Playing with Fire: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

'''{{color|red|Fire}}''' is one of the basic [[Elemental Powers|classical elements]] and usually the starter element from the [[Fire, Ice, Lightning]] trinity that console role-playing games love so much. It's a very popular power to use, mainly because it comes from the [[Stuff Blowing Up|prettiest of explosions]]. This seems to work best when used on [[Kill It with Fire|the undead]], [[Arrows on Fire|arrows]], [[Flaming Sword|swords]], and, [[Rule of Cool|against all common sense]], even [[Wreathed in Flames|people]]. It even works when [[Fireballs|rolled up into a tangible ball]] and thrown!

 

 

 

Contrast with the natural foil, [[An Ice Person]], [[Making a Splash]], and [[Shock and Awe]]. Compare [[Kill It with Fire]], and [[Having a Blast]]. May overlap with [[Magma Man]] (which could be perceived as a combination of this trope and [[Dishing Out Dirt]]). If you're caught in a literal firefight with these people, you should probably [[Kill It with Water]]. Frequently shown [[Smug Super|(off)]] via [[Finger-Snap Lighter]] and [[Blasting Time]]. Expect them to sneer at anyone using [[Cold Flames]].

 

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* [[Tower of God|''Yeon's'']] powers are fire based. She gives Friendly Fire another meaning, too.

* In ''[[Air Gear]]'', there is Spitfire and Aeon Clock {{spoiler|and, eventually, Kazu, after Spitfire dies.}}

** Partially subverted by the fact that the fire they make isn't proper, real fire, as demonstrated {{spoiler|when both fight agains Cypha of Huckebein in ''[[Nanoha Force|Force]]'' who is able to effortlessly dispell their "flames", proving those are just a magical representation of fire}}.

* Shinigami head captain Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai from ''[[Bleach]]'' uses the sword Ryujin Jakka (Flowing Flame Blade) and can set a room ablaze with his immense fire control. At the same time, he defies the personality portion of this trope by having immense self-control and a calm demeanor.

** Fire is also Momo Hinamori's specialty.

** And then there's always {{spoiler|[[Filler Villain|Amagai Shusuke]].}}

** He doesn't create fireballs. he creates [[Up to Eleven|fireBOMBS]]. [[Person of Mass Destruction|Giant, street-leveling, lightning-fast firebombs]]. And he can also create what look like lasers, but with fire.

* Portgas D. Ace in ''[[One Piece]]'', which made several fans think [[Pigeonholed Voice Actor|Travis Willingham had gotten pigeonholed]], as he also voiced Mustang.

** Sanji's Diable Jambe (Devil Leg), which covers his foot in heat, allowing him to set fire to or burn opponents.

* ''[[Naruto]]'' has Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha. In fact, all the Uchiha clan members have fire as an essential element other than the individual element each person may possess, which is [[Shock and Awe|Lightning]] for Sasuke and [[Making a Splash|Water]] for Itachi. With their special [[Deadly Upgrade|Mangekyo Sharigan]] eyes, they can use Amaterasu, a special black fire which can burn ''anything'', even regular fire.

* Shizuma Kusanagi from ''[[Samurai Girl Real Bout High School]]'' is a [[Hot-Blooded]] brawler with fiery moves...that are usually performed with alcohol and a disposable lighter. The important thing is it still works like Kyo's moves do, and they still involve a great deal of physical exertion.

* Shana from ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]''. The translation of her series' title is "the girl with fire in her eyes". That's not [[Tsundere|the only thing about her that's fiery]], either.

* Hikaru Shidou from ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'', the [[Magic Knight]] of Flame (and a bit of [[Shock and Awe|Lightning]]).

* Natsu from ''[[Fairy Tail]]''.

** Also, Elemental Four member Totomaru, who can control flames as well create different-colored flames with different properties.

* Hotaru from ''[[Samurai Deeper Kyo]].''

* Phoenix Ikki in ''[[Saint Seiya]]''.

* Hiei from ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' is this trope all over, being a fire youkai and all. He first demonstrates this ability by incinerating ''another fire youkai (Zeru)'', who had been hyped up as being pretty powerful. Rando can also throw fireballs.

** To show you the difference between their levels: though he claimed to use "demonic fire", Zeru was only limited to flames in the human world; Hiei, on the other hand, could also control "Darkness Flames": the black flame of the demon world Makai.

* Phoenix King Saffron from ''[[Ranma ½]]''. He doesn't just project fire, it ''[[Good Thing You Can Heal|heals]]'' [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|him]].

* Robin Sena from ''[[Witch Hunter Robin]]''.

