In an epic, history-making team-up, Marvel’s first ever superhero has officially joined the Ultimates - theAvengers-alike heroes of its newUltimate Universecontinuity. While the team have been recruiting heroes for months, this is the first time they’ve gathered the whole team together, as Tony Stark’s god-tier rostergo up against the Hulkand his hand-picked team of gamma-empowered villains.
In a preview of Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee and Travis Lanham’sThe Ultimates #6, the team unite for the first time, tricked into a ‘rescue mission’ that is actually a trap for the Legendary Hulk and his Immortal Weapons to attack the team. Among the Ultimates roster is the first Human Torch, Jim Hammond,who it’s revealed"killed Hitler"in Ultimate Universe continuity.
Fans met the Ultimate Human Torch inFree Comic Book Day 2024: Ultimate Universe/Spider-Man’s ‘Forgotten Marvels,’ by Camp, Frigeri, Blee and Cory Petit. There, the Ultimates discovered a storage facility containing the murdered bodies of various heroes, including the deactivated Human Torch. Captain America was able to reactivate his WWII ally, but the story ended before fans saw what happened next.
InHyuk Lee’s cover art forThe Ultimates #7shows amajor redesign for Jim Hammond’s Human Torch, with his non-flaming form focusing far more on his android nature. The original concept for the Human Torch was a living android who was indistinguishable from a human, however the Ultimate Universe is seemingly paying far more attention to his historic status as Marvel’s first ever synthetic being.
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The Ultimate Human Torch Killed Hitler
As the Ultimates Unite for the First Time, the Human Torch Takes His Rightful Place
Marvel’sUltimate Universe debuted in 2023, with the reveal that the genius villain known as the Maker had warped an entire reality’s timeline to turn it into his personal playground. The Maker subverted Marvel’s Heroic Age, making sure that any heroes who could oppose him were killed, corrupted or never gained their powers. In this world, the Hulk is the Maker’s second in command, Thor was imprisoned for centuries as Loki took over Asgard, and Peter Parker only gained superpowers as a married father of two.
However, despite the many differences to official lore,Ultimates #6confirms that Jim Hammond’s Human Torch is still the hero who killed Hitler. The event was first shown in Hank Chapman, Russ Heath and Carl Burgos’Young Men #24, published 1953, but has been confirmed as canon over and over again in the decades since. The story shows the Human Torch and his sidekick Toro invade Hitler’s bunker, hoping he will voluntarily enter American custody rather than fall into the hands of Russian forces. However,when Hitler attempts to activate a failsafe superweapon, Human Torch is forced to burn him alive, with Hitler’s last words being an order to lie about the cause of his death.
While the timeline of the Ultimate Universe isverydifferent to the mainstream Marvel Universe or the real world, it appears that the Maker’s biggest changes took place post-WWII, meaning that the Human Torch’s wartime achievements still happened in this continuity. However, his post-war career was very different, as the android hero found himself targeted by the Maker and placed into storage alongside trophies of the Maker’s victory overultra-powerful heroes like Black Boltand the Sentry.
His powers have some disturbing limits - Hammond can control heatandradioactivity, and has threatened villains with cancer in the past.
Human Torch has never truly found his place in the modern era of Marvel Comics, so it’s exciting to see him as a major member of the Ultimates in this new world, as well as to have him officially reintroduced with his most pivotal, history-changing lore intact.
The Human Torch Is Far Deadlier Than Fans Realize
While Working with the Avengers, Jim Hammond Wiped Out an Entire Species
While Jim Hammond burned Hitler alive, he’s not usually known as a lethal vigilante. A conscious android, the Human Torch was officially Marvel’s first true ‘superhero,’ introduced in 1939’sMarvel Comics #1. Often held up as an example to other, the Human Torch has still dealt with more than his share of darkness. For example,his tenure with the Secret Avengers ended with him sacrificing the android Descendants to save humanity- an entire species of synthetic lifewho revered the Human Torch as their forefather and champion.
The Maker is a dictator who has committed horrific crimes against humanity, meaning the Human Torch may need to burn another despot before too long.
Born in a different age like Captain America, Hammond hasalsostruggled to feel truly human, making him a major outsider despite his reputation and legacy.His powers also have some disturbing limits- unlikethe Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, Hammond can control heatandradioactivity, and has threatened villains with cancer in the past. However, while Jim Hammond’s Human Torch may have his dark side, that’s exactly what the Ultimates need for the battle ahead.
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The Ultimate Universe’s Dictator Needs to Watch Out
… But First, The Hulk Is Going Down
TheMaker isn’t just Earth’s rulerin the Ultimate Universe - he’s responsible for some truly heinous acts. The Maker has created a council of villains who secretly run the world, keeping its nations locked in a state of ever-shifting but constant warfare. Behind the scenes, they assassinate anyone who threatens their power and have been givenfree rein to pursue horrific experimentssurrounding their areas of expertise. In the case of the Legendary Hulk,The Ultimates #3revealed his gamma experiments in the Pacific Ocean deliberately transformed those living nearby, leaving the majority in constant pain.
The Maker has more than earned the Human Torch’s fiery attention, but that’s a fight for the future. Currently, the Maker is locked away in his laboratory, inside which centuries are passing for him thanks to its time dilation capabilities. No-one knows what will emerge when he’s finally freed, but the Ultimates are fighting to make sure that when he does, his former power base has been eliminated. That begins withthis fight against the Hulk, who has powered up the Immortal Weapons (a superhero team in Marvel’s main timeline) as deadly Hulks, adding godlike strength to several of the greatest fighters on the planet.
The Human Torch has been given a new role in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, standing alongside this world’s Avengers as Captain America’s first-choice recruit. Having burned Adolf Hitler alive, Jim Hammond is now faced with another cruel dictator guilty of horrifying crimes against humanity, but this time one who already won his war for control and who has had centuries to set things up in his favor.
While the rest of the Ultimates are new takes on iconic codenames - a teenage Tony Stark, a totally new Hawkeye, and a Captain America without a country - the Human Torch is notable for being a last vestige of how the world ‘should’ be without the Maker’s tampering.With a surprising effort made to maintain his classic lore, it will be fascinating to see how theUltimate Universeuses Marvel’s first ever superhero, especially after decades of him failing to find a definitive place in its main timeline.
The Ultimates #6is coming November 6 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.
