johnny_storm | OOC: What my Johnny Storm is like

This is an OOC post to explain in a little more depth what I intend to do with this Johnny Storm pup. I've seen several around that kind of disturbed me, and all of the ones that frequented my playing grounds seemed very OOC to me. I like this character a lot, so I decided I'd try my hand at playing him, myself, and hope I could do him better justice.

First: He's movie canon. There'd be no way to squeeze – what, fifty years? – of comics canon into him anyway. There are probably comics-canon Johnny pups around somewhere. I'm not playing one. I'm playing Johnny as based upon the movie. So let's take a little tour through who and what that is.

Movie-Johnny is an athletic man in his early to mid 20s. He "washed out" of NASA after sneaking two young women into a flight simulator for some carnal fun and games that ended when they crashed the simulator into a wall. He's a trained pilot, though, and he pilots a shuttle out into space in the film.

This is a description of what kinds of skills you have to have to qualify to be a pilot astronaut, from NASA guidelines (from Spaceline.org):

Pilot Astronauts must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. At least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command flight time is required for Pilot Astronauts. Flight test experience is desirable.

Ability to pass a NASA Class I space physical is required for Pilot Astronauts, which includes a minimum 20/50 uncorrected vision, correctable to 20/20 vision and a maximum blood pressure of 140/90 in a sitting position. Pilot Astronauts must have a height of between 5-foot, 4-inches and 6-foot, 4-inches.

Did you read that?

Johnny Storm is not an idiot. To even qualify to train at NASA, he had to have a bachelor's degree in a hard science. "Mr. Blonde Ambition" is probably at or close to genius level in his own right; most astronauts are.

When you hear Ben Grimm insulting him in the movie, talking about his "tiny little mind," you're hearing two men of staggering intelligence insulting each other. The fact that they choose to do so in vernacular doesn't change the sharpness of the minds behind it.

So moving on from Johnny's intelligence...

He is also an athlete. That's obvious from the physique he displays in the movie, along with the athletic prowess he demonstrates at the X-games. That kind of power and precision skill is something that is achieved through hard work and effort. Get that? Johnny is not lazy. In fact, sitting around doing nothing drives him crazy.

Johnny is impulsive. He flies by the seat of his pants a lot, in part because he trusts his strength, skill, and training. He's very accepting of the new and the unusual, and wants to learn more about it. That kind of curious, inquisitive mind is a hallmark of his family but it's exaggerated in him. When the others are saying "what is this and what can be done about it," he's saying "what is this and what can I do with it?" This makes him extremely adventurous, and frequently a thrill-seeker. He pushes his limits constantly to test them, but he's not as reckless as people seem to think.

He can, however, be thoughtless and impulsive, of course.

Johnny loves people. He's an extremely social and socially-oriented man, and enjoys meeting people. This is why he's such a ladies' man; women are drawn to the fact that when he looks at them, yeah obviously he wants to get in bed with them, but they also see that he's fascinated by them. He never lies to them, making it perfectly clear that he is a player and they probably shouldn't expect more than a night or two from him. But he also makes it clear that for that night or two, he's going to make them feel like the most beautiful, desirable women in the world. At times, he can go overboard in his own quest for approval, because it does mean a lot to him to receive applause for his efforts. When combined with his more impulsive tendencies, this results in him showing off for audiences.

But he is not conceited and he doesn't spend all of his time bragging about what a stud he is. No. No no no no no. Sorry. He doesn't want to tell you how cool he is; he wants to show you.

He can at times be insensitive – see his dealings with Ben in the film for proof of that – but he is very loyal and cares a great deal about his team and family. He's perfectly fine with the idea of putting himself at risk for strangers and going into harm's way for them. Again, because he knows he's stronger than most people, strong enough to handle the possible consequences better than the people he's protecting, and then just because that's the thing to do. He doesn't analyze it; he just does it.

This Johnny, in particular, is currently deeply aggravated as his sister plans her wedding and turns into "Bridezilla." He's retreated to the Nexus, using one of Reed's inventions, to hide from her rampaging estrogen as best he can. He's curious about the people in the Nexus, interested in finding out about them, and finding as much fun and trouble as he can get into.

When he's alone – which is almost never – he spends his time exercising and possibly watching sports, generally from a semi-analytical "how would I reproduce that feat?" perspective. He knows how to read, too, but generally he'd prefer to be out making noise and making friends. He doesn't park in front of the Late Night Movie and veg.

So how am I playing him? He's a smart, social guy who loves the ladies. He's spontaneous and adventurous, much more intelligent than he lets on, and definitely someone you want with you if there's going to be trouble. Party with him and he won't disappoint.

Oh, and did I mention he's pyrokinetic?