| Human Torch | |
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Detail, cover of Fantastic Four #542 Art by Adi Granov |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm |
| Species | Human Mutate |
| Team affiliations | Fantastic Four Fantastic Force Herald of Galactus Fantastic Four Incorporated |
| Notable aliases | The Torch, Invisible Man |
| Abilities |
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The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he is a member of the superhero team the Fantastic Four, debuting in The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961). A similar, unrelated character of the same name and powers had been created in 1939 by writer-artist Carl Burgos for Marvel Comics' predecessor company, Timely Comics.
Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, the Human Torch gained his powers on a spacecraft bombarded by cosmic rays. He can engulf his entire body in flames, is able to fly, can absorb fire harmlessly into his own body, and can control any nearby fire by sheer force of will. "Flame on!", which the Torch customarily shouts when activating his full-body flame effect, has become his catchphrase.
The youngest of the group, he is brash and impetuous in comparison to his beautiful and compassionate sister, Susan Storm, his sensible brother-in-law, Mister Fantastic, and the grumbling Thing.
In the early 1960s, he starred in a series of solo adventures, published in Strange Tales. He is also a friend and frequent ally of Spider-Man, who is approximately the same age as the Torch.
Chris Evans portrayed him in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and the 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
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The Human Torch was created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961). For a time, the Human Torch appeared as a regular character in a backup feature in the title Strange Tales.
Growing up in Glenville, New York, a fictional Long Island suburban town, Jonathan Storm lost his mother in a car accident in which his father, surgeon Franklin Storm, escaped unharmed.[1] Franklin Storm spiraled into alcoholism and financial ruin, and was imprisoned after killing a loan shark in self-defense. Johnny Storm was then raised by his older sister, Sue Storm.
At age 16, Johnny Storm joined his sister and her fiancee, Reed Richards, in a space flight in which cosmic radiation transformed those three and spacecraft pilot Ben Grimm into superpowered beings who would become the celebrated superhero team the Fantastic Four. Storm, now with the ability to become a flaming human with the power of flight and the ability to project flame, dubs himself the Human Torch, in tribute to the World War II-era hero of that name.[2] In The Fantastic Four #4, it is the hotheaded Storm who, briefly walking out on the others, discovers an amnesiac hobo whom he helps regain his memory as the antihero Namor the Sub-Mariner, one of the three most popular heroes of Marvel Comics' 1940s forerunner, Timely Comics. That character has gone on to appear in starring roles into the 2010s.
Though a member of a world-famous super-team, Storm still lived primarily in Glenville and attended Glenville High School, as depicted in his concurrent solo series in the anthology comic book Strange Tales, starting with issue #101. That series depicts him as maintaining a secret identity, although retroactive continuity later revealed that his fellow townsfolk were well aware of his being a member of the Fantastic Four and simply humored him. This series introduced what would become recurring the Fantastic Four foes the Wizard (born Bentley Wittman)[3] and Paste-Pot Pete, later known as the Trapster;[4] As well, Storm had his first team-up with his superhero opposite number, the teenaged Iceman, in Strange Tales #120, and met another teenaged superhero, Spider-Man, in The Amazing Spider-Man #1. Despite their early misunderstandings, the Torch and Spider-Man eventually became good friends and friendly competitors, with Spider-Man revealing to Storm his secret identity.
In Storm's home life, Mike Snow, a member of the Glenville High wrestling squad, bullied Johnny until an accidental flare-up of the Torch's powers scarred Snow's face. Despite their animosity, Snow concealed the incident, blaming the injuries on a prank gone wrong and maintaining Johnny had actually saved his life that night by flying him to the hospital. While Mike tried to move on with his life, Johnny did the same, dating fellow student Dorrie Evans, beginning in Strange Tales #113, although she eventually grew tired of his constant disappearances and broke off their relationship in Fantastic Four #45.
