The Flame was a fictional superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 that appeared in comic books published by Fox Feature Syndicate

Fox Feature Syndicate

Fox Feature Syndicate was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S...

. The Flame first appeared in Wonderworld Comics #3 (July 1939). He was created by writer Will Eisner

Will Eisner

William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...

 and artist Lou Fine

Lou Fine

Louis Kenneth Fine was an American comic book artist known for his work during the 1940s Golden Age of comic books, where his quality draftsmanship became an influential model to a generation of fellow comics artists....

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Publication history

The Flame first appearance was in Fox's Wonderworld Comics #3, dated July 1939, (issues #1 & #2 being titled Wonder Comics). The Flame gained his own title in the summer of 1940; which ran for eight issues until January 1942. He was one of the titular Big 3, appearing in that periodical alongside Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...

 and Samson. Fox Publications folded in 1942, being forced to declare involuntary bankruptcy owing its creditors some $175,000.

Fictional character biography

The Flame's secret identity is Gary Preston. When Gary was a baby, his father Charteris Preston worked as a missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The elder Preston was washed away in a flood, but managed to save baby Gary by placing him in a basket. The basket was washed downstream to Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

, where Gary was rescued by a group of lama

Lama

Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...

s. They raised Gary in the lamasary, where they trained him in their mystical ways. Through this training, Gary gained the ability to control fire and temperature, including his own body temperature. He also gained the ability to travel from place to place by materializing inside of flame (even a match flame). When he reached adulthood, Gary returned to America to fight crime as the Flame. In Wonderworld Comics #30 (October 1941) the Flame was joined by a female sidekick, Flame Girl. Flame Girl was secretly Linda Dale, who was given similar powers as the Flame when Gary Preston was injured.

Powers and abilities

Thanks to his training, the Flame has the ability to control fire and heat. He can raise his own body temperature to the point where he can burst into flames, or melt bullets. He can control and direct any flame in his presence. He can also teleport

Teleportation

Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...

 from place to place by appearing inside of any fire source, no matter the size. The Flame's one weakness is water, which can severely weaken him. In order to provide fire whenever he needs it, the Flame carries a small, pistol-sized flamethrower

Flamethrower

A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...

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Recent developments

The Flame is one of the many public domain

Public domain

Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...

 Golden Age characters appearing in Project Superpowers

Project Superpowers

Project Superpowers is a comic book limited series published by Dynamite Entertainment beginning January 2008. It was co-plotted by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, with scripts by Jim Krueger, covers by Alex Ross, and interior art by Doug Klauba and Stephen Sadowski for issue #0, and Carlos Paul for the...

, a series released by Dynamite Entertainment

Dynamite Entertainment

Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book company that primarily publishes licensed franchises of adaptations of other media. These include adaptations of film properties such as Army of Darkness, Terminator and RoboCop, literary properties such as Zorro, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in...

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