# Can the Human Torch get AIDS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116 "2016-03-15T22:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/21 "2016-03-16T14:55:35Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > For bonus points, note that Hank Pym retains his full strength upon shrinking down to the size of an ant – and gains superstrength upon growing to become a giant man. Which is kinda crazy even if we agree to ignore the square-cube law. I’ve always assumed that when Hank and the other growers increase their size, the matter they recruit is only superficially similar to human tissue; it’s actually something much stronger and lighter. Even aside from the square-cube issues, Hank is not twice or even eight times his normal strength when he goes from 6’ to 12’; he’s more like a twenty or thirty times, and frequently depicted as bullet-proof as well. But again, it’s imaginary physics. I can’t figure out how any scientific advances ever got made in the MU or DCU, given that the laws of thermodynamics don’t hold. I’m not sure even math works the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/22 "2016-03-16T14:55:42Z")
He can’t get AIDS, but he has a burning sensation when he pees… ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/23 "2016-03-16T14:58:50Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Also, randomly… > > No, and I wouldn’t expect it for at least 6 more months (2 years seems to be the average for the big two letting something like this stick - Batman, Captain America, and the Joker all stayed ‘dead’ for ~2 years…) When did Joker actually DIE: not merely in the “Nobody could survive that explosioon, there’s no sense in looking for the body” sense, but an actual body being found and identified? Not that even that matters in a world with mystics and shapeshapeshifters. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/24 "2016-03-16T15:07:03Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > When did Joker actually DIE: not merely in the “Nobody could survive that explosioon, there’s no sense in looking for the body” sense, but an actual body being found and identified? Depends how you define ‘body found’. The beginning of the relaunch his face was sliced off by the villain the Dollmaker. For the next 2 or so (real-world) years, his face remained in the GCPD evidence room, and he was treated as dead, as anyone whose face was sliced off would be. Then he returned with it clipped on (I think Scott Snyder and/or Greg Capullo may be a fan of Repo: The Genetic Opera). He’s since returned again, intact…unless that was a flashback…I’m about 6 months behind. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/25 "2016-03-16T15:08:45Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’ve always assumed that when Hank and the other growers increase their size, the matter they recruit is only superficially similar to human tissue; it’s actually something much stronger and lighter. Even aside from the square-cube issues, Hank is not twice or even eight times his normal strength when he goes from 6’ to 12’; he’s more like a twenty or thirty times, and frequently depicted as bullet-proof as well. No, I know; what brought it to mind was the mention of how Cyclops maybe uses sunshine to power not his optic blasts, but his mutant ability to open eye-shaped portals to the Realm Of Strange Red Stuff, followed by that stuff and all its weird properties entering the world to do whatever the story requires. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/26 "2016-03-16T16:15:56Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > No, and I wouldn’t expect it for at least 6 more months (2 years seems to be the average for the big two letting something like this stick - Batman, Captain America, and the Joker all stayed ‘dead’ for ~2 years…) [They basically brought him back three months ago.](http://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/preview/0/0/1/Old-Man-Logan-1-Cover-847af.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/27 "2016-03-16T17:51:27Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > Once he has sex with someone, can he just light himself on fire and burn off whatever STDs he may have contracted? And if he does it on a full stomach, does his food get burned and he has to eat again? Gonna go with “No,” because the Human Torch is a comic and not real. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/28 "2016-03-16T18:00:33Z")
What a wonderful and welcome contribution to the discussion. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/29 "2016-03-16T18:23:53Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > No, I know; what brought it to mind was the mention of how Cyclops maybe uses sunshine to power not his optic blasts, but his mutant ability to open eye-shaped portals to the Realm Of Strange Red Stuff, followed by that stuff and all its weird properties entering the world to do whatever the story requires. The solar-power explanation dates from the 60s or early 70s; the extradimensional portal stuff comes from the first edition of the Handbook to the MU, which was full of that handwave. In fact they should have used it more, as characters like Wolverine clearly draw mass from the lad of impossibilities, source, and pretty much every character with super-strength must draw energy from there. The only super-powered character I can think of who doesn’t draw matter or energy that way is Daredevil. Well, and Aunt May, but her power is just to cheat death. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/30 "2016-03-16T18:36:20Z")
