Flying Firepower

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Long range and flying really fast come in handy if your powers include nuking a city.

A stock variant Combo-Platter Powers, where the powers are Flight and the ability to fling Fireballs or something. While a character is likely to have some elements of the Flying Brick and Required Secondary Powers, their primary combat style is built around flying around their opponents and shooting laser beams at them.

When fighting in a team, these characters tend to act as both a scout and transport, thanks to flight, and the guy who circles and takes shots at people. They rarely engage in slug fights if they can avoid it, but chances go up if they've got some basic Flying Brick capabilities.

This does not include having the power of flight and carrying a gun. Unless it's built in.

Abilities besides flight may include:

Playing with Fire, Blow You Away/Razor Wind, Shock and Awe, Light'Em Up, Frickin' Laser Beams, Chest Blaster, Eye Beams, Hand Blast, Ki Attacks, Make Me Wanna Shout, and Wreathed in Flames.

See Flight, Strength, Heart, Flying Brick, and Combo-Platter Powers for related tropes.

Examples of Flying Firepower include:

Specifically Flying and Playing with Fire

Comic Book

  • X-Men:
    • Sunfire: Sun-related array of powers, and flight.
    • Sunpyre: Sunfire's younger sister possesses the same powerset.
    • Alternate, female version of Sunfire from Exiles
  • The Human Torch: one of the first characters to feature this powerset. Johnny Storm would later adopt the moniker, despite not being a robot.
    • Toro: A young mutant adopted by Jim Hammond the original Human Torch, had this as his powerset.
    • Tara: A female robot based on the original Torch, who was a member of the New Invaders. Was secretly built by the Red Skull for the purpose of infiltrating the New Invaders and destroying them when she self destructed. Jim Hammond sacrificed himself to save her and the Invaders.
  • Fantastic Four:
  • The Avengers: Firestar and Firebird have the same abilities of flight and fire, seeing as they were based on The Human Torch.
  • Global Guardians: Fire, a brazilian woman who has green Wreathed in Flames and flies around.
  • W.I.T.C.H.: Taranee had the power of creating and controlling fire since the beginning, but became an example of Flying Firepower in the New Power saga, when all the Guardians (and not just Hay Lin) aquired the ability to fly. An early foe, Ember the Pain, was this since she was created.

Film

Video Games

Western Animation

Not fire, but still flinging death from their hands

Anime and Manga

  • Pretty much every one of the recurring characters capable of fighting in Dragonball Z
  • The Air Mages of Lyrical Nanoha, especially those who use the Mid-Childa style, which specialize at firing beams and other energy projectiles.

Comic Book

  • Ms. Marvel: Ki Attacks from her hands. However, she's got general Flying Brick powers, so she tends to switch between energy beams and brawling.
  • Static Shock: With a piece of metal to hover on and some good old fashioned Shock and Awe.
  • Iron Man: Flight and "repulsor beams" (name varies), one of the few instances where the same capability allows for both flight and energy blasts. The loads of missiles and Frickin' Laser Beams help too.
    • War Machine, being of a similar nature, has all of the above, plus a good old fashioned minigun on the shoulder.
  • Teen Titans: Starfire is a Rubber Forehead Alien that flies and shoots energy blasts from her hands.
  • Nova: His entire power is basically that he flies really fast and hits really hard. Also, he's got forcefields and energy blasts.
  • Superboy: Sparxx uses Shock and Awe as a supporting character of Superboy.
  • Superman during his Superman Red/Superman Blue phase, like Captain Atom, he was basically a Pure Energy Being in a containment suit.
  • The Ray: Possesses flight and Light-based energy powers and beams. His power level has no cap; at certain points (Zero Hour being a notable example), he's absorbed a pretty big share of ALL THE ENERGY IN THE UNIVERSE. This, coupled with the fact that he can move (and, thanks to a writer change, react) at the speed of light, instantly heal from all damage, shrink, cast illusions, and turn invisible, is probably why most writers either don't bother to use him or pick three or four of his powers out of a hat and limit him to those.
  • Firestorm: Firestorm possesses the power of the atom, able to fire nuclear energy as well as transmute matter.
  • Green Lantern: The entire Green Lantern Corps can do this. A notable example is Kilowogg; despite having the ability to construct objects with green energy like other Lanterns, he prefers using raw, unshaped blasts
  • Starman:
    • Mikail Tomas: the current Starman has a body which is specifically built for outer space. In addition to being able to fly and survive in a vaccum, he can project energy blasts.
    • David Knight: Starman II, uses the Gravity Rod, which grants flight and the ability to absorb and fire solar energy.
    • The Cosmic Staff, the main weapon used by Starman III (Jack Knight) and Stargirl, grants flight and the ability to project cosmic energy.
    • Ted Knight: the original Starman, used both of the aforementioned weapons.
  • Captain Atom: The titular captain is living atomic energy contained inside a nigh-indestructible metal suit. In addition to being a Flying Brick, he can fire the energy or, if his suit is ruptured, it will erupt from his body on its own, possibly causing a nuclear explosion.
    • Come DC's 2011 reboot, he's a walking reactor, the atoms in his body in a constant cycle of fission and fusion - with no metal suit. His powers remain much the same.
    • Breach is the Captain Atom of Earth-8, so he pretty much has the exact same powers.
  • Booster Gold: Booster wears a super suit from the future, which includes gadgets for flying and firing lasers.
  • Blue Beetle: The Scarab grants Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) various powers, including protective armor, flight, and energy blasts.
  • Wonder Man: Wonder Man's powers are constantly being changed, but he alternates between being a Flying Brick and an Energy Being—which is also a Flying Brick.
  • Quasar possesses the Quantum Bands, which allow him to fly at lightspeeds and fire quantum energy.
  • Justice: Vance Astrovik is an extremely powerful telekinetic and primarily fights with TK blasts.
  • Captain Universe: Pretty much living cosmic energy. It possesses a random person in the universe (including Spider-Man and X-23 at different points) and grants them Class 4 Super Weight cosmic powers.
  • Silver Surfer: As a former herald of Galactus, Norrin Radd is nigh-omnipotent. On his own, he can fly at warp speeds and fire devastatingly powerful energy blasts. But that's only the tip of the iceberg.
  • Triumph and Aura both fire blasts of magnetic energy (Triumph is also a Flying Brick, and Aura occasionally simulates one by using her magnetic powers to create suits of armor). Triumph is most famous for Justice League Task Force, while Aura was a member of Superboy and the Ravers.
  • Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi) has basically the same powers as the Ray, only not as many of them and not quite to the same degree.
  • Airwave has nebulously defined "radio" powers that involve energy blasts.
  • Zip Kid, from Young Heroes in Love, can shrink, fly, and shoot energy blasts. The smaller she gets, the faster she is, and the more powerful her energy blasts, IIRC.
  • Halo has entirely too many powers (as does the Ray for that matter), but flight and energy blasts (what kind of energy is strictly Depending on the Writer) are always part of the package.
  • Former Justice League member Faith had flight and telekinetic energy blasts, as well as some telepathic abilities.
  • Doctor Strange:Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, typically wears the Cloak of Levitation, which enables him to float and fly without expending any of his personal strength. Handy whilst raining down bolts of mystic retribution. (See Video Games, below).
  • Karolina of the Runaways has this power set, and eventually expands to force fields too.
  • Comic Book/WITCH: having the power of Absolute Energy, Will could fire death from her hands since the beginning, and became an example of Flying Firepower when the New Power saga gave her the ability to fly.

