Why The Flash Killed Off Robbie Amell's Firestorm | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

The Arrowverse's Firestorm originated from the Particle Accelerator explosion that created Barry Allen's Scarlet Speedster in The Flash Season 1, like most heroes and villains on this show. Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) and Martin Stein (Victor Garber) were both at S.T.A.R. Labs -- Ronnie as the lead structural engineer on the Particle Accelerator project and Stein as a professor working on the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. transmutation matrix -- and were therefore present during the demonstration. When the Particle Accelerator began malfunctioning, Ronnie went down to try to fix its issues, and since he was in the chamber when the explosion happened, he was presumed dead.

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However, his consciousness merged with Stein's, and they ultimately became the hero Firestorm. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) eventually separated them, allowing both men to have their own bodies and lives again, but they would merge when acting as Firestorm in battle. With so much time put into the character, it was then odd to see Ronnie was killed off at the end of Season 1.

Robbie Amell's Ronnie Raymond on The Flash

Ronnie was introduced as Caitlin's (Danielle Panabaker) fiancé, and though he was friends with the rest of the team, she was his primary point of emotional contact. She was devastated to lose him in the Particle Accelerator explosion, overjoyed to have him back when Wells managed to separate him from Stein and eager to marry him between catastrophes. They were married by Stein on the S.T.A.R. Labs lawn shortly before Firestorm went into the singularity triggered by Eobard Thawne's evil plans, and unfortunately, Ronnie was then killed during the event.

A big reason for that was the creation of Legends of Tomorrow, which took C-list characters from the other DCTV programs and put them on a time-traveling spaceship. Firestorm was set to be one of those characters, but Amell had conflicting projects and couldn't commit to being on the show. So, after Ronnie's death, the S.T.A.R. Labs team recruited former high school football star Jax (Franz Drameh) to take on the Firestorm mantle alongside Stein, and they continued to fight alongside each other and the other Legends until Stein died during the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover.

Despite not appearing on screen, Ronnie's legacy continues to affect the characters in both The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Stein treated Jax with care but also overprotectiveness, not wanting to see the young man meet the same fate as Ronnie. The loss of her husband also made Caitlin temporarily seek work at a different lab and set off a lot of dark emotions that in part influenced her eventual Killer Frost alter-ego.

With the exception of one appearance as the evil Deathstorm in The Flash's first Earth-2 adventure, Amell's character has only been mentioned in passing. Unfortunately, in a universe full of alternate realities and time travel, his character has never been afforded the privilege of being resurrected.

The Flash stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanaugh. Season 7's premiere date is currently being evaluated by The CW. All six seasons of the series are currently streaming on Netflix.

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Brynna Cole (21 Articles Published)

Brynna Cole is a lifelong writer now working in Movies/TV for CBR. Thanks to retail experience, she's the person to ask when you need to fold sweatshirts or pick out the best eyeglasses. Her educational background is in English literature, creative arts, psychology, and most recently she received a masters' degree in library science ('16, University of Alabama online). A former newspaper/theatre/mock trial kid, she spends her free time seeking out, drawing, and writing stories with awesome female characters, cosplaying, hanging out with her wife, and running a blog about the intersection of fandom, feminism, queerness, activism, mental health, and whatever else strikes her fancy (canbemagic.wordpress.com).