In sheer honesty, I think it's best with the black outline. To me, using a diffrent one gives off as if he's in a very heated up place (IE, a volcano for example.).

Er, you're seeing wrong then. The steam poofs out of his right leg.

Was it intended to look like the city is being flooded?

Works well when approached with a rather bright enviroment, however.

You could always use the Pro Motion trial to create the animations.

Although unless you're already using it, it can be tricky at first, but the program is awesome.