Firefly is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

created by

Harry Shorten Harry Shorten (1914–1991) was an American writer, editor, and book publisher best known for the Comic strip syndication, syndicated gag cartoon ''There Oughta Be a Law!'', as well as his work with Archie Comics, and his long association with Arch ...

and Bob Wood for

MLJ Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jugh ...

in 1940. He first appeared in '' Top-Notch Comics'' #8. Artist Warren King and writer Joe Blair loaned their talents to many of the Firefly's installments.

Publication history

The Firefly was the fourth superhero launched by MLJ in the eighth issue of their title '' Top-Notch Comics''.Firefly
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

He was a mainstay in ''Top-Notch Comics'' until its 28th issue, when MLJ changed its format from a superhero book to a humor book. The popularity of superheroes waned in the late 1940s. The Firefly has had very few appearances since, although when he did briefly reappear during the sixties in '' The Mighty Crusaders'' #4 he had gained the ability to glow brightly like his

namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...

. As part of the team the character reappeared in the 2000s ''

Archie's Weird Mysteries ''Archie's Weird Mysteries'' ( French: ''Archie, mystères et compagnie'') is an animated television series based on the characters by Archie Comics. The series premise revolves around a Riverdale High physics lab gone awry, making the town of ...

'' #3 and 14 and ''Tales From Riverdale Digest'' #27.

Fictional character biography

The Firefly's real name is Harley Hudson, an

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

and chemist. He discovers that insects can lift masses greater than their own weight not because of the

square–cube law The square–cube law (or cube–square law) is a mathematical principle, applied in a variety of scientific fields, which describes the relationship between the volume and the surface area as a shape's size increases or decreases. It was first ...

but because of their ability to coordinate their muscles. He teaches himself to coordinate his muscles as insects do and finds himself able to perform amazing feats. He then dons a costume and calls himself the Firefly. Thus, the Firefly, similar to the

Black Hood The Black Hood is the name of several fictional characters (Matthew/Mateo Burland, Thomas "Kip" Burland, and Gregory Hettinger) created by Archie Comics, MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comi ...

, another MLJ superhero, does not possess any real superpowers but is merely a man possessing great physical and mental prowess due to his natural abilities. Hudson's romantic interest is Joan Burton, a newspaper reporter. Her occupation was common for female characters in MLJ comics. Barbara Sutton, the romantic interest for the

, and Jane Barlowe, the romantic interest for the Wizard, were both newspaper reporters. His recurring enemies are Dr. Dread, the Mummy and the Dervish.

Impact Comics

Firefly would also appear as part of the Crusaders published in the 1990s by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

' imprint

Impact Comics Impact Comics was an imprint of DC Comics that was aimed at younger audiences. It began in 1991 and ended in 1993. The initial "I" in the logo was stylized as an exclamation point, but the official name of the imprint was not ''!mpact''. Impa ...

. The character was armed with a flamethrower.

Dark Circle Comics

The Firely was a featured character in ''The Mighty Crusaders'', first released in December 2017 under the

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...

imprint Dark Circle Comics. The series ran for four issues.Dark Circle News
The World Still Needs Heroes.
''Darkcirclecomics.com''. Accessed 31 August 2017.

References

External links

* Offenberger, Rik, ed
Firefly
at MightyCrusaders.net * * {{GoldenAge Golden Age superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1940 Fictional chemists Fictional entomologists Male characters in comics Vigilante characters in comics