Alternate versions of the Human Torch

Infobox comics set index
code_name = Human Torch


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caption = The Human Torch, as seen on the cover for Fantastic Four #542. Art by Adi Granov
publisher = Marvel Comics
debut = "Fantastic Four" #1 (Nov 1961)
creators = Stan Lee
Jack Kirby
characters = Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm (main continuity)
Jonatha Storm (Marvel Mangaverse)
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subcat =
altcat=Alternate versions of comics characters
hero =
villain =
sortkey = Human TorchThe Human Torch is a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. He has had many alternate versions of himself over the years.

Earth-98

In Earth-98 universe, Johnny married Crystal and has a daughter named Luna and a son named Ray. He is also the leader of the Fantastic Four.

Earth-A

The Earth-A version of Johnny did not join Reed and Ben in their trip to space. He served in the Vietnam conflict, where he was believed to have been killed. However, Johnny was found and saved by Arkon, who gave him superpowers and the new identity of Gaard.

1602

In the Marvel 1602 universe, Jon Storm was a young hothead who had to leave London following a duel. Along with his sister, who was escaping a man she did not love, he joined Sir Richard Reed on his explorations, and was caught in the radiation of the Anomaly, turning him into a Human Torch. The Four continued their explorations until they were captured by Otto von Doom prior to the original "1602" miniseries.

At the start of the miniseries "1602: Fantastick Four", Jon has rejoined high society, and once more finds himself embroiled in a duel, this time with Lord Wingfoot, who is betrothed to the 1602 version of Doris Evans. When he is called upon to battle Otto von Doom, he kidnaps Doris and takes her with them, believing this is for her own good.

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Johnny never became the Human Torch. Instead, he was among Reed Richards' crew, along with Ben Grimm as pilot and Johnny's sister Susan. Reed Richards attempted to evacuate a full contingent of refugees in his own experimental tran-ship, but a mutant saboteur interfered with the launch. Johnny and Reed sacrificed themselves to save the others from the forces of Apocalypse.

Heroes Reborn

In the Heroes Reborn history of the Marvel Universe, created after a battle with Onslaught, Johnny is an owner of a popular casino and part financial backer of Reed Richard's plan to go into space. His handprint is one of two — the other being his sister's — needed for launch. His rivalry with Ben Grimm now extends into much more dangerous areas, such as a potentially deadly game of 'chicken' without thought to the life of the woman in his passenger seat.

After being attacked by agents of Doctor Doom, Johnny ends up going up into space on Reed's spacecraft prototype as he really had nowhere else to go. The entire launch base had been overtaken by enemy forces and it was miles to civilization. It is during the flight a cosmic anomaly imbues him and the others with their powers.

After the crash of the prototype, Johnny would prove more reliable, recovering Reed Richards and rescuing his own sister.

House Of M

In the House of M crossover, Johnny Storm is a contestant on "sapien death match"; his power armor has a 'flame on' ability.

Marvel Mangaverse

In the Marvel Mangaverse comics, the Human Torch is portrayed by two separate characters spanning two very different continuities. The first character is a member of the Megascale Metatalent Response Team Fantastic Four on Earth-2301a and the mirror opposite of Earth-616's Johnny Storm in terms of personality. The team uses power-packs to boost their talents to manifest at mecha-sized levels in order to combat Godzilla-sized monsters that seem to constantly attack Earth. In volume two of Mangaverse, which takes place on Earth-2301b, the character of Johnny Storm has been replaced with a young woman named Jonatha Storm, who is the half-sister of Sioux Storm. Jonatha is quite hotheaded; sometimes riding into battle singing "I am the Goddess of Hellfire." She denies being impulsive, saying she can only be described that way in comparison to her "neurotic" teammates. In "New Mangaverse" Jonatha is slightly redesigned to look a few years younger than she did in volume one of Mangaverse, and no longer wears her hair in multiple braids, instead sporting two pigtails on each side of her head. After witnessing the murder of the other Fantastic 4 members by supernatural assassins, she joins Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (Mary Jane Watson), Black Cat, Wolverine, and Iron Man, in hopes of getting revenge.

