| Wildfire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Quality Comics DC Comics |
| First appearance | Smash Comics #25 (1941) |
| Created by | Robert Turner Jim Mooney |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Carol Vance Martin |
Wildfire (Carol Vance Martin) is asuperheroine appearing inAmerican comic books. One of the first female superheroes, she was originally published byQuality Comics[1] during what comics historians and fans called theGolden Age of comic books. With her luxurious mane of red hair and revealing costume, she has been called "the sexiest super-hero of 1941".[2]
According toJess Nevins'Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "her opponents are mostly ordinary criminals and Axis agents, although there are a few name villains, like the Frog, Mad Merlin, and the Dean of Darkness".[3]
Wildfire appears inSmash Comics #25-37, in solo adventures drawn byJim Mooney.[4] She, along with many other Quality Comics superheroes, was purchased byDC Comics after Quality went out of business in the mid-1950s.
Wildfire was a redhead, who wore red pants. Her powers were gifted to her by the god of fire.[5]
Speculation that Wildfire was originally intended to play a major role in theAll-Star Squadron series, but DC objected on the basis of her name, which she shared with theLegion of Super-Heroes member is inaccurate - Roy Thomas confirmed inTomorrows' Quality Companion that he, not DC, took the decision not to use the character. A female incarnation ofFirebrand was introduced into the series with similar abilities.[6]
Her only appearance in a DC comic is inThe Golden Ageminiseries, by writerJames Robinson and artist Paul Smith. In issue #4, the male cross-dressing characterMadame Fatal appears in a panel surrounded by theFiddler, and theGambler, who all appear to be courting "her" while other heroes (including Wildfire) stand around giggling, evidently aware of Madame Fatal's true gender.
She also inspired another character named Wildfire in theJLA: Destiny miniseries.