Film

  • Godzilla movies:
    • Fire Rodan from Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla II was able to fly as well as fire a uranium beam from his mouth.
    • Mechagodzilla can fly and fire energy blasts from his mouth or his eyes.
    • Spacegodzilla is capable of floating and firing a corona beam from his mouth he can control telekentically.
    • Megaguirus flies at supersonic speed and is able to fire a ball of radioactive energy from her tail.
    • King Ghidorah flies while firing gravity bolts from his mouths.
    • Battra and Mothra can both fire blasts of energy from their antennae while flying.
    • Gigan is able to fire a cluster of lasers from his eye while flying.
  • Gamera films: The Gyaos are able to shoot blasts of high-frequency soundwaves while flying that are able to slice through steel.

Tabletop RPG

  • In Champions it was very common for energy projector characters to also have flight. Early examples include Pulsar, Bluejay and Firewing.

Video Games

  • City of Heroes/Villains: includes options for various range attacks and Flight. Fire too, so there's an entry above.
  • Marvel vs. Capcom 3:
    • Trish and Morrigan They fly, and projectile spam is pretty much their primary method of attack.
    • Doctor Strange He was specifically stated by Seth Killian (Capcom representative) to have been built with this trope in mind. One of his greatest assets is the ability out-spam other projectile spammers.
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Pit, shoots arrows and has an angel motif.
  • BlazBlue: the Robot Girls Lambda-11, Mu-12 and Nu-13 all have the ability to fly and mainly fight using projectiles (although since this is a fighting game they normally just float at the same height everyone walks).
  • Freedom Force: Alchemiss and Green Genie (casters, the latter utilizes a magic carpet however).
  • Prevalent in Touhou, where everyone is capable of Flight and all supernatural abilities are limited to launching Danmaku.

Web Comic

  • Fusion is a purple glowing energy blast user. She even leaves a trail of purple energy when flying.

Web Original

  • Whateley Universe:
    • Tennyo flies, hurls plasma blasts, and more
    • Golden Girl flies, has a golden energy blasts, and can put up a golden energy screen.
    • Sunscreen can do the same, and seems to get energy from the sun.

Western Animation

  • Static Shock: See comic book.
  • Danny Phantom: Danny's ghost powers include flight and shooting ghostly ectoplasm beams.
  • Teen Titans: Starfire flings Energy Balls from her hand and later gains Eye Beams of the same nature. She has various other Combo-Platter Powers as well.
  • Justice League: The Ray and Dr Light make appearances, but not in speaking roles. Booster Gold has an entire episode. Fire is present in multiple instances. See the Comic Book section for more on them.
  • Batman the Brave And The Bold: Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Halo, and Firestorm all show up.
  • Harvey Birdman: Birdman can fly and shoot some kind of energy beam. Also, he's solar powered.
  • Western Animation/WITCH: Will in second season aquires her elemental power of Quintessence, that manifests in devastating lightning bolts. Nerissa in her Guardian form has the same abilities and more experience (and usually power, as she doesn't divide her energy source with others).