Human Torch takes one for the team

In IGN's interview with Jonathan Hickman, writer for Marvel Comics, it has been revealed that the literally hot-headed Johnny Storm, a.k.a. Human Torch, will be kicking the bucket in the latest comic book, Fantastic Four # 587.

And to explain why the fiery superhero must die, here's a quote from Hickman.

"Well if you've been following along, you know that the world that we live in, the world as it is, is in the middle of trying to be changed by Reed (Richards a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic) into the world it can be. Johnny represented the child-like idealism, and he probably had the most utopian ideal. Taking him away adds a narrative push, a resistance, to what the book is actually about and what Reed is trying to achieve. He made sense thematically. Story wise, there's also some other stuff going on in the background of this issue that will make a lot of sense in the future. The events surrounding Johnny's death is pretty key in all of that." 

The story entitled "Last Stand of Johnny Storm" will also highlight Johnny's importance to the team, despite serving as a mere supporting character to previous Fantastic Four stories. Take it away Mr. Hickman.

"Well, as with most families, there are outward gregarious individuals and there are the quieter, more supporting characters. The interesting thing about Johnny is that while he is outgoing, he is in fact a support mechanism for everyone else. He's the guy that's always telling a joke and making everyone feel better. He's always the guy that rallies the team and that kind of stuff. He's the guy that likes the big fire in the sky, right? I think that by subtraction it'll become more obvious that he was a much greater and necessary part of the team."

In addition, Hickman mentioned that Human Torch is going out in style, promising "a noble and heroic ending"  as Johnny performs an "ultimate adult act of a childish person."

Curse you Chris Evans! Because you played Captain America, the people at Marvel probably decided they can't have the same actor playing two different superheroes, so they decided to kill the one who isn't part of The Avengers movie. 

Now that's out of the way, I'm not much of a comic book guy, unlike this comic book guy, but if I had the resources, I bet I would've been a collector myself. In addition, I have been following Marvel superheroes via the Internet, TV and movies. I've seen all the recent Marvel movies (Spider Man, Iron Man, Hulk and Fantastic Four) and followed Marvel cartoons that were aired on Studio 23 and Cartoon Network. And comics, with all its multiverses, confuse me. So I check Wikipedia to get a better grip on things. The Human Torch, for all his flashiness and cockiness, is definitely one of my all-time favorites. That's why I feel sorry for him that Hickman will be putting out his flames.

But then again, nobody stays dead for a long time in Marvel Universe. So I'm not surprised if the folks at Marvel will pull a Son Goku on Johnny, gather some dragon balls and wish him back to life. I mean, they do have a history of doing this sort of shit, and that was back when The supposed-to-be-indestructible Thing was murdered by Reed. So if they can bring back someone indestructible back to life, resurrecting someone that can be killed by a water Pokémon on any given day should be a piece of cake.

But if Johnny is going to stay/play dead for a long time, then who's going to pick up the slack?  And what happens to the rest of the Fantastic Four? Oh, I forgot, Hickman said that "there is no Fantastic Four going forward." How about Terrific Three? But seriously, what happens to Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and The Thing if their team is to disband? I was hoping that the death of Johnny could lead to the original Human Torch's return, but if there's no team to return to, what's the point of bringing him back?

Boy, I wish I had the resources to get myself a copy of Fantastic Four # 587.