Hopefully I won’t earn a beatdown from Firestorm Fan for this.

I’ve been a fan of the DC Comics nuclear superhero Firestorm for quite some time, and I was thrilled that he’d be getting his own book again as part of the “New 52.” Thus far, The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men has been great.

Great, but not perfect. What I am not keen on is the “Firestorm Corps.”

So many flames, so little point.

Thanks to the hugely successful reboot of the Green Lantern Corps and its mythos in Green Lantern: Rebirth over seven years ago, and the ensuing introduction of eight more Lantern Corps from “The Sinestro Corps War” through Blackest Night, turning any hero into a “Corps” has suddenly become a very hot property. It’s been done with Batman, the Flash (now defunct), and most recently Firestorm. Even rival publisher Marvel Comics has gotten in on the action with many Corps of their own. Aside from boosting the books’ popularity, the Corps concept is also designed to sell action figures.

As a result, Firestorm is no longer a unique character — and in the “New 52″ universe, he never was. Now, Firestorms have been around for a while, and Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch are just the latest in a long line of them. (I also don’t like that the characters need to say the word “Firestorm” aloud in order to trigger their transformation. That just reeks of a cheesy Saturday morning cartoon!)

Some of these characters were established in the old continuity, such as Firehawk and Pozhar. That’s fine. But this new series actually makes them Firestorms themselves, rather than the related heroes they were back in the day.

Firestorm’s allure was that he was the only superhero with his abilities. Balancing this unique position with the vastly differing lives of his human components made for some fascinating stories. That doesn’t apply anymore; what’s so special about Ronnie and Jason that countless other Firestorms don’t have?

Before you shout, just wait, I know: not only can Jason and Ronnie become Firestorms by themselves, but they can also merge into a nuclear brute named Fury. That’s what sets them apart, right? Well, yes…so far. Let’s just hope it’s permanent, and more importantly…no other Firestorm should be able do anything like it. Otherwise, Ronnie and Jason are just generic Firestorms like all of the others, Fury nonwithstanding.

I need to reiterate that I do enjoy The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men quite a bit. I just think the series could’ve been even better without a Corps. The past series prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt.