There was a time when the Human Torch had his own solo adventures in the pages of Strange Tales, but that was a long time ago. So we're in for a treat because in this issue of the FF the Torch goes solo!
We begin with a prisoner on Death Row.
And a letter he wants delivered. Here's the recipient:
The priest it is entrusted to decides to deliver the letter himself. When he gets to the Baxter Building he is greeted with something alarming but nonetheless routine - a cat and dog fight between the Human Torch and the Thing.
Anyway, things subside as they always do. And the letter, here it is:
Even though he was bullied by this guy in high school the Torch decides to grant the dead man's request.
I'm a bit surprised that the Human Torch takes the Fantasticar instead of flying.
I've never seen the old "bathtub" Fantasticar look better. Note that the Torch is taking just his section of the bathtub.
First stop for Johnny is to look at some police files.
Here's what the Torch finds out.
Next stop is the murder site, but Johnny being Johnny, his temper gets the better of him.
Something is wrong.
Fortunately, the Torch was tailing this guy.
And now for the fun part. The Torch gets a drop on some armed suspects and we get to see his powers in action. First, invulnerability.
Agility.
Remember, when the Torch isn't dodging the Thing he's playing around with Spider-Man.
And good old-fashioned firepower, operative word "fire".
Won't be complete without a fireball display.
The Torch gets the info he needs. The trail leads to Hammerhead.
Hammerhead tries to neutralize the Human Torch with a trap that the Torch thinks was designed for Spider-Man.
The Torch just melts right through it. Spidey's spider-sense and reflexes would have gotten him out of the way in plenty of time.
Johnny is baffled by Hammerhead's evident super-strength.
He burns through Hammerhead's clothes and the mystery is solved.
The Torch is getting clobbered (as the Thing would say).
Johnny manages to disable the suit.
Hammerhead jumps off in an apparent suicide attempt.
But it isn't. The Torch can find no trace of him.
Regarding his original mission. The Torch manages to put it all together once he accesses police files pertaining to the Kingpin. The cops probably allowed him to look at those files because he nabbed so many wanted Maggia personalities when he attacked Hammerhead.
