Name

Current Alias

Aliases

FLAME ON!

Early Years[]

Johnny Storm and his older sister,Sue, lived uneventfully onLong Island until their mother,Mary Storm, died in an automobile accident. Their father,Franklin Storm, a doctor, failed to save her. Despondent, Franklin descended into booze and gambling, eventually winding up in a penitentiary for murder.^[27] The children went to live with their aunt Marygay. Growing up in suburbanGlenville, Johnny Storm was drawn to automobiles, despite his mother's death in a car accident, and became quite a mechanic at a young age.

While still a teenager, he selflessly rescued two of his friends from a burning building. No stranger to adventure, Johnny was nearly chosen as the human host of the demonicZarathos, and was attacked by the legendary St. Germaine, who sought the power for himself. Johnny escaped the lure of Zarathos with the help of archaeologistMax Parrish, the uncle of Cammy Brandeis, on whom Johnny had a bit of a crush.^[28]

Fantastic Four[]

Following his sister, Johnny became acquainted with her boyfriend, scientistReed Richards. Reed planned to embark on a mission on the first faster-than-light rocketship to reach an Earthlike planet calledSpyre located 44 lightyears away. After looking through the advanced scanner that Reed used to find this planet, Johnny was overcome by an impulse to join the mission, feeling that something was waiting for him out there.^[29] Unbeknownst to Johnny, a denizen of Spyre namedKaila had also become affected by a similar sensation when she looked into the Earth from a similar device.^[30] Johnny pushed himself through strenuous training and became the youngest pilot inNASA.

While originally enlisted as backup pilot, Johnny joined Reed, Sue and fellow pilotBen Grimm on an unauthorized space flight aboard theMarvel-1.^[29] After take-off, the ship passed through a storm ofcosmic rays that caused the vessel to crash back to Earth. All four passengers were transformed by the radiation, with Johnny gaining the ability to envelop his body on fire. Calling himself the Human Torch in tribute to theWorld War II era hero of the same name, the youthful Johnny found new adventure as part of theFantastic Four, proving to be an invaluable if somewhat volatile member of the team.^[24]

Falling out with his teammates after a battle with theMiracle Man,^[31] Johnny left the group and encountered amnesiacWorld War II heroNamor 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 foundAtlantis in ruins, he declared war on humanity. Johnny rejoined the Fantastic Four and together they drove Namor back into the sea.^[32] Later, the immature Johnny again considered quitting the Fantastic Four, this time to joining his cousinBones' circus, but quickly returned to the team.^[33]

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 proved futile as the true identities of all four Fantastic Four founders were widely known almost from the start.^[34] In solo action (and sometimes assisted by his teammate the Thing or his sister), he fought the communistDestroyer^[35] andRabble Rouser;^[36] theWizard;^{[37][38][5][39]}Zemu, Warlord of the 5th Dimension;^[40]Paste Pot Pete;^[41][5][42]Acrobat;^[34][43]Wilhelm van Vile, the enigmaticPainter of 1000 Perils;^[44] theSorcerer of Glenville Woods;^[45] theAsbestos Man;^[46] the originalEel;^[47][48] thePlant Man;^[49][50] theSandman;^[51]the Puppet Master,^[52] the modern-day pirateCaptain Barracuda, whom Johnny defeated in the first of several team-ups with his super-heroic elemental oppositeIceman;^[53] theTerrible Trio,^[54] and theBeetle.^[55]

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.^[56] While Mike tried to move on with his life, Johnny did the same, dating fellow studentDorrie Evans, although she eventually grew tired of his constant disappearances and broke it off. Johnny met another teenage hero,Spider-Man, who broke into theBaxter Building hoping to impress the Fantastic Four.^[57] They clashed whenthe Fox framed Spider-Man for stealing a Da Vinci painting.^[58] Despite their early misunderstandings, the Torch had great respect for Spider-Man^[59] and the two eventually became good friends.

When theSuper-Skrull, possessing the combined powers of the Fantastic Four, attacked the team, the Human Torch managed to trap him inside a cave,^[60] 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.^[27] A trip to the Skrull homeworld and the death ofWarlord Morrat, the Skrull who authorized Franklin's murder, brought some measure of revenge,^[61] but this would not be the last time the Skrulls would interfere in Johnny's life.

