Most of you probably know Garfield Lynns, the Firefly, from a costume like this...

...or this:

Ah, but most of you forget (or perhaps didn't even know?) was that Lynns had a criminal career before his pyromania kicked in, and before he became pretty much exclusively committed to fire as his weapon.

See, Garfield was a movie lighting technician (or special effects genius, depending on the telling), who used lights and illusions to commit his crimes. Which makes more sense with his name, because fireflies don't actually cause fires, you know? The just light up. He was Mysterio, 12 years early!! No boring flame-throwers for this guy!

Well, Garfield Lynns has languished in Gotham Penitentiary for 33 years (our time), until he stages a daring jailbreak!

All that remains is to reclaim his costume!

Yes...

Man, this is going to be so good!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

No, really.

Yup, back in 1952, in his first (and only) appearance in Detective Comics #184, Firefly wore this amazing costume:

Well, you might have gotten away with that back in 1952...but in 1975? That's just awful, not "awe-inspiring"!

Look, even a serious guy like the Creeper can't stop laughing...

Good gosh, that's really terrible.

But it's not enough that you or I think it bad. But when Gotham City thugs find it laughable, well...



Bwahahahahahahaha!!

You coulda been a contender, Garfield...if only you hadn't dressed like an Archie Heroes reject! No wonder they switched you to the flame shtick!

From 1st Issue Special #7 (1975)

Jack Ryder's boss wants him to do a hatchet job on The Creeper!


Yes, because a television station in Gotham City--home of Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and the most outrageous sets of villains who are always causing an uproar--would need stories on the Creeper to get ratings???


Very fair point!!

Lesson: Never. Trust. The. Media.

From 1st Issue Special #7 (1975)

Random chance has a bunch of freaky heroes coming together to thwart a plot by Felix Faust: Man-Bat, Black Orchid, Madame Xanadu, Phantom Stranger, Blue Devil, the Creeper, and Etrigan!!

After they settle Faust's hash, the Creeper has an idea:

"A Spooky Justice League Of America"?!?! This is it, then, right? The real beginning of Justice League Dark?

It's going to happen, right?


Nah.

So close, and yet so far.

From Blue Devil Annual #1 (1985)