Prof. Phineas T. Horton

Professor Phineas Thomas Horton was an inventor in the early part of the 20th century. [Thanks to Lobdell for the following paraphrased information. And no, he's not related to Scott Lobdell. I asked.]: "He first worked for Timely Engineering, which was run by Victor Timely, who is KANG. This is ultimate irony since Kang employed the man who created the first Marvel which led to the later Marvel Age and the eventual creation of the Avengers, Kang's worst enemies. See the Citizen Kang Avengers Annual." Horton built the world's first android, which would go on to become one of the Earth's greatest crimefighters--The Human Torch! But Prof. Horton didn't have particularly altruistic motives for building his android. Horton hoped his artificial man would make him world famous and incredibly wealthy. Unfortunately, when Horton showed his creation to a convention of scientists in 1939, he was horrified when it burst into flame. Horton became a laughing stock and was ostracized by the world's scientific community. Later, after the android harnessed his powers and become the Human Torch, he renounced his greedy creator.

A few years later, Horton hoped to create another artificial man (one that wouldn't burst into flame) and exploit him for fame and fortune. Having learned nothing from the Human Torch, Horton built the renegade android known as Adam-II. This new construct not only renounced Horton, he took him captive and planned to conquer the world. Fortunately, Horton was rescued by his 'son,' the Human Torch, and the Torch's wartime ally Toro. The Torches and their allies in the newly-formed All-Winners Squad defeated Adam-II, who was then destroyed in a car crash.

Defeated again, Horton adopted the alias Thomas Raye and became a TV repairman. He began drinking heavily to drown his sorrows, but eventually found some happiness in a short-lived marriage. His new wife died shortly after their wedding, but she left behind an infant daughter named Frankie. Frankie was actually her child from a previous relationship, but Horton dedicated himself to raising her. When Frankie was a teenager, Phineas heard about the Fantastic Four and their member the Human Torch. Knowing that his creation had supposedly 'died' in 1955, Horton revived his dreams of fame and told the young Frankie that he could rebuild the Torch. He broke into the warehouse where the government had impounded his scientific equipment and set about building another android. However, Frankie stumbled on a loose board in the factory as she was a carrying a drum of chemicals. The chemicals exploded but Frankie survived. In fact, she now had the ability to control fire. Shocked back to his senses, Horton hypnotized Frankie into forgetting about her newfound abilities and walked out of her life (so as not to endanger her again). However, he sent Frankie money and a special costume to control her powers. A post-hypnotic suggestion caused her to again forget about her powers and costume as soon as she put it on (that part's pretty far-fetched if you ask me--eric). A few years later, though, Frankie encountered Johnny Storm--the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. His presence caused her to remember her powers, and Frankie Raye became the costumed adventurer known as Nova (not the same Nova as Richard Rider of the New Warriors). Nova eventually became a herald of Galactus.

All alone again, Horton went back to TV repair and drinking. One night, he was taken captive by the mad robot known as Ultron and forced to rework his greatest creation--The original Human Torch! Unltron had acquired the Torch's body from the Mad Thinker, and wanted to re-create him in his own image, to become the "son" of Ultron. Horton was now to old and weak to escape, so he did as Ultron ordered. The recreated Torch emerged as the second Vision, although Horton left the Torch's memory. As the Torch fought against Ultron in his new body, Horton told Ultron that he realized the Torch was the closest thing to a son he would ever have, and after all the times he tried to use his 'son,' he couldn't bring himself to destroy his creation's soul. As Horton proclaimed his love for his android, Ultron shot him for his betrayal. The Torch, as the Vision, held his dying creator in his arms. With his dying breath, Horton apologized to the Torch and asked if he had been wrong to create artificial life. Before the Torch could answer, Horton died in his arms. Ultron then overcame the Torch and erased his mind, replacing it with brain patterns based on Simon Williams, the Avenger known as Wonder Man. Years later, the time-traveller known as Immortus explained all this to the Vision.

But now it gets complicated...the Vision later attempted to control all of the world's computers, an act which terrified the governments of the world. To this end, the US government abducted and dismantled the Vision. Once the Avengers cleared the Vision, Henry Pym, the scientist also known as the Avenger Giant-Man (and Ant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, etc....), located the extremely elderly Horton. Immortus had seemingly lied to the Vision, and Horton declared that the Vision was "not my work." The original Human Torch was then discovered, proving Horton's claim. It was then assumed that Ultron had built the Vision from completely new parts.

But now it goes from complicated to downright confusing...A few years after the above revelation, the enigmatic being known as the Space Phantom revealed to the Avengers that the Vision was actually the Human Torch after all. Huh? Well, it seems Immortus created a divirgent timeline but kept it in the same timestream. After Ultron took the Torch's body from the Mad Thinker, Immortus split the timeline so that Ultron never took the Torch's body. However, he kept this divirgent timeline in the same timeline wherein Ultron had taken the Torch. So, now, there where actually two Human Torches, and both were the real thing. Thus, Professor Phineas T. Horton did indeed die that day in Ultron's lab. The Horton that lied to the Avengers and disavowed creation of the Vision was a shape-shifting alien, from the same race as the Space Phantom. So the Vision and the Torch are in fact the same android, the legacy of Professor Phineas T. Horton. Why Immortus created this duplicity is unknown, and it remains to be seen what his ultimate goal is (or, perhaps, what the actual truth is...).

Special thanks to Daniel for the information from AVENGERS FOREVER #8.