College[]

After graduating high school, Johnny enrolled inMetro College, where he befriended his roommate,Wyatt Wingfoot.^[62] Wyatt joined Johnny and the Fantastic Four on a trip toWakanda, where they first encountered theBlack Panther and helped him defeatKlaw.^[63]

Around this time, Johnny met the youngInhumanCrystal.^[64] It was love at first sight, and Johnny, along with the rest of the Fantastic Four, helped her overthrow the mad Inhuman princeMaximus.^[65] Their love was passionate but short-lived, as Crystal returned toAttilan and marriedQuicksilver, the son ofMagneto, 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 theShe-Hulk.^{[citation needed]}

When Johnny's sister Sue and her husband Reed were separated, Johnny joined the Thing,Medusa andThundra 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 theMonocle, an agent of the megalomaniacEnclave, 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 theChampions of Xandar against the invading Skrulls. When Johnny's teammates were dying from a Skrull aging ray, Johnny destroyed the robotic assassinSkrull X, allowing the infirm Reed to use his weapon to reverse the aging.^{[citation needed]}

Frankie Raye[]

Hearing of the execution of David George Munson, his former high school classmate, Johnny helped theNYPD clear his name and nabbed several leading members of theMaggia criminal organization, includingHammerhead. After a brief relationship with auto mechanicLorrie Melton, Johnny fell forFrankie Raye, a woman who was desperately afraid of his flames.^[66][67] Frankie eventually discovered that her pyrophobia stemmed from being hypnotized by her late stepfather,Phineas Horton (creator of the androidHuman Torch), into forgetting that he had accidentally given her flame powers of her own. Johnny helped Frankie adjust to her rediscovered powers as their relationship blossomed, but whenGalactus returned to Earth, Frankie agreed to follow him into space as his new herald,Nova. Distraught, Johnny was comforted by Frankie's former roommate,Julie Angel, and began to have feelings for her. Confusing matters further, Julie's friend,Sharon Selleck, had a crush on Johnny. Julie eventually moved toCalifornia to continue her acting career, and nothing came of Sharon's crush.

Marriage[]

Johnny was briefly abducted by agents of theMessiah (Alden Maas) in his mad plot to expand the Earth by super-heating its core. Brought toBattleworld by theBeyonder during theSecret Wars and forced to battle various super-villains, Johnny met and was healed byZsaji, a native of the planet. Physically but not emotionally attracted to Zsaji, Johnny found an unlikely rival inColossus, who fell in love with the healer. Although Zsaji returned Johnny's affection at first, she eventually chose Colossus over the Torch, but then sacrificed her own life to rescue several dying heroes.^{[citation needed]}

Johnny returned to Earth, where he found himself drawn toAlicia Masters, the long-time girlfriend of Johnny's then-absent Fantastic Four teammate, the Thing. Johnny and Alicia's romance helped estrange the Thing from the Fantastic Four for a lengthy period. Johnny hit his lowest point when Tommy Hanson, a young fan of his, set himself on fire in an attempt to be more like his hero. Hearing of the boy's death, Johnny considered retiring as the Human Torch, but the Beyonder managed to talk him out of it.^[68] Eventually Johnny married Alicia, but a jealous Thing offered a spot in the Fantastic Four to Crystal, who was separated from Quicksilver at the time. Johnny's old feelings for Crystal slowly returned, but his love for Alicia enabled him to resist temptation, and Crystal eventually left the team.^{[citation needed]}

Despite their long and intimate relationship, Johnny was horrified to discover that the Alicia he loved and married was not the true Alicia Masters, but a Skrull imposter namedLyja. Originally sent to infiltrate and destroy the Fantastic Four, Lyja truly fell in love with Johnny and joined the Fantastic Four in confrontingPaibok, the Skrull who had kidnapped the real Alicia. Lyja seemingly sacrificed her life to protect Johnny, but her former lover Paibok nursed her back to health. Trying to move on from yet another failed relationship, Johnny enrolled atEmpire State University; butDevos, Paibok, and even Lyja attacked Johnny at ESU, forcing his powers to go nova, burning down a large section of the campus.^[69] Johnny briefly became a fugitive until Reed agreed to sell some of his patents to pay for the damages. Lyja returned to Johnny's life again, tricking him into believing she was carrying his baby. When this proved a lie as well, Johnny left her again.^{[citation needed]}

Continuing Adventures[]

Johnny briefly joined his nephewFranklin'sFantastic Force team, where he battled his virtually omnipotent extra-dimensional counterpartVangaard (formerly Gaard), convincing him to abandon his mission of eliminating redundant realities by showing him the hero he could become.^[70] 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.^{[citation needed]}

