Who's Firebug?

Who's This? A pyromaniac.

The facts: The Joe Rigger version of Firebug debuted in Batman #318 (December 1979) and was created by Len Wein and Irv Novick. Bit of a one-shot because his costume explodes at the end and he's believed dead. He nevertheless gets a half-page in Who's Who, maybe because Firefly didn't deserve much more and they needed a filler. Because it's really 10 years before he shows up alive in Hero Hotline (of all places, see below), then not until 1995 until he tangles with Batman again, in a storyline where Firefly becomes an arsenist himself and steals the mantle. Rigger would still appear in 2003's Gotham Central series to help catch a new Firebug. A new Joe Rigger Firebug appears in the New52 era to fight Batgirl and then Batman, scoring three more issues.
How you could have heard of him: Despite not leaving much of a mark on comics continuity, a Burtonized Firebug does appear in 1989's Batman: The Video Game as a boss, and in 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight game. If you think he was in the Batman Animated Series, think again. That's FireFLY using his shtick.
Example story: Hero Hotline #5 (August 1989) by Bob Rozakis, Stephen DeStefano and Kurt Schaffenberger

The Hero Hotline call center is under attack by Firebug, hired by... well, the series keeps it secret so I won't say, but it's someone who's better known today than he was then, ALSO getting only half a Who's Who page (and that's the only clue you'll get from me). Suzy Q has time to call the team before her body gets melted at the end of Rigger's napalm nozzles.

He's looking for the Coordinator (another known character who's a secret in the series - this one got a full page though), but of course, he's just a voice on a speaker, like Charlie of the famous Angels.

That's Voice-Over by the doors arguing with himself through super-ventriloquism (hey, it's one of Superman's powers, that makes it legit, right?!) and is curious enough to head over there where the rest of the group pounces!

Oh the indignity of being trounced by a bunch of Z-listers! Okay, Diamondette is super-strong and can rip your costume apart, but Zeep the Living Sponge (my favorite Z-lister of all time) soaking your juice out and Gingold-powered Stretch smothering you into surrender, that's gotta sting.

In the end, he's burned his costume right off, and all he got for his trouble is 1) Zeep is a fire hazard (especially around a smoker like Diamondette) and 2) Suzy Q got her face melted, but her body and brain are fine. They'll both be fine by the next/final issue.

What's sad is that Firebug's arsonist shtick was good, and his costume looked cool, but the writers of his day preferred a character with a longer history and a similar name to set all the fires in Gotham City. I'll have more to say on the subject next week, as we tackle the other half of that Who's Who page.

Who's Next? A lighting technician.