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Toro (comics)

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Toro
Patrick Berkenkotter's interior artwork from
The Torch #1 (November 2009)
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceHuman Torch Comics #2 (Fall 1940)
Created byCarl Burgos (writer / artist)
In-story information
Alter egoThomas Raymond
SpeciesInhuman
Team affiliationsThe Invaders
Kid Commandos
Young Allies
All-Winners Squad
Legion of the Unliving
PartnershipsHuman Torch
Notable aliasesThe Flaming Kid, Human Torch
AbilitiesFire manipulation and resistance
Flight

Toro is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first Toro was originally featured in Timely Comics and later published as a Marvel Comics superhero who appeared as the partner of the original Human Torch.

Publication history

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The first Toro made his debut in Timely Comics' Human Torch Comics #2 (premiering fall 1940 with no cover date and as issue #2, having taken over the numbering from the single-issue Red Raven).[1] Toro appeared in numerous comics titles in the 1940s, both during World War II and the post-war era. He starred with Bucky in Young Allies Comics, and made appearances in various issues of Kid Comics, Amazing Comics, Complete Comics, Mystic Comics, All-Winners Comics, and Sub-Mariner Comics. In 1948, however, the Human Torch dropped Toro as a sidekick, picking up with Sun Girl instead.[2]

Toro and the Torch later appeared in Atlas' Young Men #24 (December 1953). Toro also made several appearances in Marvel Comics titles, beginning with reprints of Human Torch stories in Marvel Super-Heroes #12–14 (Dec. 1967-May 1968), followed by a previously unpublished Atlas-era Human Torch story in #16 (Sep. 1968).

Toro appeared in a new story in Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #14 (June 1969) where he was seemingly killed off. He subsequently appeared in flashbacks and historical stories, being a regular character in the 1970s Invaders series. After years of only appearing in flashback stories, he returned to current publication with the 2008 Avengers/Invaders maxiseries and the 2009 miniseries The Torch.

In 2014, as part of Marvel Now!, the All-New Invaders were relaunched and a flashback story was told about Toro during WWII in issues #6–7 and it is revealed Toro is an Inhuman in issue #10.

Fictional character biography

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Thomas Raymond

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Toro makes his first appearance (right) appearing alongside his mentor the original Human Torch. From Human Torch Comics #2

Thomas Raymond was born in New York City to parents who were laboratory assistants to Phineas Horton, creator of the original Human Torch. After their employment with Horton ended, they were killed in a train derailment. Toro himself was found at the site of the accident by a traveling circus completely unscathed despite the blaze from the wreckage raging around him. He was found to have a natural immunity to fire. Adopted by the circus, his abilities were used to draw attention.[3]

Eventually the circus is visited by the Human Torch, and as he draws closer to Toro the younger man's flame powers fully emerge. The Human Torch teaches Toro how to control his flame powers, and from this point onward, Toro becomes a protégé and partner of the Torch. He later becomes a co-founder of the Invaders.

Toro is the only member of the Invaders to survive the war mentally and physically intact. He marries Ann Raymond and assumes a pedestrian life, until he is killed in battle with the Mad Thinker.[4]

Toro's past self appears in the Avengers/Invaders miniseries, where he is temporarily transported to the present day and revealed to be a mutant.[5] In Avengers/Invaders #12, Bucky Barnes resurrects Toro using a Cosmic Cube.[6]

In the 2009 miniseries The Torch, the Mad Thinker imprisons Toro and vivisects him to learn more about his powers. He discovers that Toro possesses artificial cells similar to the Human Torch.[7]

In Infinity, Toro is retconned to be an Inhuman.[8]

Benito Serrano

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A new Toro appears as a member of the Young Allies. This Toro is Benito Serrano (the same identity as the Toro from Counter-Earth), but is from the "normal" Earth-616 Marvel Universe.[9]

During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Toro appears as a member of the Underground when Hydra took over the United States.[10]

Powers and abilities

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Toro has superhuman abilities which are similar to those of the Human Torch (the ability to fly and burst into flames, as well as flame resistance). These were originally thought to be caused by his parents' exposure to radiation prior to his conception, making Toro a genetic mutant. Investigation by the Mad Thinker reveals that the similarity is because his nervous system has incorporated artificial power cells, exactly the same kind of power cells that power the original Human Torch.[11] Reed Richards confirmed that these cells interfered with the natural expression of his mutant powers, causing him to mimic the Human Torch.[12] Many years later, Toro's origins were retroactively changed again, to explain his powers in fact came from recessive Inhuman genes. After exposure to Terrigen Mists, he cocooned and expressed his full powers. Where previously he "subconsciously duplicated" the Human Torch's appearance, now Toro's body was composed of pink, gaseous, chemical flame.[8]

Toro's metabolism is enhanced when he activates his flame powers, once recovering from heart surgery within a few minutes,[13] and once healing extensive damage inflicted by the Mad Thinker's experiments to the point that open wounds healed and scarred over in the time it took him to fly from the North Atlantic Ocean to New York City.[12]

The second Toro has the power to change himself into a superhuman form with bull-like horns and skin, greater physical mass, superhuman strength and the ability to leap far distances.

Other versions

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Before an Earth-616 counterpart appeared in the second Young Allies series, the Toro of Counter-Earth is called Benito Serrano. He is a member of the Young Allies of Counter-Earth, who can transform into a super-strong Minotaur-like humanoid (toro means "bull" in Italian and in Spanish).[14]

In the future timeline where the Hulk became the Maestro, Toro gradually lost his powers and served as the Maestro's First Minister (having previously served the original Maestro, Hercules).[15]

In other media

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  • The Thomas Raymond incarnation of Toro appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "World War Witch!", voiced by Tara Strong.[citation needed] This version is a member of the Invaders.
  • Benito Serrano appears in Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, voiced by Michael Robles while his monstrous form's vocal effects are provided by Edward Bosco.[16] This version was transformed into a Minotaur by Nightmare to serve as his anchor to the mortal world. While the Hulk and Doctor Strange help free Serrano, his astral form is compromised, leaving him trapped in his monstrous form. Subsequently, he joins the Howling Commandos while waiting for Strange to find a way to restore him to normal.

References

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  1. ^ Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 67. ISBN 978-1605490892.
  2. ^ Benton, Mike (1992). Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. p. 111. ISBN 0-87833-808-X. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ Invaders #22
  4. ^ Sub-Mariner #14 (1969)
  5. ^ Avengers/Invaders #1 – Marvel Comics Publishing Catalog
  6. ^ Avengers/Invaders #12 (August 2009)
  7. ^ The Torch #1
  8. ^ a b All-New Invaders #8 (September 2014)
  9. ^ Young Allies Vol. 2 #1 (Aug. 2010). Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Occupy Avengers #9. Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ The Torch #1–3
  12. ^ a b The Torch #4
  13. ^ Invaders #26
  14. ^ Heroes Reborn: Young Allies #1
  15. ^ Maestro: World War M #3
  16. ^ "Minotaur Voice - Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 19, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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