* Kaito of ''[[Psycho Busters]]''.

* The festival arc of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' gives us Mei Sakura, who is also a fire magic specialist, and the significantly more competent {{spoiler|Chao Lingshen}}, who, after releasing the seal on her magic, reveals herself to be scarily powerful at it. Later on, the main hero's childhood friend Anya displays this ability. From the arc following it is [[Meaningful Name|Homura]], one of Fate's loyal minions and {{spoiler|[[You Are Number Six|number four in the series he comes from]], Quartum, Averruncus of Fire}}.

* In Part 3 of ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'', Muhammad Avdol's stand, Magician's Red, has the ability to conjure and control flames. Strangely enough, his flames also seem to be useful at binding people.

* Natsume Hyuuga from ''[[Gakuen Alice]]'' is a Fire Alice, although it comes with a price: he [[Power Degeneration|loses a bit of his life every time he sets something alight]].

* ''[[Gaiking|Gaiking Legend Of Daiku Maryu]]'' is practically made of this trope.

* Amateur exorcist Izuna from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]''. Her pyrokinesis first manifested when she experienced {{spoiler|her first love}}, but unfortunately for her, it was completely uncontrollable and tended to [[Clothing Damage|burn her clothes]] [[Fan Service|down to nothing]] ([[Naked People Are Funny|much to her distress]]), and Nube and friends were worried that [[Required Secondary Powers|her own fire could consume her]]. Eventually, she learned to control it with deadly accuracy.

* [[Action Girl|Frederica]] from ''[[Psyren]]''.

* Fatina from ''[[The Tower of Druaga (anime)|The Tower of Druaga]]'' is a fire mage who channels her magic through a magic gun/flamethrower.

* Played with in ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'', certain people have the ability to use Dying Will Flames, which can be one of seven types that correspond to a weather phenomenon and have a special property. Subverted in that some flames have a property that seems more like another element, namely, [[Making a Splash|Rain flames]] and [[Shock and Awe|Thunder flames.]]

** In the manga, {{spoiler|seven more flames are added when the Shimon Family enter. The new Earth flames (as opposed to Sky Flames) correspond to themes associated with the earth such as flames of the [[Green Thumb|Forest]], [[An Ice Person|Glacier]], and [[Dishing Out Dirt|Mountain]].}}

* Renkotsu of the Band of Seven in [[Inuyasha]] is a firearms expert who seems to love blowing stuff up and even breathes fire with his explosives and other equipment.

* Homura in ''[[Sekirei]]'', against personality type, is one of the more stoic characters. The [[Hot-Blooded]] Tsundere is the water Sekirei, Tsukiumi, who exhibits the remainder of this trope.

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* Pyro, an ''[[X-Men]]'' villain. His mutant power allows him to control fire, but, notably, not create it; in the comics and the third movie, he uses a specially designed harness to produce flame, but in his debut in the second movie, he used an ordinary lighter.

** The [[Ultimate Universe]] Pyro is not immune to fire and is horribly scarred all over his body.

* Johnny Storm (the second, but more famous Human Torch) from the ''[[Fantastic Four]]''. The ''original'' hothead.

** She still has a temper: as Cedric put it when Elyon asked him to stop a furious Taranee, "I can't! The Power of Fire is the most untamed of all! Run away! RUN AWAY!". It gets better: when Taranee got furious and started melting the supposedly fireproof bubble she was imprisoned into, he rebuked Elyon because he told her not to provoke Taranee.

* The titular team in ''[[Wildguard]]'' features two heroes with this power: Ignacia and Freezerburn. This clashes with [[Super-Hero Speciation]] standards, especially since Freezerburn also having [[An Ice Person]] powers causes many people to write Ignacia off as redundant.

* Johnny Do, a character from the ''[[New Universe]]'' title ''Psi-Force'', combines this power with severe [[Hollywood Autism]]. The results [[Man On Fire|are not pretty]].

 

 

 

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* Alison Cole from [[Hottie]]

** In the battle that cost him the Ring, Sauron's body was described as blackened from the immense heat he gave off and even set people who got too close to him on fire.

* Harry Dresden from ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' prefers fire evocations, with a minor in wind and force, except for a period where, after being horribly burned with a flamethrower, he actually became ''pyrophobic.'' There was also the time period where he had [[Spirit Advisor|a fallen angel living in his head]] that granted him access to [[Hellfire]]. The Hellfire has since been replaced with Soulfire, which is sort of Hellfire's opposite number. Instead of being like a really bad bank loan, with immediate payoffs but nasty costs later, it's more like an investment; the costs are immediate (using it dips into his actual specific soul, draining life force which may or may not grow back), but the gains are much greater and more constructive than the brute force of Hellfire.

