Phosphorus Rex is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Publication history

Phosphorus Rex first appeared in ''Batman'' #666 and was created by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

and artist

Andy Kubert Andrew Kubert (; born February 27, 1962) is an American comics artist, letterer and writer. He is the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert. He is a graduate of an ...

Fictional character biography

Phosphorus Rex is a fiery member of the Circus of Strange. After Mister Toad is apprehended by the

Gotham City Police Department Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...

, Phosphorus Rex joins the Circus of Strange members Big Top, Siam, and a group of Professor Pyg's Dollotrons in attacking the Gotham City Police Department. This results in four

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

s getting killed and six others ending up injured. Phosphorus Rex and the rest of the Circus of Strange are defeated by

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

and Robin. Batman later interrogates Phosphorus Rex into giving him the identity of the Circus of Strange's leader. What Phosphorus Rex tells Batman leads him to Professor Pyg. In 2011, "

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

" rebooted the DC universe. Phosphorus Rex and Professor Pyg are first seen as inmates of

Arkham Asylum The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane (), commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital/prison, named after the city of Arkham which appeared first in the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, and later appear ...

. At the time when

and Nightwing arrive at Arkham Asylum to capture a corrupt guard who ends up releasing the inmates, Phosphorus Rex is among those who take part in the break-out attempt only to be thwarted by Batman and Nightwing.

Powers and abilities

Phosphorus Rex has pyrokinetic abilities. He is surrounded by fires that are not lethal to him, but are lethal to everyone else.

Other versions

In the alternate future of ''Batman in Bethlehem'', Phosphorus Rex and his fellow Circus of Strange members are depicted as crime bosses.

In other media

Phosphorus Rex appears in ''

Beware the Batman ''Beware the Batman'' is an American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2013, as part of their DC Nation block, replacing ''Batman: ...

'', voiced by Greg Ellis. This version is Milo Match,

Tobias Whale Tobias Whale is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Black Lightning. Whale appears in the live-action Arrowverse series ''Black Lightning'', portrayed by Marvin "Krondon" Jones II ...

's lawyer and chief enforcer.

References

External links

Phosphorus Rex
at DC Comics Wiki
Phosphorus Rex
at Comic Vine {{Batman characters DC Comics metahumans Comics characters introduced in 2006 Characters created by Grant Morrison Characters created by Andy Kubert DC Comics supervillains DC Comics male supervillains Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities