, the pieces of the spear were all gathered together and they watched as they merged as one. When Rory tried to destroy the spear with his Heat Gun, it revealed words that turned out to be the key to destroying the spear. Nate saw they would need the blood of Christ and the team went to 1914 to find J.R.R. Tolkien who researched a treasure that he claimed was a vial of Christ's blood.

Stein stayed on the ship with Sara, Jax, and Amaya to guard the spear while the others prepared to chase down a lead. Rory went to Stein and told him that he saw Snart again. Stein insisted that it was normal to think of Snart when they had just visited the place that he died but Rory insisted that he was real and had punched him. Stein saw the bruise and assumed that Rory had simply fallen and hurt himself until the Legends learned that the Legion had recruited Snart from a point before he joined the Legends as an extra asset. Mick soon took the spear and gave it to the Legion, and they altered reality.

Legion of Doom's altered reality

Six months later, Martin Stein was working in S.T.A.R. Labs under Eobard Thawne, now the owner again, and also the mayor of Central City, and he had no memory of his time as a Legend, nor did any other Legends member, minus Rip, who was miniaturized and trapped in a miniaturized Waverider. However, he still had the memory of his family. Mick later realized his mistakes, and he and Nate went to Ray's basement, where Ray invented a gun that would restore memories of the previous timeline. Eventually, all the Legends but him had their memories restored. As Jax pointed the gun at him, Martin knocked it out of his hand, destroying it, and he alerted Eobard. He watched in horror and confusion as a massive battle ensued for the spear between the Legends, Legion, and Eobard, which ended in the spear's destruction and Amaya's death. The Legends later took back Ray's armor and grew the Waverider to normal, and they went back hours before the Legion got the spear, and worked with the Legend of the time, which included him, Amaya and Mick. The past Legends got the spear, but all of them except Sara were killed by Eobard and an army of his Time remnants. The past Sara used the spear to depower it and to free Hunter Zolomon, who was hunting Eobard. Eobard then took it, but while insulting Sara for not changing reality to her will, Hunter killed Eobard, erasing him reality which he created, including the versions of him and Sara. He and the other past Legends went onto the Waverider, but while in flight, a time storm made them crash-land in Los Angeles 2017 in a broken reality filled with futuristic buildings and overrun with Dinosaurs, due to them interacting with their future selves.[39]

Becoming a grandfather

After the Legends were disbanded by Rip Hunter, Stein went returned to his home in Central City. He would periodically meet Jax and merge with him to stay stable. Eventually, he discovered that Lily was pregnant and was overjoyed that he was to be a grandfather. When Jax returned one day and revealed that he had dropped out of college, the Waverider returned along with the other Legends minus Amaya. Stein eventually rejoined the team, but unlike Jax, he didn't want to stay for good.[40]

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Martin secretly worked on a communication device, naming it the "trans-temporal communicator." He made a trip on the jump-ship to give Lily the other device so they could communicate through time. When new team member, Zari Tomaz, revealed that Stein doesn't want to be on the Waverider, Jax and Mick grew suspicious and believed he working with the Time Bureau. When Stein got a message from Lily, who was going into labor, he rushed to the jump-ship, but he was stopped and confronted by Mick and Jax. Stein revealed he wanted to see his grandchild being born. Mick commandeered the Waverider and took himself, Stein and Jax to Central City, allowing Stein to witness the birth of his grandson. Stein introduces his grandson to Jax and Mick, revealing him to be named Ronnie, in memory of his former Firestorm partner.[41]

Crisis on Earth-X

Just days before Barry and Iris's wedding in the present day, Stein is with the rest of the Legends in England in the year 1183 AD. He is standing the oath of what seems to be knights, which are in a rush to get somewhere. A fight breaks out, but during the chaos, the fact that they did not RSVP comes up which is a breach of courtesy to Stein. The Waverider shows up, which Stein points out, giving them their ride back to present-day Central City for the wedding.

Once the Legends arrived, Jax and Stein enlisted the help of Cisco and Harry to perfect a formula to release them from the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M Matrix. The formula would break their link safely, as well as erase their powers, ending Firestorm, much to Jax's disappointment. Sometime later, while everybody was preparing for the rehearsal dinner and wedding, Stein was working on a different formula when Caitlin came to see him. He told her that he knew that she assisted Cisco and Harry in making the formula, and thanked her. They talked about how the previous wedding they attended was her and Ronnie's. Snow asks Stein of his plans once he was free of the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M Matrix, to which he replies that he wishes to be with his growing family and to tell his grandson about his adventures, as well as teaching him how to play chess. Caitlin then reminded him of the rehearsal dinner, and Stein told her to go ahead as he continued to work on the new formula.