* Leo from ''[[The Heroes of Olympus]]'' is one of the few sons of Hephaestus to have the ability to create and control fire.

* In ''[[Artemis Fowl]]'', all goblins can generate fireballs at will. A bit of a subversion, as while their skin and internal surfaces open to the air (such as the inside of the nose and moth) are entirely fireproof, they can still be damaged when the fireballs detonate (as demonstrated in the first book when a goblin sucks a fireball up his nose in order to blow it right back out but is thwarted when his nostrils are blocked and the fireball explodes inside his oral-nasal cavity).

* Pyromancy is one of the "legal" magical schools in ''[[Shadow Ops]]''. It is also one of the most powerful and destructive schools, though it lacks any of the other elemental schools' versatility. All a pyromancer can do is create flame in various amounts and generate mindless fire elementals, though their ability to do so makes them one of the more valued schools if only through sheer, literal firepower.

 

* Claire's biological mother, Meredith, and her brother Flint in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]].'' Flint's flames are blue, and thus more powerful. Meredith's burn red; however, she has more control.

** Not to mention that Flint is as thick as two short planks fixed together with stupid glue.

* Most demons in ''[[Charmed]]'' throw fireballs. Phoebe also had this power in her past life.

 

* Hephaestus from [[Greek Mythology]]. Sometimes, the three solar dieties (Hyperion, Helios, and Apollo) also are associated with Fire, if not with [[Light'Em Up|Light]].

* Surtr, Lord of the Fire Giants from [[Norse Mythology]]. Also, sometimes, Loki.

* The goddesses Sekhmet and Wadjet and various serpents of the Duat (underworld) in [[Egyptian Mythology]].

* Pele. [[I Thought It Meant|No, not the soccer player.]] The fire/volcano goddess of Hawaiian Mythology.

 

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** The pyrokineticist prestige class embodies this trope.

** Strangely enough, the ''Druid'' class is prone to this trope, gaining spells like Produce Flame, Flame Sphere, and Flame Blade within their first few spell levels. If that's not enough, Wild Shape lets them take the forms of elementals, including, yes, FIRE.

** Ironically, fire is also the most commonly resisted damage type, leading it to being shunned by dedicated powergamers in 3rd edition in favor of [[Make Me Wanna Shout|sonic damage]].

* The Path of the Brilliant Flame fu path from ''[[Feng Shui]]'' essentially gives you fiery kung fu powers. And fire is one of the most common Blast powers that a sorcerer can use.

** Also, Chandra Nalaar, her disciple of sorts.

* The ''Firestarter'' Battlemech from [[BattleTech]] is dedicated to the role, mounting four fusion-powered flamethrowers.

** Ork Burnaboyz tend to be rather obsessed with setting things on fire, carrying large famethrowers and sometimes etting other boyz on fire to see em "do da burny dance".

** The Inquisition loves flame-spewing weapons, allowing for easy execution of [[Burn the Witch]].

** Signature weapons of the Adepta Sororitas.

* In ''7th Sea'', there is the rare sorcery "El Fuego Adentro" of Castille, where a practitioner can create and wield fire. Just don't let the [[Corrupt Church|Inquisition]] find out...

 

== Toys ==

* There's several subspecies with this power in [[Bionicle]], though some of the more notable characters are Tahu, Vakama, and Jaller.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Sol Badguy from ''[[Guilty Gear]]''.

** Also, several other characters bust out with the occasional fire attack; Robo-Ky, Axl, Faust, Potemkin, and Bridget all have fire attacks. Sol's the most common, as almost all of his special moves light opponents on fire.

** If you look closely, some of Ragna's powers and attacks look vaguely flame-like.

** [[The Phoenix|Phoenix]], another Summon, burns your enemies while simultaneously reviving/healing allies.

*** Terra from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' specializes in fire magic, learning Fire/Fira/Firaga and Meltdown (not to mention Flare and Ultima).

** Sazh of ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'' gets the Fire line of spells most readily, including Firaga, while getting no direct Water or Blizzard spells at all. His summon, Brynhildr, is fire-based as well.

** Seifer from ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' specializes in using fire magic, starting every one of his [[Limit Break]] attacks with a fire spell.

* The ''[[Kirby]]'' series have their fair share of fire-starters:

** Kirby's Adventure introduced recurring foes Flamer, Hot Head, Fire Lion, and (one half of the Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright duo) Mr. Bright.

*** [[The Hero|Tatsuya Suou]] from ''[[Persona 2]]'', whose Persona is Vulcanus.

*** Junpei Iori from ''[[Persona 3]]'' has some fire magic with his persona and is strong against fire spells, although he mostly uses physical attacks.