After Franklin Richards createdCounter-Earth and rescued the Fantastic Four, Avengers, and several other heroes from death at the hands ofOnslaught,Roma deemed Franklin too powerful to ignore, and sentTechnet and theCaptain 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.^[71]

While the rest of the Fantastic Four battled the Gideon Trust andAnnihilus in theNegative Zone, Johnny was forced to recruit a temporary Fantastic Four team consisting ofAnt-Man (Scott Lang), Johnny's on-and-off girlfriendNamorita (Namor's cousin), and the She-Hulk, who battled the Gideon Trust on Earth.^[72] When the cosmic entityAbraxas came to Earth-616, Johnny teamed with anextra-dimensional version of the now-deceased Frankie Raye to retrieve theUltimate 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. Doom saved both Sue and her daughter,Valeria.

Seeking an acting career, Johnny was cast as the Rawhide Kid in a summer blockbuster; but it was eventually decided he wasn't ready for the role, which was given to Lon Zelig (actually the Super-Skrull). Johnny 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, Johnny 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, Sue forced him to take a job as the Chief Financial Officer for Fantastic Four, Inc. Although initially in over his head, Johnny was able to stop a manufacturer from stealing the secret of Reed'sUnstable Molecule suits, and began to warm up to both the job and his co-worker, Jian Fetta.

Unfortunately, after a major battle with Doom, Reed attempted to claimLatveria for the Fantastic Four, an act that turned the United States government against them. To escape trial, the group was forced to sell many of their patents and holdings to the government, which left Johnny's wallet much emptier than usual and sent his popularity plummeting. 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, where they were attacked byHydro-Man. Easily defeating the villain and rescuing the park's popular mascot, Johnny found his popularity rising once more. 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 newFrightful Four. The Wizard escaped and took Cole with him, but Johnny remained hopeful about meeting her again.

An alien named Zius later came to Earth, the location of the one being in the universe who could nullify his Galactus-proof planet-cloaking invisibility shield, Susan Richards. 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 newHerald. Unwilling to lead Galactus to populated worlds, Johnny used his new powers to analyze Galactus and, with the help of the Fantastic Four andQuasar, managed to transform Galactus back into humanoid form. Johnny's power cosmic faded, but during Reed's subsequent efforts to reverse Sue and Johnny's power switch, a remnant of the power caused a flare-up that temporarily sent the Fantastic Four's powers into four random New Yorkers.^{[citation needed]}

Civil War[]

The super-humanCivil War split the team once again. Johnny was beaten into a brief coma during a visit to a nightclub, sparked by anger over theStamford disaster.^[73] When he finally awoke none of his teammates were there to greet him due to their duties of helpingIron Man's pro-registration faction. After the death ofBill Foster^[74] during a battle between the two factions, Johnny went with his sister, Sue, to joinCaptain America's "Secret Avengers". ThroughNick Fury's connections, the two were given new identities as husband and wife, which they accepted (with understandable reluctance).^[18]

At the end of the Civil War, Johnny and Sue returned to the Fantastic Four. Johnny and the Thing continued to serve on the team again, but this time with theBlack Panther and his new wifeStorm filling in while Reed and Sue took some time to reconcile.^[75]

Secret Invasion[]

During theSkrull Invasion, a Skrull invaded the Baxter Building, posing as Sue, and sent it into theNegative Zone, with Johnny, Ben, Franklin andValeria inside. When Johnny confronted the Skrull, she revealed herself to be his old flame, Lyja, who had been trying to keep them out of harm's way. When Ben, Johnny, Franklin, Val, and theTinkerer were ready to leave the Negative Zone she refused to leave, because she wanted to find out who she was.^[76]

Death & Return[]

While Reed and Sue were gone from the Baxter Building of their own important missions, a group known as theCult of the Negative Zone successfully made their way into the building and breached the portal to the Negative Zone. Once inside, the cult managed to unleash what seemed to be an endless army ofAnnihilusInsectoid Soldiers upon Johnny, the currently powerless Ben, and the kids of theFuture Foundation. Franklin revealed that he had his powers back by destroying the army and the group pushed into theNegative Zone, where the only way to hold the army off from getting through the door was to lock the door from their side and randomize the code so no one could get in or out. Ben was prepared to make the sacrifice, but Johnny threw him through the portal as he regained his powers.^[77] Johnny used his nova flame, but still couldn't burn the whole army and was captured. Annihilus demanded that Johnny opened the portal to Earth, but he refused and was killed.^[23]

