WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fantastic Four #32 by Dan Slott, R.B. Silva, Jesus Aburtov & VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Things have been increasingly complicated for the Human Torch as of late. An adventure into the depths of space bonded Johnny Storm with the alien hero Sky -- who accompanied him back to Earth in hopes of cementing their soul bond. But as she's gotten to know Johnny better over time, she's been introduced increasingly to his more immature side.
This has put a strain on their bond, which was only made worse when he ended up spending a night with another woman -- as well as possibly setting up a fresh conflict with the Fantastic Four's greatest enemy as well.
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In Fantastic Four #32, Lyja overcomplicates things again during a date between Johnny and Sky at an exhibition of Latverian artifacts and treasures in New York. Alongside Victorious, Johnny and the two women were forced into combat against a new branch of Ultimatum -- with Sky increasingly becoming furious with Lyja's words and Johnny's attitude. Sky spends the night away from Johnny, and Lyja's attempts to smooth things out are upended by Alicia Masters, who uses her father's clay to force Lyja to return to her people and leave Earth behind. Afterward, Johnny ends up making a major mistake -- and instead of finding Sky, who's been trying to truly begin a relationship with him, Johnny instead spends the evening with Victorious.
Torn about her perceived failure to protect all the Latverian treasures, Johnny's attempts to calm her resulted in Victorious bringing him back to the Latverian Embassy to sleep together. Johnny realizes the mistake he's made as soon as the next morning rolls around, but before he can even get dressed and leave, he's forced to hide from the sudden appearance of Doctor Doom's hologram. Hiding under the bed and out of sight, Johnny hears about how Doom is preparing for some mysterious threat (referencing his role in Guardians of the Galaxy) that will take him far from Latveria. But Doom wishes to know his homeland is taken care of in his absence, requiring him to name someone else he can thrust into a leadership position.
He's ultimately decided to trust this cause to Victorious -- and to make it official, he proposes marriage, thereby turning Victorious into the Queen of Latveria. Victorious is quick to accept the honor while a horrified Johnny watches from beneath the bed. One of the longest-lived elements of the Fantastic Four has always been the animosity Doctor Doom feels for the Fantastic Four's leader, Reed Richards. But over the years, he's also developed an intense hate for Susan Storm and Ben Grimm. But now, it appears that Doom might have finally found a reason to specifically hate Johnny Storm. By being even briefly romantically tied to Victorious, even just for a night. Johnny may have gotten a target on his back from one of Marvel's single most powerful and ruthless villains.
Making matters worse, Doom's request that Reed Richards be his best man means Johnny (and the rest of the Fantastic Four) will be in close proximity with Doom during the ceremony -- inviting plenty of possibility of drama. Sky is even aware that Johnny was with another woman due to their soul bond, giving her the chance to be the one to break to the rest of the world that Latveria's future monarch had a brief fling with one of their most famous enemies. There's a whole host of complications that could now arise because of Johnny Storm's inability to be mature in a relationship, and it sets up a real new drama for the Fantastic Four to overcome when it comes to Doom.
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