Human Torch

Just what the world needs: more teenagers in heat. The Human Torch can burst into flames, fly thousands of feet into the sky, and absorb explosions into his body. In the heat of battle, the Fantastic Four can always count on Johnny Storm to keep cool. Is that something the Human Torch could do in the comics? Control flames like Pyro does? I thought the entire point of him needing to be careful with his "Nove Burst" power was that once things were set on fire, he couldn't do anything about it. I know he can make shapes with fire, like a big flaming "4" in the sky, but that's only when he physically travels in that shape, not just something he does mentally. Maybe it's like that Marvel Legend that incorrectly claimed he could turn his whole body into flame, and is just awkward writing. There were no Fant-4-stic toys, because everyone could see how bad that was going to be, but the 2005 Fantastic Four movie toys gave us better Chris Evans likenesses than any Hasbro Captain America has managed so far. First Steps Torch is played by some guy from Stranger Things, and looks decently recognizable even cast in translucent red plastic. The fact the new movie's FF costumes look like sweaters may seem a little silly, but in Torch's case it serves as a really great Easter egg. Originally Jack Kirby drew his Human Torch as a pillar of living flame; that changed by issue #3 to a red human form, outlined by yellow flames, and with thin black lines creating some shading on him; that's similar to the way the 1930s version had been drawn, so that may have been a corporate mandate. Anyway, those little lines became Human Torch's trademark look, and the fact he's wearing a cable-knit jumper means they're present on a live-action version for the first time. Neat! The toy is cast entirely in translucent red plastic, with translucent orange flames on his shoulders, hair, wrists, and shins. The ones on the upper part of his body even fade to red as they move away from him. The circle 4 on his chest gets painted, as do his eyes. They even did some subtle black lines on the chest and thighs to accentuate the sculpt! Plus some printed on his face to complete the look. A guy made of fire is a guy made of fire no matter what, so this figure could stand in for a comic version if you've never found one you like. Articulation is as you expect: balljointed head, hinged neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a balljointed chest, swivel waist, balljoint hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, no shins because anything less than infinite growth forever will make the stock market big sad, and swivel/hinge ankles. They did their best job to make sure the flame pieces don't get too close together and therefore block the joints, but at some point that becomes unavoidable. However, you can still mostly pose him however you want. Johnny doesn't get swappable limbs like Reed did, so you'll have to make do with just your choice of open or closed hands (each with flames of their own). The flames on his forearms and shins are separate pieces, not glued on, but while you can take the hands off to get at the upper ones, you'd have to remove the feet to do anything about the lower. Also, be careful when swapping the left hands: Torch still wears his wrist communicator even when he's flamed on, so you can lose that piece if you're not paying attention. The Human Torch has always looked good in live-action. Well, almost: the Roger Corman Fantastic Four, being a last-minute cash-grab, didn't actually pay special effects artists to finish doing the work, so if you've ever seen that movie what you saw was the equivalent of a rough pre-vis animatic. But "fire" is something visual effects have had a pretty good handle on for years, so you can count on any given Human Torch to look decent, and this new one definitely did. And so does his action figure. -- 09/08/25 What's your "default" Human Torch? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.