Borrows elements from the Stephen King novel and the film adaptation Firestarter (1984). Particularly the aspect of a child born with the ability of Pyrokinesis which the government wanted to develop into a weapon. There was also a man with an eyepatch in both the original story and this episode who was an agent in charge.
The rogue government agency is based on the counter-terrorist agency from Marvel Comics, S.H.I.E.L.D. The leader of the group even has an eye patch like director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury and one of the operatives has a bowler hat and handlebar mustache like Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan who is Fury's right hand man. The workers in the underground facility wear gray uniforms that look similar to the beekeeper outfits worn by agents of A.I.M., the first enemy S.H.I.E.L.D. in the comics.
The debut of Volcana, a character developed for Superman: The Animated Series