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Anime and Manga
You [Envy] were stupid enough to confess, and even more stupid to boast. Everything you said is fuel on your funeral pyre. I think I'll begin... by burning out your tongue!
Comic Books
Syrene: The Stone and its powers are mine! (shooting a stream of flame) And with it I shall kill the man who slew my father!
Satanis: Not with flame you won't!
Satanis: Not with flame you won't!
"Flambron, mightiest solar furnace in the universe, whose incandescent, neutronic flames match the searing heat of a thousand normal suns! In another second, I'll be a pinch of cosmic dust!"
—Superman, The Leper from Krypton
Fan Works
I have learned that the only way to defeat [thing relevant at the moment]... is to BURN it!
— Avdol, Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Abridged
""No other species in the galaxy has had quite the relationship that man has to fire. The Eldar have used it in war, and left it behind, on occasion to bring it forth, or to refer to it in poetry interchangeably with molten metal. Chaos draws inspiration to fire only insofar as mankind has influenced them; and even then, warpfire is its own entity, something diseased and gnawing, generating none of the warmth of a comfortable flame. Tau barely understand what fire IS, considering it a dangerous weapon; their fire caste serves in duty and shame, not pride. Orks are the second to men when enjoying the fires; but even then, they hold no passion to refine and craft the flames which they like to see and feel.
But Man... Man has a love for fire. Napalm, white phosphorus, promethium, oil, gasoline, meltas, plasmas, firestorms, incendiaries, firepower, fireline, flamethrower, fireteam, firefighter, the flames of war, fire, fire, fire. What else could be said to have benefited as much from man as fire? What other element has been defended, nursed, tutored, fed, and loved more than fire? Our cities, our books, our people, our enemies, our friends, our dead, our living, our greatest works and most heinous feats; all of them, fed to the ever hungry flames.
For warfare, for country, for humanity? No. We wanted to see what fire, raw unchained flame, could do."
But Man... Man has a love for fire. Napalm, white phosphorus, promethium, oil, gasoline, meltas, plasmas, firestorms, incendiaries, firepower, fireline, flamethrower, fireteam, firefighter, the flames of war, fire, fire, fire. What else could be said to have benefited as much from man as fire? What other element has been defended, nursed, tutored, fed, and loved more than fire? Our cities, our books, our people, our enemies, our friends, our dead, our living, our greatest works and most heinous feats; all of them, fed to the ever hungry flames.
For warfare, for country, for humanity? No. We wanted to see what fire, raw unchained flame, could do."
— Inquisitor Mardek, Love Can Bloom
"In Genesis' universe, square bread is a skin-crawling abomination against nature and must (like many other things) be promptly cleansed with fire."
A purple burst of light cleaved through the roof of the throneroom, smashed into the force-ball, and crushed it into the Predator's body.
A light of terror went on in his eyes as he shouted, "NOOOOO!", before finally and totally combusting out of existence. Small flaming embers of him fell towards the floor. They smouldered in green and purple fire for a few seconds before going out.
A light of terror went on in his eyes as he shouted, "NOOOOO!", before finally and totally combusting out of existence. Small flaming embers of him fell towards the floor. They smouldered in green and purple fire for a few seconds before going out.
The villainess hit the anti-plasma.
There was a look of confusion on Satan Girl's face as she exploded.
Her positive-matter structure was instantly annihilated by an equivalent mass of anti-matter in the solar prominence. It flattened part of the plasma-storm a bit, made for a more spectacular sight, and disintegrated a small bit of antisolar matter.
But that was all right. There was enough antimatter in the star to spare.
It didn't take that much of it to kill a Satan Girl.
There was a look of confusion on Satan Girl's face as she exploded.
Her positive-matter structure was instantly annihilated by an equivalent mass of anti-matter in the solar prominence. It flattened part of the plasma-storm a bit, made for a more spectacular sight, and disintegrated a small bit of antisolar matter.
But that was all right. There was enough antimatter in the star to spare.
It didn't take that much of it to kill a Satan Girl.
Film - Live-Action
"If she's carrying a virus, I'll kill her myself and burn the body."
— Toorop, Babylon A.D.
Mowgli: That's the man-village?
Baloo: Yep. You can always tell with the Red Flower. They do love their Red Flower.
Mowgli: The Red Flower doesn't seem so bad.
Baloo: Yeah, but let it loose, and it destroys everything it touches. Don't ever play with it, you got that?
Mowgli: Yeah, I got it.
Baloo: Good.
Baloo: Yep. You can always tell with the Red Flower. They do love their Red Flower.
Mowgli: The Red Flower doesn't seem so bad.
Baloo: Yeah, but let it loose, and it destroys everything it touches. Don't ever play with it, you got that?
