the Human Torch
| F Ex 20 |
A Ex 20 |
S Ex 20 |
E In 40 |
R Ty 6 |
I Ty 6 |
P Ex 20 |
Res Gd 10 |
Pop Mn +75 |
| Health: Karma: |
100 32 |
Origin:
An android built by Phineas T. Horton, the Human Torch had the fatal flaw of igniting upon being exposed to air. He managed to get control of this tendency however, and has since used his pyrotechnic abilities in the fight against whatever evils happen to cross his path!
Known Powers:
Synthetic Construction: the Human Torch is an artificial being, built from off the shelf components married together with synthetic organic building blocks known as Horton cells. As a manufactured human, the Torch has the benefit of the following ascendant abilities:
* Agelessness: the Torch doesn't age as per regular humans. As long as he maintains his various bodily systems, he can continue to function indefinitely. Finally, his android body only requires about half the sleep a conventional human being needs.
* Resistance to Disease and Poisons: while he isn't fully immune to the failings of natural beings, what with him being partially organic in nature, the Torch is nonetheless resistant to these attack vectors. He possesses Monstrous (75) protection from such assaults.
Fire Generation: his most notorious ability, this power allows the Human Torch to generate flames as he sees fit. He may do so with Monstrous (75) ability, inflicting like SD Energy damage with each assault, and has mastered these power stunts thus far:
* Aura / Fire and Heat: the Torch's body generates an astounding amount of heat while his powers are active. This translates into a Monstrous (75) rank nimbus of flame and infrared light around his body, which is extremely deleterious to infravision.
In addition to so brutally inconveniencing individuals with this sensory enhancement, the Torch's fiery aura provides him a considerable amount of protection from a wide array of injury, described as follows:
Am 50 / Mn 75 / Ex 20 / Ty 6 / Fe 2
* Flight: by projecting his flames behind himself, the Torch can achieve flight speeds of up to 140 miles per hour (which roughly translates into Excellent (20) rank), or ten areas per turn. He can carry up to 180 additional pounds before he is slowed down any.
* Nova Blast: this ultimate assault allows the Torch to release the power of a nuclear blast. This translates into a Shift Y (200) intensity SD Energy blast, affecting everything within approximately four miles with its deadly power. The Torch doesn't use this often, however.
This because it would kill almost anybody within the blast radius. And would be an enormous Karma nightmare, to say the least. Furthermore, his nova blast drains the Torch's power for about twelve full hours, during which time he is easy prey for anything that survived its use!
Fire Manipulation: the Torch's second main power is his ability to control active fiery energies. He can do this with Monstrous (75) ability, affecting either his own fire or the flames of others. The Torch can produce the following effects with this power:
* Flame Cages: the Torch can create cages and other barriers composed of flaming energy, which are of Monstrous (75) intensity. Anyone crossing these cages or barriers will suffer like SD Energy damage with each attempt.
* Energy Duplicates: the Torch can produce up to ten fiery duplicates of himself at one time. Each is considered to be an Monstrous (75) intensity fire 'object', inflict like damage upon touch, and act with similar statistics under the Torch's control.
* Fiery Object Creation: the Torch can produce skywriting, and other 'objects' of fire that are of Monstrous (75) intensity flame. Such 'objects' will last for about 35 rounds (3.5 minutes) before burning out, unless the Torch concentrates on maintaining them.
* Temperature Control: the Torch has also demonstrated influence over heat as well. He can lower the temperature of an object to about thirty degrees Fahrenheit, or raise it up to several hundred degrees. Alternately, he can simply absorb heat into his body to fuel his Nova blast.
Resistance to Fire and Heat Attacks: the Human Torch can supposedly only be harmed by fire of an intensity greater than his own maximum output: his nova blast. As such, it can be assumed that he is resistant to all fire and heat attacks at Shift Y (200) rank.
Sensory Link: having given Spitfire multiple blood transfusions (as emergencies have arose), the Human Torch has developed a sort of rapport with the Lady Falsworth. This psionic connection seems to work at Remarkable (30) rank, no matter how far apart the two are.
Limitations / Enhancements:
Achilles' Heel: The Human Torch, while quite powerful, has a weakness. Applying five or more gallons of water to him can douse his powers, as can extremely powerful winds (those of Unearthly (100) intensity or higher). Extinguishing the Torch neuters his powers for 1d10 turns.
Equipment:
(none)
Quirks:
(none)
Talents:
Law Enforcement: for a time, the Human Torch was a member of the NYPD, and as such, he'd be properly schooled in the ways of busting up crime, whatever form it manifests in. Consider his Reason to be +1 CS concerning law and order FEAT rolls.
