The Saga of the Original Human Torch #3 (June 1990)

As you all know, I'm a big ol' Marvel head. I've also been feeling in a bit of a Golden Age mood lately. As such, I thought it would be fun to look at a comic starting one of the Marvel Universe's first superheroes: Jim Hammond, the Golden Age Human Torch. 

Mr. Hammond has graced this blog in the past. We have looked at past issues of his first mini-series here (a retelling of his origins and first battle against the criminal element), and here (a retelling of his first battle with Namor the Sub-Mariner, his meeting Toro, and his time with the Invaders). We also saw how he helped form the Invaders here. As such, I thought I'd look at issue number three, which tells of the Torch's continuing adventures after World War II. Let's look at Saga of the Original Human Torch #3!

The cover is a Rich Buckler piece. It's pretty cool, showing the murderous tyrant Adolf Hitler retching in fear from the Human Torch. The angle makes Jim look like a towering monster, ready to deliver vengeance on him for all the horrors he helped cause. 

"Out of the Ashes"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Rich Buckler
Inker: Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Timothy Harkins
Colorist: Nel Yomtov
Editors: Mike Rockwitz, Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins on April 30, 1945. The Nazi regime is collapsing. Jim Hammond and Thomas Raymond, aka the Original Human Torch and Toro, are flying over the skies of Berlin. The Russian Army is making their way through the German capital, hoping to get their hands on the mad tyrant Adolf Hitler. Jim and Thomas are hoping to capture him so he can stand trial for the horrors he caused.

Iin his bunker, Hitler and his wife Eva Braun prepare some cyanide for their suicide pact. As Jim and Tom fight their way into his bunker, Hitler as his gun to his head. Torch and Toro burst in. They tell the madman that they will take him to American command where he will stand trial for his crimes. Hitler says he will not be captured alive, not by anyone. He reaches to press a button, but Torch blasts him with flames. 

“🎵 BUUUURN, BABY, BURN! 🎵”

As Hitler burns, he tells one of his attendants to tell the world that he killed himself, denying the Torch the ability to say he took out one of history's greatest monsters. Jim doesn't care, figuring that maybe it's for the best. After all, maybe if the world believes he took what Jim calls "the coward's way out", maybe the world can put this war behind it and make something better. With that done, Jim and Tom had out, letting the Russians finish their mission here. 

Heading back to England, they learn that Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were presumed missing after a battle with Baron Heinrich Zemo in Southern England. And Namor is out in the Pacific taking care of kamikaze pilots. It looks like with the end of the war, the Invaders are at their end, too. But the new President, Harry S. Truman, has other ideas in mind. After all, there is still the Pacific Theater. The world still needs Captain America and Bucky.

"Wait, who are these guys?!"

Meet the new Captain America and Bucky, aka William Naslund/The Spirit of '76, and Fred Davis. The Invaders would continue on. With the war finally ending, the group would become the All-Winners Squad in 1946, adding Miss America (Madeline Joyce), and Whizzer (Robert Frank) to their ranks. After a battle with a supervillain called Isbisa, Jim and Tom head to Boston for a much-needed vacation. Get some R'n'R, and also a nap. Or a recharge, in Jim's case. Because he's an android.

While there, Jim decides to visit his old creator, Professor Phineas T. Horton. But there's a surprise waiting for the two Torches.

*Terminator theme intensifies*

Yup, he's an android, too.

Well, not really. This isn't one of those "he was an android all along" things, someone made off with the real Horton and put a robot Horton in his place. And who was that?

"I will destroy humanity in the name of my lemon cosplay!"

Meet Adam II. Much like Ultron decades after him, he is an android who has dreams of destroying humanity. Jim and Tom are able to dispatch the android's equally artificial goons, but Adam II is able to trap them in a water tower with the real Horton. They end up rescued by Jeffrey Mace, the Patriot.

"Is this some weird kink you guys have?"

Horton tells the three costumed heroes that Adam II plans to get rid of a young up-and-coming politician and replace him with an android. That politician? One John Fitzgerald Kennedy. During the battle, Naslund is killed, and Mace becomes the newest Captain America. The All-Winners Squad then next battled the supervillain known as Future Man and the master criminal known as Madame Death. Travelling the world, the members of the Squad defeat the two villains. This adventure would be the Squad's swan song. The group breaks up, with Whizzer and Miss America marrying and retiring from heroics. Namor, the two Torches, and the Jeff Mace Captain America (alongside presumably the Fred Davis Bucky) do continue crime-fighting, but mostly as solo acts.

