Tuesday, 20 August 2013

Character Spotlight: Firefly

Alright, so today this picture was posted on Batman: Arkham Origins' Facebook and Twitter pages:


Through careful research I have deducted that the villain due to be revealed is Firefly, A.K.A. Garfield Lynns. I think it's great that WB Montreal are going with a lot of lesser known villains for Arkham Origins (even if they did use the Joker AGAIN), such as Copperhead, Black Mask, and even Deathstroke (who is known for being a Teen Titans villain). It's cool that these guys are getting exposure outside of the comic-book community, as unlike the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, etc. these villains are not part of the pop-culture surrounding Batman and are not the kind to get adapted to the big-screen (animated features and TV shows notwithstanding.)

 Anyway, as I myself don't know much about Firefly, I thought I'd use this as an excuse to get to grips with the character and his history. I think I'll actually make this a regular thing with different comic-book characters (and maybe video-game characters too!).


Name: Garfield Lynns, AKA Firefly
Created by: Ed Herron and Dick Sprang
First appearance: Detective Comics #184 (June 1952)

In his early appearances the character of Firefly is quite different to how he is today (which is very common for DC characters, who were rebooted post-Crisis on Infinite Earths), using light tricks to commit crimes.
However, the modern version of the character is a pyromaniac. Originally a pyrotechnic expert for film sets, he turned to crime and was caught by Batman and Robin during his first robbery. He committed arson as a hobby but became obsessed with fire and believed he could see visions with the flames. This obsession with fire led him to create a special suit with wings (based on real fireflies) and become a professional arsonist.

At one time he teamed up with fellow Gotham criminal Killer Moth, hoping to imitate the success of Batman and Robin's partnership; however, Killer Moth came to realise how disturbed his partner was and left. At other times in his career, he has joined Black Mask's gang and has also been a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

Firefly also has a distinctive physical trait: under his suit, 90% of his skin is burnt tissue. This is due to being caught up in a chemical explosion when he set fire to a chemical factory during an arson spree. Generally though, his insulated flight-suit protects him from the danger of burning himself with his own flames.

So... I guess that's it. Not much more to say about him really. He's also made appearances in the DC animated series' The New Batman Adventures, Justice League, The Batman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as in the live-action TV series Arrow.


(Sources: dc.wikia.com, Google Images)

Monday, 19 August 2013

Introduction

Hi. So, for my first post I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Kris.
I am 21 years old, going on 50. I'm married to an amazing woman who is very unlucky to have me and we have two good-looking, intelligent and very annoying boys together. I also have a cat who thinks she can get away with anything just because she's cute, and a dog who has stubbornly rebuked all attempts to house-train him.
Ethnically I identify myself as White/British, although I also share Chinese, Burmese, and German ancestry.

I am currently studying towards my Bachelor's Degree in Law part-time. I enjoy learning about the law and with any luck I'll be some kind of solicitor one day.

I also have a lot of recreational interests. I have been a gamer since my childhood, with my earliest gaming memories being of Tekken and Pokemon Red/Blue. Japanese RPGs, such as Final Fantasy, Grandia, Star Ocean, and Fire Emblem are still the staple of my gaming shelf, although my tastes occasionally explore beyond those boundaries. Two of my favourite games outside of the RPG genre would be the Mass Effect and Batman: Arkham series.

A more recent hobby of mine is reading comics, although I've actually been interested in superheroes since my childhood thanks to the abundance of great superhero cartoons aired throughout my youth (Batman: TAS, Spider-Man, Batman Beyond, Justice League, X-Men: Evolution - just to name a few). Some people seem to be loyal to certain publishers to the exclusion of others; I myself am a fan of both DC and Marvel Comics, although I tend not to read indie/creator-owned content. My favourite writers include Scott Snyder (Batman, Superman: Unchained, formerly Detective Comics, Gates of Gotham), Dan Slott (Superior Spider-Man), Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man, All-New X-Men), Geoff Johns (Justice League, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Flashpoint), Brian Azzarello (Wonder Woman), Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul (The Flash), Jason Aaron (Wolverine and the X-Men, Thor: God of Thunder), Frank Miller (Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns) and Mark Waid (Daredevil, Indestructible Hulk, Superman: Birthright).

I'm also a big martial arts fan. I have previously studied both Shotokan Karate and WTF-style TaeKwonDo, although I'm currently learning Wing Chun under Sifu Johnny Fell at NGT Martial Arts. I originally heard about Wing Chun through Bruce Lee's published works, but I didn't pay it full attention until I watched the film Ip Man, starring Donnie Yen as real-life Wing Chun Grandmaster Ip Man. It's great for people who may not have the sheer physicality for the more sport-based martial arts such as Judo, Boxing or Karate, as it does not rely on brute strength, but on speed, efficiency of motion and body mechanics that help compensate for being of smaller or weaker stature - this is understandable, since it was originally developed by a woman.
As a martial arts fan, I watch a lot of martial arts movies; my favourite actors include Bruce Lee (Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon), Jackie Chan (Wheels on Meals, Dragons Forever, Drunken Master, Police Story), Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Protector), Jet Li (Unleashed, Fearless, Fist of Legend, Once Upon a Time in China), Wu Jing (Fatal Contact, Invisible Target, Legendary Assassin), Donnie Yen (Ip Man, SPL, Flash Point), and Sammo Hung (Winners and Sinners, Fatal Move, Pedicab Driver).

This post is a lot bigger than I originally intended, so I'm going to stop here for now. Future posts will probably be shorter. Don't be surprised if games and comics make up the majority of my content!
And if you actually bothered to read all that, thanks.