Three times Johnny was resurrected by worms-healers, but every time he burned them before they had time to recover his body and he died again and again. Finally, worms have been able to recover his body, and Johnny was sent to prison, where he met with theLight Brigade. Together they escaped, attacked Annihilus and Johnny took away hisCosmic Control Rod. After that Johnny opened a portal to theBaxter Building and they all returned toEarth.^[23]

Then Johnny gathered the team drawing with fire the symbolical "4" at the sky above the Baxter Building. Reed, Sue, Ben and Peter boarded one of theAnnihilation Wave's ships controlled by Johnny, who used the rest of the ships to battle the Kree army until the Inhumans asked to finish them by their own hand.^[78] Meanwhile the other heroes on Earth where dealing with the scraps of the battle which could damage the Earth, Reed and Sue summons Galactus, who destroys completely the Kree army. That moment, theMad Celestials appeared to destroy this universe. Although the team tried to use the Hub (a weapon of mass destruction created by the Reeds), they couldn't defeat the Mad Celestials. Then, a future version ofFranklin andValeria appeared as part ofNathaniel Richards's plan.^[79] The Future Franklin used his power to heal Galactus and destroy the Mad Celestials, saving the day.^[80] Later, the Baxter Building was easily rebuilt, Mr. Fantastic showed a new secondary headquarters calledFoundation and new costumes were given to the members of the Future Foundation, as part of the reformation of the Fantastic Four.^[81]

When New York was invaded by monsters from the Counter-Earth, Johnny Storm sacrificed his powers in order to stop them.^[82] He managed to partially cope with the loss of his powers and focused on his musical career.^[83] During a second invasion caused by theQuiet Man, Johnny was helping some of the allies of the Fantastic Four escape from the Counter-Earth when the portals from it were closed by Mister Fantastic. The resulting radiation gave Johnny his powers back.^[84]

The Bearing of a Legacy[]

When the universe, and the entirety of theMultiverse, came to an end as a consequence of a phenomena known asincursions, Reed Richards was one of the few survivors.^[85] God Emperor Doom recreated Johnny and turned him into the sun for hisBattleworld.^[86][87] Later, Reed took omnipotent power from Battleworld's creator Doctor Doom and began to restore the Multiverse together with Sue and most of the Future Foundation.^[88] Since he knew Doom would eternally resent him, Reed altered his memories to make him think he was dead, hoping Victor would become a better man if he didn't pursue ultimate power and also believed his greatest rival to be gone. Reed decided to also alter the memories of the Human Torch and The Thing, leaving them behind on Earth-616 with Victor so they could keep him in check,^[89] while the rest of the Future Foundation went on a journey creating and charting new universes.^[88] Since Ben and Johnny believed the rest of their family to be dead, the Fantastic Four were disbanded.^[9]

The only remaining members of the Fantastic Four, Johnny and Ben, parted ways. Johnny started working with the Inhumans, and had a short-lived romance with Medusa herself,^[90] though it eventually fell apart when she attempted to return to her estranged husband Black Bolt.^[91] The Human Torch had joined theAvengers Unity Division as a representative of the Inhumans along with telepathSynapse,^[92] and remained as part of the team even after stopping collaborating with the Inhumans. During this time, Johnny grew close to the team's de facto leaderRogue.^[93] However, this quickly ended after his apparent death and when Rogue rekindled her relationship with Gambit.^[94]

Not long afterwards, Johnny gained full possession of Reed's patents and licensing fee settlements as his sole living heir, becoming a billionaire. He decided to invest that money in a series of charities and bursaries to support the development of a better world. He additionally bought the abandonedAvengers Mansion, which had become the headquarters of the Unity Division, establishing a company to manage the building and its staff.^[95]

Fate of the Four[]

In order to help Johnny cope with the loss of their family, Ben convinced him to go on a multiversal journey using theMultisect, claiming that the device could help them find their family.^[9] During their journey, Johnny found out that Ben didn't actually believe the rest of their family was alive.^[96] The duo eventually returned to their native universe empty-handed, though Johnny started to hold the wishful belief that his family wasn't gone.^[97] Ben and Johnny were reunited with Reed, Sue and the rest of the Future Foundation after Reed summoned them to help them fight a powerful being called theGriever at the End of All Things who repudiated the Future Foundation's mission of creating new universes, and confronted the team as soon as Franklin was depleted of his ability to create entirely new realities.^[98] After the Griever was driven away, the Future Foundation continued their multiveral travels, but Reed, Sue, Franklin and Valeria returned with Ben and Johnny to Earth.^[99]

