Let's see how much of a Human Torch Fan you are! Here are One Dozen Human Torch Facts!
1. Before the creation of The Fantastic Four in 1961, the mantle of "The Human Torch" was held by an android named Jim Hammond who was a hero in 1939. That Human Torch worked alongside Captain America and Namor The Sub-Mariner on The Invaders. Ironically, Namor would return as the ally/enemy of Johnny and The Fantastic Four.
2. In 1961, Johnny Storm's fire form was seen as a human-shaped flurry of flames. In 1963 all the reprints of previous "Fantastic Four" issues his form was changed to a completely red human surrounded in flames. This was done to distinct him from Jim Hammond's fire form which matches the flurry of flames.
3. The Human Torch was the first member of The Fantastic Four to individualize his uniform. First in 1973 when he wore a red and gold variation of the Fantastic Four uniform for twenty-seven issues. This costume was a homage to the original Human Torch. His second costume was yellow and black with a new fire symbol. He donned this suit in 2016 when he joined The Uncanny Avengers.
4. Johnny Storm has dated both Crystal and Medusa of The Inhumans. Those two characters are sisters and members of The Royal Inhuman Family. Crystal also had a brief marriage to the character Quicksilver who would later become a teammate of Johnny on The Uncanny Avengers.
5. Johnny had once married Alicia Masters, the former love interest of Johnny's teammate and best friend Ben Grimm/The Thing. Alicia turned out to be a shapeshifting alien called a Skrull, but that was revealed decades later so the initial idea was that Johnny just stole Ben's love interest.
6. The event "Civil War" was kickstarted by an incident in Stamford, Connecticut where over 600 civilians-including 60 children-were killed in a fight between superheroes and super-villains. Due to these events, the superhero community was met with much criticism by the general public. This was made apparent when Johnny Storm had a bottle broken over his head at a night club by a civilian who blamed "people like him" for all those deaths. This was reflective of public response after September 11th where Muslims were met with violence and paranoia by the general public.
7. When The Fantastic Four first formed Johnny was sixteen years old. Johnny was around the same age as Spider-Man so the two of them grew up experiencing different superhero careers as well as remaining close friends. Spider-Man was grounded and worked alone, while Johnny had cosmic adventures and worked on a team. Recently, Peter Parker bought The Baxter's Building just so when Johnny's teammates Reed and Sue come back to Earth they will still have their home.
8. Johnny Storm had a brief career as an actor. He was almost cast in a Western called "The Rawhide Kid" (named after the Marvel character), but lost the role to someone else. Someone who turned out to be a Skrull, by the way. After doing some commercials he spent time as a firefighter and the Chief Financial Officer for The Fantastic Four. He was also a car mechanic and a herald of Galactus.
9. Chris Evans portrayed Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" in 2005. In 2011, Chris Evans was cast as Captain America and continued to be Captain America in The Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2015, Johnny Storm/The Human Torch was portrayed by Micheal B. Jordan in Fox's third swing "Fan4stic". Michael B. Jordan will be playing a character named Killmonger in 2018's "Black Panther" as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'm sensing a pattern here.
10. The Fantastic Four had an animated series in 1978, but The Human Torch was replaced with a new character named HERBIE. HERBIE was the robot servant of The Fantastic Four who stuck around in the comics after the show. The common myth is that the TV network was afraid seeing The Human Torch would influence kids into lighting themselves on fire to imitate him, but the actual reason The Human Torch was left out was because there was a Human Torch film in production that never came to light. The character of Firestar was created for "Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends" in 1981 because the showrunners originally wanted to use The Human Torch as the third superhero alongside Spider-Man and Iceman, but the rights to the Human Torch were "all tied up" at that time. Firestar would be brought to the comics after this cartoon. Again, patterns.
11. Johnny Storm attended lectures about fire safety to learn more about his powers. He's learned how to make his flames non-harmful to people he touches. His control of heat extends to his entire body as he has heated liquids in his palm multiple times and once burned poison out his blood stream through force of will.
