With the whole Fantastic 4 set to appear in the big event this December, we’re continuing our spotlight series with the literal hothead of the group: Johnny Storm (the Human Torch). While Johnny is not as overlooked as his sister, he’s still just as underestimated. Although, to be fair, his cocky, impulsive, and joking nature can make people forget many of Johnny’s better qualities. And it’s distractions like these that make people (including me) forget how valuable Johnny is to the team, in more ways than one. In fact, I’d even argue he’s just as much the heart of the team as Susan is.
Origins
And just like his sister, Johnny’s heart wouldn’t simply form overnight. As I’ve explained in my Invisible Woman article, Susan and Johnny’s mom died in a horrific car crash, while their dad would eventually end up in prison for murder, and the siblings would live with their aunt in her boarding house. However, while this would lead Susan to take on a more parental role in their relationship, Johnny would spend most of his life hiding behind his humor and recklessness. This would explain why he got into racing and stunts at an early age, as well as anything that gave him an adrenaline rush, if it meant distracting him from the negativity. But despite developing this brash personality, it didn’t diminish Johnny’s potential or character in the slightest. For instance, underneath all the confidence and thrill-seeking, he deeply cares about Susan. This is no surprise, since Susan practically raised him in place of their mother, but this would also cause Johnny to grow more attached to her. He would strive to protect her in any way, from guys interested in her to accompanying her in dangerous situations (more on these things later).
But I believe the one thing that doesn’t get talked about enough is how smart Johnny is (to a degree). For example, when he was only fifteen years old, he was able to take apart and put back together one of the most complicated parts of a car (the transmission), which is already an insane task for the most talented and knowledgeable mechanics. Sure, this wouldn’t put him on Reed’s level, but this still shows how smart and capable Johnny is, especially when it comes to machines. Perhaps it’s this quality, aside from Johnny’s recklessness, that would stick in Reed Richards’ mind when he first met the siblings at the boarding house.
Naturally, Johnny would be very protective of Susan when she first started dating Reed. And even when he wasn’t, he’d still give Reed a hard time simply because he’s Johnny. However, as time went on, Johnny would come to respect and even look up to Reed because of his high IQ and also the way he treated Susan. They wouldn’t grow closer, though, until that fateful day when Reed planned to go to space. By this point, Reed had already invited Susan to go with him, found Ben Grimm to pilot the craft, and kept the operation hush-hush due to government threats of cancelling the project. Therefore, in an effort to look out for Susan, but also mainly because it sounded awesome and was a way to achieve fame, Johnny insisted on coming along. After the cosmic rays altered everyone on the ship, Johnny gained his signature fire powers and became a member of the Fantastic Four. He would call himself the Human Torch, based on the android hero (Jim Hammond) who went by the same name during World War II.
Powers and Abilities
Most of you already know that Johnny can light himself on fire and also fly, but it turns out that it’s not that simple. In fact, the only way Johnny can actually do either of those things is by converting his body into a plasma-like state. Once he achieves this form, he’s able to use a new molecule that was rewritten into his DNA by the cosmic rays: adenine ribo-heptaphosphine (AR-HP). This basically converts the natural biological energy in his body into pure heat, allowing him to ignite said plasma, shoot fire, and even absorb or manipulate it as pyrokinesis. However, even this is just the tip of the iceberg! Johnny’s plasma form allows his body to become a less-solid state, meaning that most projectiles or blows can pass through him with little to no effect. This doesn’t make him completely intangible, though, because he can also control the density of his body so he can still punch opponents or carry people to safety. The final gimmick of his plasma state is how it allows him to fly: since his body generates a cloud of mono-atomic hydrogen, making the air around him an ionized, superheated medium he can push against. That’s when he can propel himself through the sky by shooting a flame stream through his feet or hands, giving him the ability to reach speeds up to 180 mph and even catch up to beings like the Silver Surfer.
