History Main / FanaticalFire

* ''VideoGame/LiesOfP'': The boss King's Flame Fuoco is a puppet which has GrewBeyondTheirProgramming with enough force to develop the capacity for faith and worship. It was a puppet responsible for the forge in the Venigni Works factory, and therefore has a lot of fire powers, including launching fireballs and setting the ground ablaze.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hellfire.png]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[ObsessionSong Destroy Esmeralda\\

Or else let her be mine and mine alone!]]'']]

Maybe it's the connection the Bible makes between fire and punishment. Maybe it's just that flickering, destructive flames work so well to signify a dangerous, unstable mind. Whatever the case, fire is often used as a motif in fiction for [[TheFundamentalist religious fanatics and extremists]]. It's pretty common to see such a character preaching in front of bonfires or braziers, or, in more extreme cases, burning [[HumanSacrifice sacrifices]] alive.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney'': Frollo frequently references the fires of hell (including in his VillainSong, called "Hellfire") and attempts to [[BurnTheWitch burn Esmeralda at the stake]], as well as burning down a lot of the city. He eventually meets his own death by fire, with a heaping side of {{Irony}}, as he says "[[FiveSecondForeshadowing and he [God] will smite the wicked and plunge them into a fiery pit]]" before losing his footing on a gargoyle and [[DisneyVillainDeath falling into]] the "fiery pit" he's made of Paris.

Maybe it's the connection the Bible makes between fire and punishment. Maybe it's just that flickering, destructive flames work so well to signify a dangerous, unstable mind. Whatever the case, fire is often used as a motif in fiction for [[TheFundamentalist religious fanatics and extremists]]. It's pretty common to see such a character preaching in front of bonfires or braziers, or, in more extreme cases, burning sacrifices alive.

Often overlaps with EvilIsBurningHot, {{Hellfire}}, BurnTheWitch, and LightIsNotGood (particularly if the fire itself is divine, though even normal fire emits light). Compare SacredFlames.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Deacon Blackfire, minor (but still dangerous) ComicBook/{{Batman}} villain and insane cultist.
* Judge Fire, one of the Dark Judges from ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', wants to kill everything with fire to rid the world of crime.

[[folder: Films ]]
* ''Film/BillionDollarBrain''. The supporters of General Midwinter are shown burning pictures of Communists in a rally bonfire while he's giving his MotiveRant.
* In the 2010 ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|2010}}'', we see a rambling preacher burn his own hand in a brazier mid-sermon, showing both his total devotion to the gods and a totally unstable mind.
* ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'': Harry Powell gives his sermons in a small, dark church whose only source of light is a rather large brazier. Although a hypocrite and a thief, his fanatical faith does appear to be genuine.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'' Frollo frequently references the fires of hell (including in his epic VillainSong, called "Hellfire") and attempts to [[BurnTheWitch burn Esmeralda at the stake]], as well as burning down a lot of the city. He even meets his own death by fire, with a heaping side of {{Irony}}, as he says "[[FiveSecondForeshadowing and he [God] will smite the wicked and plunge them into a fiery pit]]" before losing his footing on a gargoyle and [[DisneyVillainDeath falling into]] the "fiery pit" he's made of Paris.
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017''. Invoked by Steve Trevor in an [[HoneyTrap attempt to woo Dr. Maru]], by staring at a fireplace and pretending he's a kindred spirit.
-->'''Steve:''' I love fire, don't you? It is like...a living act of entropy. The ultimate weapon of destruction. Reminding us that in the end, everything eventually returns to the ash it came from.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/SmallGods'', a character from the fundamentalist nation of Omnia shows his God (who's not very attentive) a rather large furnace shaped like a bull, assuring said God that they use it for burning heretical material, not people. Turns out "heretical material" does indeed include people, Omnians just don't consider them thus.
* A subversion: Priests of the Red God in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. The best known one, Melissandre, plays it straight by being a total KnightTemplar (but possibly a justified one) and has quite a penchant for burned offerings. However, other R'hllorists are just ordinary people in spite of the fire motif.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': Sisters of Battle, Inquisitors, and other fanatical Imperial organizations have a posh for flamers and other fire-based weaponry.
* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', some beings aligned with [[WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver red and white]] mana tend to mix white's fundamentalism with red's pyromania. Notable examples include the insane angels in ''Shadows over Innistrad'', which have gone on a murderous rampage against humanity and burn everything to the ground.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} II'' has Fanatics, the special unit that can only be recruited by Fundamentalist governments. They're depicted wielding a lit torch.
* The Fanatic from the Crimson Court DLC of ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' is very, very fond of fire indeed. The very first thing he tries to do in every fight against him is to [[BurnTheWitch burn one of your heroes at the stake]].
* In ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', fire magic is almost exclusively the purview of faith-based incantations. Even the very few sorceries involving fire require a certain level of faith stat in addition to the intelligence usually associated with sorcery. And unlike holy and lightning incantations, the faiths associated to fire incantations range from morally grey to outright malevolent.

Maybe it's the connection the Bible makes between fire and punishment. Maybe it's just that flickering, destructive flames work so well to signify a dangerous, unstable mind. Whatever the case, fire is often used as a motif in fiction for religious fanatics and extremists. It's pretty common to see such a character preaching in front of bonfires or braziers, or, in more extreme cases, burning sacrifices alive.

Often overlaps with EvilIsBurningHot, {{Hellfire}}, BurnTheWitch and LightIsNotGood (particularly if the fire itself is divine, though even normal fire emits light). Compare SacredFlames.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hellfire.png]]]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' Frollo frequently references the fires of hell (including in his epic VillainSong, called "Hellfire") and attempts to [[BurnTheWitch burn Esmeralda at the stake]], as well as burning down a lot of the city. He even meets his own death by fire, with a heaping side of {{Irony}}, as he says "[[FiveSecondForeshadowing and he [God] will smite the wicked and plunge them into a fiery pit]]" before losing his footing on a gargoyle and [[DisneyVillainDeath falling into]] the "fiery pit" he's made of Paris.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', some beings aligned with [[WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver red and white]] mana tend to mix white's fundamentalism with red's pyromania. Notable examples include the insane angels in ''Shadows over Innistrad'', which have gone on a murderous rampage against humanity and burn everything to the ground.