Featuring: Human Torch
Release: September 25, 1940
Cover: Fall 1940
10 cents
By Carl Burgos
19 pages
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|---|---|---|
| Marvel Mystery Comics #4 | PRELUDE | Marvel Mystery Comics #17 |
| Fantastic Four #56 | Reading order | Fantastic Four Annual 4 |
Looks like I’ve found a miniature Human Torch!
After appearing in 13 issues of Marvel Mystery Comics, Human Torch gets his own self-titled magazine.
This is the first issue. Except that it’s Human Torch #2.
The numbering seems to continue from the otherwise unrelated Red Raven Comics #1.
I’m not an expert on why comics were so against first issues back in the day. I’ve heard it was a way of dodging some postal fees for starting a new periodical to distributed. I’ve also heard marketing at the time thought people wouldn’t buy first issues of titles because they were “unproven”. Marvel marketing in the 2000s would feel the opposite, and started restarting titles with a new #1 every year or so, feeling that first issues sell better than later issues.
Maybe market comics based on their content and just number things sensibly.
Some modern online sources refer to this issue as Human Torch #1, so it gets a bit confusing. Some online sources call the series Human Torch Comics. aligning the GCD, which says it’s titled simply The Human Torch.
The numbering of this series only gets more confusing from here. We’ll discuss the numbering and title confusion in more detail in a later post.
Let’s talk Batman for a moment. One of the most enduringly popular superheroes of all time. (After Spider-Man, of course.) But what made Batman so popular? In concept, he wasn’t that different from the Shadow or the Phantom or characters going back to Zorro. In fact, he was rather similar to the Black Bat. What did Batman have that these characters didn’t that gave him such staying power?
Perhaps it’s aspects of his look designed by Bill Finger, the cool gloves or cowl, the cape that flowed in the wind to look like wings. But that’s not my theory.
The thing that made Batman unique? The thing that made Batman great? The thing that made Batman endure?
I claim it’s Robin. Introduced a year into Batman’s adventures, Batman gained a kid sidekick. And it’s Batman and Robin that was the unique concept, that was popular and enduring.
Robin would be well-imitated.
Toro is the first significant imitation of Robin, introduced about 6 months after. A few months later, Marvel would introduce Captain America and Bucky. Some months later, DC would introduce Green Arrow and Speedy, and Sandman would get his partner Sandy.
Here is a good article on Book Riot about the history of teen sidekicks in comics.
Note that by this point it’s clear the Human Torch can fly. He had been leaping his first few issues, but seemed to be flying while battling Namor, and was skywriting by issue 10 and doing aerial combat with planes by issue 11.
Toro is with a circus. Just like Robin was.
His gimmick was eating fire, but Torch notices he’s not even harmed when he catches on fire.
Toro reveals he can flame on at will, just like the Human Torch.
An important difference is the contrast between Robin and Batman. Light vs. dark colors, etc. Toro is just Torch’s Mini-Me.
Toro in flame form will be illustrated pretty consistently with fewer details lines then the Human Torch, so you can tell them apart.
Samson the Strong Man is the issue’s antagonist. “Don’t start anything you can’t finish,” warns the Torch. Something I’ve heard from many a woman.
We learn Toro’s origin. Flame had never hurt him. And so it was he survived the train crash that killed his parents.
It’s worth noting the train is called the Marvel Special.
He was adopted by Pop and taken in as a circus act. Pops is the one who named him Toro. We don’t learn any other name for him.
Toro seems awfully chipper considering his world was just upended. Maybe he’s putting on a brave face.
We see Toro’s act which includes levitation.
And a blazing T.
The Torch agrees to train Toro. It’s not clear that Toro is the Torch’s sidekick just yet. It’s another one of those things that just kind of happens gradually. This comic is published quarterly and Toro will be in every issue of Human Torch. It will take several months before Toro starts showing up in Marvel Mystery Comics.
