BURNER
Real Name: Byron Calley
Identity/Class:
Human Mutant
Occupation:
Mercenary-for-hire;
(formerly) mutant rights activist
Group Membership:
Mutant
Force (Lifter,
Peeper,
Shocker,
Slither),
(formerly)
Brotherhood
of Evil Mutants, the Resistants
Affiliations:
Baron Strucker, Cloud,
Harridan,
Leviathan,
Mad Dog,
Magneto, Minister
Blood, Power
Broker, Professor
Power, Red Skull (Shmidt), Scourge
III, Secret Empire, Seraph,
Sin, Taskmaster, Watchdog Prime, Arnim Zola
Enemies:
Battlestar, Captain America
(Rogers), Captain America (Walker), Code: Blue,
Dead Ringer, Defenders (Angel, Beast, Gargoyle, Hellcat, Iceman,
Nighthawk, Son of
Satan, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde), Wasp, Yellowjacket), Freedom Force (Avalanche,
Blob, Crimson Commando, Destiny, Mystique, Pyro, Spiral, Super-Sabre),
Mandrill, Mister
One and Mister Two, New Warriors (Aegis, Bolt, Namorita, Nova,
Speedball, Turbo), S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention and
Espionage
Logistics Directorate), Super-Patriot (Farrell), Joshua and Beatrice Walker
Known Relatives:
None known
Aliases:
Crucible
Base of Operations:
Unknown;
(formerly) Resistant
headquarters in
Death Valley
,
California
;
(formerly) Secret Empire
headquarters in upstate
New York
;
(formerly) Magneto’s
New York
base
First Appearance: Captain America Annual#4 (1977)
Powers/Abilities:
Burner is a mutant with the
ability to cause combustion in objects psionically and can
pyrokinetically project flames from his hands. He is immune to the
flames he creates.
Height:
5’10’’ Weight:
175 lbs Eyes: Blue Hair: White
History:
Little is known about the background of Byron Calley.
(Captain
America
Annual#4 (fb)) - Calley was
recruited, alongside four other mutant men (Lifter, Peeper, Shocker,
Slither), to serve in Magneto’s new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
(Captain
America
Annual#4) - Wanting to
exploit a tiny spaceship he had found, Magneto sent the Brotherhood to
apprehend the diminutive Mister One, who controlled the large Mister
Two. The villains attacked
One and Two, and Captain
America
, in a park.
During the battle, Calley surrounded the three heroes with
flames, then used the combustion to knock
them off balance. When SHIELD arrived, the
Brotherhood fled back to headquarters, and Magneto captured Mister One.
The Brotherhood was shocked to learn the plot
involved the tiny spaceship. When Captain
America
and Mister Two attacked,
Calley set Mister Two on fire. Calley
ignored a warning from Peeper, and was knocked unconscious by Captain
America
. When
Mister One exploded the tiny spaceship, the villains were forced to
flee.
(Defenders I#78) - The
five mutants, abandoned by Magneto, were hired by the Mandrill and
given the team name of the Mutant Force, a name they kept in the
following years. They attacked a Coloradan
Air-Force base with an army of female warriors (under the control of
the Mandrill). When the Defenders
(Hellcat, Valkyrie, Wasp, Yellowjacket) attacked, Calley focused his
powers on the tanks of the surrounding military until he was zapped by
the Wasp. When things got out of hand,
Calley, Lifter, and Peeper were able to escape with a pile of gold and
an unconscious Yellowjacket, leaving Shocker and Slither behind.
(Defenders I#79) - The
three villains battled the Defenders alongside the women warriors again
and rescued their teammates. During the
battle, Calley used his flames to pursue the Wasp.
After capturing Valkyrie, Hellcat, and the Wasp, they returned
to the base, where Mandrill put the women under his control and put
Valkyrie in charge of the Mutant Force. The
mutants caroused with the controlled women, and Calley danced with one.
After the Wasp escaped, the Mandrill ordered
his forces to attack the Air Force again.
