THE HUMAN TORCH
Who is he?
Johnny Storm is brother to Sue Storm Richards, brother-in-law to Reed Richards, son of Franklin Richards, uncle to Franklin Richards II, ex-wife of Alicia Masters (a.k.a. Lyja the Laser-Fist)... well, you get the point.
When introduced in FF #1, Johnny Storm was a 17 year old "hothead" with an affinity for fine (fast) automobiles. He owns a Corvette, a sign of his impetuousness, as the "kid" of the group. Johnny's girlfriends include : Crystal (of the Inhumans), Frankie Raye (of the female human torch fame), and Alicia Masters (a.k.a. Lyja the.. whatever).
Recently, Johnny has left the FF to set of on his own (Issue #371), and join the Fantastic Force (Issue #403), stating that the FF was too old fashioned. Well, both times he ended up coming back.
What are his powers?
In the letter which Stan Lee wrote stating the original bios and powers of the FF, he said that Johnny Storm's greatest power would be that he could fly, since the comics code would not allow him to burn people or throw fireballs (see Issue #358). Originally he was only supposed to be able to fly for about five minutes before he "flamed off."
Well, things have changed a little bit. He does throw fireballs (usually at unliving things), he does burn people (including Reed! See Issue #358), and he can fly much longer.
When Johnny becomes the Human Torch, he usually yells "Flame On!" Anyway, he needs oxygen to burn (obviously), so when he gets out of control, his sister can encase him in a force field until he uses up all of the oxygen. He can't fly unless he is aflame, so he can't fly in outer space.
His control of his flame and his flying are very precise. He can melt the insides of a lock with out destroying it, can stop on a dime (literally), and can fly at speeds of up to 150 mph.
