Pyro seems genuinely pleased when being the man with the flamethrower comes with a salary instead of another prison sentence. His Freedom Force period gives St. John Allerdyce r…

Pyro seems genuinely pleased when being the man with the flamethrower comes with a salary instead of another prison sentence. His Freedom Force period gives St. John Allerdyce room to be obnoxious, capable and unexpectedly funny without pretending those qualities cancel each other out. He takes the government job alongside his Brotherhood teammates. His power is control over fire, rather than creating it from nothing, which makes his equipment important. Once he has a flame to work with, he can give it shape and direction. There is imagination involved in what he does, not just a bigger blast every time. That imagination gets a particularly good use in Dallas. Working alongside Longshot, he helps save children from a dinosaur and gets to enjoy being thanked for it. For once, the audience in front of him has a reason to cheer. The pleasure he takes in that reaction tells us something that another routine fight would not. His concern about collateral damage elsewhere can be much less noble. The government arrangement is a good deal, and he doesn't want to lose it. Self-interest can produce restraint without automatically turning into a conscience. Muir Island puts his control of fire to a different test when the team's aircraft goes down. Flames that would kill the passengers become something he can contain. Later, interference with his powers leaves him horribly exposed. The same man who could manage that disaster cannot assume his next attack will work. Even in mortal danger, his worries include whether his writing will find an audience. That is such a specific human detail to give this loud, dangerous man. There is a whole life he wants to return to, beyond whichever costume fight happens to be on the page.