History Main / Pyromaniac

[[caption-width-right:275:[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Arson, Murder, and]] ''[[BaitAndSwitch more]]'' [[http://www.wordsources.info/book-phobias-154-180.html arson!]]]]

* ''Machinima/YogscastMinecraftSeries'': During their ''Pixelmon'' miniseries in ''Minecraft'', LetsPlay/{{Sjin}} and LetsPlay/DuncanJones generally decide to gleefully burn down a gym after having won their battle, laughing while the inhabitants protest and panic. You'd think that after a while [[GenreBlindness they'd stop building their gyms out of wool and wood]].

* ''Film/{{Backdraft}}'': Ronald Bartel.

** Norman himself has his moments as well, although he generally prefers to [[MadBomber take the "bomb-throwing" part]] of "BombThrowingAnarchist" UpToEleven.

** ''Literature/TheStand'': Trashcan Man, who got his name due to lighting trashcans on fire at his school.

* ''Webcomic/MyMommaIsInBurnedIsOut'': The science lovers who use "Burned" are shown to be crazy arsonists who take immense satisfaction in burning things and are irritated when someone tries to douse them.

** Nice Holystone. There's a [[EyeScream reason]] she wears that eyepatch and has those scars. Not only does she have the eyepatch, but she [[spoiler: hides small explosives in the empty socket!]]

* ''Literature/AdrianMole'': In ''The Cappucino Years'', [[spoiler: Adrian's house]] is burned down by [[spoiler:his sons' pyromaniac tutor, Eleanor]].

* ''Literature/TheStand'': Trashcan Man, who got his name due to lighting trashcans on fire at his school.

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' has a somewhat sympathetic and restrained pyromaniac. When the team's investigating an arson case that killed a teenager, one of the suspects is a woman with a history of pyromania. She reveals to Nick that she controls her urges by burning her junk mail in the fireplace. [[spoiler: She's not the culprit.]]

* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'': Zhu Ran was best known for carrying out the fire attack in the battle of Yiling. He was made playable starting with ''Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends'', and - unsurprisingly - his moveset revolves around using a flaming bow to set his enemies ablaze. He's very eager to carry out his historical orders at Yiling - "Just thinking about it gets me all worked up!"

* The first antagonist in the ''VideoGame/KillerEscape'' series is the Burner, a masked SerialKiller who enjoys torturing his victims before burning them alive. Notes from his victims hint that he became this after witnessing his wife burned horribly in a car crash, but [[spoiler: [[TheGreys aliens]] in the third game explain that he intentionally burned his own wife.]]
** The Burner returns for ''Killer Escape 4'', where [[spoiler: upon [[MadeOfIron surviving a boiler explosion]] ''to the face'' ]], he constantly stalks and attacks you throughout the game, but he can't kill you due to [[spoiler: your [[DeathIsCheap regenerative powers]] similar to the protagonist of ''VideoGame/BeingOne'']].

** Phoebe has some... ''issues'' with starting fires. She occasionally has psychic "outbursts..." While PlayedForLaughs, in some ways she's a more realistic example than most on this page--she's a nice, generally level-headed person, with her pyromania presented as a bad habit that she's trying to break.

* ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'' has this sort of character in Andrew Jackson, AKA agent Pyro, who, in keeping with his ''Videogame/TeamFortress2'' namesake, is a complete psycho who loves to see things burn. His daughter is shown to use a flamethrower as well, though it's hard to tell if she herself is also a pyromaniac or if it's just the result of her [[spoiler: [[SweetPollyOliver impersonating her father]] to protect him from TheMole]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Subverted. Quite a few of the more psychotic [[PlayingWithFire firebenders]] seem way too happy to burn things. However, it's later explained that firebending is fueled by rage [[spoiler: except for Aang, Zuko, and Iroh, who fuel it with energy and passion]] and those who enjoy it don't enjoy fire as much as they enjoy the result.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebug_(video_game) Firebug]]'': Released by Muse Software in 1982, it's possibly the earliest computer game to depict pyromania as the central focus. You control the titular firebug who uses stealth and puzzle-solving to burn down buildings floor by floor.

* ''VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus'': [[TheHero Sly]] calls the Panda King one when he threatens to bury a village in snow with fireworks. He does this again in [[VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves the third game]], but this make the Panda King angrier.

[[caption-width-right:275:[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Arson, Murder, and]] ''[[BaitAndSwitch more]]'' [[http://www.wordsources.info/book-phobias-154-180.html arson!]]

[[caption-width-right:275:[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Arson, Murder, and]] ''[[BaitAndSwitch more]]'' [[BaitAndSwitch arson!]][[note]][[http://www.wordsources.info/book-phobias-154-180.html Source.]][[/note]]]]

* ''Film/{{Rakka}}''. Nosh is a pyromaniac working for LaResistance to the AlienInvasion, but he doesn't have any problem with the latter because now he can burn whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He's despised but regarded as a NecessaryEvil.

* ''Series/{{Hunter}}'': A season 1 episode features a villain who uses a flame thrower to set various buildings on fire, with a backstory of burning civilians in the Vietnam War.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Judge Frollo exhibits pyromaniac tendencies -- including a number of references to the fiery pit of Hell -- and is often preoccupied with burning down buildings.

* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'': Urumi likes to blow things up. She considers a MolotovCocktail to be a "practical joke", and gets a "look" that's a mix of glee and malice when she blows up a building. Being a super genius, she never leaves any evidence.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': This is canonically one of the primary reasons a Mechwarrior would ''choose'' to pilot a ''[[MeaningfulName Firestarter]]'', a design which is so [[CripplingOverspecialization niche in its utility]] that it is of little strategic use when [[KillItWithFire rampant use of incendiaries]] is not called for, outside of impromptu scout or picket duty. The number of ''Firestarter'' pilots whose mini-biographies include phrases like "morbid fascination with fire" is almost excessive, and at the very least constitutes a plurality of printed bios for the design's pilots. The rather low sadism-to-efficiency ratio of choosing to [[KillItWithFire burn enemy infantry alive]] as opposed to just using a machine gun probably doesn't help the mech's reputation as vehicle of choice for the kind of mechwarrior who got kicked out of most of the reputable companies for enjoying themselves a bit too much.

* ''Film/{{Rakka}}. Nosh is a pyromaniac working for LaResistance to the AlienInvasion, but he doesn't have any problem with the latter because now he can burn whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He's despised but regarded as a NecessaryEvil.