Appearing in "Blood Church! Chapter One Dark Immortal!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Innocents of God
- Oruthu (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Valkyrie ⏵ (Possesses the body of ⏴ Barbara Norris ⏵)
- ⏴ Ivan Carmichael ⏵
- Meteor Man (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "Blood Church! Chapter One Dark Immortal!"
With Spider-Man and Valkyrie missing after their battle with the Meteor Man, a troubled Dr. Strange looks out for allies to help him look for them. Understanding that the Human Torch is one of Spider-Man's closest friends, Dr. Strange seeks out the Torch and enlists him in helping find Valkyrie and Spider-Man. While the Human Torch goes to search the Meteor Man's last known address, Dr. Strange goes to the prison where he was held to learn more.
When the Torch arrives at Norton Fester's former apartment, he finds himself confronted by Jeremiah and his followers the Innocents of God. Jeremiah, having waited for someone to show up looking for Valkyrie, and finding the Torch suitable for his purposes, knocks out the Torch with his mystical eye bolts. The Torch wakes up to find that Valkyrie is being used for a mystical ceremony that Jeremiah is conducting. Freeing himself and trying to stop it, the Torch is once more knocked out by a mystical bolt from Jeremiah.
Meanwhile, Dr. Strange's trip to the prison turns out to be a dead end when the warden won't let Strange see the Meteor Man. Leaving, Strange picks up the presence of evil magic near the city and checks it out in his astral form. Strange is then pulled into another dimension where he finds Valkryie's soul being tormented by demons. Strange fights the demons off before returning to his human body.
Meanwhile, the Torch revives and frees himself, and uses his flame powers in order to prevent Jeremiah from using his followers in a sacrifice. During the battle, Dr. Strange arrives, and with his superior mystical skill, easily over-powers Jeremiah and banishes him to the realm of the demons he really worshipped.
Notes
Continuity Notes
- The Human Torch is wearing a red and yellow costume in this story. He started wearing this outfit circa Fantastic Four #132. He will continue to wear it until Fantastic Four #159.
Trivia
- While the Torch would appear again in Marvel Team-Up, this would be the last issue in which he, and not Spider-Man, was the anchor hero for almost all the rest of the series.