WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Annihilation: Scourge - Fantastic Four #1 by Christos Gage, Diego Olortegui, Juan Vlasco, Cam Smith, Scott Hanna, Erick Arciniega and VC's Travis Lanham, on sale now.

With heroes like Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, Marvel's Fantastic Four is one of the smartest, most mature superhero teams around. However, one of the team's stalwart members, the Human Torch, has had a lot of trouble growing up.

But in Annihilation: Scourge - Fantastic Four #1. Johnny Storm realizes he needs to revisit one of the worst traumas of his life and grow into a leader again.

In Annihilation: Scourge, the twisted, undying forces of the Cancerverse are on a conquest. While they've set their sights on the Marvel Universe, they've already run through the Negative Zone, another dimension that's usually ruled by the FF villain Annihilus.

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Before he and the rest of the FF head into the Negative Zone in this issue, Johnny reveals that he still has nightmares about his extended stay in the dimension. To stop Annihilus and his forces from invading Earth, he sealed himself in the Negative Zone, seemingly condemning himself to death in 2011.

However, the Human Torch did not actually die but instead found himself living an existence surrounded by the weird creatures inhabiting the Negative Zone. Over time Johnny became their noble leader, but his naiveté made him a bit too noble for his own good. Johnny imposed democratic elections that ironically booted him out of office, as the Negative Zone bugs favored their dictatorial figurehead Annihilus over the comparably weak Johnny.

Johnny has done some growing since his seeming death, however, and this issue shows him struggling with the moral issues at play in surprisingly adult ways. When the Fantastic Four faces Cancerverse versions of themselves, all of whom are deathless psychotic beings ideologically opposed to change, Johnny realizes that change isn't always a bad thing.

After defeating the FF's doppelgangers, Johnny takes command of the Negative Zone's Annihilation Wave, one of the most formidable armies in existence.

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With a little help from the FF, Johnny sees that he does not need to make a choice between being a fearless leader or an irresponsible kid brother: he can be both. The moment addresses the dueling aspects of the character that have often defined him since he was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the '60s. Even though he's grown well into adulthood, Johnny is still fundamentally the aloof, hot-headed teenager he was back then on a certain level.

By creating the parallel to the deathless Cancerverse to provoke Johnny's change, the story gives the Human Torch a way to address his somewhat arrested development and go in a new direction that doesn't feel like a complete about-face.

While it's not clear how long he'll stay in control of the army, it's another moment of cooperation between the FF and the army of one of the most dangerous foes. For the moment, it seems like the Human Torch will lead both his family and the Annihilation Wave into final combat against the Cancerverse Scourge before they can do any more damage.

NEXT: Fantastic Four's Most Powerful Member Unveils Another Secret Super-Power