****** Yukiko Amagi from ''[[Persona 4]]'' also has fire magic with her persona, but unlike Junpei, she focuses herself more on magic power, thus her fire magic usually does more damage. With Yukiko, it's particularly ironic, as her name means "snow child".

* Pyron from the ''[[Darkstalkers]]'' games is a [[Galactic Conqueror]] who is basically a walking star and, accordingly, is ''made'' of fire.

* Even though mages in ''[[Dragon Age]]'' can learn all kinds of spells, Velanna in "Awakening" starts off with all Fire spells unlocked. This may count as a bit of [[Actor Allusion]], as she shares her [[Grey DeLisle|voice actress]] with another [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|master of fire magic]].

* Amaterasu in ''[[Ōkami|Okami]]''. Her signature weapon is a flaming disc she carries on her back; she ''is'' the Goddess of the Sun, after all. She also gains the power to control fire from the God of Fire, Moegami.

* Nix in ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In Famous]]'' has powers over fire and oil, which Cole can actually gain a bit of if he decides to do a power transfer with her.

* Whichever of the 3 main characters that inherits the True Fire Rune from "The Flame Champion" in ''[[Suikoden III]]''.

* Pyrrhon in ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising|Kid Icarus Uprising]]'' is the Sun God, so his entire body is engulfed in fire. For his moves and actions, think like [[Fantastic Four|Johnny Blaze]] but much more [[So Bad It's Good|cheesy]].

* Aurora in ''[[Black Sigil]]''. Also {{spoiler|Doll}}, who can use all elements.

 

* Bob from ''[[Bob and George]]''.

* Damien from ''[[El Goonish Shive]]''.

* Richard from ''[[Looking for Group]]'' has his classic 'Fwoosh'.

* From ''[[Drowtales]]'', [[Punctuation Shaker|Chirinide Val'Kyorl'solenurn]]:

* ''[[Panthera]]'': [[Altum Videtur|Tigris Ignis]], Tiger of Fire.

* {{spoiler|Oasis}} of ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', as seen [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20090612 here].

* From the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'': Heatwave, Starfire, Fire Drake, Ablaze, Firefall, Fireworks, Flashpoint, Inferna, Hotshot, Centigrade (who is also [[An Ice Person]]), Incendie ("Blaze" in French), Mondfeur ("Moonfire" in German), Ulkataranara ("Comet Man" in Hindi), Matahari Merah, Firebird, Playma ("Flame" in Russian), Salamander, Sunfire, Wildfire, Flame, Ifrit, The Confessor, Morningstar, Komet, Molotov, Inferno, Fuoco Bianco ("White Fire" in Italian), Pumpkin Jack, Tourmaline, Pyro, Dragon, and Red Devil.

* In the [[Whateley Universe]], Fireball. And Sparkler, after she gets her power gauntlets in the first Ayla story.

* ''[[New York Magician]]'': {{spoiler|Melooch and his Rider}}.

* In ''[[Trinton Chronicles]]'', there is Jay, Sara, Scorch, along with a few other characters who seem to have this power. It's a fairly common supernatural power, it seems.

* The Fire-Human, from ''[[Water Human]]''. He literally looks like he's made of fire and might, in fact, be just an [[Elemental Embodiment]]. His servants also have fire spells.

* The ''[[Anti Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society]]'''s Tash uses very powerful fire magic, first with a [[Magic Staff|staff]], then with a [[Cool Sword|sword]].

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Wheeler in ''[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers]]''.

* Firebenders in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'', obviously. The interesting part is that not ''all'' of them fit the hot-tempered mold that usually goes along with fire powers, given that they are an entire ''culture''. Zuko is plenty hot-headed, but his sister Azula is more cold and cunning, which her blue fire [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|reflects.]] Their father Ozai is somewhere in between, while Iroh has the personality of a warm campfire.

** The Fire Nation's philosophy of firebending via rage plays a part in their hot-headed tempers; a subset of firebenders who split off from the nation passed onto Iroh, Zuko, and Aang the original, life-affirming form of firebending that averts the need for firebenders to be [[Hot-Blooded]] to [[Psychoactive Powers|use their powers]].

** Then there's Mako from ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' who's pretty much [[The Stoic]]. Korra herself fits the [[Hot-Blooded]] stereotype and it's interesting to note that she will default to fire even though she's a Waterbender by birth.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Elemental Powers]]

[[Category:Infernal Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]

[[Category:Stock Super Powers]]

[[Category:Heat Index]]