Cliff Carmichael

"Clifford, you may be a brain, but you act like you've got the wits of a retarded oyster!"

- Doreen Day

Clifford "Cliff" Carmichael is a fictional student and gifted genius featured in comic books published by DC Comics. He is associated with the Firestorm line of titles and first appeared in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 in March, 1978. He made regular appearances throughout The Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man in the 1980s, usually presented as a foil to the book's protagonist, Ronnie Raymond. The character later became a member of the Suicide Squad, but was killed off in Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag #7 in 2008. Cliff Carmichael was re-imagined for the "New 52" continuity and made appearances in Firestorm, Volume 4.

Origin
Cliff Carmichael was a student attending Bradley High School in uptown Manhattan. He was one of the smartest students in school, and proudly announced that fact to as many students and faculty members as he could find. Cliff's arrogance earned him the enmity of nearly everyone at Bradley High, most notably Ronnie Raymond and Doreen Day. Cliff perpetually tormented Ronnie Raymond, insulting his intellect and declaring him as the school's resident "dumb jock". To add insult to injury, Cliff often played pranks on Ronnie in the hopes of sabotaging the latter boy's efforts to court Doreen. Such antics included tripping him up in the hallways or slipping a biology class frog down the back of his shirt. Cliff and Ronnie's rivalry worsened as time went on, and by the time they graduated high school, they were the bitterest of enemies.

Abilities

 * Genius-level intellect: Cliff Carmichael was a super whiz-kid even back in his high school and college days. After he began using the Thinking Cap however, his intellectual capacity increased dramatically.
 * Intimidation: Despite being an egg-head, Cliff had a way of unnerving the jocks at his school, in particular, Ronnie Raymond. Cliff's taunts, jabs and jeers always succeeded in making Ronnie whatever athletic feat he was attempting at the time.

Notes & Trivia




DC Universe

 * Firestorm 1
 * Firestorm Vol 2 23
 * Firestorm Vol 2 24
 * Firestorm Vol 2 38
 * Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag 7

New 52

 * Firestorm Vol 4 1
 * Firestorm Vol 4 2