Jim Hammond

## Jim Hammond/Human Torch

* Normal Form
* Human Torch
* Iron Torch

**James Phineas "Jim" Hammond** was an American vigilante, police officer, soldier, and government agent. Hammond was created by Professor Phineas Horton for the 1939 World's Fair as the first-ever synthezoid and he was given the name of the **Synthetic Man**. A defect in his creation caused Hammond to burst into flames when he came into contact with oxygen. Horton renamed Hammond **Human Torch** and displayed him at the world's fair. Hammond was considered too dangerous to be left alone and so he was buried underground in an airtight stasis capsule, however, a problem with the capsule left Hammond awake and trapped. Hammond attempted to free himself, which allowed oxygen to seep in and caused the Torch to ignite and escape. Hammond then fell into the clutches of the Mafia who attempted to use him in their criminal activities. Hammond rebelled and in the process learned to control his powers. Hammond pledged to fight crime and became a vigilante before eventually taking on the identity of Jim Hammond and becoming a police officer. It was at this time that Hammond met a child named Thomas "Toro" Raymond who developed powers similar to Hammond who then took Toro under his wing.

Hammond's identity was revealed when he fought the Atlantean Prince Namor who attacked New York. With his identity revealed, Hammond was captured by the government and agreed to be an agent under the care of the United States Army. When World War II broke out, Hammond was transferred to the authority of the Strategic Science Reserve using his old moniker of the Human Torch as his codename. Hammond was a founding member of the Invaders with whom he fought the Axis Powers on both the European and Pacific fronts.

After the war, Hammond was a founding member of the All-Winners Squad to protect the United States and its allies. During one of his missions in 1946 with the All-Winners Squad, faced off against his "brother" Adam II and his android army. Although the Squad was successful, Hammond's teammate William Naslund, the second official Captain America, died and Hammond was injured and, unknown to himself, infected with a construct of Adam's conscience.

In 1951, Hammond's powers began fading which he blamed on the injury that he sustained during the battle with Adam II. Hammond then retired from super-heroics and became a mechanic in New York. In 1953, Hammond's powers suddenly resurfaced and he began hearing the voice of Adam II in his head. Learning that Adam II was attempting to take his body, Hammond deactivated himself and mandated the government divide his body into pieces and buried in separate parts of the world to prevent himself from being rebuilt and put back online. Years later, some of Hammond's parts were used by the villainous android Ultron and a captured Phineas Horton to create the Vision synthezoid.

In 2019, SHIELD under the command of Tony Stark exhumed the remaining parts of Hammond and used parts of dismantled Iron Man armors, Flexo, and the robot Electro to rebuild Hammond. While Hammond was initially furious that his wishes were disobeyed, he eventually agreed to become an agent of SHIELD and joined a secret black-ops version of the Avengers known as Force Works. When Norman Osborn became the head of SHIELD and later dismantled SHIELD, Jim jumped ship and began working for Stark Industries and took the place of Iron Man using the alias of the **Iron Torch**. During this period, Hammond joined the Secret Avengers and later rejoined Force Works when SHIELD was re-established.

In 2026, Hammond left Force Works to instead work for SWORD as a technician as he grew tired of working as a government agent and his powers allowed him to work well in space. In 2035, Hammond sacrificed himself to defeat the Phalanx by unleashing his full power which not only destroyed the Phalanx Armada but also destroyed Hammond beyond repair.

## Biography

### Creation

The Human Torch, initially called the Synthetic Man, was created by Professor Phineas Horton on February 16th, 1939 in Horton’s lab in Brooklyn, New York City, although Horton had intially worked with fellow scientist James Bradley. Having been created as the world’s first synthezoid, the Human Torch was essentially an artificial man composed of “Horton Cells” a recreation of human cells that were stronger and more durable. The Torch had the mind of a child and was taught by Horton in terms of schooling, morals, and his purpose. A defect in the Torch’s creation caused a reaction where the Torch would burst on fire when in contact with oxygen, however, the Torch was unharmed by this fire. In fear of this defect, Horton put the Torch in stasis and attempted to find a way to fix the defect in time for the 1939 World Fair.