Shortly after the return of the Fantastic Four, Reed sought to resume the team's first flight and Johnny helped him build theMarvel-2, a re-creation of the original rocketship.^[29] When the Fantastic Four reached their original destination, the planet Spyre, they faced a group of superpowered protectors named theUnparalleled, who had been imbued with cosmic radiation to face the Fantastic Four. Spyricans had been aware of the team's initial failed attempt to reach their planet and had prepared for a second try.^[100]

The Human Torch encounteredKaila, who had become the winged member of the Unparalleled named Sky, and they recognized the connection between each other.^[30] The Fantastic Four initially became at odds with the patriarch of Spyre, theOverseer, after discovering that he had been responsible for the cosmic ray storm that gave them powers during their first flight due to an attempt to scuttle their mission.^[101] After making peace with the Spyricans, the Fantastic Four returned to Earth, and they were joined by Sky, who decided to try to make her destined relationship with Johnny work.^[102]

Despite Johnny's eventual commitment to his relationship with Sky,^[103] Johnny cheated on her withZora Vukovic, the alter-ego of Latverian champion Victorious. Victorious was subsequently proposed to by Doctor Doom in a political move to entrust Latveria with a queen.^[104] The Fantastic Four were invited to the ceremony and Zora ended up admitting her fling with Johnny at the altar.^[105] Doom lashed out in response and used a machine called theArmagedron to bombard Johnny with concentrated cosmic rays, overloading his powers so that he couldn't turn off his flame.^[106]

Unable to stand living with a body that was constantly on fire, Johnny attempted to smother his flames first by diving deep underwater and then flying into outer space, but both attempts failed. Reed later told Johnny that his flames were fueled by the absorption of ambient cosmic energy and no longer required oxygen.^[107]

Reckoning War[]

WhenBrotherhood of the Badoon invaded Earth following the destruction of the Moon, Reed realized that the Badoon were supplied with the same weapons theCotati used to unleash theirinvasion. Johnny and the Fantastic Four traveled into Earth orbit to search for theWatcher's Citadel and unexpectedly encountered Nick Fury, who had been helping the Watcher monitor the actions of theReckoning, the group responsible for handing out the weapons to the Cotati and the Badoon.

After Reed learned about the history of the Reckoning from theCyclopedia Universum,^[108] he began using his new knowledge to coordinate a plan to stop the Reckoning. Johnny wanted to help the planet of Spyre when it was attacked by Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave, but Reed refused. So, Johnny left on his own for Spyre and help turn the tide against Annihilus and his forces. Johnny then rallied Spyre to help him fight the Reckoning.^[109]

Johnny and Spyre aided other civilizations and heroes of the cosmos fight the Reckoning and the hostile races the Reckoning armed and then made their way toPlanet T-37X, the home planet of the Watchers where the Reckoning were launching their final assault. The Reckoning and their allies were eventually defeated when Reed destroyed their leaderWrath with the Ultimate Nullifier. When Johnny asked Reed to use his newfound knowledge to restore his powers to normal, Reed admitted that he lost the knowledge after using the Ultimate Nullifier. Angry for losing his chance to return to a normal life, Johnny decided to live on Spyre where a cure for his ailment was being developed.^[110] Eventually, a machine was created that reversed cosmic ray mutations, which Johnny used to restore his powers to their original levels. Johnny then returned to living on Earth.^[111]

Fantastic Four No More[]

During an invasion of aliens from the Negative Zone on the Baxter Building, Reed decided to teleport the building one year into the future, causing the aliens to be stranded in space since by that Earth along with the solar system would have moved through space. However, Reed and Sue's children, Franklin and Valeria remained inside the Baxter Building alongside Ben's adopted childrenJo-Venn andN'Kalla, meaning that the kids would be gone for an entire year. Heartbroken by this, the Four became infuriated over Reed's calmness, and coupled with the scorn the public had for the Fantastic Four, the team disbanded.^[112]

