The Human Flame

He would not fall in.

“Again, you don't need to know anything about them. Because the more you know about these guys, the lamer they become," laughed Morrison. "I'd rather have people pick up the book and see Libra for the first time done the way I want to see him done and the same goes for The Human Flame character.

"The reason I chose them was because Libra came from my favorite ever run of 'Justice League of America' and he's never been used again. He was a character who had stolen all the powers of the Justice League, but then couldn't handle it and ascended to some kind of screaming godhood where he became a million transparent body parts spread across the sky. So I thought if I was doing a thing about the New Gods, he'd be an interesting guy to bring back because I needed a masked mystery man to start a new recruitment drive for the Secret Society of Supervillains, because they become almost a terrorist sect. Under Libra's guidance, they start doing quite bad things, even to superheroes' wives and families, crossing the line. So there's that element to the story and I needed a masked guy, who people didn't really know that well. And I remembered Libra and the fact that he is connected to this ascending to godhood thing tied him in really quite nicely. What's really going on under the hood will be revealed later in the series.

"With The Human Flame, I wanted a Martian Manhunter villain, and I couldn't find a really good one. Then, looking through the old 'Showcase Presents' books, I discovered this stupid guy called Mike, who declared himself to be the Human Flame. And he wore a homemade costume with six nipples that shot flames. So I just thought this is a great way to start this book because the idea is that Libra gives all the villains a very simple choice, he says, 'Follow me and I'll give you your heart's desire.' And that's it. 

And some of the villains naturally say, 'Prove it.' So The Human Flame is one of the first to fall in with Libra and he says, 'If you can get revenge on my old enemy, who has had me stuck in jail for the last five years, I'll follow you anywhere.'

"I needed a small-scale dumb guy, who could make very big waves and open the book with a shock moment and the Human Flame fit the bill. Also the name is great, because he's the first of the villains to succumb to the Anti-Life Equation. And the idea of the Human Flame being 'extinguished' in this way was just too cool for me to let go of it.

"All of these guys were chosen for roles in the story, not because they are fan favorites. I just don't play that game. I wish I could. So I don't want readers to run back to their 'Who's Who' thinking that there will be some big revelation about these characters in there. All the stuff you need is in the book. And these two are just the tip of the iceberg, every DC villain appears in this book. There's a cosmic murder mystery running through the book and the really big bad doesn't turn up until the very last issue. There's a lot going on but I've noticed that no matter what I say about the content of 'Final Crisis,' there will still be online fans who'll swear blind they have no idea what the book is about so I'll leave it at that."

And while "Final Crisis" features two relatively obscure villains, Libra and Human Flame, Morrison is certainly no stranger to DCU's larger threats. In "All Star Superman," Morrison has Lex Luthor, in "Batman" he plays with Joker and in "Final Crisis," Darkseid is front center.

The three could be considered the Anti-Trinity for lack of a better term. "Yeah, pretty much. Now that you mention it, I've never actually thought about it that way," said Morrison. "Luthor is the meanest because he is the most fucked up with bitterness which at least is a recognizable human emotion. The Joker would do worse things to you, but you might just get away with it depending on how he felt that day. Actually, you probably wouldn't. He would do mucky, seedy things to you more than likely. And Darkseid, would just annihilate you and your family's free will and have you all slaving in the fire pits with no memory and no hope AND your entire environment ruined forever.

When asked to pick the biggest DCU baddie, Morrison said it depends what your fears are. "Luthor is intellectual evil and the Joker is perverse evil and Darkseid, he is just cosmic evil - evil as an unstoppable idea."

Going the other way, Morrison said only one supervillain would ever consider fighting the good fight. "Luthor, definitely Luthor. The Joker has no meaningful potential for good but Luthor actually has the potential. If he gets rid of Superman, he might be a better person," explained Morrison. "In 'All Star Superman,' though, I am basically saying that he wouldn't be a better person. That he just uses Superman as an excuse and a scapegoat for doing nothing. And I kind of like to use him that way. He talks a big game but if you actually give him a challenge, he's not up to it. Luthor needs validation and to be acknowledged as special, so I think there is the possibility of him helping his fellow men, as long as they put up a statue afterwards and rename the planet Lexor.

