In an epic and historic team-up, Marvel’s first superhero has officially joined the Ultimates – the Avengers-alike your new heroes Final Universe continuity. Although the team has been recruiting heroes for months, this is the first time they’ve brought the entire team together, as Tony Stark’s God Roster takes on the Hulk and his handpicked team of gamma-powered villains.
In a preview by Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee and Travis Lanham The Ultimates #6the team comes together for the first time, tricked into a ‘rescue mission’ that is actually a trap for the Legendary Hulk and his Immortal Weapons to attack the team. Among the list of Ultimates is the first Human Torch Jim Hammond who was revealed “killed Hitler” in the continuity of the Ultimate Universe.
Fans met the Ultimate Human Torch in Free Comic Book Day 2024: Ultimate Universe/Spider-Man‘Forgotten Marvels’, by Camp, Frigeri, Blee and Cory Petit. There, the Ultimates discovered a warehouse containing the murdered bodies of several heroes, including the decommissioned Human Torch. Captain America managed to reactivate his World War II ally, but the story ended before fans saw what happened next.
The ultimate human torch killed Hitler
As the Ultimates unite for the first time, the Human Torch takes his rightful place
Marvel’s Ultimate Universe debuted in 2023, with the revelation that the genius villain known as Maker had warped the entire timeline of reality to turn it into his personal playground. The Creator subverted Marvel’s Heroic Age, making sure that every hero who could oppose him was killed, corrupted, or never gained their powers. In this world, the Hulk is the Creator’s second-in-command, Thor was imprisoned for centuries when Loki took control of Asgard and Peter Parker only gained superpowers when he was married and the father of two children.
However, despite the many differences from the official tradition, Finals #6 confirms that Jim Hammond’s Human Torch is still the hero who killed Hitler. The event was first shown on Hank Chapman, Russ Heath and Carl Burgos’ Young Men #24published in 1953, but was confirmed as canon repeatedly in the following decades. The story sees the Human Torch and his companion Toro break into Hitler’s bunker, hoping that he will voluntarily enter American custody rather than fall into the hands of Russian forces. However, When Hitler tries to activate a failsafe superweapon, the Human Torch is forced to burn him alivewith Hitler’s last words being an order to lie about the cause of his death.
Although the timeline of the Ultimate Universe is very Unlike the conventional Marvel universe or the real world, it appears that the Creator’s biggest changes occurred after World War II, meaning that the Human Torch’s wartime achievements still took place in this continuity. However, his post-war career was very different, as the android hero found himself targeted by the Creator and stored alongside trophies from the Creator’s victory over ultra-powerful heroes like Black Bolt and the Sentry.
His powers have some disturbing limits – Hammond can control heat and radioactivity and has threatened villains with cancer in the past.
The Human Torch never truly found his place in the modern era of Marvel Comics, so it’s exciting to see him as an important member of the Ultimates in this new world.as well as for it to be officially reintroduced with its most important and history-changing tradition intact.
The Human Torch Is Much More Deadly Than Fans Realize
While working with the Avengers, Jim Hammond wiped out an entire species
Although Jim Hammond burned Hitler alive, he is not generally known as a lethal vigilante. A sentient android, the Human Torch was officially Marvel’s first true ‘superhero’, introduced in 1939 Marvel Comics #1. Often held up as an example to others, the Human Torch has still dealt with more than his share of darkness. For example, His tenure with the Secret Avengers ended with him sacrificing the android Descendants to save humanity – an entire species of synthetic life who revered the Human Torch as their ancestor and champion.
The Creator is a dictator who has committed horrific crimes against humanity, which means the Human Torch may need to burn another despot soon.
Born in a different time as Captain America, Hammond also struggled to feel truly human, making him a great outsider despite his reputation and legacy. His powers also have some disturbing limits – unlike the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, Hammond can control heat and radioactivity and has threatened villains with cancer in the past. However, while Jim Hammond’s Human Torch may have its dark side, that’s exactly what the Ultimates need for the battle to come.
The dictator of the ultimate universe needs to be careful
…But first, the Hulk is falling
The Creator is not just the ruler of Earth in the Ultimate Universe – he is responsible for some truly heinous acts. The Creator has created a council of villains who secretly rule the world, keeping its nations trapped in a constant but ever-changing state of war. Behind the scenes, they assassinate anyone who threatens their power and receive free rein to carry out horrific experiments around their areas of specialization. In the case of the Legendary Hulk, The Ultimates #3 revealed that his gamma experiments in the Pacific Ocean deliberately transformed those living nearby, leaving most in constant pain.
The Creator has more than won the Human Torch’s ardent attention, but that’s a fight for the future. Currently, Maker is locked in his laboratory, within which centuries pass for him thanks to his time dilation capabilities. No one knows what will emerge when he is finally freed, but the Ultimates are fighting to ensure that when that happens, his former power base is eliminated. That starts with this fight against the Hulk, who has empowered the Immortal Weapons (a team of superheroes in the main Marvel timeline) as deadly Hulks, adding godlike strength to several of the planet’s greatest fighters.
The Human Torch has been given a new role in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, alongside this world’s Avengers as Captain America’s first-choice recruit. After burning Adolf Hitler alive, Jim Hammond now faces another cruel dictator, guilty of horrible crimes against humanity, but this time a dictator who has already won the war for control and who has had centuries to prepare things in his favor.
While the rest of the Ultimates are new versions of iconic codenames – a teenage Tony Stark, an all-new Hawkeye, and a countryless Captain America – the Human Torch is notable for being a last vestige of how the world “should” be without the tampering with the Creator. With a surprising amount of effort made to maintain its classical tradition, it will be fascinating to see how the Final Universe uses Marvel’s first superhero, especially after decades of being unable to find a definitive place in its main timeline.
The Ultimates #6 will arrive on November 6th from Marvel Comics.