In 1947, Jim and Toro battled a pair of imposter Torches as part of a plan by his old nemesis the Asbestos Lady. Jim reveals that later on, she would get sick from exposure to asbestos. The two would continue to fight other villains and criminals, like the Masked Monster, and in 1948, they battled the Hyena. 

The 1950s were only a couple short years away, and at that time, Jim got himself an apartment in New York City. He also got himself a secretary. Wait, why did he need a secretary? Was he now an executive or something? 😕

"I'm getting tired of getting those weird notes from Richard, Jim."

Meet Mary Mitchell. She gives a letter to Toro. His foster mother is ill, and his foster father wants him to come see her. Toro wants to, but there's a crime wave going. Jim assures him that there's never a shortage of crooks. Also, I can imagine Jim wants Tom to spend some time with his family while he can. Toro flies off, and Jim remarks it will be strange to fight crime solo, as he's spent the last few years either with a partner, or as part of a team. Luckily, Mary has a solution to that problem.

"I just threw this together with a dress I got from a thrift shop."

Jim nixes it, as Mary has no superpowers. She is a trained hand-to-hand combatant, thanks to her time in the WAACs during the war. Also, there's a superheroine now running around with the Jeff Mace Captain America called Golden Girl. Fun fact, that Golden Girl, Betsy Ross, would be eventually revealed to be a relative of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, one of the Incredible Hulk's regular rogues.

Jim hears some police sirens and brings Mary with him to investigate. She reveals she took the secretary job because she wanted to fight crime with Jim. The Sun Girl shows herself to be rather capable as Jim's new partner. During the months Toro is helping his ill mother, Jim and Mary continue fighting crime as the Human Torch and Sun Girl. Eventually, Jim got an urgent message from his creator, Phineas T. Horton. The two have had their differences over the years, but Jim hoped it was nothing serious. After all, Horton was still his "dad", in a sense. Jim sees an ambulance and some police cars in front of Horton's home. Evidently, the worst has happened: Phineas T. Horton has passed away.

It was on this night the Academy of Science (presumably Thomas meant the American Academy of Arts and Sciences) came to give him an award, finally recognizing his achievements. It was something Horton always wanted. Horton had a bad heart and was bedridden for the past few months. He lapsed into a coma, and then passed away. Jim says his goodbyes to his creator and flies off. But once he leaves, there's a surprise.

"I really don't care about my android son."

Yeah, Horton lives.

The government faked his death to prevent the creation of more androids (presumably after the Adam II disaster). Horton's not happy with it, but at least he can start again. It would be revealed later on that Horton took on the name "Thomas Raye", married, and raised a foster daughter named Frankie, who would go on to become Nova. Fun fact, Frankie Raye was co-created by Roy Thomas, the writer of this miniseries. It's now 1949, and despite the tragedy of seemingly losing his father, there is one bright spot: Toro is back!

His parents are doing much better, and he's itching to fight some crime. As shown earlier, Jimmy's been working with Sun Girl, but he's got no qualms with leading a trio. The more the merrier when it comes to crime-busting. Worked for the Legion of Super-Heroes after all. He's going to need the help. There's a new crime boss in town, and he's a dangerous man. Aren't they all, really?

The two head back to Jim's apartment, where Mary has a message from the 'Crime Boss'. Basically, he's daring the Torch to meet him in a warehouse in New York City. Torch and Toro are on the way. Mary offers to come along as well, but Torch feels he and Toro have it handled. So much for wanting to try fighting crime as a trio, eh Jimmy?

The two bust into the warehouse and easily take care of the Crime Boss's goons. However, the Boss has a nasty surprise for our fiery heroes.

"ECTO COOLER ATTACK!"

The substance makes the two into essentially living statues, unable to move or use their powers. The Boss orders his men to load the Torch on a plane, while leaving Toro behind. Why didn't they just shoot Toro? Man isn't bulletproof, and it's not like he could fight back right now. Maybe the Boss thought he'd be a neat decoration. 

The Boss's men take Torch on a little flight to the deserts out West, and they dig a grave for the Torch. A very deep, dark grave. They throw the Torch in and fill in the hole. Jim tries to fight his way out, but the sand and rock is too heavy, and presumably he's still under the effects of Solution X-R. Jim goes into a sort of hibernation (think a form of "stasis lock" if you're a Beast Wars fan), and the story ends with him lying under the rocks and sand, inert and helpless. However, the Crime Boss and his men didn't just bury him anywhere in the desert. They buried him in Yucca Flat...where in the future, it would be a site of nuclear tests...