Horton was unable to fix the defect, and desperate decided to showcase the Torch at the fair despite his condition. The crowd was awed by the appearance of the Torch but was frightened by the fact he turned on fire when touching air. The news of the Human Torch (having gotten the name from the media) reached the government and the Scientist Guild both of which urged Horton to destroy his creation. While Horton agreed to do so, he was unable to go through with it as he had spent many years working on the Torch and considered him his child. Horton decided to have the Torch’s stasis capsule buried underground while he worked on a way to fix the Torch. In the process of getting buried, the Torch’s capsule was damaged and he awoke. Being trapped underground the Torch thrashed to free himself, damaging the capsule further and allowing oxygen to seep through. The Torch then ignited and a large explosion freed him. Horton witnessed the Torch and tried to get him to calm down, but the Torch was horrified that his “father” had buried him alive and ran away.

### Tony Sardo and the Mafia

The Torch ran into the heart of Brooklyn but realized he was causing destruction everywhere he went and tried to find a way to extinguish his flame. The Torch found a large estate, and jumped into a lake, and submerged himself which put out his flame. The owner of the estate, Anthony “Tony” Sardo, witnessed the Torch and realized who he was. Sardo was a member of the Mafia and realized that the Torch would be a valued asset for the syndicate and convinced the Torch that he was trustworthy and would help him extinguish his flame permanently. Sardo placed the Torch in a glass tube that cut off the oxygen. Sardo used the Torch to destroy a business that didn’t pay protection money and abandoned the Torch there. The Torch realized that Sardo was using him and wanted revenge. The Torch leaped out of the building and discovered he could fly. The Torch made it to Sardo’s Estate and burned it to the ground. In the chaos of the fire, Sardo attempted to kill the Torch with a chemical bomb but the explosion killed Sardo and briefly extinguished the Torch’s fire. The Torch’s flames turned on again, but the Torch found more chemicals which allowed the Torch to control his powers. The Torch allowed himself to be arrested and the police made an arrangement with Horton that dictated that the Torch would be set free but under the condition that he be watched by Horton. After Jim was freed, he abandoned Horton and began using his powers to fight crime.

### Human Torch: Crime Fighter

While the Torch was acting a vigilante, he foiled several crimes including a murder during a race, an imitation Human Torch created by Dr. Maynac, and foiled the theft of an experimental nitroglycerine formula.

## Attributes

### Powers

**Pyrokinesis**: Hammond was created with the innate ability to create, control, and expel fire from his body and his surroundings. Horton maintained that he was unsure how this ability manifested, although Reed Richards theorized that the Horton Cells that Hammond was composed of were unable to properly process the solar radiation they absorbed and oxygen was the factor that caused his body's ability to regulate his temperature to fail and cause Hammond to become so hot he turned on fire. Hammond initially had no control over this ability, although his exposure to an unknown chemical gave him the ability to control his fire. While Oxygen seemed to be the trigger for Hammond's fire it does not seem to be the actual source of his fire.

