Marvel’s newUltimate Universeis building its roster of heroes to take on the world’s evil leadership, and Marvel is finally paying off the promise of bringing back Marvel’s first superhero to help: theHuman Torch. Hailing from pre-Marvel comics, the first Human Torch is a hero with a long, long history, and hopefully that history doesn’t cause tension with a team that’s more broken than him.
Thepreview forThe Ultimates#7 by Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, and Federico Blee has revealed thatMarvel’s first superhero, the original Human Torch Jim Hammond, is finally awake, and with an entirely new body to boot.
The Human Torch has been teased since the very start of this series, but it’s not until now, seven issues in, that readers finally get to see him in action. What’s more is that he’s been entirely rebuilt, which means that he’s got the technical genius of both Tony Stark and Reed Richards - this world’s Doctor Doom - behind him now.
Marvel’s OriginalHuman Torch Is Back in the New Ultimate Universe
And He’s Been Rebuilt by Several Marvel Super-Geniuses
Created by writer and artist Karl Burgos, Jim Hammond first appeared in 1939’sMarvel Comics#1. Published by Marvel’s predecessor Timely Comics, this issue retroactively became the first Marvel Comic, as characters like Hammond and Namor the Sub-Mariner were eventually folded into Marvel canon. Built in-universe by scientist Professor Horton,Jim Hammond is an android with the power to self-combust but remain unharmed. Retcons later established him as a friend of Captain America during World War II, and before even more retcons changed his history, his final fate wasserving as part of the original Vision’s body.
Marvel Is Reinventing Its First Ever Superhero, But This Character-Defining Piece of Lore Is Officially Still Intact
As Marvel reinvents its first ever superhero as a member of the Ultimates, one piece of jaw-dropping lore is too vital to change.
This version of Human Torchfirst appeared inThe Ultimatesportion ofFree Comic Book Day 2024: Ultimate Universe/Spider-Man#1by the regularUltimatescreative team. That story sees the fledgling Ultimates break into a “museum” of dead superheroes, only to learn what Captain America had already suspected: Jim Hammond was far from dead. However, the first six issues ofThe Ultimatesdidn’t see him in action, and only now has he been fully rebuilt and awakened.
Human Torch’s History Could Complicate Things with His New Team
Is This the Beginning of the End for the Ultimates?
Human Torch’s relationship with his new teammates could be contentious, however. With an Ultron-looking Hank Pym on the team who’s aware of his mainstream Marvel counterpart’s failings, there could be tension if Hank has a complex about what Ultron supposedly did to the Human Torch in the 616 universe. Similarly, this Reed Richards lost his Johnny Storm, who never got a chance to become the secondHuman Torch,and Hammond might bring back some bad memories for Reed. Marvel’s original superhero has awoken in the very different world of the newUltimate Universe, but his original history might still inflame tensions.
The Ultimates#7is available December 4th, 2024 from Marvel Comics.
Ultimate Marvel
Created in 2000, the Ultimate Marvel imprint redesigned the entire Marvel Comics universe with a new set of origin stories and relationships. The reboot reinterpreted Marvel continuity from scratch in an attempt to simplify and update the company’s 60-year history for modern audiences. With famous comic book writers such as Brian Michael Bendis, Warren Ellis, and Mark Millar at the helm, the Ultimate universe (named Earth-1610 within the Marvel multiverse) lasted 15 years and provided plenty of inspiration for the MCU.
