Abigail Hunkel

Firebrand

Abigail Hunkel

## Biography

### Early Life

Abigail Hunkel was born on June 3rd, 1921. She grew up in a family of scientists, and was specifically close to her brothers, Rod and Andre. Her parents encouraged the three of them to get an education, and Abby did. She went to college, rare for a woman at the time, and gained a fascination with volcanoes. She became a volcanologist. Her brothers became meteorologists. The three became avid storm-chasers.

During one such expedition, they were tracing a storm near a volcanic isle, when it erupted. The isle was secretly the host of two Elemental Gods: Ulthoon and Fernus. The initial explosion killed Andre and Rod, but the Elemental Gods found Abigail’s bruised body and took host upon her, granting her the powers of aero and pyrokinesis.

Abigail escaped the storm and returned to the States as the sole survivor. Riddled with survivor’s guilt, Abigail tried to ignore the powers and got herself a job as a secretary at Apex Broadcasting Company in Gotham City. From outside her window, superheroes rose to their apex, before the House of Un-American Activities shut down the JSA.

During her time at Apex, Abigail became acquainted with its owner, Alan Scott, as well as his eclectic friends, which included Kent Nelson. Nelson could detect Abigail’s intrinsic energy. During his quest to find Wotan, he recruited her, convincing her to fully harness her abilities. On this adventure, Abigail officially became Firebrand, harnessing her abilities.

### Firebrand

While the JSA was no longer around, Abigail took to the streets as Firebrand, making a difference in her own way. She never became affiliated with any teams, but many members of the JSA, who operated independently, were aware of her, and would occasionally team-up.

Abigail decided it was time to move on, leaving the superhero identity behind. She settled into her job at Apex Communications. She married Alejandro Sanchez, a co-worker, but decided to keep her last name. She gave birth to two children, Amelia and Hugh. She returned to heroics very briefly in 1987, following Veidt’s destruction of several cities, in order to assist the rescue efforts. This destruction also took the life of her husband.

Life went on for Abigail and she remained in the limelight, watching her children grow and start their own families. She discovered that her elemental abilities made her age less than others. Her son, Hugh, found he possessed the same abilities as her, but his sister did not. Abigail persuaded him to keep these powers a secret and to not make the same mistake she did and endanger others. Hugh listened to his mother and agreed.

Hugh’s daughter, Maxine, possessed the same aerokinetic powers which emerged on her seventeenth birthday. Hugh told Maxine the family secret, and Maxine begged her grandmother to show her how to use the powers. The Justice League and Titans were rising during this time, but Abigail refused.

Of course, Maxine ended up becoming Cyclone, and when the Keene Act was repealed at long last, Abigail got a call from her old friend, Alan Scott, inviting her to the Justice Society. Abigail was hesitant and was insistent she did not want to be Firebrand again. They agreed, and instead let her move into the Brownstone and become a sort of Den Mother for the Society, occasionally working as a trainer for the youngsters.

## Notes

* She is a composite character of most of the Firebrands. Her children are the actual Cyclone Kids from the old comics.