WHAT HAPPENED?
After the destruction of the multiverse, Reed, Sue, Franklin, Valeria, Owen Reece, and the Future Foundation ventured off-planet to fix the damage. Using Franklin’s and Owen's powers combined, they were able to recreate entire universes and explore the far reaches of the multiverse. Johnny and Ben were left behind and, with no word on Earth, Reed, Sue and co. were assumed dead for a year. But a year on Earth turned into five years (give or take) out in the multiverse, so things have changed up a little..
IN REGARD TO CANON.
So, in light of Dan Slott's 2018 run, there’s been a few changes to the status quo of this funky quartet you’ve come to know and love:001. Franklin and Valeria are now teenagers.002. Ben and Alica are married (omg finally)003. Ben and Alica have also adopted two kids, Jo-venn and N'Kalla004. There is no more Future Foundation (boooooo)
While I’m not the biggest fan of this run, most of it is congruent with the blog canon, with only one major point being omitted:
The Fantastic Four’s maiden flight was not with the intention to go to Spyre. The Overseer did not send a storm of cosmic rays that turned them into the Fantastic Four. Their powers were an accident.
THE CURRENT RUN.
This current run by Ryan North is such a different take on the team compared to what we’ve seen over the past few years; it’s interesting, it’s fun, and it’s fresh. It’s four freaks travelling around, leaving things a little better than they found them. But Ryan’s run is far from over, so while his story isn’t being included in its entirety (at this stage), here’s a brief (semi-canon divergent) rundown on how we’re fitting it to Johnny's canon here in the meantime.With a lack of time, options, and a particularly brutal invasion from the Negative Zone on their hands, Reed Richards zapped the Baxter Building (and an entire city block along with it) a year into the future. The kids were gone, people were mad (justifiably so), and the team went their separate ways. With assets frozen and their reputation in the dirt, the family eventually regrouped and found themselves staying at Aunt Petunia and Uncle Jake’s old farmhouse in Arizona.The Baxter Building, the kids, and the city block are now back. Assets are no longer frozen, but their public image isn’t great. With the help of portals, the team is able to bounce seamlessly between the Fantastic Farmhouse (hehe) and the Baxter Building.Some key points:001. Johnny has a mustache. It's important. It's his current pride and joy. He kind of looks like Hulk Hogan. Ask him about it.
Seriously, ask him about it.002. He is spending the majority of his time in New York.003. Johnny did not have sexual relations with that alien. He has fucked aliens, just not that alien.For more information on where Johnny is at currently, check out the main verse page.
JOHNNY STORM.
Johnny is a blond haired, blue eyed, 29 year old American male. To those that don’t know him, he can come across as a hot-headed playboy, cocky and arrogant. Those that are close to him know what lies beneath- compassion, kindness, and a love for his family. Just like anyone else, Johnny has been known to feel insecure within himself, worry too much about what others think, and doubt his own abilities.
NAME
JONATHAN LOWELL SPENCER STORM.ALIAS
HUMAN TORCHDATE OF BIRTH
MARCH 12AGE
29 (BIOLOGICALLY 31)ZODIAC
PISCESPLACE OF BIRTH
GLENVILLE, LONG ISLAND, NYGENDER
MALESEXUAL ORIENTATION
CLOSETED BISEXUALHEIGHT
5'10"WEIGHT
170lbsEYE COLOR
BLUEHAIR COLOR
BLONDTATTOOS/PIERCINGS
A STUD IN HIS LEFT EAR
Don’t get it twisted, though; Johnny loves what he does and he loves to have fun. Always the first to sling a smart-ass remark (unless Spider-Man’s in the room, of course) and to pull some pranks, he’s witty and impulsive, but has been known to take the joke too far on more than one occasion. And give a mean hot-foot. But it’s always out of love. Bickering is for family, after all.Speaking of family, Johnny made the ultimate sacrifice for his. He was thought dead in the Negative Zone for three months - except the time skew made it two years on his end, and he wasn’t actually dead. Well, he was - on and off. Endless resurrection will do that to you.Because of this experience, Johnny suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which causes him night terrors and exasurbates his feelings of depression and anxiety that were already present. When life gets too heavy, Johnny has been known to bottle it all up, drink to excess and party for days to block out the thoughts. But luckily, he has a good support network around him, and there’s always someone close by to pull him out of the hole. The best distraction from “the bad stuff” for him, is spending quality time with family and friends.MBTI
ESFPO4TS
SANGUINEALIGNMENT
CHAOTIC GOODLOVE LANGUAGE
PHYSICAL TOUCH
EDUCATION
Glenville High School (Graduate)
Empire State University (Dropout)
Metro University (Dropout)OCCUPATION
Founding member of the Fantastic Four
Adventurer
ImaginautPREVIOUS POSITIONS
Firefighter
Chief Financial Officer
Actor
Model
Musician
Race car driver
Mechanic
Circus performer
Ruler of the Negative Zone
❝ I'M THE HUMAN TORCH! I AM FLAME! AND THE NATURE OF FLAME IS TO RISE! ❞
FAMILY
Mary Storm (Mother) †
Franklin Storm (Father) †
Marygay Jewel Dinkins (Aunt) †
Bones (Cousin)
Susan Storm-Richards (Sister)
Reed Richards (Brother-in-law)
Franklin Richards (Nephew)
Valeria Richards (Niece)
FIRE MANIPULATION
The Human Torch can generate shapes composed of fire from any point on his body. (He usually employs his hands to “sculpt” the flames, occasionally as a lasso to ensnare enemies.) He can form fire into long streams, spheres, or even more complex shapes like letters in skywriting. These flames-objects will only remain their shapes as long as he concentrates upon them. The objects will only burn about 3 minutes before expiring unless the Torch continues to infuse them with energy. The temperature of these fiery projections is generally around 2,800 F (or 1547 C; near the melting point of iron).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 (555537 C), 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.IMMUNITY TO FIRE AND HEAT
The Human Torch is unaffected by heat and flames, including his own, even when part of him is aflame and the rest of him is not. His flesh cannot be scalded or burned by any heat source whose level is below that of his maximum output.
PYROKINESIS
The Human Torch possessed the mental ability to control ambient heat energy and the physical ability to transform his entire body, or portions of his body into a fiery, plasma-like state of will. The cells of a normal human body convert energy from foodstuffs into a form of energy usable by the body, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Among other mutagenic changes, 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. (Reed Richards has dubbed this molecule adenine ribo-heptaphosphene, AR-HP.) This complex molecule not only provides ordinary bodily energy but contains large stores of latent chemical-bonding energies. Another favorable mutagenic change are his cells’ ability to utilize this extra energy by converting it 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.PLASMA FORM
The Human Torch possesses the physical ability to envelop his entire body or portions of his body with fiery plasma without harm to himself. (Plasma is a super-heated stated of matter such as exists in the atmosphere of stars.) Ordinarily, when aflame, the Human Torch is enveloped by a low intensity flame of low level plasma (reddish, approximately 780 Fahrenheit or 415 Celsius), which ranges from 1 to 5 inches from his body. He can, however, generate much higher levels and flames about himself. 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.
FLIGHT
The Human Torch’s plasma has a high hydrogen content, and is surrounded by an exuded cloud of mono-atmoic hydrogen atoms. The hot cloud provides sufficient positive buoyancy for him to float. With mental stimulation of his flame, he can provide enough lift to carry around 180 pounds. By forming a jet from his feet, directed behind him, he can achieve a normal flight speed of 140 miles per hour, and accelerate up to supersonic speeds capable of catching up with faster beings such as 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.THERMOKINESIS
The Human Torch has the ability to mentally control the ambient heat energy within his immediate environment, even when he himself is not aflame. He can reduce objects’ temperatures (if they are in a normal range for existing on Earth’s surface) to about 30 F (1C), raise them to several hundred degrees, or extinguish open flames. His radius of influence is about 80 feet. The heat energy he takes from the environment is absorbed into his own body. If he takes in a critical amount while he is not aflame, he will become aflame. There are unknown limits to the amount of flame he can absorb into his own body harmlessly while he is himself aflame.HEAT VISION
The Human Torch has the ability to detect infrared radiation. As infrared emissions are directly related to temperature, this is essentially heat vision and can also help him to see in the dark. The Torch’s vision when using this ability is not unlike looking through a thermographic camera and his eyes will glow a fiery orange.ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT MANIPULATION
The Human Torch has recently discovered the ability to control the light his flame produces. By manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum, the Torch can cycle through the light spectrum, generating full-spectrum solar radiation, including ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. This control allows him to produce light without direct combustion. Theoretically, the Torch should be able to create invisible, flaming projectiles by shifting the light spectrum to ultraviolet wavelengths.
