History
The criminal known as Blackjack was active in the 1940s. Through unrevealed means, he managed to acquire a squad of fighter jets as well as a cruise ship. Setting up an operation on an island near New York City, he begun recruiting criminals to work in his operations. Those who refused would be eliminated to keep his plans a secret. One of those who refused the recruitment offer was a reformed criminal who happened to be the father of Jimmy Wilson, a friend of Toro. When the commissioner of the police sought to find answers on the case of the missing crooks, he put the Human Torch on the case.
After learning that Jimmy Wilson's father was murdered, the Torch had Toro pretend to become a criminal to see if someone would come to him. Sure enough, a representative of Blackjack came to recruit Toro into his empire. Following, the Torch and Toro damaged much of Blackjack's operations; however, Toro was be injured when winged by a bullet. Blackjack and his men were rounded up aboard Blackjack's ship. When they pulled to port, Blackjack jumped into the water and escaped.
Despite his injuries, Toro helped the Torch locate one of Blackjack's men who frequented baseball games and forced him to give up Blackjack's location. After the Human Torch tracked Blackjack down, he refused to surrender and tried to flee. The Torch was forced to burn Blackjack alive.[1]