More of a monster than a conventional villain, and definitely not a unique entity even if they usually appear only one at a time. Metafictionally, they first appeared in Golden Age horror stories, occasionally being opposed by mystically-inclined mystery men and early supers. Several writers re-used them in the late 40s and early 50s with them re-imagined as more "scientific" creatures, vengeful corpses animated by radiation rather than the supernatural. The Comics Code eliminated them for decades, but in the late 80s and 90s they made a return in various dark and edgy stories with magically-inclined heroes and villains.
Worth noting that "corpse fire" is a reasonable synonym for "will-o-the-wisp" when talking about mythological entities that might just be balls of luminous swamp gas, but it sure sounds a lot more badass.
Corpsefire
A corpsefire is a reanimated body, often one that was unjustly slain and has returned to unlife to exact revenge its murderer(s). They're always bent on pursuing one or more individuals, killing them horribly and presumably claiming their souls in the process. Most such corpsefires simply burn to ash after their goal is achieved, but the number of victims they may require before they rest is unpredictable. They also show no concern for the harm they may do while pursuing their vengeance, which makes stopping them ASAP a priority.
Some corpsefires are the product of cult ritual, using sacrificial victims to create deadly assassins of those who oppose the cult. These are no less dangerous than the other variety, and more likely to be assigned to hunting innocent targets rather than murderers.
The "scientific" version of a corpsefire rises spontaneously when exposed to radiation and toxic fallout, drawing motivation from vestigial activity in their re-activated nervous system. Their minions are explained away as vortices of atomic force duplicating those same motivations. This form of corpsefire swaps in Nuclear in place of Infernal wherever it occurs, and Atomic Revenant for Burning Hell-Zombie. They otherwise behave much the same, although you're more likely to see multiples of them appear at once.
Description: A shambling, decaying body shrouded in an unnatural green flame and trailing thick plumes of toxic smoke shot through with eerie green cinders. They vary from appearance to appearance, but most were adult human males in life and wear little more than tattered, charred pants or sometimes corpse-windings - just intact enough to preserve modesty. Women and children are rarer but not unheard of, and occasionally one of the bodies may have recognizable features that make identification possible - usually to the dismay of those it pursues. They do not speak, but constantly emit the sound of crackling flame.
Gender: Usually Male Age: Unclear, Usually Adult Height: Varies Eyes: Rotted Pits
Hair: Burned Off Skin: Wreathed In Green Fire Build: Decaying Corpse
Approach: Focused Archetype: Overlord
Health: 30 + (5 x H)
Powers: Infernal d12, Toxic d8
Qualities: Imposing d10, Burning Hell-Zombie d8, Conviction d8
Status: (# of Minions & Lieutenants) 9+ - d12 / 5-8 - d10 / 3-4 - d8 / 1-2 - d6 / 0 - d4
Abilities:
Blazing Zombie (I) Ignore all damage from Infernal.
Burning Miasma (A) Attack one target using Toxic. Use your Max die. That target cannot use reactions or Defend against this Attack. Attack multiple nearby targets using your Min die.
Searing Grasp (A) Attack using Infernal. Use your Max die. Defend yourself against all Attacks until the start of your next turn using the number of your minions.
Smoking Corpse-Thing (A) Use Burning Hell-Zombie to create a number of minions equal to the value of your Max die. The starting die size of for those minions is the same as the size of your Min die.
Surging Corpsefire (R) Defend against an Attack that targets only you by rolling your single Infernal die. Boost yourself by the amount of damage reduced.
Thickening Fumes (A) Boost using Imposing for all your minions until the start of your next turn.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Hardier Minions + 5 Health. Gain Blazing Cinders (A) Upgrade a number of your minions equal to the number of heroes in the scene by increasing their die size by one (max d12).
Master of the Unfathomable (I) If you are in a situation involving eldritch forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to do the bidding of otherworldly entities beyond human concerns.
Tactics
A Corpsefire is a remorseless foe bent on tracking down its victim regardless of opposition. As a Blazing Zombie the thing is utterly immune to hellish flames its shrouded in, which can flare up to provide provide a sudden defense with Surging Corpsefire. As a Smoking Corpse-Thing it can create clouds of deadly toxic minions and empower them with Thickening Fumes. When a Corpsefire takes more direct action, it either gathers its minions around it and closes in to use its Searing Grasp, or smothers an area in a toxic Burning Miasma instead.
With its upgrade the thing can further enhance its smoking minions, and its mastery grants a more direct connection with whatever otherworldly power created it, making a more effective threat to the doomed fools it pursues.
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Smoking Soul d4 to d12 minion (see Smoking Corpse-Thing)
Toxic Vapors: You may move as though you had Flight d4 and Intangibility d4.
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