HISTORY.
PRE-FANTASTIC FOUR
Mary Storm dies in a car accident. Dr. Franklin Storm fails to save her and decends into gambling amd alcoholism. He ends up in the penitentiary for man-slaughter after dealings with a loan shark gone wrong and Sue and Johnny move in with their Aunt Marygay. Under request from Franklin, Sue tells Johnny that their dad has died.Johnny starts to become interested in cars and quickly becomes quite a skilled mechanic.At age 15, Johnny comes into contact with the Amulet of Zarathos (AKA Ghost Rider's Medallion of Power, making him a target of a man named Comte St. Germaine. The amulet keeps teleporting back into Johnny's posession and eventually, Zarathos appears to tell Johnny of his intentions to make him the new Spirit of Vengeance (Ghost Rider). Johnny agees to save Sue and his crush, a girl named Cammie, but her uncle Max interrupts last minute and offers himself as a sacrifice instead.Johnny decides he wants to go to space with Reed. Thinking he won't last a week, Ben puts him through the necessary training. To everyone's surprise, he makes it through and becomes NASA's youngest pilot.
Reed loses authorisation for the flight, so he, Ben, Sue and Johnny steal a ship to go to space. They pass through cosmic rays, but as Ben had predicted, the shielding wasn't strong enough. They crash back down to earth and miraculously survive, gaining new, fantastic powers.EARLY DAYS
The team are captured and immediately put into a government quarrentine facility. The FF stop a rampage from another cosmically radiated mutate at the facility and Reed convinces General Montgomery to let them operate freely.Reed establishes a base for the team in Central City, California to learn more about their powers. Johnny stays in his room for months, depressed and fearful of his new, destructive abilities.
The team goes on their first adventure to Monster Island after Reed begins investigating seemingly targeted earthquakes. They discovered the Mole Man and his creatures trying to take over the surface world. Monster Island explodes and the Moleman is thought to have perished. There are whispers about a quartet of super powered individuals causing massive damages.The Skrulls appear for the first time, impersonating the team and framing them for various crimes. Johnny attacks a rocket test site to draw them out and the FF captures them. Reed tricks them into believing the Earth is filled with giant monsters and they flee. Three Skrulls remain and Reed hypnotises them so they believe they're cows. Discussions around the ethics behind this decision would come up multiple times in the following years.
The team starts wearing their classic uniforms.The Mole Man was not as dead as everyone thought, and sends Giganto to attack New York City. The Fantastic Four defeat the creature, revealing themselves to the public and the press as a team for the first time.Reed rents out the top floors of the Baxter Building in Manhattan and moves the team there, revealing them officially via press conference. The Fantastic Four becomes a celebrity crime-fighting team.
GOING PUBLIC
The team spends a lot of time in this era rounding up various monsters like Fin Fang Foom, Gruto, and Klagg, and taking them to Monster Island.Johnny quits the team for the first time and hides from them in a flop house in the Bronx where he encouters a man with no memory of his past. Johnny realises this is Namor the Sub-Mariner and attempts to restore his memory by... dumping him into the ocean? Somehow this works, and Namor declares war on humanity and attacks NYC with Giganto. Johnny reunites with the FF and Namor retreats back to the ocean, but not before he becomes smitten with Sue.Victor Von Doom, a fellow student from Reed and Ben's college years resurfaces, now calling himself Dr. Doom. He kidnaps Sue and forces Johnny, Ben and Reed to travel back in time and recover Black Beards treasure. The boys trick Doom, he finds out and locks them all in an airless room, and Sue saves their asses.Namor and Dr. Doom team up to shoot the Baxter Building into the sun. Things are starting to get unhinged around here.
During this time, Johnny takes up a secret identity. It is revealed years later that the whole town of Glenville went along with it for some reason.
Johnny has an accidental flare-up of his powers and scars his school bully, Mike Snow. Both boys agree to conceal the incident, blaming it on a prank-gone-wrong on Snow's behalf and maintaining that Johnny saved his life by flying him to the hospital.Johnny gains his first real nemesis outside of the team; The Wizard.The team clash with The Puppet Master and through this, become close friends with his step-daughter, Alicia Masters. Ben and Alicia start dating.Johnny meets Spider-Man for the first time when he breaks into the Baxter Building looking for work. The team inform him they're a non-profit organisation and Spidey leaves in a huff.
