Deacon Blackfire

Deacon Joseph Blackfire is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Blackfire is stated as being over 100 years old, and is often portrayed as a power-crazed charismatic con artist and cult leader skilled in manipulation and brainwashing. Blackfire claimed to be a Native American shaman who was entombed alive after being found guilty of killing a tribal chief and committing heresy. Publication history He first appeared in Batman: The Cult #1 (1988) and was created by Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson. Fictional character biography Deacon Joseph Blackfire is the main antagonist in the four-issue miniseries, Batman: The Cult, to which Blackfire is a con man and cult leader who may be over 100 years old. He forms an army in the sewers beneath Gotham City, largely composed of the homeless. Blackfire uses this army to begin a violent war on crime, which escalates into him taking over the entire city, resulting in it being isolated from the rest of the country. Blackfire captures and brainwashes Batman, temporarily making the Caped Crusader a member of Blackfire's cult, during which Batman breaks his cardinal rule of not killing. Batman eventually breaks his conditioning, but its aftereffects make it difficult for him to capture Blackfire. After a brutal search through the sewers, Batman confronts Blackfire, who demands that Batman kill him, making him a martyr. Batman refuses, and instead savagely beats Blackfire in front of his army. Blackfire's army turns on him and rips him to shreds. As part of the Blackest Night event, Blackfire's corpse is reanimated by a black power ring and recruited to the Black Lantern Corps in Blackest Night: Batman #1 (October 2009).