Going on their separate lives, Johnny took the identity of Jonathan Fairweather since no one wanted to hire him, while he kept acting as a hero despite being illegal. As Jonathan he was employed by the ShopLand, but during his work he noticed that his fellow employees were working under miserable conditions. As Human Torch, he decided to confront their bossMr. Merrill. However, to his surprise, he found that Merrill had previously been a Maggia thug that he had hunted down early in his career. Merrill, having figured out that the Human Torch was unwilling to harm anyone, beat the hero up before punching him outside his apartment. Knowing he had to find another way to take Merrill down, Johnny revealed his real identity to his coworkers, but they had already figured it out. Together they planned to protest outside of Merrill's apartment, and once drawing him outside, Johnny trapped him and himself inside a freezer. While fighting, Johnny revealed to Merrill that he had kept him occupied in order to buy enough time for his coworkers to ravage through his office and find incriminating evidence.^[13]

Johnny, eventually regrouped with his teammates when they were forced to fight a parasitic alien. During the battle, the Four relived the painful moment of the Baxter Building's disappearance, but despite this they were able to overcome the influence and defeat it. From this battle, Johnny realized that Reed was also suffering the loss of his children and faked being calm in the first place since this was what it was expected of him. Reconciling with each other, the Fantastic Four was reformed.^[112]

Relationships[]

Plasma Generation: Johnny Storm has the superhuman ability tocontrol ambient heat energy and the physical ability totransform his entire body, or portions of his body into a fiery, plasma-like state at will, becomingThe Human Torch. While the cells of a normal human body convert energy from foodstuffs into a form of energy usable by the body, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cosmic ray bombardment triggered a specific genetic code rearrangement that caused the Human Torch's ATP production sites to generate a new form of energy containing molecule dubbed adenine ribo-heptaphosphine (AR-HP) by Reed Richards. This complex molecule is a much more efficient fuel source and not only provides ordinary bodily energy but contains large stores of latent chemical-bonding energies. His superheated plasma state manifests a flame in oxygen-rich environments at a relatively low heat intensity, but can reach much higher temperature if needed.^[126] The energy used to support his low-level plasma is small; only when the Human Torch wills his flame to a higher level does the majority of surplus energy with the AR-HP complex become involved. In its plasma state, The Torch's body is no longer solid; projectiles that are not melted pass harmlessly through his body. When actively using his powers Johnny is actually converting into a moderate-density, plasma-like state that is regulated by a subconscious mental field and can be modified by an act of will. When sufficient quantities of energy are consumed, the Torch unavoidably reverts to his solid state.^{[citation needed]}

• Fire Generation andManipulation: The Human Torch can shape the flame from his body into forms such as streams, spheres or even skywriting. These flames require his concentrations to maintain their current shape and will burn out in approximately 3 minutes unless infused with additional flame.^[126] He also possesses a limited ability to manipulate fire not generated by his body.^[127]
  • Nova Flame: The Torch refers to his highest, hottest levels of plasma that he can create as his "nova flame." The exact temperatures that his "nova flame" can attain are not known. At an average rate of expenditure of energy, the Torch can stay aflame for about 16.8 hours. In his younger days, he could only maintain his flame for much briefer periods, and sometimes exhausted it while in combat. He cannot maintain his "nova flame" for as long a time as he can maintain his ordinary flame. The Torch can release all of his body's stored energy in one intense, omni-directional "nova-burst," which can reach about 1,000,000 F, and which is similar to the heat-pulse of a nuclear warhead detonation, with an area of total devastation of about 900 feet in diameter and the power of a super nova. (The Torch has claimed that he can destroy a small moon with his nova-flame.) This violent discharge uses his entire reserve of energy (except for the necessary to keep him alive) at once, entirely exhausting his flame power. He generally requires at least 12 hours to recover entirely from such a feat.^[128]
• Pyrokinetic Flight: When aflame, the Human Torch is surrounded by a cloud of mono-atomic hydrogen exuded by his plasma, which enables him to float in the air. In this state, he can gainspeed and maneuver by forming a flame jet from his feet, giving himself a regular flight speed of 140 miles per hour, which can be accelerated up to supersonic speeds capable of catching up with the Silver Surfer while in the Earth's orbit. He can also discharge concussive blasts of heat most notably in the case of his human candle punch, and lift to carry up to 180 pounds.^[128]
• Superhuman Durability: The Human Torch is extremely durable due to his plasma state converstion. He was able to shake off a punch from Gladiator, and has taken multiple punches from Namor and Hammerhead.^[127]