Stein arrives late to the dinner, to which Jax asked him of his where he was and why he was late. Stein then revealed that he was working on a formula that would grant Jax a different set of powers based on spider DNA. Jax was interested in the prospect of being a Spider-Man esque hero, but quickly lost interest once he was told he would be able to stick to anything, but nothing else beyond that. Stein then told him that if he took the formula, he could still be a Legend, thinking that it would make Jackson happy. Jax leaves Stein in disappointment.

The next day, Stein woke up to see Mick in one of his “dresses” and was told that he was out of milk. A few hours later, he and everybody else went to the wedding ceremony. Before vows were exchanged, the minister was vaporized by Overgirl, and Nazis from Earth-X began to attack the wedding guests. He and Jax then merged into Firestorm and joined the fight along with the rest of the heroes.[42]

Death

While invading a Nazi stronghold containing a breach gateway, Stein noticed that the power needed to be hotwired in order to activate the breach. He suggested that he and Jax separate in order to do both tasks quickly before Red Tornado came to destroy the doomsday weapon. Jax managed to divert power but was surrounded by enemy fire. Stein decided to activate the breach himself and ran towards the switch. Before he was able to reach the switch, he was shot by a Nazi and the Sturmbannfuhrer of the New Reich from behind and collapsed as Jax looked on in horror and disbelief.[43]

Stein briefly regained consciousness and made one last attempt to activate the breach. He was shot again but managed to gather his strength to pull the switch, activating the breach. Stein was still alive, but was in critical condition and rapidly losing blood. The rest of the team knew that they needed to get him to the Waverider to heal him, but would hurt him more if they tried to carry him. To get him to safety without causing further damage, he and Jax merged into Firestorm one final time to get back to Earth-1 and to the Waverider.

By the time the crew made it to the med bay of the Waverider, Stein had already lost too much blood. The only thing keeping him alive was his psychic link, but it was killing Jax in the process. Despite Jax's protests, Stein made the executive decision to finally sever the link, dooming himself but saving Jax, allowing Stein to pass away in peace at the age of 67.[44]

Legacy

"Clarissa asked me to say a few words, but as you all know, it was Grey... uh... Martin, who was the wordy one. But, I got used to hearing his voice inside my head, and even now I can still hear him because even though he's gone, he's still a part of me. He's still a part of all of us. He was the best man right until the end, the best teacher, friend, husband, father... Clarissa, I'm so sorry, I couldn't save him. All he wanted was to come home, to you and Ronnie, to his family. I just don't know how'd I do any of this without him." —Jefferson's eulogy at Martin's funeral

Martin's death was an especially devastating blow to both the Legends and Team Flash, with whom he had most associated, even bringing Mick Rory to tears as well, but none more so than his wife, his daughter, and Jefferson Jackson. Many members of each of the teams grieved for him in silence alone, in pairs or in small groups; Ray looking at a photo of him and Stein in the Old West with Nate, Amaya and Zari, Cisco comforting Caitlin, Iris comforting Barry. Only two of the team leaders, Sara Lance and Oliver Queen, who had the most experience dealing with death remained stoic and focused on their next objective.

The death of Stein also marked the end of the Firestorm Matrix and Jax's time as a superhero, as without Stein to bond with, he is powerless.

Since the heroes knew they couldn't bring Martin back, they were inspired to take on the New Reich one last time in honor of him. After the heroes defeated the New Reich, a funeral was held for Martin with Clarissa, Lily, Team Flash, Team Arrow, and the Legends all in attendance.[44]

After the funeral, Leo Snart ended up joining the Legends for a brief time, trying to help them recover from their loss.

Not long after Martin's death, Jax attempted to change Stein's fate by giving a younger Martin a letter detailing his future death, explaining that the letter was a loophole to save his life, saying not to open it until November 28, 2017. However, Martin burned the letter before he read it, deciding to accept what he already knew would be a good future rather than put it at risk for the chance that it would improve. Realizing that he wasn't grieving properly, Jax decided to take a leave of absence from the Legends.[2] About 5 years after Jax left the Legends he'd gotten married and had a daughter that he named Martina in honor of Martin.[45]

Personality

In his youth, Martin was a brilliant, yet arrogant, selfish, and obnoxious jerk (as his older-self observed); but this changed after he met Clarissa Stein.