Morrison confirms "little clues" to "Final Crisis" are to be found in his megaseries "Seven Soldiers of Victory," but that they are not required reading to follow the 2008 event

"Luthor actually gets his big choice in 'Final Crisis' #3. Everybody gets a big choice in that issue. And after that, choice itself is eradicated by the Anti-Life Equation."

In August, "Final Crisis" will take a one-month break before returning in September with #4. There are a number of reasons for the pause both within the series and in terms of pacing, but the main motivating factor is the Fastest Man Alive. "The main reason for the break after #3 is, for reasons I won't go into here, The Flash winds up running a month into the future. He runs right into #4 at the end of #3. So you kind of get a snapshot of what has happened to the world in that month before finding out all the details in #4. The first three issues show things slowly going wrong, as the steady creep of evil advances so by the end of #3, the Evil Gods are actually manifesting in their full power to possess the planet Earth. And when #4 begins, a month has elapsed and suddenly we're in a whole new world, with very different rules. So that's why we made that break," said Morrison. "The series ramps up into new territory and transforms with #4 and what happens in #4 through #7 is going to have huge ramifications for the DCU in the aftermath."

The Flash, historically, has proved to be a vital cog in all the 'Crisis' events. In "Crisis on Infinite Earths," Barry Allen, the second Flash, died while stopping the plot of the Anti-Monitor to destroy the world. He returns, briefly, in "Infinite Crisis" to team up with the other Flashes - including Wally West, Bart Allen and Jay Garrick - to push Superboy-Prime into the Speedforce, eliminating that threat. Wally and Jay are active and Barry and Bart are dead, but both are rumored to make a return in "Final Crisis."

CBR News asked Morrison point blank, which Flash runs a month ahead into "Final Crisis" #4. He replied with a laugh, "It's not Jay Garrick! In #3 we have a race between the Flash and the Black Racer, who is, as you know, the New Gods' version of Death. So you go and figure it out."

** It should be noted that it was announced in the DC solicitations for July that Geoff Johns' "Rogues' Revenge" Flash miniseries will be tied directly to "Final Crisis. **

Morrison drew huge inspiration from Jack Kirby's New Gods stories, all of which are reprinted in the "Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus" collections

Morrison continued, "The break also allows us to do a few specials that fit neatly into the gap. I'm working on a Superman book called 'Superman Beyond,' which I'm hoping will have a 3D section. It's going to be the Superman strand of 'Final Crisis' because he's taken out of the picture in #3. And this is about where he goes and what he does and it has a team of alternate Earth Supermen: Captain Marvel from Earth 5, Ultraman, the evil Superman from the Anti-Matter Earth, Captain Atom from Earth 4 and the 'Nazi Superman', Overman, from Earth 10 in a kind of 'Jason and the Argonauts' voyage beyond the Multiverse.

Again, it's very tied-in to the main story in 'Final Crisis' and the secret origin of the Multiversal Monitors which plays into the whole thing in a big way. Partly it's to get some suspense and anticipation built up, get readers thinking, 'Christ, what's HAPPENED to the world between #3 and #4.' We're setting up the new look of the DCU for the next decade and the specials help to broaden the scope of the whole event.

"Geoff [Johns] and I are doing one of the specials together. You are going to see one particular character on the streets, on the ground during the occupation. Just to see what it's like for ordinary people during the evil gods takeover. So that's the one Geoff and I am going to be doing. But I can't tell you the character yet, although he is a current member of the Justice League."

And while he wouldn't give up THAT character's identity, Morrison did tease a few more of the book's usual suspects. "Everybody is in it. In addition to the big guys, the third issue has Captain Marvel Jr., Supergirl, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow and Black Canary. It's got everyone. Pretty well from #4 to #7 is one big battle royale. I want to leave lots of room for the fight. There's about ten issues worth of fighting," said Morrison. "If you've got a favorite character, I am sure he's in it. Supergirl and Mary Marvel are in it. They have a big climatic battle to decide how femininity should be portrayed in superhero comics!

Which begged the question, isn't Wonder Woman in that fight? "Wonder Woman already has problems of her own by that point," laughed Morrison. "Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman get targeted by the New Gods pretty quickly. Those are the first big targets that the Gods have to bring down but you'll see Wonder Woman's confrontation with Mary in #3."