Mike Miller, The Human Flame, was a low-level villain captured by the Martian Manhunter early in his career.
History
Early career
Although at first he was able to deplete the Martian Manhunter of energy with his built-in blowtorch, the Manhunter eventually grabbed the ground Miller was standing on and brought him to an altitude where the winds would snuff out his flames.[1]
Final Crisis
Following his release from prison, he returned to crime. One bank robbery was foiled by Red Arrow and Hawkgirl.[2] He hated the Martian Manhunter more than anything for "ruining his life," and attempted to avoid superheroes at all costs. He was enlisted by Libra for thes new Secret Society of Super-Villains. For joining, Libra promised him power, and his heart's desire, "revenge against the Martian Manhunter."
Later, the Human Flame's wish would actually be the first Libra fulfilled, when the Society kidnapped J'onn J'onzz, drugged him and brutally murdered him by stabbing him through the chest with Libra's flaming staff.[3]
Henceforth, Libra, referring to him as an "idiot", applied an Apokoliptian helmet to his head and turned the Human Flame into a Justifier, servant of Anti-Life.[4] Libra even used the Human Flame amongst other Justifiers to persuade Lex Luthor to swear an allegiance to Darkseid or be turned into a Justifier. The Human Flame was among the Justifiers under Lex Luthor's control that were fighting the Female Furies.
Final Crisis Aftermath: Run!
After Final Crisis, it's revealed that the Human Flame had a wife and child, but was divorced. The Flame tries to hide while pursued by villains that Libra enslaved during the Final Crisis, the Justice League members John Stewart, Red Tornado and Firestorm for Martian Manhunter's death and recently the Kyrgyzstani Mafia for stealing a cache of laundered money. However, his costume had been lost during the reign of evil and a prototype which he'd dawned ends up badly damaged during a fight with the mobsters, causing the Human Flame seeks out Heat Wave, hoping to purchase one of the latter's signature flamethrower guns. Mick blatantly refuses, denouncing him as "pathetic", giving the subpar villain a harsh beating instead. Wounded and unable to afford health care, Michael turns to the Condiment King, who in turn directs him to General Immortus, who then turns him over to Professor Milo. The mad doctor fixes Flame's injuries by adding cybernetic components to the former's physiology, adding strength and imperviousness atop of a much improved physiognomy, going so far as to implant literal flamethrowers into his chest, mouth, forehead and arms. However, to ensure the Flame's loyalty, Immortus has him to kill Immortus' minion, N-Emy (whom General Immortus blamed for stealing something from him) as a means of towing the line by explaining he had Milo fix his flamethrowers to cause intense pain whenever he uses them.
The Human Flame later attempts some freelance jobs, stealing from a bank with the help of Seductress (one of the augmented henchmen (and lover) of Immortus himself) and swaying her to his side. However, Miller's quickly discovered and charged with treason by Milo and Immortus, who try to shut down his powers with a remote control. With Seductress rushing again to his aid, the Human Flame is able to escape, destroying the remote but further injuring himself in the process.
However, Human Flame discovers that his new cyborg body has uncanny recuperative abilities that fix the broken jaw suffered during his escape. He fights his former allies successfully, killing them all until Immortus shuts down his powers with a secondary, wireless remote. The Human Flame then regains his powers by sheer will (even the augmented powers), badly burning Immortus. He then tortures Professor Milo to get further augmentations to put him on par with the Justice League and everyone else wanting vengeance against him. Milo sends him to S.T.A.R. Labs to get himself infused with atomic energy in a new experimental process. There, Human Flame and Seductress are attacked by a hyper-griffin, thus alerting S.T.A.R.'s security (actually one lone scientist) who agrees to give Human Flame the energy infusion to dispatch the griffin. However, the energy infusion is temporary unless Human Flame can reach a nearby nuclear power plant and bathe in its energies, even though he risks death and a deadly meltdown. Despite the risks, he leaves Seductress behind and dupes John Stewart into dunking him in the main reactor. As a result, the nuclear plant is engulfed in a fiery explosion.
Despite the magnitude of the explosion, so powerful that the assembled heroes barely manage to contain it with their maximum efforts, Flame emerges as a fiery, radioactive being, in a molten approximation of a human body, able to increase his mass and density. Calling himself the Inhuman Flame, rampaging through the city until he increases his mass to such a degree that Michael becomes basically immobile. Realizing that the Flame, in his quest for power, hadn't even taken into account the idea of becoming "smaller," Firestorm, Red Tornado, and John Stewart take him to outer space, tethered to heat-dispersing rods in an asteroid to sap his thermonuclear-based powers. As a final revenge, and to add insult to injury, Stewart creates a cell-phone construct and takes a photo of the captive Human Flame, stressing the similarities to Martian Manhunter's fate.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Abilities
Weaknesses
- Natural Lower Intellect
- Fail-Safe (Formerly)
- Power Instability
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- Ultra-Thermic Torch
- Blow Torch: A modified oxyacetylene torch that allows him to melt through solid rock in massive quantities.
Notes
- Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
- Character is not to be confused with artist Mike S. Miller.
Trivia
- The original story featuring "The Human Flame" in his fight against J'onn J'onzz can be found in the second edition of Showcase Presents: The Martian Manhunter."
Recommended Reading
Related
- 17 Appearances of Michael Miller (New Earth)
- 8 Images featuring Michael Miller (New Earth)
- 4 Quotations by or about Michael Miller (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Michael Miller (New Earth)
Footnotes
  This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Justice League Villains." |
 This character, team or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of Martian Manhunter. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Martian Manhunter Villains category." |
 Secret Society of Super-Villains member |
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