12. In the Ultimate Comics universe, that version of The Human Torch creates flames by burning off skin cells. Because of this he suffers from severe weight loss, exhaustion, and he enters a state of hibernation after burning off a layer of skin.
Thanks for reading!
2. In 1961, Johnny Storm's fire form was seen as a human-shaped flurry of flames. In 1963 all the reprints of previous "Fantastic Four" issues his form was changed to a completely red human surrounded in flames. This was done to distinct him from Jim Hammond's fire form which matches the flurry of flames.
3. The Human Torch was the first member of The Fantastic Four to individualize his uniform. First in 1973 when he wore a red and gold variation of the Fantastic Four uniform for twenty-seven issues. This costume was a homage to the original Human Torch. His second costume was yellow and black with a new fire symbol. He donned this suit in 2016 when he joined The Uncanny Avengers.
4. Johnny Storm has dated both Crystal and Medusa of The Inhumans. Those two characters are sisters and members of The Royal Inhuman Family. Crystal also had a brief marriage to the character Quicksilver who would later become a teammate of Johnny on The Uncanny Avengers.
5. Johnny had once married Alicia Masters, the former love interest of Johnny's teammate and best friend Ben Grimm/The Thing. Alicia turned out to be a shapeshifting alien called a Skrull, but that was revealed decades later so the initial idea was that Johnny just stole Ben's love interest.
6. The event "Civil War" was kickstarted by an incident in Stamford, Connecticut where over 600 civilians-including 60 children-were killed in a fight between superheroes and super-villains. Due to these events, the superhero community was met with much criticism by the general public. This was made apparent when Johnny Storm had a bottle broken over his head at a night club by a civilian who blamed "people like him" for all those deaths. This was reflective of public response after September 11th where Muslims were met with violence and paranoia by the general public.
7. When The Fantastic Four first formed Johnny was sixteen years old. Johnny was around the same age as Spider-Man so the two of them grew up experiencing different superhero careers as well as remaining close friends. Spider-Man was grounded and worked alone, while Johnny had cosmic adventures and worked on a team. Recently, Peter Parker bought The Baxter's Building just so when Johnny's teammates Reed and Sue come back to Earth they will still have their home.
8. Johnny Storm had a brief career as an actor. He was almost cast in a Western called "The Rawhide Kid" (named after the Marvel character), but lost the role to someone else. Someone who turned out to be a Skrull, by the way. After doing some commercials he spent time as a firefighter and the Chief Financial Officer for The Fantastic Four. He was also a car mechanic and a herald of Galactus.
9. Chris Evans portrayed Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" in 2005. In 2011, Chris Evans was cast as Captain America and continued to be Captain America in The Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2015, Johnny Storm/The Human Torch was portrayed by Micheal B. Jordan in Fox's third swing "Fan4stic". Michael B. Jordan will be playing a character named Killmonger in 2018's "Black Panther" as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'm sensing a pattern here.
10. The Fantastic Four had an animated series in 1978, but The Human Torch was replaced with a new character named HERBIE. HERBIE was the robot servant of The Fantastic Four who stuck around in the comics after the show. The common myth is that the TV network was afraid seeing The Human Torch would influence kids into lighting themselves on fire to imitate him, but the actual reason The Human Torch was left out was because there was a Human Torch film in production that never came to light. The character of Firestar was created for "Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends" in 1981 because the showrunners originally wanted to use The Human Torch as the third superhero alongside Spider-Man and Iceman, but the rights to the Human Torch were "all tied up" at that time. Firestar would be brought to the comics after this cartoon. Again, patterns.
11. Johnny Storm attended lectures about fire safety to learn more about his powers. He's learned how to make his flames non-harmful to people he touches. His control of heat extends to his entire body as he has heated liquids in his palm multiple times and once burned poison out his blood stream through force of will.
12. In the Ultimate Comics universe, that version of The Human Torch creates flames by burning off skin cells. Because of this he suffers from severe weight loss, exhaustion, and he enters a state of hibernation after burning off a layer of skin.
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment