Secret Avengers Declassified: The Torch & Giant-Man

The Marvel Universe is still feeling the effects of Fear Itself even as the conflict of Avengers vs. X-Men looms. One team that will be dramatically changed in early 2012 is the Secret Avengers.

Writer Rick Remender is beginning his run on the series with Secret Avengers #21.1, with artist Gabriel Hardman joining him shortly afterward. Along with a new writer comes a new team leader and an overhauled cast.

For the next several weeks, we'll be profiling the eight core members of the new Secret Avengers. We'll tell you who they are, what their essential stories are, and even provide some creator commentary from Remender himself.

Check out last week's profile on Venom and Beast!


Real Name: Jim Hammond
First Appearance: Marvel Comics #1 (1939)

The original Human Torch was the very first hero of the Marvel Age. Jim Hammond is actually a super-powered android created by Phineas Horton. Horton discovered that his creation was prone to spontaneous combustion when exposed to oxygen. After a brief period as a misunderstood villain, Torch learned to control his powers and served as a member of the WWII super-team The Invaders.

The Torch was decommissioned after the war ended, but a series of villains have sought to revive the hero for their own purposes in the modern era. Most recently, The Mad Thinker captured Torch's former sidekick Toro and used him to revive the android as a mindless weapon. Luckily, the Torch broke free from his new master's control and defeated his dark opposite, the Inhuman Torch.

Now alive and healthy again, this venerable hero is free to resume his life and his heroic career.

Remender Says: "The first story, 'The Descendants,' revolves around Father, who was last seen in [Uncanny] X-Force #5-7. He was the architect of The World; a very mysterious figure. As I was writing that story, I was writing down a lot of notes about an automaton revolution, but that story ended up being cut a little bit short so that I could move on and build the Dark Angel stuff. It felt like a really cool idea for this character from The World play a larger role in the Marvel Universe.

So the Torch is Grandfather. He's the alpha; he's the very first of this entire species. As the story progresses, there's a very natural reason that he's involved and invited into the team. He plays a terrific role moving forward. It's just one of those things where, as you're building a story, you have these natural points of connection to other characters. Dealing with the evolution of the robot species in the Marvel Universe and the coming of the Descendants, which is going to be huge, it was just a natural connector. It all starts here, with lo and behold, the very first Marvel character, the Torch!"


Marvels & The Marvels Project TPBs: Both of these mini-series explore the impact of Marvel's classic heroes on the world at large. The Marvels Project in particular explores the origins and dynamics of The Invaders from a modern perspective.

Fantastic Four Annual #4: This issue marks the first time the Golden Age Torch was brought into the present day, as well as the first time he encountered the modern Human Torch. In this issue, The Mad Thinker reactivates the Torch in a vain effort to defeat the FF.

Avengers/Invaders & The Torch TPBs: Avengers/Invaders and its follow-up establish the current status quo for Torch and Toro. The first volume pits the Initiative-era Avengers against the time-displaced Invaders, while the second chronicles the Mad Thinker's latest attempt to harness the android hero.