I did enjoy reading this issue. I don't have a lot to say about it story-wise, mainly because this is essentially, a comic-length recap tale. 

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!

The Saga of the Original Human Torch #2 (May 1990)

The Marvel Universe has a long history of superheroes and supervillains. And one of the earliest of Marvel's superheroes is James Hammond, the Original Human Torch.

Jim Hammond has blazed his way through this blog before. Back in November of last year, I took a look at the first issue of his first mini-series: The Saga of the Original Human Torch. The mini-series was a retelling of his life up until 1990, when he had been revived and joined up with the West Coast Avengers...even though his body had also been used to build the Vision. Yeah, that was confusing. To see how that got cleared up, check out my review of Avengers Forever #8 right here. 

When we last left off in this miniseries, Jim Hammond angrily flew off, unknowingly leaving the home of Phineas Horton to burn. So, where do we go from here? What happened next to the man credited for igniting the Age of Marvels? Let's find out in The Saga of the Original Human Torch #2!

The cover is a Rich Buckler and Danny Bulanadi piece. It basically depicts the Original Human Torch and his partner Toro kicking Nazi butts. And that's always awesome.

"The World on Fire!"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Rich Buckler
Inker: Dan Bulanadi
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editors: Ralph Macchio, Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with our man Jimmy flying through the sky, like a blazing comet shooting past the stars. It's September 1939, and the press is decrying about this strange "Human Torch". 

“…where did all these newspapers come from?! I am confused and scared!”

The Torch needs to hide. He can shut off his flames, but he still can't walk around in his red bodysuit. He needs some proper threads. As such, he sneaks into a clothing store and steals some clothes.

Thanks to his donning a sharp suit and equally sharp fedora hat, people on the street don't give him a second look. He finds some money on a sidewalk and uses it to buy a newspaper. He learns that Horton survived the fire the Torch unintentionally caused when he left his home.

The Torch is relieved to hear that Horton is alright, but still decides that he doesn't want anything more to do with the man. After all, Horton only saw Jim as a steppingstone to fortune and fame. He then finds himself hungry. 

Yeah, it's funny that a being presumed to be an artificial life form needs to eat. I think it's been explained that Hammond is a being created with artificial organs, but then why make him a stomach? Eh, it's a Golden Age hero, comes with the territory. 

Anyway, Jim has some money left over, so he buys himself a hot dog. Mmmm...hot dog...

Jim's enjoyment of the meat is interrupted by a thief making off with a woman's purse. Jim is about to do his fiery thing, but a cop takes care of it. This gives Jim a bit of inspiration.

Sometime later, he's managed to acquire the human identity of James "Jim" Hammond (he picked the name from a phone book), and has become a rookie cop himself. On his first night on the beat, he encounters some bank robbers. He goes after them, but ends up activating his powers, scaring them into surrendering.

“Oh God, fire! Doctor says I'm not supposed to be on fire!”

Jim flies off, thinking about how the criminals quivered in his presence. It gives him a bit of inspiration as to how to serve man more directly. He goes to visit his boss, Chief John C. Wilson. It's then that a certain female officer walks into the room.

“Call me…Lt. Obvious!”

Yup, it's Betty Dean, a woman who will be an important part of another Golden Age legend: Namor the Sub-Mariner. Anyway, it's then revealed that Wilson had his eye on the android ever since he and Horton met the commissioner in the last issue. Jim wants to continue being a police officer, using his powers to help catch criminals. Amazingly, Wilson is cool with it. A few days later, Jim Hammond flies to Queensboro to the home of a pair of scientists named Fred and Nora Raymond. They are experts on asbestos and radium, respectively. 

“HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAYYYY…and burn down the house. Oops.”

They're being accosted by a villainess known as the Asbestos Lady. The Torch easily takes down her men, but is forced to let her get away to save the Raymonds' home from his own flames. Ahhh, don't worry about her, Jimmy. The mesothelioma will take her out in a few years. The two show Jim their sleeping son Thomas...who, unknown to the Torch, has a strange immunity to heat and fire. At the time, the Torch was unaware they were both dying from exposure to the substances they had expertise in. Not long afterwards, the Torch had his infamous fight with the Sub-Mariner in New York City.

