Johnny Storm
Johnny Storm is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Jonathan Storm was the son of Franklin Storm and Mary Storm with him having an older sister named Susan Storm. Their father was a brilliant surgeon and a respected member of the medical community where during travel to a dinner he lost control over his vehicle after the tyre blew out. Though Franklin survived, his wife Mary was critically injured and despite his efforts he was unable to save his wife on the operating table. The shock caused him to withdraw from life as he gave up his medical practice and began to blame himself for his Mary's death. (Fantastic Four v1 #32)
At age 15, Johnny's life took a strange turn when Harry Brandeis, a professor of religious studies and father of Sue's friend Cammie, Johnny boyhood crush, was slain while examining the Amulet of Zarathos. Shortly after his death, Johnny sneaked into the Brandeis house to snoop around the crime scene and came into contact with the amulet, which bonded to him as the demon Zarathos sought to make Johnny his Spirit of Vengeance. (Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms v1 #3) This made Johnny the target of St. Germaine, who sought to claim the amulet for his master Dracula who was trapped in his Transylvanian castle with a stake in his heart. At Henry's funeral, St. Germaine and his minions went after Johnny, but he was saved thanks to Sue and Henry's brother-in-law Max Parrish, who sought to solve the mystery surrounding his brother-in-law's death. (Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms v1 #1)
When Johnny was 16, he followed his sister to Central City, California. By this time, Sue was the fiancée of scientist Reed Richards who had been developing a rocket that operated on a hyper-drive technology. However, just as the Reed neared completion of the rocket, the government pulled the plug. Reed was determined to fly the rocket before the government could shut him down; Reed's pilot Ben Grimm warned that the ship wasn't properly shielded against radiation, but Reed pressed along anyway. Not wishing Reed to go alone, Sue insisted on coming along. Reed planned to embark on a mission on the first faster-than-light rocketship to reach an Earth-like planet called Spyre 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. (Fantastic Four v6 #14)
Fantastic Four
Johnny Storm sat inside a local automobile repair garage tuning a high-performance sports car engine until he witnessed a massive, unique geometric signal flare burst into the sky directly above Central City, immediately identifying the glowing emblem as the emergency call of Reed Richards. He abruptly abandoned his mechanical tools and ran out into the street, shouting his signature command to ignite his entire biological matrix into a blazing plasma state before launching himself vertically into the sky to fly toward the meeting coordinates. His sudden, flaming aerial transit through the metropolitan airspace inadvertently incited widespread civilian panic, prompting the United States military to automatically scramble a squadron of high-velocity jet fighters to intercept and neutralize the flying anomaly. Johnny Storm utilized his supreme aerial maneuvering to completely outpace the military aircraft, intentionally releasing an intense wave of localized thermal energy that safely melted the pursuing jets' wing structures, which forced the pilots to safely eject over the open ocean. Before the military could launch a secondary atomic missile strike to obliterate him, Reed Richards extended his elongated limbs to safely seize the projectile and hurl it out to sea, allowing Johnny Storm to land safely at a central tower to reunite with his older sister Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, and Reed Richards. Once gathered, the four individuals formally recounted the exact events of their shared extra-terrestrial origin. Prior to their transformation, Johnny Storm had sneaked aboard an unauthorized, experimental rocket ship alongside his sister to support Reed Richards’ high-stakes space flight to beat a rival global power into orbit. Once in outer space, the unshielded hull was completely bombarded by a sudden belt of cosmic radiation, which heavily penetrated the cabin and forced the spacecraft to crash-land back on Earth. Upon emerging from the wreckage, Johnny Storm discovered that his body had drastically altered, automatically bursting into a sentient flame when stimulated by intense adrenaline. After swearing a mutual pact to safeguard humanity alongside his companions as the newly formed Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm accepted the permanent code name of the Human Torch and joined the team’s very first official investigation into a series of massive subterranean cave-ins that had completely destroyed nuclear energy installations across the globe. The tracking telemetry led the team directly to a remote, uncharted location known as Monster Isle, where Johnny Storm utilized his pyrokinetic blasts to fend off a legion of massive, multi-limbed prehistoric beasts controlled by the Mole Man. Working in absolute tactical unison with his teammates, Johnny Storm funneled his intense thermal streams to drive back the massive monsters and collapse the primary sub-surface entrance networks, successfully neutralizing the underground threat and safeguarding the planet from future subterranean incursions. (Fantastic Four v1 #1)
Fantastic Inc.