Heat Manipulation andAbsorption: Johnny Storm can manipulate the temperature of objects and environment within his range even when not aflame. He can both raise and lower the temperature, as well as extinguish open flames by absorbing them into his body.^[128] The Human Torch can absorb heat from external sources.^[128] When flyingUltron/Hank Pym towards theSun, he tried to absorb the heat to protectRogue and theWasp.^[129]

• Immunity toFire andHeat: The Human Torch is immune to heat and fire both from himself and from outside sources that is below his own maximum output, even when not actively aflame.^[128]
• Cold Resistance: Johnny Storm seems to have a degree of resistance to cold. When he was in Antarctica, all he could do was a jacket, a bathing suit, and some cowboy boots and even swam in the water of Antarctica - and he showed no signs of cold or discomfort at all.

• Expert Mechanic: An expert mechanic since his teens, Johnny was able to totally overhaul a car's transmission by the age of 15. His design and mechanical acumen went into the creation of the Fantasticar Model-2.^[128]
• Driving: Johnny also has experience as a professional race car driver.^[128]
• Hand-to-Hand Combat: Johnny is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant^[128] and has received training from the Thing.^[130]

• Fantastic Four Power Synergism: The original members of the Fantastic Four are tethered to each other, and act as as their own conduits of power. They can be apart within their own universe and retain a connection, but prolonged periods cut off from each other in other universes result in a gradual decline in power levels. If they spend too much time separated this way, they would eventually become powerless.^[131]

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: After being painfully killed and resurrected for over two years by Annihilus,^[23] Johnny was still haunted by the memories of those events.^[132]

Energy Depletion: At an average rate of expenditure of energy, the Torch can maintain his plasma state for about 16.8 hours before he is forced to revert to his solid state.

Physical Condition: The Human Torch's physical condition (health, injury or exhaustion) also limits his flame's duration.

Fire Extinguishing: The Human Torch's flame is supported by the presence of oxygen, and thus is extinguished in low air pressure or a vacuum. The Torch's flame can be extinguished by smothering materials, such as water, sand, fire-fighting foam, and heat-resistant blankets, unless his flame is at such an intensity that it immediately vaporizes such materials on contact. If hit with small amounts of water, up to about five gallons, the Torch can turn it to steam with relatively little effort. More water than that could extinguish his flame at its normal level, and he would have to wait until he could evaporate the residual moisture before re-ignition.

Fantastic Four Uniforms

Main article:Fantastic Four Uniforms

The Human Torch's costume, and the rest of his wardrobe, is constructed ofunstable molecules, which are attuned to his powers, allowing it to become burst into flame when he does. The Human Torch's costume has a complete data processing and telemetry system woven into its fabric on a molecular level, making it a wearable computer. The costume forms a network with the rest of the Fantastic Four, providing a constant, real time uplink of everyone’s physical condition as well as their location and current situation. The costume is capable of displaying data and has touch-pad controls on the gauntlets. Its sensors can track all of the team’s uniforms and provide a picture of their immediate vicinity. The costume has an intricate scanner system which can detect things around the wearer, from how many people are in the next room to what dimension or planet they are on.

Cosmic Control Rod (formerly)

Main article:Cosmic Control Rod

Universal Translator

Main article:Universal Translator

• The Human Torch was one of the characters featured in Series A of the Marvel Value Stamps issued in the 1970's.

• The powers of all of the Fantastic Four are based on one of the four elements, with Johnny's element being fire.
• Since Johnny burns off any dirt or germs in his body when he flames on, he hasn't had the actual need to brush his teeth or take a shower since he gained his powers.^[8]

• InFantastic Four S1E11 from the1994 cartoon, Johnny sings an original song that became rather infamous in real life and it is sometimes joked about in the comics. Johnny is said to be the best singer of the Fantastic Four, with "the voice of an angel,"^[97] and the song from the cartoon is his ringtone.^[13]
• Johnny drinks his tea black, with three sugars.^[68]
• In 2016, writerMarjorie Liu confirmed Johnny andDaken were intentionally written with sexual tension inDaken: Dark Wolverine #4 due to her belief that they previously had a physical relationship.^[135] Whether or not this was meant to be a result of Daken's pheromones powers, or Johnny being written as bisexual was not clarified.
• After his nephew Franklin dyed his hair black, Johnny approved of it, stating "We've got enough blondes in this family."^[136]
• While working on a 1957 T-Bird,Wolverine noted that Johnny smelled like Dr. Brandt and motor oil, and was chewingOrbit gum.^[137]

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