Wildfire

Wildfire was the only Quality Comics creation by Jim Mooney, who is better known for his work at DC, especially on “Supergirl.”

When she was a small girl in the Northwest, Carol Vance survived her parents in a forest fire. Her father, Frank Vance, succumbed to the flames, but Carol was noticed by a mystic Lord of Fire. He was impressed by her survival and granted her bona fide immunity to fire. In addition, she could create and manipulate flames. Local socialites Mr. and Mrs. John Martin took pity on the orphan and adopted her. By the time she grew to adulthood, she had decided to use her powers to fight evil. In her first adventure, she exposed some arsonists and their ringleader, the Nazi zealot called the Green Masked Bund. (Smash #25)

Naturally, most of her adventures revolved around fire in some way. She uncovered a corrupt superintendant at the Midville orphanage who planned to lock up all the children under his care, leave them to burn, and abscond with the funds for his facility! (#26) Note: Supergirl’s alter ego, Linda Lee, also lived in an orphanage, in Midvale.

Carol was attuned to fire on a subconscious level as well. The evil flames of Fire-Devil and his Fire Cult reached out to her sleeping mind and awakened her to danger. (#27)

Her adoptive parents had no clue about Carol’s dangerous adventures even though they were usually in close proximity. On a trip across the country to Hollywood, Carol made a quick change to stop sabotage on a movie set. (#29)

Heading back across the Southwest, she ran across crooks who were set upon sabotaging an oil field. These criminals were the first to really challenge Wildfire by tagging her with their “freezo” gun. The gun shot liquid air that turned its targets to ice. But in the course of their destructive actions, an oil rig was set aflame and thawed Wildfire out. (#30)

At Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the murderous Frog employed a similar weapon, his cold water gun. Evidence pegged him as a disgraced Army vet, Froggy Miller, who was out for revenge. (#32)

When she returned home, she visited her friends Anne and John Haynes in their castle-like home only to discover they’d been invaded by Mad Merlin the magician and his men. (#34)

With experience, Carol became more proactive in her crime fighting by answering an ad placed in a newspaper by Micky Kane. She gave him a small magic flame that would signal her in times of trouble. He had cause soon enough, when his brother was kidnapped. The magic flame released a fire pixie that alerted Wildfire to the trouble. (#36)

Carol might have found her true calling when she became an air raid warden during the war. During a “blackout test,” she and others were kidnapped by the Dean of Darkness. As Wildfire, she forced him out of his hideout and then chose to make a spectacle in public by finishing him off with her fists—as Carol. Perhaps she enjoyed this civilian side of duty more than her costume, because Wildfire was never seen again. (#37)

Notes

Jim Mooney mentioned Wildfire in an online interview with The Silver Lantern (thesilverlantern.com). He said he’d hoped that Wildfire would “be a sensation and take off, but it really didn’t make much of a splash.” 

While Phantom Lady is often remembered as wearing a risque costume, her appearances in Quality Comics were tame compared to the immodest costume of Wildfire. In Smash #36, the costume was colored to cover up more of her torso (but drawn the same as always). 

Wildfire has never been fully used by DC. Writer Roy Thomas considered her for All-Star Squadron, but he didn’t want to risk confusion with DC’s other Wildfire, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Artist Paul Smith managed to sneak her into one panel in The Golden Age #4 (1994). And the character inspired a namesake in John Arcudi’s 2002 Elseworlds series, JLA: Destiny.