Future Foundation
He then had to contend with the machinations of the Quiet Man where Johnny helped in several allies of the Fantastic Four escape from Counter-Earth via portals before they were sealed by Mister Fantastic. (Fantastic Four v1 #645)
Avenger
Both Johnny and Ben came to believe that the rest of the Fantastic Four were dead where they came to struggle with this loss. (Marvel 2-In-One v1 #1)
The Human Torch came to devote his efforts in other endeavours where he came to be romantically involved with Queen Medusa of the Inhumans. (Uncanny Inhumans v1 #1)
Around this time, he came to serve on the Avengers Unity Division where he served as a representative of the Inhumans alongside Psynapse. (Uncanny Avengers v3 #1)
Johnny Storm later gained full possession of Reed's patents and licensing fee settlements as his sole living heir thus becoming a billionaire. He decided to invest that money in a series of charities and bursaries to support the development of a better world. In addition, he came to buy the abandoned Avengers Mansion that was the headquarters of the Unity Division where he came to establish a company to manage the building and its staff. (Uncanny Avengers v3 #28)
Return of the Four
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Johnny Storm was a slender, athletic human teenager who possessed fair skin, short, neatly styled blonde hair, and highly alert blue eyes set within a youthful facial structure. When operating in his baseline human form, he dressed in standard civilian attire consisting of a light-coloured collared button-up shirt, a casual jacket, and durable trousers suitable for automotive mechanics. Upon consciously activating his unique biological transformation, his physical appearance altered completely, shifting into a towering, weightless humanoid silhouette composed entirely of crackling, bright orange plasma and brilliant yellow flames. In this transformed state, his standard human facial features, skin, and clothing were entirely obscured beneath a thick, moving mantle of fire, leaving only a glowing, lumpy muscular outline visible to onlookers. The intensity of his exterior flame matrix fluctuated based on his immediate emotional output and mental concentration, naturally shedding brilliant white-hot sparks and thick thermal vapor trails into the surrounding air whenever he propelled himself forward through space. (Fantastic Four v1 #1)
He had an older sister by the name of Susan Storm. (Fantastic Four v1 #1)
Later on, he came to be romantically involved with Queen Medusa of the Inhuman Royal Family. (Uncanny Inhumans v1 #1)
Powers and abilities
Johnny Storm was originally an ordinary human being where he came to be a pilot. Johnny Storm was born a member of the human race where he gained extraordinary superhuman capabilities following an intense, accidental exposure to cosmic radiation during an unauthorized space flight. His primary attribute was complete body plasma manipulation, which granted him the absolute ability to consciously envelop his entire physical frame inside a layer of sentient, low-density fire without causing thermal harm to his own biological cells or internal organs. In this flaming configuration, he possessed the capacity for high-speed thermal flight, allowing him to launch himself vertically into the atmosphere and navigate complex aerial coordinates by precisely channeling the kinetic thrust of his external plasma streams. He possessed advanced pyrokinesis, enabling him to project high-velocity thermal blasts, intense sheets of fire, and concentrated streams of heat from his hands to effortlessly melt reinforced metals, vaporize physical hazards, and incinerate incoming ballistic projectiles mid-air. His transformed state provided an extraordinary degree of environmental thermal immunity, rendering his body entirely impervious to extreme heat sources, open flames, and external concussive blasts that would instantly incinerate normal biological tissue. Additionally, he possessed exceptional practical automotive skills, retaining an advanced mechanical knowledge of high-performance internal combustion engines, vehicular tuning, and structural car design that allowed him to modify civilian transport vehicles with elite precision. (Fantastic Four v1 #1)
During a mission into space, he was exposed to cosmic rays that allowed his body to catch on fire and he gained the power of flight as he became lighter than air. (Fantastic Four v1 #1)
Even when he did not flame on, his body was noted to be at a high temperature that could burn someone who touched him. Johnny was said to be able to keep his body heat high through sheer willpower even when he was submerged in water. (Strange Tales v1 #107)
He could increase the intensity of his flames until it reached the exploding heat of an exploding sun in a move he called Supernova. The flame surrounding him was so hot that it could evaporate water in the ocean and form an air pocket for the Human Torch allowing him to go deep underwater. However, the move required a lot of effort with him only able to maintain this heat for a couple of minutes before his flame burnt out. (Strange Tales v1 #107)
Notes
- The Human Torch Johnny Storm was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Fantastic Four v1 #1 (November, 1961).
Alternate Versions
- In Spider-Gwen v1 #7 (2016), an alternate version of Johnny Storm appeared in the Spider-Gwen universe that was designated as Earth-65. Johnny and Susan's family were stars of a television series called the Fantastic Four.
In other media
Television
- In Fantastic Four, the Human Torch appeared in the 1967 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Jack Flounders.
- In Fantastic Four, the Human Torch appeared in the 1990s animated television series where he was voiced by actor Brian Austin Green in the first season and by Quinton Flynn in the second season.
- In Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, the Human Torch appeared in the 2006 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Christopher Jacot.
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Human Torch appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor David Kaufman.
Films
- In Fantastic Four, the Human Torch appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Chris Evans.
- In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the Human Torch appeared in the live-action film sequel where he was once again portrayed by actor Chris Evans.
- In Fantastic Four, the Human Torch appeared in the setting of the live-action film reboot where he was portrayed by actor Michael B. Jordan.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the Human Torch appeared as a playable character in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Josh Keaton.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, the Human Torch appeared as a playable character in the Facebook video game.
- In Marvel Heroes, the Human Torch was initially a playable character in the setting of the MMORPG where he was voiced by actor Matthew Yang King.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, the Human Torch appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, the Human Torch appeared as a playable character in the "Shadow of Doom" DLC where he was voiced again by actor Matthew Yang King
Appearances
- Fantastic Four v1: (1961)
- Strange Tales v1:
- Uncanny Inhumans v1:
- Uncanny Avengers v3:
- Marvel 2-In-One v1:
- Fantastic Four v6:
External Links
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