Human Torch
Human Torch is a comic book character that first appeared in Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #1
Johnny Storm is the Human Torch, a member of the Fantastic Four and brother to Sue Storm. Due to a space accident he can fly and manipulate fire, including turning his entire body into a fireball.
Note: For the Golden Age Human Torch see Jim Hammond
Origins of the Human Torch
Growing up in suburban Glenville, New York, Johnny Storm suffered in his young life. He lost his mother in a car accident whereas his father, Franklin Storm, a talented surgeon, managed to escape from the accident unharmed. Despite his professional skills, he was unable to save his wife's life and spiraled into alcoholism and financial ruin. After killing a loan shark in self defense, Franklin was sent to jail and Johnny was primarily raised by his sister, despite their closeness in age.Despite the dramatic manner of his mother's death, Johnny was drawn to automobiles and became quite the mechanic at a young age. While still a teenager, he selflessly rescued two of his friends from a burning building. No stranger to adventure, he was nearly chosen as the human host of the demonic Zarathos, the Ghost Rider. He was attacked by the legendary St. Germaine, who sought the power for himself. Johnny escaped the lure of Zarathos with the help of archaeologist Max Parrish, the uncle of Cammy Brandeis, who Johnny had a bit of a crush on. This was an example of his normal life, until the life altering rocket ride into space.
Becoming the Human Torch
Following his sister Sue, a now-16 year old Johnny joined Reed Richards' crew in a space flight. Riddled with cosmic radiation, Johnny transformed into a flaming monster when the flight crashed back to earth. Calling himself Human Torch in tribute to the World War II era hero of the same name, the youthful Johnny found new adventure as part of the Fantastic Four, proving to be an invaluable if somewhat volatile member of the team. In the team's first appearance, he battled the Mole Man for the first time. He first fought the Skrulls soon after that. Falling out with his teammates after a battle with the Miracle Man, Johnny left the group and encountered amnesiac World War II hero Namor the Sub-Mariner. Recognizing Namor from comic books, Johnny dropped him into the sea, hoping to restore his memory. The plan worked, but after Namor found Atlantis in ruins, he declared war on humanity. Johnny rejoined the Fantastic Four and they drove Namor off. Johnny fought Doctor Doom after his encounter with Namor. The immature Johnny again considered quitting the Fantastic Four, this time to join his cousin Bones' circus, but quickly returned to the team.
High School
Though a member of the world-famous Fantastic Four, Johnny was still a teenage Glenville High student, albeit one who regularly clashed with super-powered menaces. Johnny even tried to conceal his dual identity from most of the locals at first, though this soon proved futile (the true identities of all four Fantastic Four founders being widely known almost from the start). Eventually, he decided that it would be impossible to do so, and embraced the public attention and his powers. In solo action, he fought the communist Destroyer (Charles Stanton) and Rabble Rouser; the Wizard (born Bentley Wittman); Zemu, Warlord of the 5th Dimension; Paste-Pot Pete; Acrobat (Carl Zante); Vilhelm Von Vile, the enigmatic Painter of 1000 Perils; the Sorcerer of Glenville Woods; the Asbestos Man (Orson Kasloff); the Eel (Leopold Stryke);the Plantman; modern-day pirate Captain Barracuda, whom Johnny defeated in the first of several team-ups with his super-heroic opposite number Iceman; and the Terrible Trio. Sometimes the Thing helped Johnny to fight against enemies like Kang the Conqueror and the Mad Thinker. Super-villains, however, weren't Johnny's only rivals. 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 that 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, although she eventually grew tired of his constant disappearances and broke it off. Johnny met another teenage hero, Spider-Man, who broke into the Baxter Building hoping to impress the Fantastic Four. Despite their early misunderstandings, the Torch and Spider-Man eventually became good friends, and Spider-Man, feeling the Torch was reliable, recently chose to share his secret identity with Storm.
When the Super-Skrull (Kl'rt), possessing the combined powers of the Fantastic Four, attacked the team, the Human Torch managed to trap him inside a cave, but the Super-Skrull escaped and impersonated Franklin Storm. The Four exposed the Super-Skrull, but the Skrulls strapped a bomb to the real Franklin's chest, and Franklin sacrificed his own life to save his children. A trip to the Skrull home-world and the death of Warlord Morrat, the Skrull who authorized Franklin's murder, brought some measure of revenge,but this was not the last time the Skrulls would interfere in Johnny's life.