Military / United States: while not an actual member of the armed forces, per se, the Human Torch worked with them for four years during World War 2, and as such, it is likely that he has an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the American military as a whole.
Piloting: even though he himself can fly unaided by technology, the Human Torch has been spotted on numerous occasions piloting the aircraft owned by the Sub-Mariner. As such, he may add a +1 CS to any Agility or Control FEAT called for while operating such vehicles.
Skill / Fire Generation: though he lacks other combat training, the Human Torch is skilled in the use of his power, especially when using it in combat. He makes all FEAT rolls for his fiery powers at a +1 CS (except for damage, of course).
Trivia: the Torch is knowledgeable in various areas of 1930s and 1940s culture, as he was schooled via remote control by his creator while locked underground in a cement vault. His Reason FEATs concerning this era should be +1 CS for all applicable rolls.
Contacts:
The Human Torch is a hero of great renown, having fought the Nazi scourge during World War II, either alone, alongside his side kick Toro, or with the Invaders. He has since been an All-Winner, a West Coast Avenger, a New Invader, and led Heroes for Hire and the V-Battalion for a time.
Costume:
When not wearing civilian clothes, the Human Torch usually wears a body suit that is entirely red, save for its yellow collar and cuffs. Of course, the vast majority of the time that you encounter him, he's ablaze - so you wouldn't really see anything but him inside his fiery aura.
While working with the New Invaders, the Torch adopted a less flashy uniform. It includes a navy blue, long-sleeved shirt beneath a red vest with a torch emblem on the front, navy blue trousers, black leather boots and red leather gloves.
Personality:
The Human Torch often felt loneliness, being the very first of his kind - much less an outsider in human society despite his many attempts to fit in. He's found friendship in the form of his fellow Invaders however, especially with his side kick, Toro - who he treats like a son.
Real Name: the Human Torch
Occupation: adventurer, former police officer
Legal Status: unrevealed
Marital Status: single (if applicable)
Alias(es), if any: Jim Hammond
Group Affiliation: former member of the New Invaders, former leader of the V-Battalion, former leader of Heroes for Hire, former member of the West Coast Avengers, former member of the All-Winners Squad, and former member of the Invaders. Jim really gets around!
Height: 6' 3"
Hair: blond
Eyes: blue
Weight: 300 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none
Story:
The Human Torch was created in the laboratory of one Phineas T. Horton. He and his assistant were pioneers in artificial intelligence and robotics - truly decades before their time. Working in secret for years, these two managed to eventually produce a working android: an artificial being that mimicked virtually all of the normal functions of the human body!
The only problem was that this android would catch fire as soon as it was exposed to oxygen! Attempting to earn back some of his investment on all his work, Horton called a press conference to show off his new creation; this irked his assistant, who subsequently made off with a second, almost complete android body - and he proved to have been correct in doing so.
This was because the press reacted quite poorly to Horton's showing of this 'Human Torch', condemning it as a 'monster' and a 'menace to society'. Cowed by the press's reaction and threats against him, Horton locked the android away in a cement chamber underground, its only link to the above world a speaker with which Horton could teach this nascent entity about humanity.
Time passed though, and Horton's air-tight tomb proved to be not as sealed as he thought. Eventually, the Human Torch managed to break free of his prison, making his way through a New York City completely unprepared to handle such a freakish event. Panic ensued as the Torch poorly interacted with his surroundings, inadvertently setting fires and causing all kinds of damage.
The Torch eventually got control of his powers, however, and declared himself independent of Horton when the man tried again to cash in on his creation. In fact, the two had a violent altercation that seemed at first to kill Horton, but the man ultimately escaped to create further androids. The Torch, meanwhile, adopted the identity of Jim Hammond, and became a police officer.
He fought crime as a policeman for a time, at least until some manner of villainous threat would force him to catch fire and deal with it directly. On one such occasion, the Torch found out that the Asbestos Girl had targeted the Raymond family for their secrets in fireproof technologies. Though he routed her, the Torch couldn't prevent her from killing most of the family.
Save for the youngest member, Thomas - who, upon meeting the Torch, displayed fantastic fire-based powers of his own! Since the youth no longer had a family, the Torch took him under his wing, and the duo started fighting crime together. Though he was a human being, Thomas - who took to calling himself Toro - began to think of the android Torch as a father figure, and the two became best friends.
They would fight evil together wherever they could find it, whether alone or together. These feats of heroism included numerous clashes with the aquatic Sub-Mariner, who had a grudging respect for the Torch despite his opposition to assaults on the human world. Of course, the Torch would wind up working with Namor eventually, when the two were asked to join a team by Captain America.
