The Human Flame (Michael Miller) is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

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 ...

' main shared

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

. He is mostly known as an enemy of

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

Publication history

He first appeared in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #274 (December 1959), and was created by Jack Miller and Joe Certa. The character was not used again for 48 years before reappearing in ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

''. The writer,

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

, explained why they picked such an obscure character: Human Flame is featured in the ''Final Crisis'' tie-in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Run!'', written by Lilah Sturges with art by

Freddie Williams II Freddie E. Williams II (born May 30, 1977) is an American comic book artist. Williams entered the comic scene in 2005, when he began work with DC Comics on ''Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle''. He has since gone on to work on several crossover se ...

Fictional character biography

The Human Flame is a minor villain and early enemy of the

. Following his initial appearance, he does not appear for decades until his return in ''

'' (2008). In the event, the Human Flame joins the

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League, Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #1 ...

, becomes a cyborg after Professor Milo enhances him to save him from

Heat Wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

, and transforms into a fiery humanoid after infusing himself with radiation. In ''

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...

'', the Human Flame works with Devil Ray, who later betrays and kills him.

Powers and abilities

In his initial appearance, the Human Flame has no powers, but wields several flamethrowers. In ''Final Crisis'', he is transformed into a cyborg with flamethrower implants, and later into a fiery humanoid who can increase his mass and density at will.

In other media

* The Human Flame appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * The Human Flame makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

'' episode "Something Borrowed, Something Green".

References

External links

*
FINAL CRISIS FLASHBACK: Libra & Human Flame

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

, June 5, 2008 * Human Flame at the DC Database Project {{Martian Manhunter Comics characters introduced in 1959 DC Comics cyborgs DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics male supervillains Fictional characters with density control abilities Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Fictional murderers