I call "no way" on that stunt, Johnny Storm

So here's a story from pretty darn early in the Human Torch's career where he absorbs the entire power of a nuclear bomb:



Panels from Strange Tales #112 (September 1963), plot by Stan Lee, script by Jerry Siegel [as Joe Carter], pencils and inks by Dick Ayers, letters by Sam Rosen

Yeah, I'm not buying that he was able to do that—I call shenanigans! especially since this ultimate deadly atomic blast was a plot by none other than that most dangerous and nefarious Marvel supervillain...you're gonna guess Doctor Doom or the Red Skull or Magneto, right? One of the powerhouse baddies. Nope. T'was The Eel.




Yep! The guy with the oil-slathered costume and the 4,000 double-AA batteries built into his gloves. So he can shock you, and help provide you with a a lovely light vinaigrette salad. He didn't even give Daredevil much of a workout. And that was in his yellow costume days.



Panels from Daredevil v.1 #6 (February 1965), script by by Stan Lee, pencils and inks by Wally Wood, letters by Sam Rosen

So, you know, a villain of this calibre is going to be a pretty dangerous villain up against somebody like, say, Ghost Rider, right?


Panels from Ghost Rider v.1 #21 (December 1976), script by Gerry Conway, breakdowns by Gil Kane, finishes by Sam Grainger, colors by Jim Shooter (!) and Roger Slifer

Oh. Thus died the Eel. The guy who once almost nuked the planet. He probably ought to have listed that first on his resumé, then.