After graduating high school, Storm enrolled at New York City's Metro College in Fantastic Four #35 (Feb. 1965). There he befriended his roommate Wyatt Wingfoot.[5] Shortly after this, he and the Fantastic Four first encountered Galactus and the Silver Surfer.[6] Wyatt joined Johnny and the Fantastic Four on a trip to Wakanda, Africa, where they first encountered the Black Panther[7][8] and helped him defeat Klaw.[9] He also met the original Human Torch.[10] Around this time, Storm met the young Inhuman Crystal.[11] It was love at first sight, and Storm, along with the rest of the Fantastic Four, helped her overthrow the mad Inhuman prince Maximus.[12] Their love was passionate but short-lived, as Crystal returned to the city of Attilan and eventually married Quicksilver,[13] the son of Magneto, eventually bearing his child.[14] Storm was crushed, but tried to move on. Hoping to catch up on old times with Dorrie Evans, he found that she had married and had two kids since they had broken up. Despite dropping out of Metro U, Johnny remained friends with Wyatt, who often participated in the Fantastic Four's adventures and who was later romantically linked to the She-Hulk.[15] When Johnny's sister Sue and her husband Reed were separated, Johnny joined the Thing, Medusa and Thundra in a staged battle against the rehabilitated Namor in an effort to bring the couple back together. Their ploy worked, and Sue and Reed patched things up for good. Seeking direction in his life, Johnny was tricked into attending the high-class Security College, a front for the Monocle, an agent of the megalomaniacal Enclave, who used him to steal top-secret high-tech weapons. Spider-Man broke the Monocle's control of the Torch.[16] Johnny then joined the rest of the Fantastic Four in space, where they helped the Champions of Xandar against the invading Skrulls.[17] When Johnny's teammates were dying from a Skrull aging ray, Johnny destroyed the robotic assassin Skrull X, allowing the infirm Reed to use the weapon to reverse the aging.[18]
Storm eventually began a romance with Alicia Masters (really the Skrull Lyja posing as Alicia),[19] and eventually married her.[20]
Storm greeted his power-counterpart Iceman and, along with many other superheroes, fought against the time-traveling Ahab.[21] Not long after that, he discovered "Alicia's" true identity, and discovered that Lyja was pregnant with his child. He then witnessed the apparent death of Lyja, and rescued the real Alicia from the Skrulls.[22]
During the Infinity War, Storm went out for a personal fly and was attacked by evil doubles of the X-Men and his own self. He later found it hard to fight by the side of visages he had just incinerated. Later during the Infinity Crusade, a deeper, religious side of Storm was revealed. After realizing his sister had been brainwashed because of her religious beliefs, Johnny experienced a crisis of faith, because he thought his beliefs were just as strong.
Storm briefly joined his nephew Franklin's Fantastic Force team, where he battled his virtually omnipotent extra-dimensional counterpart Vangaard (formerly Gaard), convincing him to abandon his mission of eliminating redundant realities by showing him the hero he could become. Lyja posed as student Laura Green and dated Storm to stay close to him; Storm recognized her when they kissed though he did not share this until later, but the two never had the chance to explore their true feelings. After Franklin Richards created his Counter-Earth and rescued the Fantastic Four, Avengers, and several other heroes from death at the hands of Onslaught, Roma deemed Franklin too powerful to ignore, and sent the Technet and the (Captain Britain) Corps to retrieve him. The Human Torch convinced Roma that Franklin's family, the Fantastic Four, would be able to nurture him so that he would not grow up to be a danger to the Omniverse.
While the rest of the Fantastic Four battled the Gideon Trust and Annihilus in the Negative Zone, Storm was forced to recruit a temporary Fantastic Four team consisting of Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Johnny's on-and-off girlfriend Namorita (Namor's cousin), and the She-Hulk, who battled the Gideon Trust on Earth. When the cosmic entity Abraxas came to Earth-616, Storm teamed with an extra-dimensional version of the now-deceased Frankie Raye to retrieve the Ultimate Nullifier, a weapon powerful enough to destroy Abraxas. This Nova betrayed Storm and gave the Nullifier to her master, Abraxas, but even that could not save Abraxas after Galactus joined the fight. Following the battle, Susan found herself pregnant again, and, with Reed off battling the Hidden Ones, Storm was forced to seek help from Dr. Doom when problems with the pregnancy threatened Sue's life. Storm appealed to his vanity, tempting him with the offer to do something that Reed would not be able to do. Doom saved both Sue and her daughter, Valeria, whom he got to name as compensation for saving them.