In his later years, Martin was a pacifist, having protested in the Vietnam War. He also hated pizza before merging with Ronnie Raymond. After merging he picked up some of Ronnie's characteristics, such as an obsession with pizza. Martin was also shown to have a childish and laid-back personality. One example was when he stated he was "game" if Ronnie was also willing to try to separate. He was also shown to have a sense of humor, telling Ronnie they should not fight on their wedding day shortly before officiating Ronnie and Caitlin Snow's marriage. He also believed that any relationship should be prioritized above everything else.[10]

On his first encounter, Martin was shown being cold towards Team Flash's camaraderie, asking if they were going to start chanting soon. However, after being rescued by the Flash, with the help of the team, he seems to have warmed up to the idea of the collaboration. This was even more apparent when he returns with Ronnie to help Barry. Not only did he help Barry travel back in time, but he also helped a disheartened Eddie understand his role in everything that was happening.[4]

Martin was very articulate and speaks in a very cultured and academic way that is sometimes misconstrued as arrogant or sometimes impossible to even understand; because of this, he was generally incapable of referring to someone by their nickname, calling Ronnie "Ronald", calling Jax "Jefferson" and everyone else either Mr. or Ms. followed by their surname, such as referring to Sara as "Ms. Lance".

In combat and as Firestorm, Martin was very brave, dangerous, and sometimes brutal, despite his personality when not fighting. He attacked Barry and tried to kill him by dropping him from the sky, out of anger for Barry and his team not leaving him alone as he told them to. Even without Firestorm, he was brave enough to fight hand to hand with Time Pirates and knock out some of them on his own. While co-piloting Firestorm's body, he was willing to be part of killing in battle. In this regard, while he dislikes fighting, he was not afraid of it and will fight as a last resort or to defend himself.

Martin had an irrational fear of zombies, extending to the point where he cannot hear or say the word without difficulty, and apparently has never had the courage to watch zombie movies. This became a problem when Mick became a zombie and starting to attack him and Ray. Martin became overwhelmed with fear, but managed to overcome it, as evidenced when he faced Mick alone.

Martin, despite his academic nature, was often subject to his rather powerful emotions. Due to the trauma of having lost Ronnie, his original fusion partner for Firestorm, he often berates Jax on his recklessness. This was out of fear of losing another partner and having to face the prospect of telling Jax's mother that her son died. Martin was also a very caring man, who had taken issue when confronting his rather arrogant and selfish younger-self, who he personally verbally skewered, informing him that his wife was the most important achievement of his life. This shows how much Martin had changed over time.

While loving his family (i.e. his wife), Martin originally had reservations about becoming a parent, mainly stemming from how poorly his father (apparently) was to him. However, upon meeting his daughter Lily (who did not exist prior to temporal alterations) was overwhelmed by emotions. While he described from his new memories that he loved her, he initially tried to keep her at a distance in an attempt to convince himself that her existence was not real. However, upon meeting her and working alongside her, he came to fully accept his feelings for her as genuine. To which, as he continues to gain more memories of raising Lily, he became more fond and glad of his accident with the timeline. His love for her was so great that he attempted to hide the truth about her existence from the team, fearing that their knowledge of her being a time alteration would make them undo the changes. Overall, while Martin had a deep appreciation for maintaining the natural course of events and not intentionally altering them, he was able to accept the unique benefits of accidental changes, showing that his compassion for others can go beyond rationality. To which, he proved himself to not be a hypocrite as upon learning of Barry Allen from the year 2056 altering time, he did not criticize the present Barry for his actions.

Martin was known for his extreme loyalty, often putting the safety of his loved ones above all else, often going to unique extremes in order to protect those closest to his heart. In his older age, Martin prioritizes his wife, daughter, and Jax above all else, with Jax being as close as family to him due to their bond of not only nuclear energy but the camaraderie that borders on paternal, having openly stated on multiple occasions that he views Jefferson as a son.[40][41][44]