(Defenders I#80) - In
their battle with the army, Calley tried to fry the Wasp with his
flames, but missed. All the surviving
soldiers were rounded up in one building and held under an electrical
field created by the Shocker. Nighthawk
attacked, and Calley and Shocker tried to stop him, but soon the field
was shorted out and the Mutant Force was quickly defeated.
(Defenders I#83) - The
Mutant Force, still in custody, was brought before a special United
States Intelligence Services branch. They
agreed to become special government operatives in exchange for full
presidential pardons.
(Defenders I#87 (fb)) -
After the Hulk invaded a baseball stadium, the Mutant Force was sent in
with the army to stop him, and the stadium was evacuated.
During the battle, Calley tried to catch the Hulk in an inferno,
but the Hulk clapped his hands together and put out the flames.
Calley kept firing at the Hulk, and tried to
remove all the oxygen in the air around the Hulk so the Hulk would pass
out, but the Hulk leapt away. Valkyrie and
Hellcat attacked, and Valkyrie repelled Calley’s flames with her sword.
When Valkyrie knocked a structure down on the
mutants, the Hulk escaped.
(Defenders I#87) - The
Mutant Force was called to testify against the Defenders in what they
thought was a government inquisition (but was actually the alien
Tribunal). Lifter testified about their
recent battle with the Defenders.
(Captain America I#346 (fb)) - When the government lost its
funding for the Mutant Force program, they were cut loose
(coincidentally, another Brotherhood of Evil Mutants team would later
take their place as Freedom
Force).
(Defenders I#125 (fb))
- No longer working for the government, the Mutant Force (minus Peeper)
was recruited by the Secret Empire alongside several other operatives.
Mad Dog was put in charge of the Mutant Force.
(Defenders I#125) - Mad
Dog and the Mutant Force were sent in to attack the Defenders at the
wedding of Hellcat and the Son of Satan in
Greentown
,
Ohio
. During
the battle, Gargoyle’s bio-mystic blasts exploded against Calley’s
flames, knocking Calley out. The villains
were quickly defeated.
((New) Defenders I#126)
- The villains were held in SHIELD null-fields for questioning.
Professor Power arranged for their release
while Leviathan created a distraction.
((New) Defenders I#128)
- Equipped with special strength-sapping devices, Calley fought
alongside the other Secret Empire operatives (Mad Dog, Mutant Force,
Leviathan, Seraph, and Harridan) against the Defenders, who were
quickly captured.
((New) Defenders I#129)
- Mad Dog and the Mutant Force fought off the attacking Defenders while
the Secret Empire launched a satellite that would start a world war.
((New) Defenders I#130)
- The satellite exploded, and the Defenders quickly defeated the
villains.
(Captain
America
I#426 (fb)) - The Red Skull
offered to finance the Mutant Force members to form a pro-mutant
terrorist group. The team (minus Slither)
reoutfitted as the Resistants, and changed their codenames.
Calley changed his to Crucible.
(Captain
America
I#343) - Calley, Lifter (as
Meteorite), Peeper (as Occult), and Shocker (as Paralyzer), in their
new Resistant costumes, flew on a rock toward a helicopter where Quill,
a mutant, had been captured by Captain
America
(John Walker) and Battlestar.
Calley blasted a hole in the side of the
helicopter, then set Battlestar on fire. The
team rescued Quill; their purpose was a public statement against the
Mutant Registration Act.
(Captain
America
I#346) - Calley, Meteorite,
Quill, and Mist Mistress (another Resistant) moved to rescue Mentallo
(who they believed to be a mutant) from a Vault transport van.
Calley blasted a hole in the van with his
flames. Mentallo (now going by Think-Tank)
returned to the Resistant headquarters in
Death Valley
,
California
, with the villains.
Another Resistant mission, this time with more
members, moved to rescue Quicksilver before realizing it was a trap set
by Freedom Force. As the two teams
battled, Captain
America
attacked (
Walker
). During
the battle, Calley almost fell to his death, but was rescued by
Meteorite. During the battle, Occult was severely
electrocuted and Meteorite was gunned down. The Mutant Force was
decisively beaten.