Seeking an acting career, Storm was cast as the Old West hero the Rawhide Kid, but producers reconsidered and gave the role to Lon Zelig (actually the Super-Skrull). After working mostly in a few television shows, Storm also spent some time as a firefighter at the behest of his former classmate, Mike Snow, but when Snow moved away after his wife turned out to be a psychotic arsonist and seemingly died, Storm left the job (though he later returned to the profession during a period when the Fantastic Four was short on cash). Sick of her brother's directionless life and near disastrous pranks, Sue forced him to take a job as the Chief Financial Officer for the Fantastic Four, Inc. Storm was shown to use his power to further harass Ben and slack off, although it soon turned serious. Infighting and betrayal resulted in the patented unstable molecules threatening most of the world, a threat ended with Johnny's leadership of the franchise.[23]
After a major battle with Doom, Reed attempted to claim Latveria for the Fantastic Four, an act that turned the United States government and his own team against them. This led to Ben Grimm's death and the subsequent break-up of the rest of the team. Johnny took to fixing cars for a living and hallucinating heavily that Ben was still alive. Of course, Ben's death did not last long. Johnny and his family actually traveled to Heaven, where they met God himself, who looked like Jack Kirby.[24]
Later stabilization and other factors left the Fantastic Four's popularity in the gutter. Seeking help from the least popular person he could think of, Storm contacted Spider-Man, who tried to cheer Storm up by bringing him to a water park. An unfortunate misunderstanding with Hydro-Man led to a horrible fight, where Storm was assumed to be threatening the park-goers. Storm also began to converse with a new girl over the internet, and hit it off when he finally met her. This girl, Cole, turned out to be the daughter of one of Johnny's oldest enemies, the Wizard; but although she was sent to trick the Fantastic Four, Cole actually helped lead them to the Wizard's lair, where they battled him and his new Frightful Four. The Wizard escaped and took Cole with him, but Johnny remained hopeful about meeting her again.[25]
An alien named Zius came to Earth,[26] the location of the one being in the universe who could nullify his Galactus-proof planet-cloaking invisibility shield, Susan Storm. Zius threatened to destroy the planet if Sue did not sacrifice herself, but Reed used his power gun to switch her powers with Johnny's and tricked Zius into leaving the planet. As he left orbit, Galactus destroyed Zius's spaceship and claimed Storm as his new Herald, the Invisible Man. The cosmic power he was imbued with let him understand whatever he analyzed, leading him to a new appreciation and love for his family. Not wanting to lead Galactus to populated worlds, the Fantastic Four and Quasar managed to make Galactus human for a time. Storm's power cosmic faded, though a remnant of it caused the Fantastic Four's powers to be temporarily transferred to four random New York citizens.[27]
During the 2006-2007 "Civil War" storyline, in which the superpowered community were split over the Superhuman Registration Act, which required them to register with and become agents of the U.S. government, Storm and his sister became allied with the underground rebels the "Secret Avengers".[28] Shortly afterward, during the "Secret Invasion" company-crossover, the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Skrulls intensified their clandestine infiltration of Earth. Storm was briefly reunited with his former Skrull girlfriend, Lyja. Though part of the invading force, she finds she still has some feelings for him, and does not carry out her mission of sabotage. She returns to her people, unsure of herself and of any future relationship.[29]
In the "Three" storyline, concluding in Fantastic Four #587 (cover date March 2011, published January 26, 2011), the Human Torch appears to die fighting a horde of aliens from the otherdimensional Negative Zone. The series ended with the following issue, #588, and relaunched in March 2011 as simply FF.[30][31][32] Spider-Man took the Torch's place on the team,[33][34] as requested in the Torch's will.[35]
It is later revealed that the Human Torch was revived by a species of insect-like creatures that were implanted in his body by Annihilus in an attempt to force Storm to help open the Negative Zone portal. However, although Storm refused, Annihilus gained a means of access when an alternate dimension Reed Richards opened the portal for him, forcing Storm to escape and lead a resistance against Annihilus with the aid of his fellow prisoners. Upon the Negative Zone portal opening, the Human Torch meets Spider-Man on the other side wearing the costume of the Future Foundation, promptly asking the webslinger what he is wearing.[36] With Reed deducing that the Torch has been on the other side of the portal for two years from his perspective, Johnny aids his friends by summoning the Annihilation Wave - now under his command - to confront the Kree armada currently threatening Earth.[37]
