When you think of the modern Marvel Universe, who do you think of? Teams like the Avengers, maybe? The X-Men? The Fantastic Four? Individual heroes, like Spider-Man? Wolverine? Captain Marvel? It's understandable. After all, the Marvel Universe is filled with heroes from a wide variety of walks of life.
But even the fictional Marvel Universe had to start somewhere. And for the Marvel Universe, its start came with a man of flame. The first Human Torch: Jim Hammond. "But wait!", you may ask. "Isn't Johnny Storm the Human Torch?" Well, yes. He is. But he was arguably Marvel's first legacy hero. He was actually the second Human Torch. Jim Hammond, the first Human Torch, debuted in Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939). Created by writer/artist Carl Burgos, the Torch was originally portrayed as a Frankensteinian monstrosity, but quickly evolved into a superhero. In the Golden Age of comics, Hammond was one of the heroes that regularly fought criminals and Nazis alongside other Timely Comics (Timely was Marvel Comics' predecessor) heroes like Captain America and Namor the Sub-Mariner.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Hammond would be revived as a member of the Invaders, who in-universe was a superhero team who fought in WWII. You can learn more about them here. Unlike his fellow Invaders Cap and Namor, Jim Hammond would not play much of a major role in the MU post-WWII. He would be around, having been a former Hero for Hire and a West Coast Avenger, but the man never seemed to reach as high a profile as his fellow Invaders. Heck, in the MCU, the only mention of him was his being seen in his tube in Captain America: The First Avenger as an Easter egg. So, I thought that this week, it would be cool to take a look at a comic starring him.
The comic we're looking at today is the first issue of a 1990 miniseries that basically retold the history of Jim Hammond's life up to that point. At the time, the character had been revived and joined up with the West Coast Avengers. I have no idea how this miniseries came about; I couldn't really find anything about it. Sorry about that. Anyway, let's take a look at Saga of the Original Human Torch #1!
The cover is a Rich Buckler and Danny Bulanadi piece. It's really cool. It depicts our man Jimmy burning his way through a steel plate to get at the viewer. What I didn't realize when I first looked at this cover a long time ago is that this is an updated take on the classic cover to Marvel Comics #1.
In the original version of the cover, the viewer sees the Torch menacingly approaching a gunman. It was like we were a witness to the Torch's actions. But this cover gives us it from the gunman's point of view. The pose is changed, but the look on his face and the change in view helps continue the feeling of menace from the original cover.
"The Lighted Torch"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Rich Buckler
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editors: Ralph Macchio, Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story begins with a man. A man named Phineas Horton.
The year is 1939. Horton has spent much of the year on a labor that he has grown obsessed with: the creation of a synthetic man. A man who would be at first glance just another ordinary person, but would be made of steel and wires instead of flesh and blood. Later, Horton calls a press conference, where he unveils his creation. The reporters are not impressed. After all, Horton's synthetic man looks like a blond dude in red pajamas. Nothing special.
Horton then puts some oxygen in the tube the man is inside, and an age starts with a burst of flame.
The reporters point out that the artificial man could fall into the wrong hands, that he could get someone killed. Horton refuses to destroy the Human Torch, as he's an incredible scientific wonder. The reporters vow to use the power of the press to make him destroy the Torch. Horton isn't worried. After all, there's a big crisis coming, and surely that would take all the press's attention.
However, the reporters' vow ends up prophetic. Horton is forced to bury the Torch in concrete. He prepared for this. The Torch's tube is equipped with a radio and a recording device, so the first Marvel hero wouldn't be left unaware of what was going on around him. Notably the fires of World War II consuming Europe.
Thanks to a crack in the concrete, and a leak in his tube, oxygen slowly seeps in, allowing the Torch to reignite himself and escape.
The Human Torch...lives again!
Horton hears the explosion and tells the Torch to stay still. The future Invader and West Coast Avenger isn't listening. He flees into town. He sets alight everything around him because he isn't able to control his flames. Some firemen try to blast him with a hose, but all it does is create a lot of steam. The Torch makes his way to a pool and dives in, hoping the pool will be able to do what a fire hose could not. It's here another player makes his move.
Meet Anthony Sardo. He's a gangster and racketeer. He has his men put the winter cover over the pool, trapping the now-inert Torch. Sardo sees the Torch as a bit of a godsend. You see, Sardo is running a protection racket. Basically, if a business doesn't give him money, he has their business attacked. And the Torch could be the potentially best enforcer Sardo could have. Sardo and his men take the Torch to a warehouse and unleash him. The Torch wonders why Sardo would leave him there. He realizes Sardo was not a good guy and flees, discovering that he can fly.
A furious Torch spots and flies after Sardo, pursuing him to his home. Torch searches for the racketeer, not realizing that the man has fled to a bomb shelter. The Torch ends up unintentionally setting Sardo's house ablaze. Remember, at this point, he can't control his power. The artificial man deals with Sardo's men, then returns to Sardo's burning home.
Sardo thinks he's safe in his bomb shelter, the only way in or out being a thick steel door. But he learns the hard way that the Human Torch is not stopped so easily.
Sardo tries to shoot at the Torch, but the bullets melt before they can do any damage. He tries to hide behind a tank of what is presumably nitrogen. Sardo says "Nitro" in the comic, but since he fears it making him explode, I was thinking that he meant nitroglycerin. But then the Torch gets exposed to a gas in the tank. Nitrogen is a gas. Nitroglycerin is a liquid.
The Torch absorbs the nitro, his flames going out. Sardo tries to make a deal, but the Torch is not interested. Sardo tries to throw a container of sulfuric acid (the comic misspells it as "sulphuric") at him. But the heat the Torch puts out makes the tank explode, splashing and killing Sardo. Which makes sense, sulfuric acid is very corrosive. It causes severe chemical burns when exposed to flesh.
The Torch tests out a theory. He further exposes himself to nitrogen gas and discovers that it's now allowed him to control his flame powers. He can even create and throw fireballs. He makes his way out of the mansion, to see some of New York's Finest at the scene.
The Torch surrenders and demonstrates that his powers are under control now. The police return the Torch to Horton. Horton believes he can make a fortune with the Torch. However, the man of fire is not fond of the idea. He's seen firefighters and police officers in action, willingly risk their lives to help others without desire for fortune. It's lit another kind of spark in the Torch's fiery heart. He wants to do the same himself. He wants to be a hero. With a goodbye, he flies out of Horton's home, unknowingly setting it ablaze, too.
And with that, a new age of superheroes is born, and it's looking bright!
I admit, I enjoyed this comic. I think Roy Thomas does a rather good job updating the events of Jim's story in Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939). It still does have a bit of that Golden Age goofiness, though. But that's fine here. It doesn't break the story for me. Rich Buckler's art was also really well-done. I have pointed out in my review of Giant-Size Invaders #1 (June 1975) that Frank Springer's art helped fit the Golden Age style, which fit a series set in the 1940s. Buckler's art also gives me a similar vibe, but it feels more like a modernized take on the art styles of that era, if that makes any sense.
Jim Hammond's origins had been retold in stories before and since this comic. Often, these retellings were from different perspectives and added new details. For example, it was revealed in Invaders #22 (November 1977) that Horton worked alongside Fred Raymond (the father of the Torch's sidekick Toro) to develop Jim. Which is funny because that comic was written by Roy Thomas as well. Yet Raymond's involvement is not mentioned here. Weird. Maybe he forgot.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2014 trade paperback Sub-Mariner and the Original Human Torch. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!
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