Walter Stapleton (Prime Earth)

Burnback is a creature made out of pure flames and responsible for multiple arsons across the city of Bludhaven.

History

Walter Stapleton was a former war hero who became a police sergeant a short time later. He became the mentor of the young detective Alphonse Sapienza. Everything changed when one night Stapleton, together with a young Malcolm Hutch, who was his partner, set off to stop a firefight of drug dealers. That night Malcolm, just out of the academy, due to lack of experience, attacked the drug dealers. This caused a series of shots that almost fatally wounded Walter and left him in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Walter's daughter Melissa blamed the Bludhaven Department for this. Stapleton, still in a vegetative state, somehow managed to focus all of his rage into a single fiery creature, called the Burnback. He initially attacked some buildings, injuring some police officers inside, and attracted the attention of the Nightwings, who discovered that Stapleton's ultimate target was his daughter Melissa. After a long fight, the Nightwings managed to stop him thanks to a water hydrant. After this, the creature finally died.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Pyrophysiology: The person known as Burnback is able to transform himself into a creature made of pure flames.^[1]
  • Accelerated Healing: Just like fire can grow on its own, Burnback can instantly regenerate from any wound.^[1]
  • Fiery Touch: Because of his pyrophysiology, anything that touches Burnback gets burned.^[1]
  • Thermal-Blasts: Burnback can project concentrated beams of thermal energy out of his body.^[1]

Weaknesses

• Vulnerability to Water: As a creature of pure fire, Burnback is very susceptible to most liquids, predominately water. When water is sprayed on it, Burnback is unable to manifest a physical form for a while.^[1]

Related

• 3 Appearances of Walter Stapleton (Prime Earth)
• 3 Images featuring Walter Stapleton (Prime Earth)
• Quotations by or about Walter Stapleton (Prime Earth)
• Character Gallery: Walter Stapleton (Prime Earth)

Footnotes

Nightwing Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of Nightwing. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Nightwing Villains."