Marvel Zombies

In this universe Reed Richards is told to work on the virus. He decides it's inevitable that they will become zombies so he pricks Johnny, Sue, and Ben with infected needles. The three then make Reed into a zombie and the four of them go on a rampage with the other zombies. Eventually Reed contacts the Ultimate Reed and gets him to come to the infected universe. Having been tricked, Ultimate Mr. Fantastic is seen as hopeful food for the zombies but escapes. Then Johnny travels with the three others to the Ultimate Universe. They attack the Fantastic Four there but are thwarted, and are locked up in a containment cell. Johnny eats live animals and loathes the Ultimate version of himself, remarking that he especially hates his hair. When they escape the four attack the Baxter Building. Ultimate Reed switches bodies with Ultimate Doom and takes on all four zombies. Johnny is last seen being torn apart by Reed in Doom's body as he destroys all four zombies.

MC2

In the MC2 alternate future Johnny leads the Fantastic Five. He is married to Lyja and they have a son Torus Storm (who calls himself "Super-Storm" when role-playing as a hero). Torus has inherited both his father's flame powers and his mother's stretching / shapeshifting powers.

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Universe, Johnny Storm is the youngest child of Franklin Storm, but is not as intelligent as his sister and father. He went to high school at P.S 440. He spent time at the Baxter Building but his rebellious nature meant that he learned little from his time spent there. Although he is portrayed as being very vain, narcissistic, and displays some misogynistic tendencies, he is also shown to have a deep devotion to his friends and family. He is good friends with Spider-Man, and has a friendship/friendly rivalry with Bobby Drake due to each other's respective powers, (Johnny wields fire while Bobby wields ice).

He was present at Reed Richard's test of the N-Zone Teleportation Device in the Nevada Desert. After a malfunction in the device he woke up in France in a hospital bed. He found himself uncontrollably bursting into flames until he learned he could control his burst by saying "Flame On" to burst into flames and "Flame Off" to return to a normal state. When Mole Man's creatures attacked, Johnny found out he could fly while on fire. It was explained by Reed that Johnny's spontaneous combustion made him lighter than air. Johnny has a microscopic thin film made of little transparent plates covering his entire body that makes him impervious to flame. When he activates his powers fat cells beneath his skin create clean nuclear fusion and jet out between the plates as plasma which then ignites on contact with air. Periodically Johnny enters a hibernation where his old layer of skin peels off as ash while a new layer forms underneath. However, unlike the mainstream Human Torch, Ultimate Johnny's power sometimes has detrimental effects on his health, specifically causing unhealthy levels of weight loss and exhaustion.

In issues 68 and 69 of "Ultimate Spider-Man", Johnny meets Spider-Man when his sister says he has to finish high school. Johnny picks a school in Queens which happens to be Midtown High. He quickly meets and becomes friends with Peter Parker, Mary Jane and Liz Allen. At a bonfire he catches fire and scares off Liz Allen. He arranges to meet Liz Allen but she does not show up.

Encouraged by Mary Jane, Spider-Man shows up instead and gives Johnny a heart-to-heart talk about great power and great responsibility. Together, they save people from a burning building when Johnny absorbs the flames. Spider-Man shows Johnny that they will not always be appreciated by the public.

In issue 98 of Ultimate Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four learn Spider-Man's identity, and Johnny recognizes Peter. In issue 101, Nick Fury and a regiment of Spider Slayers are trying to arrest Peter when Johnny and the rest of the Fantastic Four arrive. Johnny tells Fury "I have like, three friends in the world. You're not doing this to one of them."

Johnny also makes an appearance in the "Ultimate Spider-Man video game", in which he challenges Spider-Man to a series of races.

Spider-Man J

In the manga version of Spider-Man,released in Spider_Man family in america,he is part of a team with The Thing,and he comes to Tokyo to become his own super-hero,and stop Docter Doom,he ultimateley meets and uses Spider_Man to take down the Thing,who'm he convinced Spidey was a bad guy,although all Ben was trying to do was find Johnny and take him back.The Torch of Spider-man J is notabally young,even more so than Peter,and he hates being called a "kid" so much so that he attacked Spider-Man in anger over it.