Marvel just unleashed a revelation that will change how everyMarvel Comicsfan looks at the publisher’s first-ever superhero. In 1939,Marvel Comics #1kicked off the Marvel Universe, introducing heroes including Namor the Sub-Mariner, the first Human Torch, the Masked Raider and the Angel. These WWII-era heroes existed in a shared universe, setting up the mainstream Marvel Universe of today (aka Earth-616), which is the home of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers and more. However, it turns outone hero is more important than the rest…
Every event in the Marvel Universe - from the formation of the Avengers and X-Men to every birth, death and new character debut - ties back to one hero.
Human Torch Created Earth-616
Jim Hammond Is the Official Foundation of the Marvel Universe
InGiant-Size Spider-Man #1’s short story ‘616 Day’ - from Al Ewing, Mark Buckingham, Rachelle Rosenberg and Joe Caramagna - Spider-Man is called on by the mystic hero Wyn. It turns out that a multiversal aligning of worlds has put Marvel’s mainstream Earth-616 at risk, with a cosmic predator known as an Eternivore arriving to feed on the universe’s foundational moments. As part of their journey, Wyn takes Spider-Man back to thecreation of the original Human Torch, aka Jim Hammond, revealing thathis ‘birth’ is the event that created Earth-616. Wyn explains:
That decision - to create something alive, to make art in the form of a burning man - that’s where this universe got started.
When Spider-Man insists that the universe existed before Jim Hammond’s creation, Wyn points out thattime in the Marvel Universe isn’t linear, and thatboth the past and the future extended outwards from the Human Torch’s creation. This means that every event in the Marvel Universe - from the formation of the Avengers and X-Men to every spin-off world and new hero or villain - emerged from the moment the Human Torch first burst into flames.
While the ‘Human Torch’ codename is most famous today for its use by Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm, the young hero originally took his moniker as a tribute to Jim Hammond…
Marvel Just Unveiled Its One True Timeline
Who Is Jim Hammond’s Human Torch?
In a metatextual move, Marvel has placed the cosmic birth of Earth-616 in the moment that the Marvel Universe was (arguably) created in real life. Human Torch and Namor’s shared adventures set the template for what the shared Marvel Universe would look like, and today both heroes are still around, fighting crime and teaming up with their Johnny-come-lately ally Captain America, who was introduced in 1940.
While the ‘Human Torch’ codename is most famous today for its use by Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm, the young hero originally took his moniker as a tribute toJim Hammond - an android who bursts into flame on contact with Oxygen. Created by Carl Burgos, the Human Torch is woven throughout Marvel canon, with Jim having some notable and bizarre accomplishments to his name - including killing Hitler in the waning days of WWII. His technology was alsoused to create the Visionand his name was given to the Avengers Initiative’s training facility at ‘Camp Hammond.’
Human Torch’s creation of Earth-616 has also echoed out into the cosmos. The recentImmortal Thor #23(Al Ewing and Javier Rodriguez) retold the origin of the first god, Atum, describing him as"the man of fire that signaled a new era of Marvels.“The fact thatMarvel’s first god was made in the Human Torch’s imageshows how immensely important Jim Hammond is to the fabric of Earth-616.
More than eight decades after his first appearance, Marvel has officially confirmed that theHuman Torch- its first ever hero - is the foundation of Earth-616, making this WWII android the most important hero ever to graceMarvel Comics.