* **Plasma Form**: Hammond can amplify the heat his body exudes to the point that his body is covered with fiery plasma. While Hammond initially had no control over this and being exposed to oxygen caused his entire body to burst into flame, exposure to an unknown chemical and training allowed Hammond to have full control of this ability. Hammond can control which part of his body is covered in the plasma and the degree of heat that is expelled from his body. Hammond's control ranges from covering a small area like the tip of his finger to his entire body and heat of 780 degrees to even hotter than the surface of the sun (9,941 degrees Fahrenheit). How long Hammond can maintain his plasma form is dependent on the amount of his body is covered by his plasma and the temperature it is emitting. If Hammond were to cover a small part of his body with the lowest temperature possible then he could theoretically do it forever as he replenishes more energy than he expends. If Hammond were to cover his whole body with the lowest temperature possible then he would be able to maintain the form for months. If Hammond were to use the hottest flames possible while covering his whole body then, he would be able to maintain it for a few days. When using this form, the Torch usually creates an aura of fire around him that can range from 1 inch to a foot away from him. Unless someone was wearing fireproof clothing or was naturally resistant to fire then it would be extremely dangerous to be close to Hammond in this form, especially when he reaches his upper levels.
	+ **Nova Flame**: When Hammond exceeds the hottest form he can normally reach he enters a state he refers to as his "Nova Form". The upper limit of the heat that Hammond can reach is unknown but the hottest that it was been recorded as is 1 million degrees Fahrenheit. The longest that Hammond has ever been able to maintain this form without assistance is for 16 hours. The aura that this form creates can range to be about 3 feet.
		- **Nova Burst**: While in his Nova Flame, Hammond can expel all the energy from his form into a massive omnidirectional blast from his body. this blast, called the Nova Burst, is as powerful as a small nuclear warhead and at higher levels of flame could destroy a moon. Using this ability requires Hammond to use all his energy which depowers him temporarily (the time in which the energy will replenish can range from 12 hours to several days) and can also cause physical harm to Hammond. The diameter of the blast is generally around 900 feet.
	+ **Omega Flame**: The Omega Flame was a theoretical form in which Hammond uses his powers to a degree that exceeds even his Nova Flame. How hot Hammond would burn when using this form is unknown but is thought to have been hot enough to encompass the entirety of Queens. Using this form would seriously injure Hammond and even kill him if he used it for too long. Because of this, Hammond never used this form until the Phalanx Invasion when he decided that it would be necessary to sacrifice himself for his planet.
		- **Omega Burst**: The Omega Burst was the Omega Flame equivalent to the Nova Flame's Nova Burst. Using the Omega Burst was the equivalent of 5 Tsar Bombas and would eradicate everything in a 110-mile radius. Using this form would instantly kill Hammond if he used it and he would be too damaged to be repaired. Hammond used the Omega Burst against the Phalanx and completely neutralized their armada but died in the process.
* **Fire Manipulation**: Hammond could control the fire that he emitted in any way he wished. While he initially had trouble doing so, through training Hammond got the ability. Hammond only had control of the fire he created, but that control was so thorough he could shape his fire in any way he wanted and even "sculpt" objects and weapons out of his fire. Hammond maintains this ability even without his plasma form.
	+ **Fire Balls and other Projectiles**: In his plasma form, Hammond can shape his plasma into projectile weapons like fireballs and through them. How hot, the shape, and how far they can go is dependent on Hammond.
* **Thermokinesis**: Hammond has complete control of his body's temperature. While this is obvious in his ability to heat his body to temperatures that eclipse the heat of the sun it also manifests in the ability to cool his body to freezing temperatures. In addition to his body, Hammond has some control over the heat of other objects. This includes causing fire he didn't create to become more fierce and even absorbing the heat of objects and even from people. Hammond has this ability even without his plasma form.
* **Flight**: In his plasma form, Hammond can fly through the heat he is expelling causing the air around him to become buoyant enough to carry him. In addition, Hammond can fire jetstreams from his body to fly faster (being able to fly faster than an SR-71).
* **Immunity to Fire & Heat**: Because of Hammond's natural abilities, Hammond was completely immune to fire and extreme heat.
* **Radiation Generation**: Through unknown circumstances, Hammond was able to generate radiation from his body. Hammond had control over his radiation unleash but he lost control when he entered higher temperatures such as his Nova or Omega Flames.

**Synthezoid Physiology**: While Synthezoids were created to mimic human and human functions closely, some attributes differentiated synthezoids like Hammond from regular humans.

* **Superhuman Strength**: As a synthezoid, Hammond had strength that was greater than humans. Hammond could lift cars and similar objects.
* **Superhuman Durability**: As a synthezoid, Hammond could take more damage than most people could. Hammond could survive being shot, blown up, stabbed, and bludgeoned with negligible damage.
* **Unlimited Endurance**: Unlike most humans, Hammond does not get tired in conventional ways. Jim does not need to sleep, eat, or drink although he can do so if he wanted to do so.