Among all elemental powers, fire is arguably the most common in fiction. There are thousands of fictional characters that possess fire-related powers, but there are only room for ten for this list. These are my ten picks on who are the best fire-powered characters in fiction.
10.) FIRESTAR
Her fire powers are actually unimpressively generic. She is a mutant that can generate fire due to her mutant ability of manipulating microwave radiation. She can hurl fireballs and create flames. She can cover herself with fire. She can fly (I don’t know how that works, but a lot of fire-powered characters can fly just because. You know. Fire. Uh-oh. Or I’m looking at this wrong; her ability to fly could be a separate mutant power of hers.) Still, I am fond of her despite the common nature of her power. It’s because I was greatly fond of Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends. I loved that show, and that’s actually where Firestar got her start – not in the comics. She became popular enough, eventually made the jump to comics, and, since then, she has been an X-Man, an Avenger, and my most favorite purely fire-powered female character.
9.) TASUKI
Fushigi Yuugi’s Tasuki is the fifth of the Seven Celestial Warriors of Suzaku, and one of the two that survived till the end (three survivors, if you count Tamahome’s reincarnation). What is so cool about Tasuki is his weapon: a giant fan named “the Tessen.” This fan can shoot out fire. Initially, Tasuki was not so adept in wielding this powerful weapon as he aims recklessly with it, sometimes setting allies on fire along with the targeted enemy, or even completely missing the enemy and hitting his ally instead. Eventually, Tasuki was able to master how to shoot out fire efficiently with his fan.
8.) WHEELER
Wheeler is one of the Planeteers, the teenagers entrusted by Gaia with power elemental rings that can control or manipulate the elements and also summon the superhero
Captain Planet whenever they combine their powers. Wheeler’s ring gives him the power of Fire. With this ring, he can generate flames and shoot out laser-like fire force.
Among all Planeteers, Wheeler is the one with the most flaws (maybe because of his tough upbringing) – he’s a bit of a jerk, quick with his tongue, impulsive, and, usually, he’s the least knowledgeable in the group – making him the Planeteer with the most personality, thus, the most likable. Really, the other Planeteers are kind of bland.
7.) GHOST RIDER
There are other supernatural powers that came when Johnny Blaze (a.k.a. Ghost Rider) was possessed by the demonic power of Zarathos – like superhuman strength, stamina, and durability; regenerative healing factor; wielding of power mystical chains; and causing anybody who looks into his eyes to eternally see and feel all the pains he has ever inflicted – but the most notable power of all is the control of hellfire. Ghost Rider’s hellfire power is immensely powerful and he can channel this in a variety of ways, including making a wall of fire, using it as projectiles that incinerate everything on its path, and summoning a supernatural motorcycle (which is also covered with hellfire). Awesome.
6.) PORTGAS D. ACE
Ace is the biological son of the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. However, Ace didn’t acknowledge this fact; he only recognized Whitebeard, who was Roger’s rival, as father. Ace is also Monkey D. Luffy’s adopted older brother. Though they are not really related by blood, the two of them maintained a very close bond with each other.
By eating the “Mera Mera no Mi” Devil Fruit, Ace gained the Logia-type ability of transforming himself into fire and controlling the flames that he produce. This ability made Ace immensely powerful. His main manner of projecting fire is by punching out lines of intense flames, earning him the reputation of “Fire Fist Ace.”
Being a fan-favorite, Ace’s death during the “Battle of Marinefold” arc is probably the most emotional and shocking moment ever in One Piece.
5.) RECCA HANABISHI
Right from his childhood, Recca was very engrossed with ninjas. Unbeknownst to him, he’s actually one, for he’s a time-displaced descendant of the leading line of fire-casters of the Hokage ninja clan. Because of his lineage, Recca has the power to create fire.
At first, the style of his fire-casting was limited to surrounding his fist with fire, increasing its attack strength, and by shooting out fire from his hand like a flamethrower. Later on, he discovered that he can call on the Eight Flame Dragons and borrow their powers. Each flame dragon has a respective form and ability. Recca would one at a time “earn” their powers through the progress of the story; whenever he obtains a dragon, a tattoo shows up on his arm.
