Pham Quan has always wanted to watch the world burn; the youngest scion of a prosperous trading family, he spent much of his pampered childhood torn between indulging in conspicuous consumption and discovering new and more creative ways to reduce his numerous toys to ashes. By his teens, Quan had set his sights on bigger targets, leading to an alcohol funded campaign of pyromania across Hanoi that culminated in the very public immolation of a centuries old Taoist temple. Under an assumed name and identity, Quan entered military college, where he showed a genuine aptitude for the battlefield applications of flame. Pham proved to be an effective battlefield leader.
Pham's nickname 'Inferno' is Italian for 'Hell', which is usually depicted in media as perpetually set on fire. Inferno can also refer to a conflagration, a great and destructive firestorm.
His nationality and specialty are at odds with each other, seeing that Vietnam, his home country, has seen the terror of American incendiary weapons during the Vietnam War.