Johnny clashes with Paste Pot Pete (The Trapster) for the first time.Johnny quits the team again to form the Torrid Twosome with The Acrobat and wears this spiffy little number:
It doesn't last long. The Acrobat is trying to trick him into helping rob a bank and Johnny quickly brings him to justice. (This isn't really relevant I just really like the costume).The Impossible Man appears for the first time. His real super power is being annoying. Reed convinces the whole city of New York to ignore him and he goes away. Nice.The team clash with The Hulk for the first time in Nevada.The team explores the Blue Area of the Moon and meet Uatu The Watcher for the first time.
Johnny gives The Speech™ at Midtown High School.
Johnny leaves the team AGAIN, this time joining his cousin's circus as the main attraction. This doesn't last long as Johnny finds circus life dull, so he rejoins Reed's circus instead.The team goes to the Microverse for the first time.The Super Skrull appears for the first time.Johnny starts teaming up with Spider-Man.Johnny starts dating Dorrie Evans. She hates it when he flames on and she wishes she had a nice boyfriend like Peter Parker or Captain America. So that's fun.
After run ins with the Molecule Man, Rama-Tut, The Sandman, The Hate-Monger, Doom, the Mole Man, and more, Dorrie has enough of being stood up and starts seeing other people. Johnny gets mad and takes out the Rabble Rouser. Dorrie reveals she only started seeing other people to make him jealous and they get back together, Ah, teenage love.The Mole Man sinks a city block and kidnaps Sue. The rest of the team rescue her, but she is injured in the process. Just having broken out of prison, Franklin Storm treats Sue and saves her life before being apprehended again. Franklin breaks out again almost immediately after, this time wielding powers similar to the Fantastic Four's and calling himself the Invincible Man. Reed figures out that Franklin Storm has been captured and replaced by the Super Skrull and he forces the Skrulls to return him to Earth. They oblige — but send him back rigged with a bomb to kill the team. Franklin sacrifices himself to blunt the force of the blow and save his children, his last words being how proud he is of them.
Dorrie challenges Johnny not to 'flame on' for 24 hours, Spider-Man uses this opportunity to woo her. Spider-Man crashes Johnny's party. Spider-Man comes to the Baxter Building with the sole intention of asking Sue on a date. Spider-Man is waking up every day with thoughts of torturing Johnny Storm apaprently.Reed finally proposes to Sue. She accepts.Johnny's rogue gallary gets together to form the Frightful Four, consisting of The Wizard, The Sandman, Paste Pot Pete, and an unknown woman named Medusa (this is her first appearance). Reed, Sue and Ben are captured while celebrating the proposal and Alicia manages to signal Johnny. He saves the team and they defeat the Frightful Four together. Johnny is upset that Spider-Man made the front page instead of him.The team loses their powers for the first time and Reed builds costumes to crudely immitate them. Johnny gets another fun fit. They quickly gain them back.
It's Reed and Sue's wedding day! Doom tries to spoil the festivities by brain-washing super-villains to attack. Reed arrives with a time displacer from The Watcher and returns all the super-villains back to where they came from before the attack with no memories of what had happened. The rest of the wedding goes off without a hitch.Medusa approaches Johnny, asking for help to evade capture by Gorgon. The two accidentally revive Dragon Man, who attacked and kidnapped Sue, Gorgon captured Medusa, and Johnny, Ben and Reed were burried alive. Good job, guys. The boys were able to pull themselves from the rubble and reunite with Sue, who managed to tame Dragon Man. How to Train Your Dragon, eat your heart out.Dorrie is seeing other people again and Johnny, tired of their on-and-off relationship, gives up.Johnny sees Crystal for the first time and is immediately enamoured with her. Crystal mistakes Johnny for an Inhuman and brings him back to the secret location where her and her family are hiding out from The Seeker. Johnny summons the rest of the FF and the Inhumans flee, Johnny tries to follow them but misses the portal. The team follows The Seeker to the Inhuman's home, The Great Refuge, and Maximus the Mad seals off the entrance. Johnny vows to find Crystal again no matter what.
