Who Johnny Storm is
Johnny Storm is the youngest member of Marvel's First Family and the brother of Sue Storm. Along with Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, he gained his powers on a space mission, and his are the flashiest of the four. He can cover his body in fire, shoot flames and fly at high speed, all with a showman's grin.
He is also the team's loose cannon. Johnny is cocky and quick with a joke, and he loves the attention that comes with being a superhero. Underneath that, he cares deeply about his sister and the strange little family they have built.
Johnny Storm's appearances
- The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025): his debut and his only released appearance so far.
- Avengers: Doomsday (2026): upcoming, with plot details not revealed.
- Avengers: Secret Wars (2027): announced, with plot details not revealed.
All three are marked essential. Doomsday is upcoming and Secret Wars is only announced, and Marvel has not shared their plots beyond Secret Wars being the finale of the Multiverse Saga, so there is nothing to spoil yet.
Flame on: his story so far
The Fantastic 4: First Steps takes place in its own universe, separate from the main MCU timeline, in a retro-futuristic world styled after the 1960s. The Fantastic Four are already famous there, celebrated heroes with a public image to maintain. That setting suits Johnny perfectly, since he is the member who enjoys fame the most.
The film gives him more depth than the hothead label suggests. When a cosmic threat arrives in the form of Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, Johnny turns out to be more curious and more useful than the others expected. His banter keeps the film light, but he also gets moments that show he is ready to take the job seriously. We will stop there to keep things spoiler-free.
Looking ahead, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars list Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm. Secret Wars closes the Multiverse Saga, and that is about all that is officially known.
The rest of the Fantastic Four
Sue Storm is his older sister, and their bond is the steadiest thing in Johnny's life. Reed Richards is the team's brilliant, sometimes absent-minded leader, and Johnny enjoys poking fun at him. Ben Grimm, the rocky powerhouse, is Johnny's favorite sparring partner in an ongoing friendly rivalry. The four of them work as a family first and a team second, and the film leans into that.
Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch
Joseph Quinn brings a scrappy, likable charm to Johnny, making him funny without being annoying. He became widely known as the metalhead Eddie Munson in Stranger Things, and he went on to play the emperor Geta in Gladiator II and a lead role in A Quiet Place: Day One. He shares the screen in First Steps with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the rest of the team.
What to watch first
Start with The Fantastic 4: First Steps. It is a self-contained story, so you do not need any earlier MCU films to enjoy it. Watch it before Avengers: Doomsday arrives, since the Fantastic Four are part of that film's announced cast.