(Captain
America
I#368) - While the Resistants
picketed in front of the White House, Magneto (actually one of
Machinesmith’s robots) appeared and opened fire on them.
Captain
America
(
Rogers
) dismantled the robot.
(Captain
America
I#394) - Calley attended a
meeting before the Red Skull alongside several other operatives
financed by the Red Skull. He watched as
the Scourge was killed for failing in his assignment, then reported on
Resistant activity.
(Captain
America
I#426) - Calley (Crucible),
with Peeper (Occult) and Lifter (Meteorite), flew in on a flying rock
to attack the Mutant Liberation Front, but noticed Captain America and
the Night-Flyer (Super-Patriot and the Dead-Ringer in disguise) trying
to rob an armored car. They switched their
plans and ‘attacked the heroes.’ Calley
and Occult fired on the heroes, knocking them to the ground.
After a short battle, Dead-Ringer, in the
guise of Death-Adder, knocked Calley unconscious. After
all three of the Resistants were defeated, Code: Blue
arrived and arrested them, who were framed for
the armored car robbery.
(New Warriors II#6) -
Back together as the Mutant Force, the villains attacked an armored
truck for money. The New Warriors noticed
and attacked. An invisible Namorita dodged
Burner’s blasts, then punched him out, leading Burner to believe that
one of the Warriors was a telekinetic. All
the villains were quickly defeated.
For a
character whose appearances span almost three decades, Burner has
received very little attention or character development.
He has almost a Three-Musketeers-look with his long hair and
moustache. Several flame-powered
characters (from the Human Torch to Pyro) became hugely popular, but he
just never caught on, it seems. Burner’s
real name came from his OHOTMU appearance, supplemental to the Mutant
Force entry. He’s never been called by his
name in the books.
Profile
by Chadman.
Clarifications:
Burner/Crucible has no
known connections to
-
The
Burner Patrol, exiles of Central City @ Fantastic Four I#294
-
Burning
Galaxy, forge of the Twilight Sword @
Thor I#337
-
Burning
Puddle, of the Hyde
Park Underground @
Uncanny X-Men I#395
-
Burning Skull,
of the Hyborian era @ Savage
Tales I#2
- Burnout, of
the Mutant Liberation Front @ Punisher III#14
- Crucible,
the power item stolen by Imogen @
Century: Distant Sons
- Crucible,
Enclave composite being, enemy of Fantastic Four @ Fantastic Four III#3
- Crucible of
Life, of the Ultraverse @
Godwheel I#0
- Crucible
Guardians, of Earth-Killraven @ Amazing Adventures II#29
- Crucible
Protocols, tools of the Axis-Mundi @
(New) Invaders III#8
-
or
to anyone else with a similar name.
images
:
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe II#9, p20, pan2
Defenders I#87, p26,
pan4
Captain America I#426, p15, pan1 (as Crucible)
Captain America Annual#4 (1977) - Jack Kirby (writer/pencils), John Verpoorten & John Tartaglione (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Defenders I#78-80 (December, 1979 - February, 1980) - Ed Hannigan (writer), Herb Trimpe & Ed Hannigan (#79) (pencils), Mike Esposito (#78-79) & Dan Green (#80) (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#83 (May, 1980) - Ed Hannigan (writer), Don Perlin (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#87 (September, 1980) - Ed Hannigan (writer), Don Perlin (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#125-126 (November-December, 1983) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (#125) & Alan Kupperberg (#126) (pencils), Kim DeMulder (#125) & Paul Becton (#126) (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Defenders I#128 (February, 1984) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Alan Kupperberg (pencils), Mike Mignola (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Defenders I#129-130 (March-April, 1984) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (#129) & Mike Zeck (#130) (pencils), Kim DeMulder (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Captain America I#343 (July, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Kieron Dwyer (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#346 (October, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Kieron Dwyer (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#368 (March, 1990) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#394 (November, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#426 (April, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Dave Hoover (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
New Warriors II#6 (March, 2000) - Jay Faerber (writer), Jason Armstrong (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Last updated
:
9/27/2005
Any
Additions/Corrections?
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