Powers and abilities

Powers

Former powers

Firestorm Matrix connection/Meta-human physiology: After Martin was struck by the energy of the particle accelerator explosion, this altered his DNA and supercharged his cells, augmenting his physiology into well-beyond peak human condition. When Jax merges with Martin, the two create the nuclear-powered composite being Firestorm. [15] The F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. Matrix were 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. If bereft of another half, Martin will still exhibit some of Firestorm powers, but only for a short time, as a symptom of approaching death. However, after Martin took the Firestorm Matrix cure that was created by Cisco Ramon and Harry Wells, it severed his and Jax's link; therefore he no longer had any connection to the Firestorm Matrix. Energy 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 has done so, for example, when he absorbed the blast from Vandal Savage’s nuclear warhead and also when he short-circuited the Pentagon's alarms. As shown by Martin, while separated, he is still able to passively absorb energy, albeit on a smaller scale and with a greater strain for himself. It appears that it takes a great deal of time and concentration to trigger the absorption of energy, as shown as when he was unable to absorb a blast of the Flash's lightning when it was launched at him. 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 so that it becomes a different substance altogether. Firestorm first used this by turning a rifle into dust by simply grabbing it. When the two minds focused, Firestorm was later able to transform a radioactive meteorite into water. Nucleokinesis: Firestorm is virtually a living reactor, and as such, creates great amounts of nuclear energy via the numerous 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 either his own body or any source of energy that’s near. Psychic link: Jefferson can hear Martin Stein'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. This link can be so strong that if Stein wanted to prevent whoever he merged with from attacking, he can restrain the nuclear energy from being shot out. [15] Pyrokinesis: Due to the unique nature of the transmutation between the two bodies, Firestorm is able to produce nuclear energy in the form of nuclear-based fire from 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. Stein has exhibited some pyrokinetic ability even without another half to join with him, though it was a sign of approaching death. [15] 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 generating enough force to defy gravity and allow for stable propulsion. 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. He displayed this ability when he attempted to disarm Vandal Savage's missile. How he achieved this skill or how he even does it is unclear. [15]

After Martin was struck by the energy of the particle accelerator explosion, this altered his DNA and supercharged his cells, augmenting his physiology into well-beyond peak human condition. When Jax merges with Martin, the two create the nuclear-powered composite being Firestorm. The F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. Matrix were 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. If bereft of another half, Martin will still exhibit some of Firestorm powers, but only for a short time, as a symptom of approaching death. However, after Martin took the Firestorm Matrix cure that was created by Cisco Ramon and Harry Wells, it severed his and Jax's link; therefore he no longer had any connection to the Firestorm Matrix.

Abilities

Genius-level intellect: From a young age, Martin showed exceptional intellect, as he skipped from 10th grade all the way to college. By age 25, he had gained two PhDs and was on his way to gaining a third, plus he was a leading expert in a field of study. Master scientist/Physicist: With 2 PhDs by the age of 25 and a leading expert in a field of study, Martin was an exceptional scientist, with particularly profound expertise and knowledge of quantum physics. He accomplished many great things in the field of science and had a table of full of awards. [5] Indeed, he was the leader of the futuristic F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M., which was put into practice that which has yet to be successfully done by mankind. [11] He is also especially interested in the concept of time travel and has published several papers on this topic alone, in addition to having published many more papers on other scientific fields. [10] From his time in the Legends, Martin's understanding and knowledge of time became greater than ever, being able to correctly predict how Savage could destroy the timeline. Martin was also accomplished in biology, being able to develop the gene therapy needed to revert the Manhawks back to humans. [22] Master mathematician : Martin was able to accurately calculate the three years that Earth and Thanagar would be aligned. [3] Eidetic memory: Given his extraordinary level of knowledge and understanding of physics, Martin most likely possesses an eidetic or photographic memory, which allows him to process and utilize his vast intelligence effectively. An eidetic memory would be necessary for the usage of Morse code without a codebook to create a message in an emergency situation. Yet, despite this, he always forgets his keys, and also seems to have forgotten who Eobard Thawne is. Honed senses: When they first successfully fused into Firestorm, Martin was able to detect enemy presence behind them before Ronnie Raymond could. Rabbinical knowledge: Having attended a seminary or a Jewish theological college, Martin has become a fully legitimate Rabbi, and as such, he is able to read in Hebrew and is licensed to pronounce marriage. [4] Morse code: Martin is familiar enough and able to construct morse code messages without having to look it up. [10] Multilingual: Martin is capable of fluently speaking English, Hebrew, and German. [28]

From a young age, Martin showed exceptional intellect, as he skipped from 10th grade all the way to college. By age 25, he had gained two PhDs and was on his way to gaining a third, plus he was a leading expert in a field of study. Skilled hand-to-hand combatant: Martin had proven himself to be a capable hand-to-hand combatant to an unknown degree. This is seen when he managed to defeat an armed time pirate. [6]

Martin had proven himself to be a capable hand-to-hand combatant to an unknown degree. This is seen when he managed to defeat an armed time pirate. Indomitable will/High tolerance for pain: Due to Martin's intellect, his mind was extremely strong. As such, he was able to overpower Ronnie for control over Ronnie's own body when they were fused due to his mind being stronger. He is likewise extremely resilient to torture, much tougher than he looked as proven when he was able to resist the torture of general Wade Eiling in order to get the secrets of Firestorm so they could weaponize it without saying a word, surprising Eiling with his resistance. [10] Martin endured similar treatment when captured by Valentina Vostok and Vandal Savage in 1986, only giving in when they threatened Ray Palmer and Mick Rory instead of himself. [20]

Due to Martin's intellect, his mind was extremely strong. As such, he was able to overpower Ronnie for control over Ronnie's own body when they were fused due to his mind being stronger. He is likewise extremely resilient to torture, much tougher than he looked as proven when he was able to resist the torture of general Wade Eiling in order to get the secrets of Firestorm so they could weaponize it without saying a word, surprising Eiling with his resistance. Martin endured similar treatment when captured by Valentina Vostok and Vandal Savage in 1986, only giving in when they threatened Ray Palmer and Mick Rory instead of himself. Singing: When masquerading as Max Lorenz in 1942, Martin proved to be an exquisite singer, able to impress fans of the actual Lorenz.[29] He was also able to distract the NASA mission control with his singing.[46]

Weaknesses

Kinemortophobia: Martin had a crippling fear of zombies; to the point where he can't even say the term.[31]

Former weaknesses

Ionized radiation: The Firestorm Matrix can be destabilized by bombarding its cellular structure with ionized radiation, temporarily disabling Firestorm's powers. Though it will not separate them, it will cancel Firestorm's powers for a small amount of time. Now that Martin's powers have been neutralized he no longer has this weakness

The Firestorm Matrix can be destabilized by bombarding its cellular structure with ionized radiation, temporarily disabling Firestorm's powers. Though it will not separate them, it will cancel Firestorm's powers for a small amount of time. Now that Martin's powers have been neutralized he no longer has this weakness Limited control: As Firestorm, Martin has very little control over what the Firestorm will do, unless he has the superior body of the two. If the host will have a superior body to Stein and is in control, Stein has to count on that they will separate or he will be stuck in that particular body as long as the host wants to. However, when Valentina, a mad Russian scientist who wanted to become Firestorm herself, had merged with Stein and was attacking everyone, and was even about to attack Jefferson, Stein was able to restrain her from launching a blast and was able to separate from her with help from Jefferson. Since Martin's powers have effectively been taken away by Harry and Cisco's serum, this is no longer one of his weaknesses.

As Firestorm, Martin has very little control over what the Firestorm will do, unless he has the superior body of the two. If the host will have a superior body to Stein and is in control, Stein has to count on that they will separate or he will be stuck in that particular body as long as the host wants to. However, when Valentina, a mad Russian scientist who wanted to become Firestorm herself, had merged with Stein and was attacking everyone, and was even about to attack Jefferson, Stein was able to restrain her from launching a blast and was able to separate from her with help from Jefferson. Since Martin's powers have effectively been taken away by Harry and Cisco's serum, this is no longer one of his weaknesses. Prolonged separation: Martin's exposure to the dark matter explosion left his body unstable at a cellular level. Over time, Martin's body will continue to weaken from the build-up of radiation until it eventually kills him. Only by periodically merging with another meta-human of compatible nature can he restore his health and become stabilized while separated until the next needed merge. Thanks to Cisco's Firestorm cure, this is no longer a weakness of Martin's.

Equipment

Former equipment

Power cane: During the search for a new host for the Firestorm Matrix, Cisco Ramon created a cane using parts from a Speed Force battery to stabilize Martin's condition. However, as the battery's power drained over time, the device became useless.

Appearances

The Flash





DC's Legends of Tomorrow





Supergirl

Season 1

Season 3

Vixen

Season 2

Arrow

Season 5

Season 6

Season 8

" Fadeout " (pictured; as Firestorm)

The Chronicles of Cisco

(mentioned)

(mentioned)

(mentioned)

Gallery

Promotional images

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Season 1

Trivia

Behind the scenes

In the DC comics, Dr. Martin Stein became one half of the nuclear superhero Firestorm when he was combined with Ronnie Raymond after an explosion at a nuclear facility. Similar to how the Flash tapped into the Speed Force for his powers, Firestorm used the Firestorm Matrix to transmute elements. After Ronnie's death, a young African-American named Jason Rusch took his place.

References







