Firefly (comics)

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Firefly

Firefly in The Batman
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Detective Comics #184 (June 1952)
Created by France Herron & Dick Sprang
In story information
Alter ego Garfield Lynns
Team affiliations Secret Society of Super Villains
Abilities Insulated battlesuit equipped with a flamethrower, grenade launchers, and wings that allow flight.

Firefly (Garfield Lynns) is a fictional character in DC Comics created by France Herron and Dick Sprang. He first appeared in Detective Comics #184 (June 1952) and is an enemy of Batman.

Contents

[edit] Character history

[edit] Pre-Crisis

Garfield Lynns was a down-and-out film Visual effects expert who attempted to rob a theater by faking a fire, only to be stopped by Batman and Robin. He slipped out, and in the darkness Batman saw a distant firefly, which he mistook for Lynns' lit cigarette and chased in the wrong direction. Inspired, Lynns became The Firefly, using various lighting effects and optical illusions in his crimes.

The second Firefly is Ted Carson, an ostensibly wealthy gold-mine heir who gambles away the family fortune and turns to crime to maintain his lifestyle. He is also Bruce Wayne's rival for the affections of Kathy Kane, aka Batwoman.

[edit] Post-Crisis

Garfield Lynns was originally a pyrotechnic expert for motion pictures, but became a victim of Gotham City's severe poverty and turned to crime, displaying signs of pyromania. Lynns was captured by Batman and Robin after his first robbery. Lynns took up arson as a hobby, but it soon turned to an obsession; he believes he can see visions in the flames. Inspired by actual fireflies, he built a suit and became a professional arsonist. Early in his criminal career Firefly became the protégé of Killer Moth, looking to duplicate the success of crime-fighting duo Batman and Robin. The alliance fell apart when Killer Moth realized the full extent of Firefly's madness and feared for his well-being.

In the Knightfall storyline, Firefly's plan was to burn all the places he didn't go to as a child. Firefly burnt down his first target and escaped when Batman arrived. When he burned down his second target Batman arrived again and Firefly escaped from him again. At his third target, Gotham Zoo, Batman arrived again and their fight ends up on a bridge where Batman captures Firefly and leaves him hanging on the bridge.

In a recent attempt to burn Gotham to the ground, Firefly was horribly burned when a chemical factory he set erupted in an explosion. Ninety-percent of his body was burned, and he began his recovery in Blackgate Prison.

He made a short appearance in the JLA story arc "Crisis Of Conscience" (JLA #115-#119) fighting Catwoman in Gotham City over a diamond before Batman turned up. Although an epic battle between the Secret Society and the Justice League ensued, Firefly was knocked out and stayed down during the entire battle. He made another short appearance in the 2005 mini series Villains United, when the Secret Six attempted to escape the Society's grasp.

Firefly was among the numerous heroes and villains apparently slain by the OMACs in the pages of DC's The OMAC Project, though he later appeared alive in Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special and Gotham Underground.

[edit] In other media

[edit] DC animated universe

  • In The New Batman Adventures, Firefly was voiced by Mark Rolston. In "Torch Song" version, he was a pyrotechnics engineer who became obsessed with the singer he worked for (who was his ex-girlfriend). He also appeared in "Legends of the Dark Knight," in which he had been hired to burn down a building so that its owner could collect the insurance. It was revealed by the producers in an article about the The New Batman Adventures in Wizard Magazine #172 that they had been forbidden by the network to use him or any other pyromaniac character in The New Batman Adventures while it aired on Kids' WB.
  • In the Batman Beyond animated TV show, Firefly's costume can be seen on display in the Batcave.

[edit] The Batman

  • The Firefly appears in the animated TV show, The Batman voiced by Jason Marsden. In the series, he's a mercenary and arsonist for hire. His weapons and paraphernalia include a heat ray, a battle suit, and a jetpack (which sounds like a fly when it is used). He has appeared in the episodes The Big Heat, Fire and Ice and Team Penguin. In White Heat, Firefly gains a new partner and lover, Blaze, and they both steal a Phosphorus Isotope to upgrade his battle suit. An accident causes the isotope to mutate Firefly into Phosphorus, who acquires greater powers, but is also driven insane.

[edit] The Dark Knight

  • An action figure for Firefly was revealed at the New York Toy Fair on February 18, 2008 for the toy line of The Dark Knight as part of the "inspired by" line, hinting that he could make an appearance in the possible video game.

[edit] References

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