The Silver Surfer appears for the first time and summons Galactus to Earth. Attacks on Galactus are met with failure. The sky is filled with fire, New York is in a state of panic. The Watcher gives Johnny the power to travel using space-time distortion and guides him to Galactus' Worldship to retrieve The Ultimate Nullifier. Johnny returns to Earth in a state of shock and passes the Nullifier along to Reed, who uses it to bluff Galactus and save the planet, but not before Norrin Radd is exiled to Earth.
COLLEGE YEARS
Johnny enrolls at Metro College and meets Wyatt Wingfoot for the first time. The two become dorm mates and hit it off immediately.
But Johnny can't keep his mind on school. Instead he's thinking about his recent travels through space-time, his place in the world, and Crystal. Begin the existensial crisis.
The FF go to Wakanda and Johnny decides to bring Wyatt who he's just met along for some reason? It makes no sense but it's fine. Wyatt makes everything better. When they arrive they're attacked by the Black Panther to test their abilities. They win the fight and also the Black Panther's friendship. Awh. They help defend the nation's supply of Vibranium and, seeing Johnny was brooding, Black Panther gives Johnny a Gyro-Ship to find Crystal.Johnny and Wyatt use the Gyro-Ship to go to the Himalayas where the Great Refuge is located. Johnny steals the Evil Eye from a warrior named Prester John and flees. Wyatt and Prester follow him and shoot it out of his hands, blowing it up. Johnny is angsty about it. Wyatt is probably wondering what he is doing chasing around this hot mess he met five minutes ago.
They camp, they find Lockjaw, he teleports them back to the Baxter Building. They follow him, he teleports them around a bit more for fun I guess. He returns them to the Baxter Building again. Mission failed, boys.
Dr. Doom has stolen the Power Cosmic from the Silver Surfer and is threatening to take over the world. Johnny goes off half-cocked and is taken out easily. Reed admits defeat and Johnny goes off again, this time needing to be rescued by the team. Throughout all the drama, the Inhumans have broken free from their prison. Reed defeats Doom through trickery (as per usual at this point) and Doom seemingly perishes when he hits the barrier put around Earth to keep the Surfer in exile. The Surfer regains his powers and the FF return home.The Sandman breaks into the Baxter Building! Reed gets sucked into the Negative Zone and lost in the nullification zone! It's a classic FF thing that isn't really relevant but there is a point to including this! Crystal rocks up! The Inhumans have escaped! Hooray! Finally! Crystal gets Triton to rescue Reed from the Negative Zone, all is well! Finally these two crazy kids can go on their first date. That's right, Johnny has been angsting over a girl he hasn't even gone on a date with yet. But wait! Blaastar! Sandman! First date is cut short and they capture Blaastar, but the Sandman escapes.DATING CRYSTAL
Johnny and Crystal are dating. It's going well. They're cute. She understands he has responsibilities and this makes for a strong, healthy relationship. Good for them!
Sue is pregnant! Woo-hoo! Everyone is happy! Until The Mad Thinker attacks and Reed decides that the Baxter Building isn't a safe place for Sue, so the pair leave the team and move to to California.Johnny and Ben return home after helping the Keewazi Tribe and find out the cosmic rays are causing Sue life-threatening pregnancy complications. Reed needs an element from the Negative Zone to save Sue and the baby's life, so the boys all go together. This is the first time the team faces Annihilus, and they're captured by him (it?). Redd figures out Annihilus' Cosmic Control Rod is the element he needs and the boys steal it, attempting to flee to no avail. Reed compromises with Annihilus, syphoning the energy he needs from the rod before returning it to Annihilus in exchange for safe passage back to Earth. They rush to the hospital and Reed saves Sues life. She gives birth to a healthy baby boy named Franklin Benjamin Richards and Johnny becomes an uncle.
We have a change-up in the roster! Sue is currently out of commission taking care of baby Franklin, so Crystal takes her place. Nothing of note really happens throughout this period. They FF hire Agatha Harkness to babysit Franklin and Sue rejoins the team.Medusa rocks up and on orders from Blackbolt to take Crystal home with her. Crystal doesn't want to leave. Johnny is upset. Reed asks if he wants to cry into his Cheerie-Oats about it. Tough love, I guess?Around this point, Johnny drops out of Metro College. The comics don't tell us when exactly this happens, we just get to see him brood about it later in the piece.
TO BE CONTINUED