However, by far his greatest power is the one he uses when he stops holding back. One he only uses when he has finally run out of options: the Nova Flame. This special ability is achieved when Johnny builds up all the thermal energy in his body to its maximum limit and then releases it in a massive explosion or a controlled blast. According to sites like marvel.fandom.com, this burst is equal to the detonation of a nuclear warhead, reaching temperatures of about a million degrees Fahrenheit (I’m not even joking, that’s literally what it says) and impacting areas in a radius of about 900 feet. But Johnny’s Nova Flame can go even hotter, because this attack has been compared to reach the temperatures of stars! This allows him to nuke enemies, melt through armor or other battle equipment, and even give him a chance against cosmic forces. Basically, he can become an atomic bomb if he needs to, and that requires a lot of restraint and control to avoid reaching that level at any moment. (On a personal note, I don’t know why Marvel doesn’t call it “supernova,” since that fits way better and Johnny even shouts it as his ultimate move in Marvel Rivals, but whatever lol)
And yet, despite having the potential to become a living star, there’s always a caveat to such power. I hate repeating myself, but like his sister and brother-in-law, one of Johnny’s greatest weaknesses is when he pushes himself too far. For instance, as previously stated, the AR-HP molecules can convert his biological energy into thermal energy. But the more heat he generates and uses, the more energy the AR-HP has to supply and stabilize the body. That’s one reason why the Nova Flame is always the last resort, as Johnny has to rest for at least 12 hours after each burst. Then, of course, possessing the power of an atomic bomb means Johnny risks harming civilians/teammates or destroying the surrounding area. Even his lower-level attacks could be dangerous if he isn’t careful. However, none of them will even reach that potential if Johnny finds himself in an environment that could hinder his powers. Anywhere with a horribly low level of air, too much cold (or cold attacks), and (obviously) water could snuff out his flames if not weaken them significantly. Finally, just like Susan’s, Johnny’s powers’ effectiveness also depends on his mental/emotional state. If he’s too anxious, angry, or lets any other emotion overtake him, Johnny’s control will slip, and he could either cause greater harm or become unable to use his powers at all. But don’t let these setbacks or his immaturity fool you; Johnny has incredible control of his powers and can go toe-to-toe with formidable opponents, which says way more about Johnny than his less desirable traits do.
Greatest Feats
While Johnny may be a goofball a lot of the time, he’s always there whenever his family or his planet needs him. For example, in 1966’s “Galactus Trilogy” of comics, Galactus arrives on Earth for the first time and is ready to devour the planet. Apparently, the situation was so bad that the Watcher himself (who normally doesn’t get involved in events) stepped in to help. After informing the Fantastic Four about Galactus’s possession of the Ultimate Nullifier, the only device capable of defeating him, the Watcher teleports Johnny onto Galactus’s ship to steal it. Now, think about it for a moment: Johnny was just dropped onto a vessel beyond human comprehension, has to navigate said vessel to steal a powerful god-killing weapon, all while knowing Earth is in the balance, and he could die if he’s caught. Yet despite all of this, Johnny found a way through the ship and also found the Nullifier, which Reed used as a bluff to get Galactus to leave Earth. Sure, Johnny may not have fought Galactus or even blown up his ship, but he was still crucial in a plot to save the world from Galactus’s first attack. His next feat, though, wasn’t as heroic, but it’s still just as iconic. In the 2015 edition of “Secret Wars,” Dr. Doom stole the powers of the Beyonders and created a new version of Battleworld, ruling it as an all-powerful emperor. However, when Johnny rebelled against this, Doom punished him by amplifying his powers to such an extreme level that he became a literal sun for Battleworld. Johnny may not have reached this potential on his own, but the fact that he actually became a star for the whole planet to revolve around is still crazy! What’s crazier is how he remained in that state for YEARS until Reed and Franklin rebuilt the multiverse and saved everyone. Even so, Johnny already had the potential to get as hot as a star, so imagine if he ever found out how to actually become one without Doom’s help!
However, both of these feats pale in comparison to what is possibly Johnny’s greatest and most iconic moment in the history of the Fantastic Four comics. In the 587th issue of the Fantastic Four comics, the Earth was under attack by a massive insectoid army (the Annihilation Wave, led by a being known as Annihilus) from another dimension (the Negative Zone). Reed and Susan were off on another mission, so Ben, Johnny, and the Future Foundation served as the world’s protectors. But it wouldn’t be long before they realized the devastating truth: to stop the Annihilation Wave, someone would have to stay behind in the Negative Zone and shut down the portal on that side, which would be suicidal. Yet Johnny didn’t hesitate. He made sure Ben and the others made it through before shutting down the portal, igniting into a supernova one last time. Johnny wouldn’t die, though, as Annihilus would resurrect him to fight in gladiatorial arenas. But since no one else knew that yet, Johnny’s death hit them HARD. Susan surrounded herself with an impenetrable force field so no one could talk to her, Reed kept going over what he could’ve done differently (even considering using the Ultimate Nullifier on Annihilus and getting Johnny back), and Spider-Man even came to comfort Franklin and bond over losing an uncle as well. However, Ben had the worst of it. Since Johnny and Ben were like brothers by this point, nothing anyone said or did could help Ben. So instead, Hulk and Thor took Ben out to the desert and helped him deal with it the only way he could: by letting Ben duke it out with them until he collapsed into a sobbing wreck. If this doesn’t show how important Johnny is to the group, then I don’t know what will.
Conclusion
You can never truly judge a book by its cover when it comes to these characters. Johnny is more than just the literal hotheaded fireball that most media portrays him as. Yes, he has the potential of a nuclear bomb, but his presence is so essential that the atmosphere becomes unbearably heavy when he’s gone. Once again, I hate to repeat myself, but I love getting to write about these characters so I can find out just how underrated they are and see what makes them tick. This is what makes me excited to see how Joseph Quinn’s portrayal of the character responds to the MCU’s debut of Doom this coming year!
