Playing With Fire

K’ is an appropriate name for an reluctant hero with asocial tendencies. He’s lazy, rude, and altogether uninterested in fighting despite his undeniable skills. As a child, K’ was kidnapped by a crime syndicate and transformed into a living weapon. After being infused with the DNA of a powerful martial artist named Kyo Kusanagi, K’ was blessed pyrokinetic powers. Sadly, his memories of his past were erased in the process. His fighting style has been described as “pure violence” and his high-strung nature fits well with his vicious arsenal of attacks. He can conjure fire out of thin air, bombard his enemies with projectiles, or create explosions simply by touching someone. He’s also able to add damage to his regular attacks. Simple punches and kicks look so much cooler when they’re surrounded by fire.

Although he only has a supporting role in the series, Ifrit is a recurring summon (and occasional boss) that has appeared in dozens of Final Fantasy games. His signature Hellfire attack can target multiple opponents, and the scorching flames he controls are hot enough to turn the whole world to ash. The incarnation of fire and fury is obedient to his masters, but he shows his foes no mercy. When enraged, he will not be satiated until he drags his enemies into an inferno of terror. The half-man, half-beast takes pleasure in unleashing his own brand of volcanic violence, and his hungry flames can consume all that they touch. He’s not the most powerful summon in the Final Fantasy series, but he’s one of the most dependable. If nothing else, Ifrit deserves some level of recognition for being the most physically imposing entry on this list.

Before becoming the hell-spawned spectre that we all know and love, Hanzo Hasashi was named Scorpion by his clansmen out of respect for his assassination skills. After being murdered by a rival ninja, Scorpion was permitted to return to the Earth as a spectre in lieu of spending an eternity in the fires of the Neatherrealm. Driven by a burning desire for revenge, Scorpion wandered endlessly as a vigilante anti-hero. He aligned with evil when it was in his best interests, but he generally did whatever he wanted to. When Mortal Kombat was released on the Super NES in 1993, most of the fatality maneuvers were censored. Scorpion’s moveset was unaltered, however, and he could still use his fire breath to reduce his foes to skeletons. His fiery vengeance simply cannot be controlled. Not even Nintendo’s censors can tell him what to do!

Mario became one of gaming’s very first pyromancers with the help of the fire flower power-up, but his arch-nemesis is a better fit for a fire-themed list. Bowser is not short on ways to attack his enemies – he throws hammers, jumps on his foes, and rides around in a flying clown car that drops cannon balls – but his most common methods of attack involve fire. In various games, he has breathed fire from his mouth, thrown fireballs at his enemies, and caused flames to fall from the sky. Mario will typically die when he touches fire, but Bowser often walks around in lava without a care in the world. Bowser can meet his demise by falling into pits of lava, but it’s just a temporary hurdle for him. Even after his skin has been melted off, Bowser will sometimes continue to pursue Mario in a skeletal form. He even races go-karts as a skeleton on occasion.

Kegan Rodhe was a marauder on the high seas who stole from everyone and anyone. His ultimate fate was surprisingly fitting given his reputation as a monster. While sailing through the arctic waters, Kegan and his crew were drawn to lights dancing on the horizon. After landing ashore, Kegan came across snow-covered ruins where a seductive flame was found within a cage of ice. Captivated by what he saw, Kegan approached the flame and held out his hand. It was at that point that Kegan’s body was consumed by fire and his soul by the entity known as Brand. Known in ancient texts as the Burning Vengeance, it was Brand’s intent to watch the world burn. He attacks with searing projectiles, pillars of flame, and torrents of fire that set his rivals ablaze, but his burning body is not nearly as dangerous as the fiery hate that burns in his heart.

Many characters in the Street Fighter universe are said to throw fireballs, but this is a misnomer in most cases. The standard Hadoken employed by Ken and Ryu, for instance, is really just a surge of spiritual energy in a projectile form. Dhalsim is one of a handful of fighters to incorporate actual fire into his attacks. His Yoga Fire, Yoga Flame, and Yoga Blast maneuvers all involve breathing fire from his mouth in one way or another. It’s unclear how he gained these abilities, and Capcom isn’t entirely certain either. Capcom USA initially claimed that Dhalsim’s abilities stemmed from his consumption of curry, but Capcom of Japan attributed his abilities to a blessing from a Hindu god. Other sources point to his abilities as a sign of spiritual enlightenment. I think it’s fair to say that the curry theory makes the most sense.

The Mega Man series has seen many fire-themed bosses over the years, but Heat Man is the hottest Robot Master this side of Splash Woman. As the first fire boss in the series, Fire Man was considered for this list (in Soviet Russia, Fire Man starts fires), but it’s hard to beat a giant anthropomorphic Zippo lighter. Protected by an amusing armored container, Heat Man can withstand temperatures up to 12,000° C. This is hotter than the surface of the sun! Heat Man shoots fire from his mouth and projects enormous blasts from his hands, but his most iconic move involves him engulfing himself in flames and hurling his ignited body towards his opponents. Series creator Keiji Inafune has cited Heat Man as one of his favorite Robot Masters due to him being such a “gimmicky” character. I’m inclined to agree with him.

You may be asking why I would select Charmander for this list rather than Charizard. As an evolved form of Charmander, Charizard is unquestionably more powerful. With respect to electric-type Pokémon, one could point to Pikachu’s popularity as a reason why he deserves be ranked higher than other more powerful Pokémon, but the same case can’t be made for Charmander since he’s not nearly as popular as Charizard is. That being said, Charmander was one of three starter Pokémon available at the beginning of the first Pokémon game. For myself and millions of others, he was the first Pokémon used in battle. Forming strong bonds is a core component in the Pokémon series, and I will never forget who was with me when I started my Pokémon journey. I choose you, Charmander!

Like other characters in the series, Cinder’s original backstory was retconned in the 2013 Killer Instinct reboot. The revised story describes Ben Ferris as a greedy paramilitary contractor who foolishly agreed to be a test subject in an ill-advised experiment involving alien DNA. Naturally, the experiment was a colossal failure and Ben became permanently engulfed in flames. (On the plus side, it earned him a totally rad codename!) Cinder doesn’t need to rely on gadgets or magic to produce fire, he is fire. He can shoot flames from his hands, detonate pyrobombs on command, or turn his entire body into a spinning fireball. He also enjoys metaphorically burning his opponents with insults. The failed experiment that rendered Ben faster, stronger, and burnier(?) also transformed him into a wisecracking Deadpool knock-off.

Most of the characters on this list merely adopted the flames, but Pyron was born in it. Originating from the aptly-named planet Hellstorm, the omnipotent boss of the first two Darkstalkers travels the cosmos at the speed of light looking for new worlds to consume. His true size surpasses that of the Milky Way, but he adopted a more modest terrestrial form when he found a group of sporting opponents on Earth. Although he takes on a humanoid shape, his powers are still beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. He can fly through the air, he’s fast enough to dodge bullets, and he can even control gravity on a planetary scale. His entire body is engulfed in flames, so even his most basic attacks are fire-based in nature. He describes himself as the “Lord of the Living Flame” and it’s really hard to argue otherwise.