The Human Torch has been involved in several romantic relationships throughout the years, including, but not limited to, the Inhuman Crystal, member-in-training and future Galactus herald Frankie Raye, the Skrull agent Lyja disguised as Alicia Masters, and the Atlantean Namorita. Crystal dissolved her relationship with him due to the adverse effects of pollution within population centers of Homo sapiens. Frankie Raye ended her relationship with him when she accepted Galactus' offer to become his newest herald. Lyja, while in the disguise of the Thing's former girlfriend Alicia Masters, carried on a long-term relationship including marriage with the Torch until it was revealed that her true nature was as a Skrull double agent. Although the two attempted reconciliation after it was learned that their "child" was actually an implanted weapon to be used against the Fantastic Four, they ultimately parted on less than favorable terms. Torch's brief relationship with Namorita lasted until he pursued a career in Hollywood. They later parted formally. Storm had a brief relationship with a supercriminal named Psionics. He has also had relationships with civilian women.
Johnny Storm gained a number of superhuman powers as a result of the mutagenic effects of the cosmic radiation he was exposed to, all of which are related to fire. His primary power is the ability to envelop his body in fiery plasma without harm to himself, in which form he is able to fly by providing thrust behind himself with his own flame, and to generate powerful streams and/or balls of fire. He can also manipulate his flame in such a way as to shape it into rings and other forms. Even when not engulfed in flame himself, Storm has the ability to control any fire within his immediate range of vision, causing it to increase or decrease in intensity or to move in a pattern directed by his thoughts. Additionally, he is able to absorb fire/plasma into his body with no detrimental effects. He has shown the ability to detect heat signatures (infra-red vision).
The plasma field immediately surrounding his body is sufficiently hot to vaporize projectiles that approach him, including but not limited to bullets. He does not generally extend this flame-aura beyond a few inches from his skin, so as not to ignite nearby objects. Storm refers to his maximum flame output as his "nova flame," which he can release omnidirectionally. Flame of any temperature lower than this cannot burn or harm the Torch. This "nova" effect can occur spontaneously when he absorbs an excessive amount of heat, although he can momentarily suppress the release when necessary, with considerable effort. Storm can also direct momentary beams of "nova heat" as a weapon.
Storm has demonstrated enough control that he can hold a person while in his flame form without his passenger feeling discomforting heat. His knowledge extends to general information about fire as well, supported by regular visits to fire safety lectures at various firehouses in New York. During a confrontation with Kraven the Hunter where he was poisoned, Johnny was able to cure himself by superheating his blood to burn the toxin out of his blood without Kraven realizing what he was up to.[38]
Storm's ability to ignite himself is limited by the quantity of oxygen in his environment, and his personal flame has been extinguished by sufficient quantities of water, flame retardant foam, and vacuum environments. He can reignite instantly once oxygen is returned, with no ill effects.
Very early in his career, as seen in The Fantastic Four #1-2, Storm was depicted as transmuting his body itself into living flame; in all subsequent appearances his power consists in the generation of a flaming aura.
Storm as trained in hand-to-hand combat by the Thing, and is highly skilled in the use of his superhuman powers in combat. He is also a skilled race-car driver and auto mechanic and designer.
The Human Torch was ranked as the 90th greatest comic book character by Wizard magazine.[42] IGN ranked the Human Torch as the 46th greatest comic book hero, stating that even though the youngest member of the Fantastic Four routinely basked in the glory of his celebrity status, he also proved himself in his many adventures with both the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man.[43]
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