Ahead of the premiere of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel may have just revealed one of Johnny Storm’s secret superpowers as the Human Torch. Joseph Quinn is set to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Johnny Storm in First Steps, alongside Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the other members of the titular superhero team. While Johnny’s primary powers, including fire-generation and flight, are well-known, Marvel just revealed the Human Torch can also absorb explosive energy into his body, which could be game-changing for the MCU.
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Marvel Studios used its recent collaboration with beverage brand Snapple to reveal more about the individual members of the Fantastic Four. In the character description for Johnny Storm’s Human Torch (via Fantastic Four Updates), Marvel suggest that “Johnny can burst into flames, fly thousands of feet into the sky, and absorb explosions into his body, all without breaking a sweat.” Live-action iterations of the Human Torch haven’t really focused on his energy absorption powers before, so this will be a huge change for the MCU that could prove helpful in the fight against Galactus.
Johnny Storm is the youngest and most popular member of the Fantastic Four. His cheeky persona is captivating, though, thankfully, Marvel Studios will seemingly be removing the character’s more problematic traits. Beyond his humanity, however, Johnny Storm is also perhaps the most physically varied and powerful member of the Fantastic Four, being able to control and manipulate fire and heat at will, and being able to absorb explosions adds to this significance.
During The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel’s First Family will go toe-to-toe with Shalla-Bal’s Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and the plant-eater Galactus (Ralph Ineson). This duo will be posing a monumental threat to the alternate universe Earth of First Steps, surely causing explosion after explosion, perhaps even destroying the entire world. The reveal that Johnny Storm can absorb explosions into his body, however, could create an opportunity for the Fantastic Four to beat Galactus and his Herald. He’ll be able to protect not only himself, but other people, too, taking the damage on himself instead of inflicting it on others.
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Following controversial and lackluster portrayals in 2005’s Fantastic Four, its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and 2015’s Fantastic Four reboot, it’s incredibly exciting that Johnny Storm is finally joining the MCU in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Alongside Reed Richards’ Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm’s Invisible Woman, and Ben Grimm’s Thing, Johnny will surely get the chance to show off superpowers we’ve never seen on-screen before. This could help him save the world from Galactus and the Silver Surfer, but could also change the power dynamics of the MCU as a whole.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is scheduled to release on July 25, 2025, as part of the MCU’s Phase 6.
Are you excited to see Joseph Quinn in action as Johnny Storm’s Human Torch? Let us know in the comments!