Mowgli: Yeah, I got it.
Baloo: Good.
"Mac wants the flamethrower!"
— Windows, The Thing
Peterson: I wouldn't worry. Fire ought to keep them away.
Turner: How do you know? How do you know? They might try and come round to get warm.
Turner: How do you know? How do you know? They might try and come round to get warm.
"T-Bird he sent me in some road beers, right? Then he took him away. But, I chased him down. And he flash fried T-bird to his fucking car! Aww, T-Bird here's to you buddy."
—Skank, The Crow (1994)
"All persons who die during this crisis from whatever cause will come back to life to seek human victims, unless their bodies are first disposed of by cremation."
—Newscaster, Night of the Living Dead (1968)
"Put that thing all away on the fire! We don't want it getting up again!"
—Sheriff Conan McClelland, Night of the Living Dead (1968)
"Vampires, gargoyles, warlocks, they're all the same - best when cooked well."
—Gabriel van Helsing, Van Helsing
"If you're gonna kill a witch, set her ass on fire."
—Hansel, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Literature
Sometimes it's better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.
"Fuego, Pyrofuego! BURN!"
— Harry Dresden, Small Favor
Fire was the weapon of choice when it came to combat magic. Though it was taxing upon the will and stamina of the wizard, it got a lot of energy concentrated into a relatively small space. It illuminated darkness, something that was nearly always to a wizard's advantage, and it hurt. Every living thing had at least a healthy respect, if not outright fear of fire. Even more to the point, fire was a purifying force in its non-physical aspect. Dark magic could be consumed and destroyed by fire when used with that intent.
Spewing tentacles of incandescent death blossomed over the roadway. Where it stuck, men flamed into cinder. Searing fragments reached out like lethal fingers, burning all they touched. Men and horses shrieked in pain and terror, bolted over the outer wall in blind panic. Flaming bodies pitched over the edge, falling like stars into the darkness far below.
You must kill them all. Use fire.
— More Information Than You Require, on rats
"Let's throw him in the fire," said Thomas, "and that'll be that."
"Dracarys!"
— Daenerys Targaryen, A Song of Ice and Fire
He'd seen it all — there was not a weapon that Libby had not witnessed in action, nuclear, conventional or chemical — but there was something overpoweringly awe-inspiring about super-napalm. Whenever it was used on the battlefield men would stand and watch, thanking God, or whatever they believed in, that this time it was not going down on them. How many times had he walked through the ashes of those on whom it had, and the ashes of how many men? A hundred, a thousand? He didn't know because there was never enough left to form even a rough estimate, just a crumbling fragment of bone here, a fused rifle mechanism there, and that would be all that was left of a section, a platoon, even a company.
— The Zone: Blindfire, by James Rouch
Live-Action TV
"Guns are useless, so are knives. Basically...we've got to torch the sucker."
— Dean Winchester, Supernatural, "Wendigo"
"Fry 'em, Womack!"
— Cpl. R.V. Burgin, The Pacific
Music
(Burn, let it burn)
Disco Inferno!
(Burn, let it burn)
Burn that mother down!
Disco Inferno!
(Burn, let it burn)
Burn that mother down!
— The Trammps, "Disco Inferno"
Tabletop Games
Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire.
— Jaya Ballard, task mage, Magic: The Gathering, "Sizzle"
Heretics crave the cleansing fire of absolution. They need not fear, for we shall deliver it to them.
— Canoness Josmane of the Order of the Sacred Rose, Warhammer 40,000
Video Games
Flamethrowers... We'll burn 'em out.
— Sgt. Roebuck, Call of Duty: World at War
Buuuuurrrrrnnnn, motherfucker.
— "Crocodile" Flamethrower Tank, Company of Heroes
The purgation by flame has begun!
— Space Marine Tactical Squad upon equipping a flamer, Dawn of War II
I'm going to fucking melt the fucking Monster's face with my fucking flamethrower!
—Hyde, Evolve
As my wife always says, "the best enemies are the ones that are on fire."
— Largo, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Burn, you bastards. Burn.
— Firebug Perk, Killing Floor
Heh. Burned yet?
— Kyo Kusanagi Victory Quote, The King of Fighters
BURN, BABY!
— Axel, Kingdom Hearts II's patron saint of this trope
Fry, you son of a bitch.
— Zaeed Masani to Vido Santiago, Mass Effect 2
Punchinello was burning to get me. The feeling was mutual. He was trying to put out my flames with gasoline.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS USE FIRE.
—Man in Rauru, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
BUUUURN! BUUUURN! BUUUUURN! Burn to the ground!
— Flame Hyenard, Mega Man X7
Through Fire, JUSTICE IS SERVED!