Tasked with the opposition of fascist forces worldwide, the Invaders would be the earth's premiere combat team. The Torch readily joined up with Captain America, taking Toro with him, as did Namor and the Cap's own side kick, Bucky. This team would grow over time to become as effective as planned, the individual members slowly learning how to fight alongside each other more efficiently.
And they were joined by others, including the second Union Jack and Spitfire, British siblings who both gained super-human powers; Union Jack 2 by a variant of the Super-Soldier Serum, and Spitfire by the mutagenic reaction caused by exposure to vampire ichor and a blood transfusion from the Torch himself. This team proved so mighty that no fascist threat could stop their onslaught.
In fact, it was the Human Torch who officially ended the Allied war with Germany when he personally killed Adolph Hitler. With this done, and the rest of the Axis falling like bowling pins soon after, the Invaders were no longer needed to, well, invade anything. As such, they transformed into the All-Winners Squad, continuing the fight against super villainy for several more years.
This ended for the Torch when he was abducted by American criminals who sought his destruction. Obtaining a chemical known as Solution X-R, they sprayed both the Torch and Toro with it, retarding both of their powers. They ditched Toro and buried the Torch in the Nevada desert, where he lay immobile for years, until the test detonation of a nuclear bomb on the spot where he lay.
His powers reignited, the Torch resumed crime fighting with Toro, as the All-Winners Squad had since disbanded. This continued until the Torch's powers began to grow out of his control, possibly due to the radiation that freed him from Solution X-R's influence. Returning to the desert, the Torch tried to burn his powers out, rendering himself inert for a very long time.
His body was eventually discovered by the Mad Thinker, who used a brainwashed Human Torch against the Fantastic Four. After this debacle, two odd things happened all at once. First, the time-traveling Immortus appeared and duplicated the Torch's inert body, and secondly, Ultron showed up to steal the Torch for his own purposes. Thanks to the duplication, both villains had their very own copy of the Torch.
While Ultron's copy was built into the android Vision, the Mad Thinker's 'original' was buried until such a time that the villain could use it again. He never got the chance though, for years later the Scarlet Witch and Ann Raymond, Toro's wife, revived the Human Torch anew. Fighting crime with the Witch and her 'West Coast Avengers' for a time, the Torch wound up saving Spitfire yet again.
Though it cost him the use of his powers, the Torch gave Jacqueline a second blood transfusion when minions of the Master Man had shot her. Though he was rendered powerless, she was reborn and empowered anew, and he left it to her to carry on the fight against evil. Deciding to live a normal life, he became the head of the Sub-Mariner's corporation, Oracle, and settled down with Ann Raymond.
A normal life was not to be for the Human Torch, however, even if he didn't have his flame powers. He was eventually recruited to lead the V-Battalion after its current boss, the Mighty Destroyer 3, decided to retire. He steered the vigilante group to a more positive end until he was also recruited into the New Invaders, due to his interest in Tara, an android built on his own design.
Making sure she was well taken care of, the Torch wound up fighting various Nazi evils alongside the New Invaders, and his own powers were reignited when he felt the intense heat Tara gave off when her secret programming, installed by the Red Skull, was activated. Though he stopped her from destroying the world by siphoning off her heat, the Human Torch couldn't contain it for long, and exploded right after.
Recovering his body, the New Invaders saw that he was buried in a proper ceremony, which most surviving heroes from both the Golden Age and the Modern Day attended. Though dead, Jim was not afforded proper rest, for his body was taken by U.N. scientists for study, and subsequently stolen by Zhang Chin, who wanted to use it to wipe out half the earth's population.
The new Captain America, himself Bucky from years past, stopped Chin with Namor's help, and made sure the Torch's body gained a proper burial... again. Of course, the Torch's grave was desecrated yet again, this time by the Mad Thinker, who (yet again) reprogrammed him for his own, sinister purposes. Luckily, a recently resurrected Toro was able to free the Torch from the Thinker's bondage anew.
Shortly after this, with all of them simultaneously alive and active for the first time since 1944, the Invaders reunited to clean up a mess from their past, one instigated by none other than Shuma-Gorath. Luckily, despite being vastly overpowered by this eldritch entity from beyond known space and time, the Invaders managed to prevent this Many-Angled One from gaining the foothold in our plane he so deeply desired.
What the Torch, much less the rest of the Invaders, will do from this point on is anyone's guess.
Extra Goodies:
View the Golden Age Human Torch!
Return to the All-Winners Squad main page!
Return to the V-Battalion main page!
Return to the New Invaders main page!
Return to the Marvel Universe Miscellany main page!
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