College
After graduating from high school, Johnny enrolled in Metro College, where he befriended his roommate, Wyatt Wingfoot. Around this time, he and the Fantastic Four first encountered Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Wyatt joined Johnny and the Fantastic Four on a trip to Wakanda, Africa, where they first encountered the Black Panther and helped him defeat Klaw. He also met the original Human Torch. Around this time, Johnny met the young Inhuman Crystal. It was love at first sight, and Johnny, along with the rest of the Fantastic Four, helped her overthrow the mad Inhuman prince Maximus. Their love was passionate but short-lived, as Crystal returned to Attilan and married Quicksilver, the son of Magneto, eventually bearing his child. Johnny 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 was later romantically linked to the She-Hulk. 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. Johnny then joined the rest of the Fantastic Four in space, where they helped the Champions of Xandar against the invading Skrulls. When Johnny's teammates were dying from a Skrull aging ray, Johnny destroyed the robotic assassin Skrull X, allowing the infirm Reed to use his weapon to reverse the aging.
Johnny eventually began a romance with Alicia Masters (really Lyja posing as Alicia), and eventually married her.
During the Infinity War, Johnny 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 Johnny 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.
Johnny 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 Johnny to stay close to him; Johnny recognized her when they kissed though he didn't 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, Johnny 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, Johnny 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 Johnny and gave the Nullifier to her master, Abraxas, but even that couldn't save Abraxas after Galactus joined the fight. Following the battle, Susan found herself pregnant again, and, with Reed off battling the Hidden Ones, Johnny was forced to seek help from Dr. Doom when problems with the pregnancy threatened Sue's life. Johnny 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.
Consequences from this incident would later lead to the Fantastic Four being captured. Doom tortured Johnny with a painful version of Reed's powers.
Getting a real job
Unfortunately, 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.
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, Johnny contacted Spider-Man, who tried to cheer Johnny up by bringing him to a water park. An unfortunate misunderstanding with Hydro-Man led to a horrible fight, where Johnny was assumed to be threatening the park-goers. Johnny 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.
An alien named Zius came to Earth,[issue # needed] 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 Johnny as his new Herald. 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. Johnny'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.
Civil War
With the events leading up to Civil War, public perception of superheroes was at an all time low. Johnny felt unaffected by the issue, and went to a nightclub with his girlfriend. Johnny was attacked and beaten severely. When he finally awoke none of his Fantastic Four teammates were there to greet him. Reed and Sue were too deeply involved with various crises (and someone had to watch the kids). Thing had left for France, there to be involved in adventures of his own. After the death of Bill Foster during a battle between the two factions, he went with his sister, Sue, to join Captain America's "Secret Avengers". The Storm siblings narrowly escaped a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents bent on their capture, and subsequently met with the Secret Avengers. Through Nick Fury's connections, the two were given new identities as husband and wife, which they accepted (with understandable reluctance). At the beginning of Civil War #7, he made an attempt to sneak attack Iron Man from behind, but was deflected by his fist quite easily. At the end of the Civil War, his sister Susan has since returned to her husband. Johnny and the Thing are now part of the team again, but this time with the Black Panther and his new wife Storm. During the World War Hulk miniseries, Johnny attempts to take on the Hulk, but after a failed attack, the Hulk beats and captures him.
Secret Invasion
In the Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four miniseries, a Skrull infiltrates the Baxter Building, posing as Sue, and sends it into the Negative Zone, with Johnny, Ben, Franklin and Valeria inside. When Johnny confronts the Skrull, she reveals herself to be his old flame, Lyja.
Romance
Ever since his teenage years, the Torch has been involved in various 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 as it was learned that their "child" was actually an implanted weapon to be used against the Four, they ultimately parted on less than favorable terms. Torch's relationship with Namorita lasted briefly until he pursued a career in Hollywood. They later parted more formally. Other relationships with civilians have also occurred through his early twenties, where he stands at now. Johnny has recently started a relationship with a super-criminal named Psionics, however he still has feelings for Lyja as seen in the limited series Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four.
The Human Torch's Powers
The Human Torch 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/plasma. His primary power is the ability to envelop his entire body in fiery plasma without harm to himself, in which form he is able to fly 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, cages, etc. Even when not engulfed in flame himself, the Torch 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 once absorbed the entire fireball of a nuclear explosion).
By providing thrust behind him with his own flame, the Torch is able to fly in excess of the speed of sound. 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 objects (or persons) in proximity to him. The Human Torch refers to his maximum flame output as his "Nova Flame," which is released omni-directionally and can reach 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit. 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 into his body, although he can momentarily suppress the release when necessary with considerable effort. The Human Torch can also direct beams of "Nova Heat" as an offensive weapon for very brief periods of time before his energy reserves give out. Once, when his power was briefly increased by his nephew Franklin Richards, the Torch's Nova Flame "rivaled the heat of a main sequence star."
Johnny has been shown to have a high degree of control over his powers. This control is likely due to the extreme amount of discipline Johnny practices. When his sister, Susan Storm, switched powers with him she was almost incapable of controlling her new powers, constantly spilling out ambient heat and often setting nearby objects aflame without realizing it. Comparatively, Johnny has demonstrated enough control that he can hold a person while in his flame form without his passenger feeling the slightest bit of 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.