— Lunar, Mischief Makers
TOASTY!!
— Dan Forden, after performing Scorpion's trademark Fatality Hint, Mortal Kombat II
So why are you worried? If anything gets in your way just light them on fire. Fire solves everything.
— Elder, Eternal - Retern of the Void, an RPG Maker game
Need a light?
— Terran Firebat, Starcraft
The only cure for Zerg infestation is purification by fire. You know this to be true, James Raynor.
— Selendis, Starcraft II Wings Of Liberty
The divine flames that I've absorbed will burn you to a crisp with nuclear energy and leave nothing behind!
— Utsuho Reiuji, Touhou Project
By fire be purged!
— Kael'thas Sunstrider, Blood Mage, Warcraft III (and more famously Ragnaros the Firelord, World of Warcraft)
I don't have to explain how to use [the Dragon Gun], do I? You point the scary end at something that isn't burning and you FIX THE PROBLEM.
Killing it with fire.
— MEC Trooper triggering the Flamethrower module, XCOM: Enemy Unknown
"Fire is too good for vermin... but fire is also generous and giving."
— Sienna Fuegonasus the Pyromancer, Vermintide II
"For I was the one who lit that heartwarming little fire."
— Baion on how he massacred the Paladins, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
Web Animation
TROGDOOOOOR! TROGDOOOOOR!
Burninating the countryside, burninating the peasants
Burninating all the peoples in the thatched-roof cottages!
Burninating the countryside, burninating the peasants
Burninating all the peoples in the thatched-roof cottages!
— Strong Bad, Homestar Runner, Strong Bad Email "dragon"
Come at me
And you'll see
I'm more than meets the eye
You think that
You'll break me
You're gonna find in time
You're standing too close to a flame that's burning
Hotter than the sun in the middle of July
Sending out your armies and you still can't win
Listen up, silly boy, 'cuz I'm gonna tell you why—
I BURN!!
Can't hold me now
You've got nothin' that can stop me!
I BURN!!
Swing all you want
Like a fever I'll take you down!
And you'll see
I'm more than meets the eye
You think that
You'll break me
You're gonna find in time
You're standing too close to a flame that's burning
Hotter than the sun in the middle of July
Sending out your armies and you still can't win
Listen up, silly boy, 'cuz I'm gonna tell you why—
I BURN!!
Can't hold me now
You've got nothin' that can stop me!
I BURN!!
Swing all you want
Like a fever I'll take you down!
Webcomics
Of the four Classical Elements, fire is by far the most primal. The most challenging. The most dangerous. The most transforming. The most visceral. The most fun. Seriously, which enemies would cower in their tracks if you appeared in front of them and proclaimed yourself to be a great water wizard?
It's as true now as when I started adventuring - "when in doubt, set something on fire."
Web Original
Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn.
— Linkara, Atop the Fourth Wall
Good thing that baby is flammable- WHAT THE F*#$ DID I JUST SAY?!
— CinemaSins, reviewing Breaking Dawn Part Two
I've started project "Fuck The World," a top secret attempt to funnel magma to the outside. I'll kill those elephants. I'll kill all those fucking elephants.
All burn. Children burn fastest. Less fat.
Won't stop until they keep moving. and burning. Some escaped. Still burning.
All burn.
Won't stop until they keep moving. and burning. Some escaped. Still burning.
All burn.
Knowledge is half the battle. Fireballs are the other half.
— YERD
Digby: I have my flammenwerfer, with which I shall werf flammen!
Soviet Womble: Well, we're all going to die of friendly fire.
Digby: The hills are alive with the sounds of- (flamethrower whoosing while shooting into the air) -with songs they have sung for a thousand- (flamethrower woosh) -ah, I ran out of flame.
Soviet Womble: Well, we're all going to die of friendly fire.
Digby: The hills are alive with the sounds of- (flamethrower whoosing while shooting into the air) -with songs they have sung for a thousand- (flamethrower woosh) -ah, I ran out of flame.
—Soviet Womble, Random Rising Storm 2: Vietnam Bullshittery
Burn the bodies, lest they stand up again.
Western Animation
AAAH! BURN IT! Send it to HELL!
— Homer Simpson, on Bart's artwork, The Simpsons
Homer: Is there anything you can prescribe, doctor?
Dr. Hibbert: Fire! And lots of it!
Marge: Oh, that's your cure for everything.
Dr. Hibbert: Fire! And lots of it!
Marge: Oh, that's your cure for everything.
— The Simpsons, "Treehouse of Horror IX"
Robin: Fire's his one weakness!
Batman: Yeah. Fire's everyone's weakness. It's fucking fire.
Real Life
War without fire is like sausages without mustard.
— Jean Juvénal des Ursins
