The Fantastic Four: First Steps has just proven that ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was completely wrong about the fight between the Human Torch and Pyro. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was brimming with crowd-pleasing moments and jokes, but one immediately drew the ire of comic book fans. Thankfully, the MCU has fixed this in the triumphant Fantastic Four: First Steps.

In ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, a very memorable sequences sees the X-Men villain Pyro sapping the flames from Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm. This effectively “switched him off” and caused him to plummet from the sky. Played for laughs, the moment was certainly funny, but it doesn’t reflect the source material.

Looking at the comic book precedent, it’s clear that the Human Torch is much more powerful than depicted in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. In the comics there is no way that Pyro could gain such an upper hand, and it frankly ignores a huge amount of Johnny Storm’s powers. Thankfully, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has fixed this.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Confirms That Johnny Storm Can Absorb Fire

One of the standout sequences in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the dynamic opening montage, which showcases the team’s early days as emerging superheroes. In Johnny Storm’s segment, he’s seen arriving at the site of several burning skyscrapers. Johnny calmly absorbs the external fire into his own body, extinguishing the buildings.

This moment isn’t just for spectacle. It’s a subtle but important confirmation of a power that comic readers have long known: Johnny can absorb fire, not just generate it. In various comic storylines, the Human Torch has demonstrated the ability to pull flames from external sources, store them internally, and even manipulate fire that wasn’t created by him.

This power has long made him a formidable opponent to villains like Pyro, whose abilities center around manipulating existing fire but not producing it himself. By including this scene, First Steps aligns the MCU’s Johnny with his comic counterpart. This retroactively reframes his showdown with Pyro in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine as a misrepresentation of the Human Torch’s abilities.

The Human Torch Should Have Won The Fight With Pyro In ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine

Johnny Storm isn’t just a fire-thrower; he’s a living flame who can absorb and manipulate fire from virtually any source. Even if Pyro had temporarily pulled the fire away in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, Johnny should have been able to reclaim it, or draw on the surrounding environment’s heat to reignite himself. As the more versatile and self-generating fire-wielder, Johnny’s power set far surpᴀsses Pyro’s.

The comic-accurate version of this fight would’ve seen the two competing for dominance over the flames. Johnny would ultimately win this due to his far superior connection with external heat sources and fire. The Human Torch has an inherent affinity with temperature and flames that far outweighs Pyro.

Of course, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine flipped this for comedic effect. It sacrificed accuracy for the sake of a quick gag. While this fits with the irreverent tone, it’s nice to see the MCU reestablish this, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps now laying out the true scale of Johnny’s powers.