[And occasionally be the herald of Galactus.](http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/12949/359612-76957-aunt-may.jpg) Also, “The Lad of Impossibilities” would be a great superhero tagline. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/31 "2016-03-16T19:07:39Z")
> [@OffByOne](#): > > Gonna go with “No,” because the Human Torch is a comic and not real. > [@silenus](#): > > What a wonderful and welcome contribution to the discussion. Thank you. I think what **OffByOne** meant to say was that the _Original_ Human Torch is an android and therefore can’t catch human diseases. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/32 "2016-03-16T20:20:39Z")
Even if his plasma form burns out all bacteria and vira (which, as mentioned, would be problematic with symbiotic intestinal bacteria), that still wouldn’t necessarily make him immune to AIDS specifically. HIV is a retrovirus, which means that it inserts its genes into the host cells, which can then reproduce themselves (and the embedded viral sequences) as normal for potentially decades before going into “burst into a bajillion vira” mode. Flame On clearly doesn’t harm Johnny’s own cells, and that would presumably include portions of his own cells that “shouldn’t” be there. Of course, it might still work if he flames sufficiently quickly after sex (before the virus has a chance to actually invade any cells), and it would also provide a measure of protection against the opportunistic infections that AIDS opens a patient up to. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/33 "2016-03-16T20:25:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, it might still work if he flames sufficiently quickly after sex (before the virus has a chance to actually invade any cells), and it would also provide a measure of protection against the opportunistic infections that AIDS opens a patient up to. Might make second dates problematic. I mean, if flames \*too \*quickly after sex. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/34 "2016-03-16T21:23:36Z")
> [@OffByOne](#): > > Gonna go with “No,” because the Human Torch is a comic and not real. Can he get comic book AIDS then? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/35 "2016-03-16T22:00:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Flame On clearly doesn’t harm Johnny’s own cells, and that would presumably include portions of his own cells that “shouldn’t” be there. Parenthetically… Currently, in Thor, the wielder of Mjolnir isn’t Thor Odinson, but a woman (as has been the case for the past year-plus): Jane Foster She’s also suffering from cancer, and going through chemotherapy. Ironically, using Mjolnir to transform into her Thor persona is helping to kill her: when she transforms, Mjolnir’s magic purges her body of any foreign substances or threats, and Mjolnir interprets the chemo drugs as foreign poisons (which, in fact, they are). However, as her cancer is made up of her own body’s cells, Mjolnir does nothing to wipe those out, as well. So, in her human persona, she goes to chemo. And, then, she has to address some supervillain-y crisis, transforms to Thor, and the chemo is undone. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/36 "2016-03-16T22:00:32Z")
> [@Smitty](#): > > He can’t get AIDS, but he has a burning sensation when he pees… {Small Applause} Nice…very nice.{/Small Applause} ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/37 "2016-03-16T22:36:15Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Like most energy casters (Magneto being the notable exception), the Torch actually has two bodies; the one he isn’t using is stored in a pocket dimension. I can’t remember whether he’s ever gotten a virus before, though. Well that’s just silly. Any proper energy caster would derive their powers from the hearts of stars aided by an ancient titan-like alien entity. Though I suppose in a pinch a bunch of sentient disembodied heads would do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/38 "2016-03-16T23:36:17Z")
I couldn’t swear to it, but didn’t they once depict Johnny Storm as always ‘running hot’. Like his natural body temperature was like 50 degrees C or similar. Haven’t the faintest what issue, but I have a vague recollection of this coming up. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/39 "2016-03-17T00:05:07Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > Once he has sex with someone, can he just light himself on fire and burn off whatever STDs he may have contracted? And if he does it on a full stomach, does his food get burned and he has to eat again? Need answer fast? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116/40 "2016-03-17T00:21:45Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I think what **OffByOne** meant to say was that the _Original_ Human Torch is an android and therefore can’t catch human diseases. Nice save. But no. That was straight thread-shitting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-human-torch-get-aids/749116.md?page=3)