“TORCH HUNGRY! TORCH WANT FISH STICKS!”

His meeting with the Raymonds, as well as his battle with Namor, caused Jim to realize how lonely he truly was. At least Namor had his fellow Atlanteans. As far as Jim knew, he was the only one of his kind, no peers or even family. Well...somewhat. This leads him to reunite with Professor Horton, his creator and "father of sorts". The two talk, and Horton reveals that Fred Raymond was once an associate of his. Raymond left because of failing health, which Horton feared was connected to his experiments with asbestos. Later on, the Raymonds died. Not because of their illnesses, but because of a train wreck the Asbestos Lady caused.

Weeks later, Jim hears on the radio about a fire-eating boy called Toro at a circus. This leads Jim to believe young Thomas may have survived the wreck. And if Jim figured it out, the Asbestos Lady could, too. She tries to kill him with a gas truck filled with water, but he escapes and captures her. The Torch then flies to the circus.

Tommy Raymond learned the hard way that trying to cosplay as the Human Torch is a BAD idea.

Toro finds himself bursting into flame around Jim but isn't sure why. The flames aren't hurting him, though. He can shut the flames off, but it doesn't explain anything. Jim asks the owner of the circus how Toro ended up under his care. His circus had seen the wreck, and two of his workers found and rescued the boy. Jim offers to help Toro understand his powers...and the boy is all for it.

Jim manages to arrange to be Toro's legal guardian, and the two fight crime together. It's eventually discovered that the Torch's presence acted like a catalyst, activating dormant powers within Toro. It would eventually be established in All-New Invaders #8 (2014) that Toro was a dormant Inhuman. Now that I think about it, why was he called Toro? In Spanish and Italian, "toro" means "bull". What does that have to do with fire?

Anyway, the two fought saboteurs, gangsters, and even the Sub-Mariner again. But in the background, the Second World War raged in Europe. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into the war. 

The Torch and Toro would do their part, becoming members of the wartime superteam known as the Invaders. 

“Alright boys, let’s beat up that swastika!”

During those years, Hammond and Toro fought the Nazis, and villains like Master Man, U-Man, and Warrior Woman. On April 1945, the Invaders are summoned to a hidden chamber in Big Ben to hear a sobering announcement.

"Well, that messes up the plans for the pizza party."

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is dead. But there's still a war on, and the Invaders still have jobs to do. The group's British members, Spitfire and Union Jack have been sent to guard Churchill. Roosevelt died a natural death, but the Allies don't want any chances taken. Namor is assigned to the Pacific, to help with dealing with the Kamikaze planes. Cap and Bucky are to watch over a drone plane base...

And the Torch/Toro combo have a very important assignment. The Russians are smashing their way through Berlin, and the two are assigned to grab Hitler so he can be tried as a war criminal. The two fly into Germany, where they blast some Nazi planes out of the sky...and get a nasty surprise.

"Oh, God! The pilot is drunk!"

Yup, they have a jet, presumably a "Salamander". Jim stops the plane by flying into the jet and drawing the flames from it into his body. The tactic succeeds in making the jet plane stall and drop out of the sky like a rock...but it knocks Jimmy himself for a loop.

Thank goodness for Toro! He's able to rescue his partner, and the story ends with the two flying deeper into Berlin. 

I did enjoy this comic, but I frankly don't have a lot to say about it. It's basically a glorified recap episode. It was pretty cool seeing Jim take down the jet plane at the end, though. I do think that it's also cool seeing Hammond's adventures in the 30s and 40s being retold in a more "modern" way. Roy Thomas's love of the character and the era shines, that's for sure. 

I did find one interesting continuity error here. You see, this story claims that Cap and Bucky were sent on that fateful mission to guard the drone plane (the one what would presumably kill Bucky and put Cap in suspended animation for decades), but according to Captain America Annual #13 (1994), at the time that the Torch and Toro were going to grab Hitler, Captain America had underwent a mission alongside the Patriot and the Spirit of '76 into Berlin to find Hitler's strongbox. Now, that story was released about four years later, so maybe Roy forgot, or editorial didn't catch it. I personally would have had Cap and Bucky's mission be set after Cap's in the Annual. 

And then there's Rich Buckler's art. I can't really explain it, but to me, it has this Golden Age vibe that fits the era.

If you want to read this 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!

The Saga of the Original Human Torch #1 (April 1990)

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!