The 5 Hottest Marvel Superheroes In History

We know, we know — you assumed this was going to be another list of Marvel Comics characters who are the easiest on the eye. Your Mary Janes, your Bucky Barneses, or even a Ben Grimm, if that's your Thing. Instead, we've cobbled together a collection of characters from the realm of the Marvel Universe that are able to turn up the heat and keep it there for good, bad, and somewhere in between (but slightly close to boiling).

A variety of characters are able to switch things to scorching in a matter of seconds thanks to their special abilities. Whether their powers are the result of a run-in with cosmic rays or a twisted gift bestowed upon them by some Satan-like knockoff, there's more than a handful of hotheads zipping around the Marvel Universe.

The important thing to address, however, is which one really is the hottest of the lot? Only one can truly melt away the competition, and after extensive studies that forced us to run our finger under the faucet on more than one occasion, here's who we think are the five hottest Marvel Superheroes in History. Please apply a bajillion-level sunblock and sunglasses before you continue reading. By then, well — if you can't stand the heat, please get out of the article.

The first candidate to make the cut is mutant Angelica "Angel" Jones, aka Firestar. Now, while she might not deliver the same kind of flames as others on this list, that's not to say she wouldn't leave you turning on the air conditioner if she entered the atmosphere. Wielding the ability to emit and absorb microwaves, Angelica's ability allows her to melt nearby objects as well as warm the air around her, which has the added effect of providing her with the ability to fly.

Unlike the other contenders in this compilation, though, Firestar spent much of her life reluctant to even use her powers, concerned about the damage she would do to the environment as well as those around her. This makes her earn a spot on the list, as, unlike the rest of these incredibly hot heroes, Firestar actually holds back in pushing the limits of her own powers for fear of killing those closest to her — or wrecking the planet's atmosphere.

All that said, in space, she can truly let loose. Past adventures have shown her power up stargates and even join in the fight against Super Nova (a battle other contenders on this list took part in as well). Don't be fooled by the domino mask and bright yellow outfit. Firestar can burn extraordinarily bright when she wants to, and it's best to witness it from a safe distance when she does.

While the Spirit of Vengeance's powers might be more focused on separating saints from sinners, the Hellfire used to enforce its goals is nothing to sniff at. Penance Stare aside, the Ghost Rider uses pyrokinesis (fire manipulation) to get the hell-sent job done when they need to. That being said, the flames that fuel their mission and mode of transport aren't as warm as you might think, but they would still certainly sting a bit.

Keeping in line with the Ghost Rider's branding, the Spirit of Vengeance's Hellfire cooks at an impressive (wait for it) six hundred and sixty-six degrees Celsius, or 1230.8 Fahrenheit. It can also burn hot and cold on occasion, which is something not many on this list can manage.

Admittedly, while it still might not be as blistering as some other entrants on this list, the Rider has applied the heat when called upon, including subbing in as a member of the Fantastic Four when its original members were out of action. In 1991, Danny Ketch's Ghost Rider teamed up with Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Joe Fixit (one of the many Hulks in the Marvel Universe) as a new Fantastic Four when the Skrulls were causing problems for the First Family. Years later, the Rider's time as the Fantastic Four's Human Torch stand-in was revisited in a '90s-heavy limited series released in 2022.

Now, here's where we throw a character into the mix that can cause some complications, because out of all the entrants on this list, the former herald of Galactus, Firelord, certainly packs a punch. The thing is, his greatest asset isn't actually the heat he can generate, but the revered Power Cosmic bestowed upon him by his world-gobbling boss.

Pyreus Kril is able to travel faster than the speed of sound and possesses incredible strength, both of which help to make him a tough fighter, and he can certainly hold his own when he needs to, wielding the energy of a small sun — but his temperature doesn't quite reach the highs of others on this list. Keeping that in mind, it's easy to argue that Firelord may be hotter than anyone truly realizes. In one incident (shown in "Avengers" 303), both he and the Human Torch absorbed Super Nova's flames, and only our staff-wielding, interplanetary hothead remained unfazed by the encounter.

To simplify just how hot Firelord can get things, we'd need only to look to his pristine precursor, the Silver Surfer. One encounter between the two actually saw the latter burned by Galactus' new lackey. The Surfer admitted that while he could handle the regular old heat from a nearby star, Firelord controlled a different kind of flame that was harder to manage. Even backed by Galactus, though, Firelord might struggle to match one of Earth's warmest warriors, someone who has spent as much time being a threat to the planet as they have a protector.

One of our most side-switching entries on the list (and that includes the hero that was born in the depths of Hell) is the Alpha-level mutant, Sunfire. Shiro Yoshida's powers, which were activated after visiting the Hiroshima bomb site, allow him to shoot fireballs and take to the air like the rest of these hot shots. This, of course, made him a serious problem when he decided to attack the Western world following his debut in 1969.

Over time, though, Yoshida cooled down a bit. He now fights for all of mutantkind and even has the designation of being one of the few X-Men who've also been an Avenger. That's good news for the world, too, because the former bad guy and current X-Man is not only able to match the temperatures of most of the other legends on this list but also maintain more precise control over the heat he emits.

This is what sets Sunfire apart from others; not only can Yoshida go toe-to-toe with Johnny Storm's nova-burst, which can reach 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit (more on that later), he has far more control when channeling the heat in question. Sunfire is able to scorch his foes while utilizing varying temperatures rather than letting loose with one big, uncontrollable blast. Of course, it's all well and good to be able to direct varying degrees of heat, but only one flamethrower on this list can conjure up a fire so hot that it can actually break the universe.

He might love writing massive fours in the sky, but the number one spot on this list was the only place for the Fantastic Four's Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch. Burning brighter than just about any character in the Marvel Universe, Johnny is able to manipulate the fire that covers his entire body, as well as use it to propel him to almost supersonic speeds. While those kinds of pyrotechnic party tricks might be a basic package for the characters on this list, Storm has the edge over the rest of the competition by not only being able to reach the same temperatures as the sun, but a trillion more of them as well.

Besides his signature scorching move, the nova flame, there's also the nova-burst, which explodes from Storm in one giant blast. The heroic heatwave can reach temperatures of 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit and has been described as being similar to a blast from a nuclear bomb. However, there was one instance in "Fantastic Four" #569 where he even topped that after harnessing the collective power of thousands of alternate versions of himself. The temporary power-up allowed him to reach Planck temperature, which is thought to be a point when the very laws of physics themselves would collapse. So, sure, some characters on this list might be able to break a sweat, but only Johnny Storm has shown the ability to potentially break reality itself.

Want more Human Torch facts? Learn the untold truth of the Fantastic Four before Marvel's First Family arrives on the big screen.