Hey, Legionnaires! I've got a tight turnaround for a Human Torch story, and one aspect is "Dumb/Immature Things Johnny Does or Did." Anyone got any favorite bonehead moments for the FF's Human Torch?
Thanks in advance!
Hey, Legionnaires! I've got a tight turnaround for a Human Torch story, and one aspect is "Dumb/Immature Things Johnny Does or Did." Anyone got any favorite bonehead moments for the FF's Human Torch?
Thanks in advance!
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Marrying a shape-changing alien who was impersonating his best-friend's ex-girlfriend pretty much tops everything else I can think of.
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Most typical would be his sparring with Ben. Wasn't there a story in Marvel Fanfare where he played an elaborate birthday prank on Ben only to find out he had the day wrong?
Edit: It was April Fool's Day rather than a birthday, in a story in Marvel Fanfare #15 by Barry Windsor-Smith.
This was early during the Mark Waid run ... Sue named Johnny CEO of Fantastic Four Inc. in a bid to make him grow up and warned him, "Don't screw up." At the very bottom of the last panel, there's a caption: "NEXT ISSUE: JOHNNY SCREWS UP."
In the next issue, Johnny gets schmoozed and wined and dined by a marketer who wants to license the unstable molecules fabric for everyday use. Dazzled by bikini-clad babes, Johnny signs on the dotted line, although there are limits in the contract as to what can and can't be done with the fabric ...
... but the marketer has stolen a personal item of Johnny's to reverse-engineer the unstable molecules. Reed, however, prepared for that possibility (it was funny; the marketer and one of his scientists are peering through a microscope, and one of the molecules has this message on it: "IF YOU CAN READ THIS ... ") Unfortunately, something goes wrong and the unstable molecules spread like wildfire, swallowing everything in their path. Sue has to save the day.
Buying the skin mag with the "color corrected" photos of She-Hulk and a pair of green-tinted sunglasses...and then telling her about it.
Marvel Team-Up #9-11, "The Tomorrow War" had a major conflict between Kang the Conqueror and Zarkko the Tomorrow Man and the Avengers are captured and helpless. Johnny appears in the middle issue but when the trail leads to Attilan and the Inhumans (the co-stars of #11), he bails out because he does not want to run into his ex-girlfriend, Crystal, again. Don't worry about the space-time continuum, Johnny! We don't want you to feel awkward! What a knee-biter!
Yeah, it's not just stupid on Johnny's part but immature and dangerous. I would have loved to know what Spidey was thinking about his "good friend"! And he left him alone on a mountain-top after telling him he has to go to the Himalayans! IIRC, when Spidey does meet the Inhumans, Crystal wasn't shown (I think). Plus the abruptness of him leaving a team-up in the middle would turn up again when he ditches Spidey in MTU #40!
No matter what the cause, it lowered the Torch's "hero status". What would the FF think about his decision? Or the Avengers, who were captives at this point? If Spider-Man did grouse to anyone about Johnny's behavior, who would respect, trust or rely on him anymore?
As a real world explanation, perhaps the creators wanted to have a different co-star featured every issue, including continued stories, though Iron Man (the co-star of #9) did appear in #11.
Since someone brought up Marvel Team-Up (oh wait, that was me!), The Human Torch was the star for a time, taking Spidey's headliner spot every three issues or so. They usually played it safe, teaming him with the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man (who showed a decidingly lack of respect towards him. Fallout from the Tomorrow War?) and Doctor Strange. There was the obvious pairing with Iceman and the only "surprise' one with the Son of Satan, a team-up Spidey never had!
The gist of this is that when Marvel wanted to, the Human Torch was a major player and had the potential of regaining his solo star status. I believe that it was just easier to portray him as immature, to keep him essentially younger than the rest. He was upset about Crystal but he ignored her and let her go, which led to her marriage to Quicksilver. Imagine if Stan allowed Johnny and Crystal to get hitched, it would have forced Johnny to become more responsible!