Firefly (DC Comics)

Firefly
Firefly
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #184 (June 1952)
Created by	France Herron & Dick Sprang
In-story information
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.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Firefly is introduced as Garfield Lynns, a down-and-out film visual effects expert who attempts to rob a theater by faking a fire, only to be stopped by Batman and Robin. He escapes, and in the darkness Batman sees a distant firefly, which he mistakes for Lynns' lit cigarette and chases in the wrong direction. Inspired, Lynns becomes The Firefly, using various lighting effects and optical illusions in his crimes.

As a costumed criminal, Firefly has fought not only Batman and Robin, but also the Creeper and the Outsiders.

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. His first appearance is in Batman #126, Sept. 1959.

Post-Crisis

How much of Firefly's pre-Crisis history that is still intact is unclear, but post-Crisis, he works primarily with fire instead of lighting effects, and he also displays a pyromaniac streak.

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

In the Knightfall storyline, Firefly's plan after his escape from Arkham Asylum is to burn all the places he didn't go to as a child. He successfully destroys his first two targets, but Batman captures him at the site of his third, the Gotham Zoo. He is one of the main villains in part 1, but is captured. He has been locked up so long he has been mostly forgotten about.

In a recent attempt to burn Gotham to the ground, Firefly is horribly burned when the chemical factory he targeted explodes. He suffers burns over 90 percent of his body, and is ultimately sentenced to Blackgate Prison.

He makes a short appearance in the JLA story arc "Crisis Of Conscience" fighting Catwoman in Gotham City over a diamond before Batman arrives. Although an epic battle between the Secret Society and the Justice League ensues, Firefly is knocked out and remains unconscious during the entire battle. He makes another short appearance in the 2005 mini series Villains United, when the Secret Six attempts to escape the Society's grasp.

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

Firefly appears with Mr. Freeze facing the Batman (though Firefly is wearing the same uniform as the Firefly design of The Batman).

Following the Final Crisis, Firefly was with Cheetah III's Secret Society of Super Villains at the time when Genocide was created. He was defeated by Wonder Woman alongside Shrapnel, Phobia, and T.O. Morrow.

Firefly is recruited by a new Black Mask to a part of a group of villains that aiming to take over Gotham. We see him now according to "Batman - Streets of Gotham #1" following his own agenda inspired on the chemicals that Black Mask used on him by inserting chips in gothamites and making them burn.

Powers and Abilities

Firefly is an expert in pyrotechnics and explosives. He has thorough knowledge of inflammable agents. His suit contains a flamethrower, grenade launchers, and an extensive arsenal of fire-creating weapons.

In other media

Television

• In The New Batman Adventures, Firefly was voiced by Mark Rolston. In "Torch Song" version, Garfield Lynns is a pyrotechnics engineer who kidnaps his ex-girlfriend, a singer named Cassidy, who had fired and dumped him after he botched a pyrotechnics display at one of her concerts. Although Batgirl rescues Cassidy, Lynns escapes and creates the armor that enables him to become Firefly. He smokes out the building Cassidy and her crew are in, enabling him to make off with Cassidy. Batman defeats Firefly and rescues Cassidy, but she develops pyrophobia. Firefly also appears in the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight," in which he has been hired to burn down a building so that its owner could collect the insurance. A group of children stumble across his plans, yet Batman saves them and defeats Firefly.

• It is 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 Batman: The Animated Series while it aired on Fox.

• Firefly later reappears on Justice League in the episode "Only a Dream" with Mark Rolston reprising his role. He is one of the villains (besides Volcana, Luminus, Copperhead, and Solomon Grundy) sprung from prison. He and Volcana are apprehended by Green Lantern.

• In Batman Beyond, Firefly's costume can be seen on display in the Batcave.

Firefly as he appeared in The Batman.

• Firefly appears in the animated TV show, The Batman voiced by Jason Marsden. In the series, he first appeared in "The Big Heat" as 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 "Fire and Ice", where he teamed up with Mr. Freeze and joined Team Penguin in the episode "Team Penguin" along with Killer Croc, Killer Moth and Ragdoll. 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 soon after his transformation. This would be Firefly's final appearance for the series.

• Firefly makes a cameo in Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the episode "A Bat Divided". His outfit is based on his earlier appearances. He was seen at a bar where the bad guys hang out until Firestorm and the three Batmen show up. He appears along with Eraser, King Cobra, Zodiac Master, Ten-Eyed Man, Signalman, Cluemaster, Atomic Man, Brand, Dr. No-Face, Mr. Camera, Mirror Man, Simon the Pieman, Spinner, and Sweet Tooth.

Film

• In Batman: Gotham Knight, the designs for the "Man in Black" outfit of Jacob Feely (voiced by George Newbern) is based on earlier costume design of Firefly.

Video Games

• A biography for Lynns (as Firefly) can be found in the 2009 game Batman: Arkham Asylum. According to the biography 90% of his body was covered in burn scars after an accident.

• Firefly is featured as an unlockable villain through the "Villain Hunt" in the Nintendo DS version of LEGO Batman: The Video Game.

• Firefly is set to appear in the upcoming video game DC Universe Online.

Toys

• An action figure for Firefly as depicted in The Batman was released as part of the range.
• Firefly is also a character released in the Wizkids DC Heroclix: Arkham Asylum range.

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies

External Links

• Firefly at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Template:Imdb character