Strange Tales #106
The Threat of the Torrid Twosome
After a training session, Johnny is visited by Carl Zante, the "world's greatest acrobat" to convince the Torch to join him. Convincing him that he is the most valuable member of the Fantastic Four and that he is could make a living working with the Acrobat, the two form a partnership as the Torrid Twosome.
Zante tricks the Torch into breaking into a bank vault telling him that somebody was trapped inside. However, the Torch realizes the truth and when he doesn't want to go along with Zante to rob the bank, the Acrobat uses a hose to douse the Torch's flame. However, as the Acrobat is escaping the bank he is confronted by the other members of the Fantastic Four.
The Torch recovers his flame powers and helps his fellow Fantastic Four members in capturing Zante and turning him over to the police. Realizing that he made a mistake in teaming up with Zante, Johnny rejoins the Fantastic Four and is welcomed back with open arms.
Recurring Characters
Torrid Twosome (Human Torch, Acrobat), Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Thing)
Continuity Notes
This story states that Johnny's public identity is secret. This was a pretense that the Torch put up for himself as revealed in Human Torch (vol. 2) #1 Johnny did this to cover his bruised ego when nobody in Glenville initially believed he was the Human Torch. The Fantastic Four publicly revealed themselves just prior to Fantastic Four #3 as explained in Fantastic Four #543. Strange Tales #106 reveals that everyone knew about Johnny's "double identity" and were just humoring him.
Zante mentions a few of the Fantastic Four's past battles:
Their fight with the Miracle Man in Fantastic Four #3
Their first encounter with the Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four #4
And a battle with Doctor Doom, which could be a reference to Fantastic Four #5, 6 or 10. Maybe all of them?
