Johnny are you clear, boy? Are you here for real, boy? We are lucky it seems, thanks to our pal Walgreens. But Johnny what’s the deal, boy? Are you really clear, boy? You’ve been gone so long, but now you can Flame On! But I got you today, boy, and I have to say, boy, you turned out well to me, even though you are, Johnny you are clear.
Well, if you don’t find my butchering of a Josie Cotton song enough to turn back now, you can join me to talk about the second addition to our modern Marvel Legends take on the Fantastic Four. I made it clear that I was very happy with the Invisible Woman figure, and I was going to trust the Hasbro/Walgreens process, and having this figure, coupled with the reveal of Mr. Fantastic at SDCC, makes me feel even more assured. The F4 are gonna happen, and, like his sister, Johnny is a nice addition to the group.
Also like his sister, he is not perfect (what figure is), and there will be plenty of discussion about the overall design and production decisions, but I will get to that in a minute. But first, since the F4 is my favorite Marvel team, I am still really happy to have this figure. When Sue was released, the look of the figure was ambiguous enough in terms era, it was difficult to lock down how the team would be presented. Now that we have some additional figure reveals, the style is executed in a way that feels respectful of the classic iconography of the team, but with some modern sensibilities, which I am totally good with.
Now, before you start rushing out to your 10 closest Walgreens stores, please note that, as a huge F4 mark, I bought this figure early from an overseas eBay seller. So, while the figure is currently not at your local drugstore, hopefully the offshore availability is indicative that we won’t have to wait much longer for Johnny. So yes, I paid over retail for this, but that does not mean I won’t be buying more of this figure once it does hit Walgreens.
As I said, I dig this figure. The build (Bucky Cap base) works for Johnny, and though the translucent effect would not be my first choice, there is no denying that it is striking in its final form. Hasbro actually has some history with translucent Johnny Storms, and I find this iteration to be mostly successful, too. The red-orange color of most of his body is appropriate for, you know, being on fire, and the base color is offset by some orange and yellow flame accents on the head, hands, and boots. It is almost as you move further out from his core, the lighter the colors become.
Aside from the main base, Johnny has some reused fists and “Flame On!” effects, but he also has new “boots,” forearms, hands, head, and “Flame On!” collar effect. While his sister did come with a giant accessory in the form of HERBIE, Johnny still has more new pieces overall than Sue, but the construction is still smart. I am especially appreciative of the fact that the flame effects on the boots and arms are actually sculpted into the new pieces, and are not just glued on overlays. The new likeness in the head sculpt is fine for a powered-up Johnny too, and while it could have been easy to make it nondescript, the different colored eyes and painted brows go a long way in adding personality.
Of course, not everyone is going like all of the design choices. Heck, my favorite ML Human Torch deco goes all the way back to the original ToyBiz ML series 2 Torch, so you can bet I will be getting an extra one to be repainted like that. However, while I like the translucent deco, I didn’t at first, but it has definitely grown on me. Some people will not care for it, and that fine, and I understand the want to not have the “4” present on the chest either, so again, I get it. The color cast of the head is going to be another point of contention because the more orange color is slightly different from the rest of base body, and, I have to admit, early packaged pictures had me worried. However, in hand, it actually works nicely now that it has grown on me, and I like the effect it creates. Sure, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but since that is the case with EVERYTHING, I will enjoy it, and this figure overall.
I am, ahem, already warming up to this figure, and I am thrilled to have a new Human Torch in my ML collection, as I thought the day might never come. As I mentioned, this is probably not how I personally would have designed him, but the sculpt is nice and the effect is impressive and eye-catching, so I am totally good. Like Sue, there will be a lot of discussion, but also like Sue, I will be buying several of these for different versions, and displays. My only wish is that we would have gotten a regular Flame-Off Johnny head, but maybe there will be time for that in the future. Walgreens continues to be my bestest friend for Legends, and while I think Medusa is up next there (which is GREAT), Reed Richards will follow. Then we just need my favorite, The Thing (in shorts!), and we will be home free. More Fantastic Four and their amazing foes and allies, please! I need that compute leak about Skrulls and the Silver Surfer to be true, too.
FLAME ON!
From the pictures it just looks silly, and more to the point, not at all how we’ve seen the Torch portrayed. Yellow head, but the rest of the body is orange?? Far as being translucent, this seems correct to me, but then why isn’t his sister translucent/clear?? They did it with the Dr. Strange astral figure and the Thunderbolts’ Ghost, so why not…..make the Invisible Woman invisible!
I think Johnny should have been on a smaller body … he’s too tall. I dislike the 4 on his chest. ( Horrible.) … and add the other valid complaints … and it’s a no-go for me.
