Nick Pugh was a fireman who liked fire so much he began working as an arsonist for hire under the name Arson.

On a job for the crime czar Vendetta he ran into the vigilante ShadowHawk. In the following fight with ShadowHawk, his tank with liquid for his flamethrower exploded and he found himself on fire.

Being on fire all the time became a problem in time. He couldn't touch anything and whatever he ate became burned before he could taste it leaving only the taste of charcoal. He was also unable to walk around anonymously and was isolated from his friends and family. The only contact he had was the other Regulators. The teammate Scandal who had the ability to adapt to his power offered the only physical contact he could have.