Two West Coast Avengers are Kicking Off Marvel’s Hottest Romance

The West Coast Avengers' most explosive members are about to become Marvel's next electrifying power couple.

After a near-disastrous encounter with an overpowered member of the Technarch and a particularly uncomfortable conversation about Ultron's place on the eponymous team of West Coast Avengers #4, Firestar decides to take to the skies in search of some much-needed space. When her teammate Blue Bolt decides to join her for a quick flight to the prison he is currently on work-release from, the pair strike up a conversation about everything that Firestar went through during the war against Orchis. Unsurprisingly, this all leads to a spur-of-the-moment, half-drunk kiss, and even if Blue Bolt isn't ready to take things any further as of now, it is clear that the romance brewing between them is more than a surface level attraction.

West Coast Avengers #4

• Written by GERRY DUGGAN
• Art by DANNY KIM
• Colors by ARTHUR HESLI
• Letters by VC's JOE CARAMAGNA
• Design by JAY BOWEN and KAT WALKINGTON
• Main cover art by BEN HARVEY
• Variant covers by ANAND RAMCHERON & CECI DE LA CRUZ, MARCO MASTRAZZO, NAO FUJI, and MARK BROOKS

Originally created by John Romita Sr., Rick Hoberg, and Dennis Marks for the 1981 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends animated series, Angelica Jones, aka Firestar, is a powerful mutant capable of wielding flames in a near identical manner to Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. This was largely because Firestar was created as a stand-in for the Human Torch, the rights to which NBC was unable to secure for the series. It wasn't until 1985's Uncanny X-Men #193 by Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr. that Firestar would make her debut in the pages of Marvel Comics.

In the decades since, Firestar has been a key member of teams such as the new Warriors, Hellions, X-Men, and even the Avengers. When Orchis launched their all-out war against mutantkind, however, Firestar played the role of a double-agent, tricking even her closest allies into believing she had traded in her people for an iota of their would-be oppressors' good graces. While this ultimately resulted in Orchis' defeat and destruction at the hands of the world's mutant heroes, the torture and torment Firestar was subjected to along the way have left her profoundly traumatized. To cope, Firestar has turned to heavy drinking and severe self-deprecation, yet that hasn't stopped her from continuing to fight the good fight as a member of the West Coast Avengers.

Chad Braxton, aka Blue Bolt, is a fairly new addition to the Marvel Universe, with his first appearance taking place just a few months ago in the pages of West Coast Avengers #1. Once a member of Hydra during the events of 2015's Secret Empire, Braxton fully believed in the message that the false Captain America, Steven "Grant" Rogers, used to sell his and Hydra's fascist takeover of the United States. In the years since Hydra's defeat, Braxton has been incarcerated for his crimes, only getting the chance to prove his rehabilitation as part of a work-release program that allows him to serve as a member of the West Coast Avengers during select hours.

West Coast Avengers #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics