Blaze Rize was the twin sister of the deceased criminal Hot Rize. Like her sister, Blaze had short orange hair, multiple piercings in her ears, and freckles. She often wore bow ties.
Blaze claimed that she was the older one of the twins, but did not specify by how long.
Revenge-Seeking Sister
Blaze Rize approached the new Mr. Crime and offered to work for him in exchange for the location of Flakey Biscuits. Biscuits had killed Blaze's sister and then went into a witness protection program. Blaze quickly became the "right hand man" to Panda, the public face for Mr. Crime.
Blaze found Flakey Biscuits,who was living under a new identity. Blaze confronted Biscuits in Biscuits' car and shot her, then fled. Blaze's bullet only grazed Flakey Biscuits, but the shock of the assault induced a fatal heart attack.
Blaze then returned to Dick Tracy's city. Panda asked Blaze to go to dinner with Davey Mylar, a likeable but awkward comicbook fan, who Panda identified as Mr. Crime's nephew. At dinner, Blaze found herself enjoying Davey's company in a non-romantic sense. Davey confessed to her that he was really Mr. Crime.
Blaze and Davey returned from their "date" just before the police raid on the Panda Agency. Blaze tried to get Davey to safety through an underground tunnel, but Davey got caught in the crossfire between Panda and Tess Tracy and was shot. Davey asked Blaze to conceal his identity to protect his mother and then ordered her to leave him and escape.
Blaze went to see Davey's mother, and lied to her, telling her that Davey had died a hero, working undercover. Blaze gave her a case of money saying that Davey intended it "to take care of his mother if he could not." Blaze then went into hiding. She later claimed that she had paid for Davey's funeral.
The Return of Blaze
Blaze Rize maintained a low public profile following the dissolution of the Mr. Crime gang. She was eventually approached by B-B Eyes, who had risen through the ranks of the new criminal organization The Black Hearts. Eyes was looking for people he could trust to be his lieutenants. He threatened Rize that he would reveal her involvement in the Mr. Crime gang to Dick Tracy if she did not cooperate. Blaze grudgingly agreed.
Blaze meets Notta Fallar, 3/31/2015
Blaze was given a new assignment with the Black Hearts: to serve as a courier for Mr. Bigg (March 30th, 2015). For her first job, Blaze delivered a package to Notta Fallar. The contents of the package were not revealed, and neither was the exact nature of Notta's relationship with the Black Hearts explained. Notta fixed a drink for Blaze and told her that she would be making more such deliveries in the future. Notta also hinted that she was interested in more than just Blaze's deliveries, but exactly what she meant by this was left unclear. Blaze left Notta's apartment, apparently confused and an unsure of what the future would hold for her.
While working for Mr. Bigg, Blaze developed a rapport with "T-Bolt", his bodyguard. Blaze expressed her dissatisfaction with her situation, and T-Bolt advised her to leave the criminal lifestyle before she lost the option to do so.
Shortly thereafter, Blaze was charged with tracking down Jimmy Choo Shooz, a low-level bookie who had stolen a large gold shipment without the approval of Mr. Bigg and the Black Hearts organization. Blaze was paired with Doubleup for this task. They found Shooz at approximately the same time as Dick Tracy and Sam Catchem. Doubleup engaged in a brief fight with Shooz and the police, during which Shooz escaped and Doubleup was arrested. Blaze avoided involvement, and was later reunited with Doubleup, whose released was arranged by the attorney Mr. Kleen.
Blaze was not present during the subsequent raid on Black Hearts headquarters. She watched reports about the raid on television while in the company of Notta. Blaze took up a permanent residence with Notta in order to hide from the police. Doubleup refused to acknowledge Blaze's existence under questioning by police. During her time living with Notta, Blaze developed a affection for Notta's catatonic brother Purdy Fallar and became very protective of him.
Later, Notta learned that Dick Tracy had traveled to Cuba to pursue the fugitive known as Specs. Notta announced her intention to get revenge against Tracy, but Blaze refused to cooperate. Notta assaulted Blaze, striking her from behind and knocking her unconscious in order to keep her from leaving.
Blaze reluctantly complied with Notta's scheme to defame Dick Tracy by creating a fraudulent video that seemed to show Tracy (actually the criminal Putty Puss) engaged in a romantic physical encounter with Notta. Later, Blaze was allowed to leave Notta's house to go to a nearby laundromat, where Blaze encountered T-Bolt. T-Bolt encouraged Blaze to get away from Notta, and Blaze agreed to meet with Dick Tracy to discuss providing evidence against B-B Eyes and Mr. Bribery.
Tracy agreed to give Blaze a couple of days to put her personal affairs in order before going into protective custody and Blaze told Tracy where Notta could be found. Two days later, Tracy and Lizz arrived to arrest Notta, who shot at them through a window. A conflagration ensued, during which Blaze tried to protect the defenseless Purdy. Purdy stood up and spoke Notta's name, the shock of which stunned her into submission, ending this conflict. Blaze and Notta were taken into police custody with the understanding that Purdy would be cared for.
Notes
- Writer Mike Curtis has stated on the Dick Tracy Yahoo Group that he intended both Blaze Rize and Hot Rize to be lesbians, but their sexuality was never explicitly referred to in the strip. It was implied that she developed a close (and most likely physical) relationship with Notta Chin Chillar.
- Similarly, Blaze's "day job" was not specifically identified in the strip, but Mike Curtis implied on the Dick Tracy Fan Club Facebook page that she was a professional dominatrix (much like singer Jane Weidlin, who was a partial inspiration for the character). This (and her lesbianism) were confirmed by Curtis in a post on March 26th, 2015.
- Blaze would qualify as a "revenge-seeking relative" against Flakey Biscuits, the person who killed her sister, but not Dick Tracy. Blaze obtained her revenge soon after her debut, and to date has expressed no hatred or desire for revenge against Tracy.
- While it was eventually revealed that Flakey Biscuits did not die from Blaze's gunshot, Blaze's assault is presumed to have been the incident that induced Flakey Biscuits' fatal heart attack. This would make Blaze legally culpable for Flakey's death (if she admitted her role in it, or if she were otherwise connected to the crime). Blaze would face a charge of manslaughter at least.
- From her debut to the end of her first major continuity in the second Mr. Crime case, she and Tracy never met, nor did Tracy ever seem to be aware of her existence. This situation continued through the case of Jimmy Choo Shooz and the fall of the Black Hearts as well. At some point, Lee Ebony apparently provided the MCU with a description of Blaze.