Same with Susan. We should have one figure of the ‘Invisible Girl’ … and one figure of Susan Storm…. Hasbro doesn’t want my money.!!
I really think I want a human torch that has the plain red body and no face with the lines in it. One that could be Johnny or the android torch.
I’ll definitely be getting a second Torch to customize. I would have much preferred to get a powered-down head (with a fiery fade on the neck) than the re-used Iron Fist flame effects, but oh well. Still a nice figure and glad to be building a new F4 team!
Though it would never happen, and it’s been ove 10 years… I wish they would release that Johnny with Dirt Bike and helmet…. He looked sweet! Too bad they cancelled that last movie wave…
Remember that companies like Diamond are making more “affordable” figures that are over 10 bucks. Granted the packaging is simple and they don’t include the bases… Still… I do have an issue with the generic body with the new head… I do like the new Thor Wave… Will wait for the prices to go down…
Nope, no gumminess at all on this figure.
There is a shrinking market for action figures now, compared to last 15 years or so. The price goes up to keep profits at comfortable levels. The rise of the video game and cell phone apps, coupled with a recession and a scandal known as Mattelgate that almost crippled the toy industry, have hurt sales of action figures.
The figure looks cool! I just want to know if he is “gummy” like Iceman? Oh, and I hate Sue Storm’s head sculpt, because I absolutely loathe Taylor Swift (who they clearly modeled the head after). Shame on them!
I’ll have to look at this one in hand before I decide on it. If not, then I can keep HERBIE in his place like in the old cartoon instead.
WTH Just make updated version of the first ML Human Torch! You know that’s the best one!?!
Figures cost $20+ now, they were under $7~ @ Walmart/Target back then.
I would much prefer a de-powered Johnny.
The problem is I already have the Invisible Woman, and I really like the look of the upcoming Mr. Fantastic, so it’s impossible to skip the Human Torch. He might be made to work with some painting though. First I’d paint his head to match the rest of his body, then acetone that “4” off his chest, and then paint some fine black lines all over him, (using the Toy-Biz series 2 Torch as a guide). That might work. I’ll also need two Mr. Fantastic figures to use one to make a flamed-off Johnny Storm.
Agreed. Very bulky. It seems a bit UN-Johnny like. I would have used the new 2099 body, if they wanted a bigger Johnny base, but ideally Pizza Spidey would have been the choice to go with.
A bit,,,,very disappointed in this figure. I will get 1 bc it is Johnny but I usually would get multiples of figures I adore and this is NOT worth it.
Are his hands not reused from iceman?
If you only get the other three, you’ll have the complete Saturday morning HERBIE version of the team. So there’s that.
You and jesus have far too much time on your hands.
(but I agree, those codes suck)
Coolness… It’s good that i switched to Diamond, Neca or Storm Collectibles…
I kind of mentioned that in my post too. Hardly anything in the paint or the sculpt makes it look like he’s a man on fire (and the flames around his neck are removable). And with the jarringly different colored head, he just looks like a guy with a weird flaming head in a red suit.
That’s funny, jesus. I do the same thing with those codes on the backs of the thighs of Legends figures. I acetone them right off. The bug the heck out of me.
That’s one reason why they are no more. Unique sculpts are cool and all but not cost effective.
I don’t mind the head being different, but there is zero transition. if it started at the chin in red and incrementally got lighter as it went up, boom, no problem. As it stands, it is quite jarring.
I can’t tell if you dig it or if it has indeed grown on you. I kid, but how is the gumminess compared to fellow translucent Legend Iceman? I do kinda wish he had the “grill marks” painted in black along his body
I don’t think it’s necessarily a “bad” figure, it just doesn’t generate any excitement in me. Maybe I’m just not a big enough F4 fan, though I was on the cusp of pulling the trigger on Sue. I still may, but I will very very likely skip this Torch, even if I get the other three.
I haven’t seen anyone mention this, but it looks odd to me that the only flame effects on his whole body are then piece around his neck and then a little bit on the calves. There’s no sculpt, deco, or even paint app on his body to denote fire. He just looks like a red hologram. That’s bothering me more than the head color.
Yeah… There was an unreleased wave of the first Fantastic 4 Movie that had a Johnny Storm with a Motorcycle Outfit and he came with a Helmet and a Bike…He looked sweet…. It’s a shame they cancelled that wave…
That’s what I miss the most about ToyBiz, they released unique figures… Not the same body with a different head with a few add ons with paint applications for the clothes….
Points for the Josie Cotton/Valley Girl reference. It’s my wife’s favorite movie.
Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll default back to the Toy Biz ML2 Torch. I don’t think I can live with the head not matching the rest of his body.
I appreciate you’re trying to justify it, but it was just bad execution of Hasbro’s part. Clearly it was MEANT to be cast light to account for the flame hair, but I’m sure they intended paint applications in the face area to bring it closer to the rest of the body, which they obviously missed the mark on.
I did it for the eyes on my Ghost Rider repaint which has a very similar hue.
That is a good suggestion on the Tamiya clear. Hmm…
don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. not the way I would’ve designed it.
Hate everything about it but the updated body. IF I buy it, it will be on sale. Then I’ll have to paint the whole damn thing and put black lines on it like the first Human Torch Toybiz ever made. Johnny is still flesh and bone under the fire, he shouldn’t be transparent.
I think a little Tamiya clear red airbrushed over the head may help it blend in better with the body. I’m fine with the stuff most people seems to be upset about. His costume and facial details are depicted in the comics quite often depending on the artist. And it helps separate him from the WWII Human Torch. I’m more bummed that he wasn’t made on the Spidey or Sunfire body.
The body looks to bulky to be Johnny to my eye. But I don’t know enough about ML body styles to know if there is a better one. Maybe Pizza Spidey? Don’t think Johnny should be bulkier than Spider-Man.
Yeah, I kind of need stripey flames.
Here’s a little secret. Nail polish remover. AKA acetone. It has melting properties with plastic but but not if you use a little. Just get some on the end of a cutip and rub that four right off then just clean the area with soap and water. I hate the crap out of those serial codes on the legs of marvel Legends so I just did that and took them right off. It’s a very simple thing to do but acetone has powerful chemicals so use a little and be careful.
I don’t know man. the totally different head color throws the whole figure off for me.
Instead of a guy who is supposed to be on fire, he looks more like a dude with a flaming head wearing a red containment suit or something (more like Firestorm than the Human Torch). And the “4” symbol on his chest and the darker red belt don’t help the situation. There are no flame details either sculpted or painted on the body except at the forearms and boots, and those aren’t even that prominent.
I would like to be, but I am not that happy with this figure. Hopefully it will look better to me in person.
I’m not a huge Human Torch fan, but I like this figure. I like the orange head too, but what it needed was a but more transition in the neck. I know Hasbro can do plastic like that, they;ve done it with various effects and even some body parts, but maybe it just wasn’t possible to fade the neck to a more orange colour to help blend with the head. It would have helped sell the effect more.
I’m hoping it will grow on me in hand, because it has a lot of elements I really don’t like with so many of his depictions: the visible costume, the visible 4, even the eyebrows. I don’t know why we should see flaming eyebrows if he has no hair. Those bug me more than they should, no doubt. However, grumpiness aside, as a base for a better repaint without those elements it looks great.
Yeah… The 2005 Toy Biz Fantastic 4 Lines had some really awesome Human Torches who were “human”. You had the extreme sports Johnny, but he was larger than the other figures for no reason, so he looked out of place…. There was a transitioning one that came with a “melting” box…. There was a super cool one who came with a motorcycle and he had “Marvel Legends” articulation… my only complain was that his face could had been painted in flesh tones as opposed to red… There’s an unreleased wave with a simple human Johnny, but i think that one is super rare as there are only factory samples…
A modern sculpt with the old ML2 painted-on-stripes deco (minus the 4 on chest) is what I’m holding out for. Until then, my downward-looking, neck-peg challenged scrawny Johnny is keeping the space warm. Reed looks amazing though!
No, you aren’t the only one. I’d really like it if they’d release a human variant of this figure.
Guess I am the only weirdo who likes “human” Johnny Storm…
I love sue! One of my favorites marvel characters, and so is Jonny…I’ll probably get this, but man what i wouldn’t have given for a classic series 2 update
Your last point is important, this figure, even if you don’t dig the design choice, does go great with Sue. Also, while there are some modern notes in both of them, the figures thus far stay pretty true to the classic iconography.
I think it looks great. I am FAR from a F4 fan so I am not too critical of the costume choices etc. The Sue figure came out great and this one looks like it will fit in nice on my ML shelf.
It is unique take, that is for sure, but it is growing on me a bit. Like I said above, it is almost the case where, there further you get from his core, the more orange is present as there is a bit of this effect on the hands and boots. The photo lighting brings it out a bit more in pictures, but it is definitely there. I don’t know, the longer I have the figure, the less I notice it, but it is still more overstated than I would have liked.
those were exactly my thoughts as well
My only issue with the figure is the head being a dramatically different color than the body. The contrast just looks odd.