A new VisionQuest photo teased an appearance from the Human Torch, and not the Fantastic Four hero. Disney+ is preparing to release the WandaVision trilogy's final chapter, VisionQuest, on October 14, a story of fatherhood starring Paul Bettany's Vision, James Spader's Ultron, and a host of other MCU artificial intelligences (AIs). The eight-episode sci-fi epic is arriving just two months before the MCU comes together in its biggest way yet in Avengers: Doomsday, which seemingly won't include Vision but will feature heroes from the Avengers, X-Men, New Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, including the Human Torch.
Drew the Disney Dude took to X to offer fans around the world a peek at VisionQuest's special display at D23 Expo. Marvel Studios has pieced together a retro, high-class home display that gives off a distinct WandaVision vibe, especially as the TV screen teases a larger mystery that may involve the MCU's third version of the Human Torch in the last 15 years.
The screen depicts a shadowed figure standing firm in the middle of a fiery blaze, he may even be causing, setting the surrounding buildings alight. For now, the context and setting of the destructive scene are unclear, and audiences may be waiting until VisionQuest begins on October 14 to learn more.
Fans across social media quickly launched theories that VisionQuest's mystery fire-raiser is Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch. Unlike Johnny Storm, Hammond is an android created by Dr. Phineas Horton, who chose to fight for justice and built a life as a New York City Police Department (NYPD) detective.
Responding to a fan suggesting that the artwork may be a reference to the Human Torch, Cryptic HD Quality stated that this isn't simply a nod to Jim Hammond, this "IS" him in VisionQuest. The scooper went on to respond with a "yea" GIF when directly asked whether the OG Human Torch will feature in the Disney+ show.
Those best versed in the red brand's history will know that the Human Torch debuted in Marvel Comics #1 back when the publisher was called Timely Comics. The 64-page issue was packed with eight stories, including ones for Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch, chronicling the origin of the android hero.
The Human Torch would go on to join The Invaders, a team of World War II superheroes that also included Namor, Steve Rogers' Captain America, a pre-Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, and Hammond's own sidekick, Toro.
The MCU teased Jim Hammond in Captain America: The First Avenger at an early Stark Expo run by Howard Stark, which presented the Synthetic Man as Dr. Phineas Horton's creation. As VisionQuest celebrates the years of Stark AIs that led to Vision, it only seems right to include those from the 20th-century.
If Marvel Studios does introduce Jim Hammond's Human Torch in VisionQuest, the flaming android will be its third iteration of the superhero. Fans met the first via a familiar face in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, as MCU's Steve Rogers actor Chris Evans returned as Johnny Storm, his first superhero role from 2005's Fantastic Four and 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Tragically, Johnny was seemingly the only member of his Fantastic Four to make it to The Void after being pruned by the Time Variance Authority (TVA). There, he would join Elektra, Gambit, Blade, and X-23 as part of a resistance against the tyrannical Cassandra Nova, who brutally killed him by yanking off his skin thanks to the blabbermouth of Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool.
Regardless, Evans' return was always intended as a fun (not for Johnny) one-off, as he is now returning as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday alongside Marvel Studios' full-time Human Torch, played by Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn.
Audiences were introduced to their second Human Torch from Marvel Studios in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, set in the '60s and establishing Johnny Storm as a smart younger brother rather than a hot-headed womanizer.
By the time Doomsday begins, Johnny has already been a superhero for eight years, and he is showing no signs of slowing down, as he will be back for Secret Wars to set up the Fantastic Four's long-term move to Earth-616. Beyond that, The Fantastic Four 2 is reportedly in development, and Quinn is eager to team up with the "best" Spider-Man in the future, adapting one of comics' greatest friendships.
So, Why Is Human Torch Appearing in VisionQuest?
To start with the obvious, even if that is the Human Torch in VisionQuest's cryptic D23 display, no, that isn't a connection to Avengers: Doomsday. Jim Hammond and Johnny Storm are completely different, unrelated characters who just so happen to share a superhero alias and fiery power set.
It seems strange for VisionQuest to incorporate an alternate version of the Human Torch who has never truly appeared before in the MCU, especially right as Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm takes center stage in two Avengers movies. However, given the character's fleeting cameo in Captain America: The First Avenger, set over 80 years before VisionQuest, his inclusion makes perfect sense.
Marvel Television is pulling out all the stops to include all of Tony Stark's AIs that ultimately led to Vision, from the big players like Ultron and JARVIS, to other creations like EDITH and FRIDAY, to the workshop' lab helpers, DUM-E and U.
Those AIs aren't just cameos or nostalgia-bait for longtime MCU enthusiasts and Iron Man fans, they're part of VisionQuest's larger themes of "fatherhood," namely via Ultron, and an exploration of where Vision came from. It stands to reason that some part of Vision dates all the way back to Stark Industries' early days, opening the doors to Hammond being like a great-grandfather figure.