The dragons and their respective form are as follows, in order of Recca’s acquisition:
1. Saiha – fire blade
2. Nadare – fire balls
3. Homura – a whip made of fire
4. Setsuna – whoever looks at Setsuna’s eyes would instantaneously be set afire
5. Madoka – barriers created by fireballs
6. Rui – illusion; the flame would take the form of whatever Recca imagines it to be
7. Kokū – shoots out a powerful fire beam that vaporizes everything it hits
8. Resshin – transforms a dead person into a living flame (similar to what Kurei can do)
4.) KUREI MORI
Kurei is part of
my list for top 10 anime antagonists (he’s number 10); I already discussed of him there. Here’s an excerpt, explaining why I like Kurei more than Recca as a flame caster:
“I actually find Kurei’s flame more fascinating than Recca’s. Kurei’s takes the form of a phoenix, which is able to absorb souls and make them his flame as what he has done with his lover Kurenai and his ally Jisho.”
Moreover, he’s also quite ruthless. Hence, he’s more able to utilize his flame to be more destructive than what Recca can possibly can.
3.) HUMAN TORCH
There are the two Human Torches, the Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm and the
android Jim Hammond. Either of them will do for this third spot (but as an overall fictional character, I like Johnny more), since the manifestation of their fire powers are closely similar anyway. They have different origins, and the sources of their fire powers are different, but their fire-based powers are virtually alike: they can cover their bodies with flames, fly, and project and manipulate fire.
2.) ROY MUSTANG
Lt. Colonel (later a Colonel through most of the story, and eventual Brigaider-General in the end) Roy Mustang was the one that recruited Edward Elric, the title character of Full Metal Alchemist, to join the military and serve as a state alchemist.
Known as the “Flame Alchemist”, Mustang is one of the military’s most powerful and most legendary state alchemists. He makes use of a set of custom-made gloves that are made of "pyrotex/ignition cloth" and embroidered with special flame alchemy Transmutation Circles. Whenever Roy snaps his fingers, the glove creates a spark and it allows him to manipulate the oxygen in the air to become extremely volatile, hence, the spark will rapidly bloom into flames which he can utilize to ignite a target or create an explosion.
In the outside, Mustang seems to be the type of person that is superficial, arrogant, egoistic, and sarcastic (however, whenever he’s obnoxious, it seems to me that he does it in a non-annoying way; he never appeared unlikable). He’s always eager for promotions, dreaming of becoming the Fuhrer someday. He’s also an incorrigible womanizer.
But in spite of all these appearance of shallowness, this is not at all Mustang’s complete personality; there is still more to him. He is actually caring to his friends and subordinates, and does everything in his power to protect their well-being, though he hides this behind a mask of narcissism and sarcasm. Moreover, he also uses his superficial side as a façade, especially to those who do not know him so that they will underestimate him, to hide his brilliant strategic mind, his manipulative scheming, and/or his proficiency in various military functions.
The mechanics of his fire powers, his depth and personality, and his bad-ass name (“Roy Mustang” is arguably one of the best names I’ve encountered, not only in anime, but in entire fiction) makes Colonel Mustang an awesome fictional character.
1.) NATSU DRAGNEEL
In all the fire-powered fictional characters I’ve encountered, there is nobody that is as interesting as Natsu in wielding this elemental power. Though he is not yet an S-class mage, Natsu is arguably one of the most powerful members of
Fairy Tail. He’s tough and very skillful in physical combat, but his superiority and destructiveness as a fighter is magnified a hundredfold because of his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. With this kind of magic, Natsu has mastery of fire and heat. He can manifest and utilize fire in various forms, which includes but are not limited to: breathing out fires (this being his trademark attack, which is called “Fire Dragon’s Roar”); shooting out flames from his hands; engulfing his hands and feet with fire to increase the damage of his punches and kicks; and creating fiery explosions. He can also make himself and his magic stronger by eating fire, his power exponentially increasing with the amount or potency of the flame he is consuming; hence, the term “fight fire with fire” won’t work on Natsu. Furthermore, the more Natsu is enraged, the stronger he becomes. Lastly, Natsu’s personality is very much “blazing” in its own sense – a perfect complement to his powers – since he could probably be Fairy Tail’s most feisty and tenacious member, which means he never gives up and he exerts his best effort in every fight and challenge he faces.
