Firefly (DC Comics)
fictional character in DC Comics
Firefly is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer France Herron and artist Dick Sprang, the first and best-known incarnation of the character, Garfield Lynns, was introduced in Detective Comics #184 (1952). Initially depicted as a gimmicky stock villain who utilized lighting effects to commit crimes, Firefly was later reimagined as a psychopathic pyromaniac with an obsessive compulsion to start fires following Crisis on Infinite Earths' reboot of the DC Universe in the 1980s. This darker version of the character has since endured as one of Batman's most recurring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his central rogues gallery. Other characters have also adopted the Firefly persona, including Ted Carson and Bridgit Pike, an original female incarnation introduced in the television series Gotham who was later integrated into the comics as Carson's protégé Lady Firefly.
The Garfield Lynns incarnation of Firefly has been adapted in various media incarnations, including several shows set within the DC Animated Universe (voiced by Mark Rolston), The Batman animated series (voiced by Jason Marsden), the first season of The CW's live-action Arrowverse television series Arrow (portrayed by Andrew Dunbar), and the Batman: Arkham video game franchise (voiced by Crispin Freeman).
Fictional character biography
Pre-Crisis
Garfield Lynns was a down-and-out film special effects expert whose plan to rob a theater by faking a fire was foiled by Batman and Robin. As Lynns fled the scene, Batman mistook a distant firefly for Lynns' lit cigarette and gave chase in the wrong direction. Lynns saw this as a sign of fate and became the Firefly, a costumed criminal who utilized various lighting effects and optical illusions during heists.
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot, Firefly is re-imagined as a darker and more violent character.
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