Fans are encouraged to write in if they want more of Toro. The address doesn’t seem to be current, so I don’t recommend mailing your opinions on Toro now. Then again, do as you please.
The Human Torch
In care of
Timely Publications
330 W. 42nd St.
New York City
The issue features an interview with Carl Burgos, where he explains how he came up with the Human Torch. I assume the details to be 100% accurate.
The title and cover belong to the Human Torch, but he shares this issue with Namor, the Falcon, the Fiery Mask, and new characters Microman and Mantor the Magician.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 53/100
I read this story in Timely’s Greatest: The Golden Age Human Torch by Carl Burgos Omnibus.
Characters:
- Human Torch
- Toro, the Flame Kid
- Pops/Tom
- Samson
- Pop’s wife
- The Professor
Story notes:
- Human Torch flying across country when he comes down to visit circus and sees Toro, the fire-eating boy.
- Toro’s body is on fire, but he’s unharmed.
- Pops is owner of circus.
- Toro can turn his flame on at will. Like a “miniature Human Torch”.
- Toro tries to leap, but is clumsy.
- Pops fires Samson the strong man. Samson and Torch fight.
- Human Torch trains Toro.
- Toro’s parents killed in train crash. Toro unharmed by flames. Fire had never hurt him. He used to pull baked potatoes out of the fire.
- Pop and his wife adopt Toro to be featured in Pop’s Traveling Circus.
- Pops named him Toro; we don’t learn his given name.
- Toro levitates and fights lions.
- Firemen put out his flame, making him vulnerable to the lion. Samson had reported a fire. He wanted Toro to be eaten by a lion.
- Professor had invented a Rayon Gun Samson seeks to steal.
- Samson kills the Professor.
- Torch and Toro can keep certain body parts not aflame.
- Torch and Toro take care of Samson and his thugs.
| Previous | Next | |
|---|---|---|
| Marvel Mystery Comics #4 | PRELUDE | Marvel Mystery Comics #17 |
| Fantastic Four #56 | Reading order | Fantastic Four Annual 4 |
The first issue of Torch, which is really the second… It may not have the most memorable introduction, but Toro would prove to be a fun character, I even thought he was better than Bucky. These first issues of Torch had this interesting anthology with other Timely superheroes, including some new ones; but later they would remove them and leave only stories of Torch and Namor. That was somewhat disappointing; it made the comic lose its identity and it has nothing to differentiate it from a Marvel Mystery Comics (or even an All Winners or All Select). I would say that one disadvantage of these Timely issues was that, after their first few years, they filled all their books with Namor, Torch and Cap; depending heavily on them and a couple of other characters like Angel, Destroyer, the Young Allies, or to a lesser extent, Patriot, Miss America or Whizzer. They should have given more opportunities to the rest of the Timely heroes, instead of disappearing them after a couple of stories. Compared to that, DC had Batman and Superman with their own comic book anthologies, each with two separate titles and a shared one; but it also allowed other characters to thrive, who continue to this day: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Flash, Aquaman, Dr. Midnite, etc; and even lesser-known characters like Zatara and Starman had over 100 appearances, so there was more variety in the stories.
That’s a good insight as to why the Golden Age Marvel heroes proved less enduring than their DC counterparts. Focusing on their “big three” to the exclusion of all else.
When you said Toro was born with his powers, I immediately thought “there’s got to be some modern story that says he’s a mutant, right?” Looked it up, and it turns out there was! But they retconned him to be an Inhuman in the 2010s.
I think Disney was unhappy with not having the X-Men movie license, so Marvel had that big push to downplay mutants and make the Inhumans the new X-Men. Eventually Disney just found it easier to buy 20th Century Fox than to keep promoting the Inhumans.
Yeah I have heard about that situation (like how Kamala Khan was originally planned to be a mutant, and the whole Marvel v Capcom controversy, etc.). I’m glad the rights issues are sorted out now. But in the case of Toro, it’s cool how they recontextualized such an old character.