- Disease Resistance: Unearthly ability to resistance earthly diseases.
- Universal Organ Donor
- Invulnerability: Class 1000 resistance to fire and heat.
- Fire Generation and Control: The human torch generates Monstrous intensity flames and possesses Unearthly control over any flame. He has shown the following power stunts
- Fireballs: Monstrous damage, three area range
- Flame Constructs: Amazing intensity flame barriers and cages. Three area range
- Flight: Excellent air speed.
- Fire Sheath: Monstrous protection against physical and energy attacks. Due to the nature of his sheath he has no protection again cold or wind based attacks.
- Nova flame: Burst of Shift-Z intensity fire to all within one area. Shift-X to all within the next five area radius. His powers reduce to Feeble for 1-10 rounds
Limitation
- Cold, water or wind based attacks of greater than Shift-X intensity extinguish Torch's flame
Talents
Business, Law Enforcement, Trivia: 1940's and 50's
Contacts
Invaders, Liberty Legion, All-Winners Squad, Avengers
History
The original Human Torch began his existence in 1939 in the laboratories of Professor Phineas Horton, one of the pioneers in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics. The culmination of Horton's research was an android who mimicked virtually all of the functions of a human being, including independent thought, but was composed entirely of synthetic materials. The one flaw in the android's design concerned the photoelectric solar cells which covered every square inch of his body and served as his power source. The cells were too volatile and caused the epidermis of the android to burst into flame upon contact with air but without harming the android itself. Horton revealed the Torch's existence to the public at a press conference in November 1939, at which he demonstrated how the Torch would burst into flame if he introduced a small amount of oxygen into the transparent container in which he was confined. The news media proclaimed the Torch to be a potential menace, and so Horton buried the android in his supposedly airtight tube within cement until such time as he could find a way either to prevent the android from bursting into flame or learn how to control its flame. There was a slow leak in the Tube, however, and eventually enough oxygen entered so that the android's flame ignited explosively, permitting him to escape. Wreaking havoc in innocent exploration of his environment, the android, inaccurately dubbed the Human Torch, soon realized the panic he was causing and, unable to control his flaming power, doused his flame in a swimming Pool.
The Human Torch eventually gained control over his flame and became a crimefighter. He allied himself with the young mutant Toro, who possessed powers similar to his own. At first, the greatest adversary the Torch faced in combat was the Sub-Mariner. The Torch and Toro, as well as the Sub-Mariner, who became their ally and friend, served together as members of the Invaders during World War II and the All-Winners Squad during the postwar years.
During this time, Hammond developed unrequited romantic feelings for the Jacqueline Falsworth. He saved her life by giving her a blood transfusion, and Hammond's android blood gave her superpowers leading her to become the hero Spitfire.
In 1949 American criminals seeking to destroy the Torch obtained a chemical known as Solution, and sprayed the solution over the Torch and Toro, dousing their flames and paralyzing them. The criminals then buried the Torch beneath the Nevada desert-accidentally beneath an atomic testing site. In December 1953, the blast of an atomic bomb detonated on the site freed the Torch, and the radiation reactivated his flame. The Torch resumed his crimefighting career and his partnership with Toro.
In 1955, the Human Torch sensed that the radiation from the bomb was causing him to lose control of his flame, and that he would eventually "die" by burning himself out. After bidding farewell to Toro, the Torch flew to a desert in the western United States where he tried to destroy himself by overloading his solar cells in a single burst of maximum-output flame. The Torch succeeded in burning himself out and plunged to earth to lie insensate.
In recent years, the android hero Vision was revealed to be a reconstructed Human Torch, and the time-traveling Immortus had made this possible by creating an identical temporal duplicate of the Torch that was rebuilt into Vision by the robot Ultron. The remaining Torch was used by the villain Mad Thinker in a plot against his enemies, the hero team Fantastic Four. The Mad Thinker buried the Torch in a non-descript grave.
The hero team Avengers revived the Human Torch when in the course of investigating the Vision’s origin. They invited the revived Torch to join their team, and he gratefully accepted. However, he served for only a short time before taking a personal leave of absence, during which time he lost his powers to save the life of his aged friend Lady Crichton (alias the Golden Age hero Spitfire). He then retired from adventuring although Hammond returned to join the Avengers' West Coast branch as reserve member, and served alongside the team on a couple of adventures.
Months later, he agreed to lead the re-launched hero team Heroes for Hire with Iron Fist and Cage, behind-the-scenes in an office capacity. After spearheading several adventures, Hammond was revealed to be used by the villainous Master to destroy the Heroes for Hire, although the Heroes triumphed over their foe and rescued Hammond, who recovered. During this time, Hammond recovered his ability to throw fireballs, although the full extent of his powers remain lost. When the unscrupulous Stark-Fujikawa corporation bought Oracle and began restructuring Heroes for Hire, Hammond resigned.