The Torch'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 re-ignite instantly once oxygen is returned, with no ill effects. Based on the distinct speech bubbles that accompany the Human Torch whenever he is aflame, his voice apparently changes whenever he is using his powers.
Johnny also briefly had his powers switched with his sister The Invisible Woman, and thus became the Invisible Man. During this time Galactus took Johnny and made him his herald, augmenting his invisible powers with the Power Cosmic. As a Herald of Galactus, Johnny had all of The Invisible Woman's powers augmented to a cosmic degree, as well as being able to see past all concealments and illusions into the primal truths. This power allowed Johnny to see Galactus as he really is. Johnny exhausted the Power Cosmic from his body when he used it to power a device designed to separate the cosmic Galactus energy from Galan (Galactus' humanoid origin). Recently Johnny was re-powered with the Power Cosmic, during a battle with the Silver Surfer, and jokingly dubbed himself the Cosmic Torch. It is yet to be seen if he will retain the Power Cosmic, although at the end of the issue he still appeared to be cosmically powered.
Very early in his career (i.e., Fantastic Four issues #1 and 2) the Torch was depicted as transmuting his body itself into living flame; in all subsequent appearances his power consists in the generation of a flaming aura.
The Human Torch was trained in hand-to-hand combat by the Thing, and is highly skilled in the use of his superhuman powers in combat. Johnny is also a highly skilled race-car driver and an expert auto mechanic and designer.
Alternate Realities
Earth-295
In the alternate reality called the Age of Apocalypse, Johnny Storm was a friend of Dr. Reed Richards, who had attempted to evacuate a large group of humans from Manhattan when Apocalypse came into power. Along with Ben Grimm as the pilot and his sister Susan, Johnny was a crew member on one of Richards' prototype rockets, which he attempted to use to fly off the island. Unfortunately, an angry mutant sabotaged the launch and both Reed and Johnny sacrificed themselves to let the others blast off safely.
Johnny Storm did not have any powers in this reality before he died, as he never was bombarded with cosmic radiation in space.
Earth-1610
In the Ultimate universe Human Torch is a bit younger and still a member of the Fantastic Four.
Earth-2149
In the Zombieverse Human Torch is, as most other heroes, transformed into a zombie.
Earth-721
In this reality, also known as Earth A, (first seen in Fantastic Four #118), Only Reed Richards and Ben Grimm was aboard the spaceship and got exposed to cosmic rays. Afterwards Reed Richards got the Thing powers and Ben Grimm got the Mr. Fantastic powers. Furthermore Johnny Storm was believed to have died in Vietnam, but he became Gaard and later Vangaard. Sue Storm married Ben Grimm.
Earth-311
In the 1602 reality, Jon Storm is a member of the Four of the Fantastick.
Earth-982
In the MC2 reality Human Torch is married to Lyja and leader of Fantastic Five, alongside Big Brain, Thing and Psi-Lord. He and Lyja have a son named Torus. Upon the return of Reed and Sue, Reed resumes the leadership of the team. Johnny begins to contemplate splitting from the team and forming his own super team. Eventually, Reed is put in a coma by Doctor Doom and Johnny resumes as leader.
Earth-98
In this reality Human Torch is married to Crystal and had a daughter named Luna.
Earth-9811
In this reality, also called Battleworld, Human Torch and Wasp had a son called Firefly.
Earth-772
In this reality Human Torch is a member of Fantastic Five alongside Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing and Spider-Man.
Earth-917
In this reality Human Torch is a member of Fantastic Five alongside Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing and Namor.
Earth-912
In this reality Human Torch is a member of Fantastic Five alongside Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing and Silver Surfer.
Earth-4400
Human Torch was also a member of Fantastic Five in this reality, alongside Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing and Spider-Man. They were all killed by Hyperion and Weapon X.
Earth-One Dimension Away
In this reality The Human Torch was known as Jack Richards and was the husband of Mr. Fantastic. Jack died trying to avenge his husband's death at the hands of The Marquis of Death and Clyde Wyncham.
Other Media
The Human Torch was played by actor Chris Evans in the 2005 feature film adaptation of the Fantastic Four. Evans also reprised his role in the 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer.Super Hero Squad Show
Here he is part of The Super Hero Squad, who defends from Dr. Doom and his threats. He is played by Travis Willingham (who also does The Hulk in this animated series.)
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Power Rank
Rank Game
| Super Name: | Human Torch |
| Real Name: | Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm |
| Aliases: |
Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm Invisible Man The Torch Johnny Storm Matchstick Johnny Doug Brown Johnny Gaard Vangaard Tachyon Torch Jon Storm Jack Richards La Torcia Umana Torcia Umana Torcia Prince Morningstar (Avataar counterpart) |
| Publisher: | Marvel Publishing |
| Gender: | Male |
| Character Type: | Radiation |
| 1st Appearance: | Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #1 |
| Appears in: | 2426 issues |
| Birthday: | |
| Died: |
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