text:
Expanded History
Thomas Raymond (Earth-616)/Expanded History
< Thomas Raymond (Earth-616)
1 Preface
4 Post World War II
5 Modern Age
5.1 Resurface and Death
5.2 Mister Raymond
5.3 Rebirth
5.4 The Torch
5.5 Invaders NOW!
Toro's history spanning over 70 years of publications. Below is an unabridged version of his history. For an abridged version see
Main article: Thomas Raymond (Earth-616)
Regarding 1940s Publications: It has been revealed[1] that a number of the Toro's wartime adventures were actual comic book adaptations published as wartime propaganda, particularly this adventures with the Young Allies but they are based on actual facts despite obvious embellishments and artistic license on the part of the comic book creators.
Fred Raymond, a young man in the employ of Professor Phineas T. Horton, the man who later created the original Human Torch, was an expert on flame proofing who was conducting experiments with asbestos. Longtime exposure to asbestos ruined Raymond's health, and he left Horton's employ. Soon afterwards Raymond married Nora Jones, a scientist who was herself seriously ill from overexposure to radium in her experiments. They honeymooned in Mexico, and nine months later their son Thomas was born. They nicknamed him "Toro," the Spanish word for bull, as a private joke, in memory of the bullfights they had seen on their honeymoon. As Thomas grew into boyhood, his parents realized that they would probably die from their illnesses before he became an adult. Later, they discovered that Thomas was immune to fire, and Nora theorized that he was a mutant.[2] In reality, his abilities stemmed from Inhuman DNA he inherited from his parents.[3]
In the year 1940, the Raymond's home was invaded by a costumed criminal named the Asbestos Lady and her gang. The Asbestos Lady utilized fire in her crimes, protecting herself with asbestos, and intended to force Raymond to develop new means by which she could use asbestos for crime. The Human Torch, who had been watching the Raymonds' home, suspecting that the Asbestos Lady would contact such a noted authority on asbestos, broke in and captured the gang. The Asbestos Lady, however, escaped. Learning of the Toro's immunity to fire and left, deciding to keep a secret eye on the Raymond family in case they were terrorized by Asbestos Lady again.[2]
By the summer of 1941, Nora's health took a turn for the worst and Toro's powers began to manifest in the ability to generate flame, but the lad had little control. When the Torch came to visit unannounced, Toro's father kicked the Torch out before his son could see the Human Torch, and blamed the Torch for somehow being responsible for his sons condition.[4]
Shortly after, Toro's father decided to take the family on a trip. Still targeted by Asbestos Lady, she had placed a tree on the railroad tracks causing their train to derail. Toro's parents were killed in the train wreck, and Toro -- dazed and confused from injuries he sustained -- was spotted by the owner of Pop's circus who noticed Toro's immunity to heat by witnessing the boy holding a red hot chunk of metal without burning his hands.[2] Pop then adopted Toro and made the boy part of his circus. The Torch realized that Toro had the same powers that he himself did. The Torch became Toro's legal guardian, and trained Toro in the use of his powers. Becoming a crime fighting team, their first adventure led to the capture of the circus strong man Samson who stole a scientific device.[5] Shortly after Toro's teaming with the Human Torch he became a target of the Nazis who used spies posing as his deceased parents to convince him to go to Germany and assist in weapons manufacturing. Realizing he was duped too late, Toro was freed by the Torch and returned to America.[6] Following this, the Human Torch and Toro were nearly inseparable.
Taking in Toro as his ward, teaching him how to use his powers.[7] The Human Torch and Toro clashed with foes such as the Brain,[8] Blackjack,[9] the Hag,[10] Dr. Smart,[11] and arsonist Hawk Rivers.[12]
During this time, Captain America's partner Bucky had also helped found the Sentinels of Liberty fan club, a youth group that endorsed patriotism and support of the United States during the war. The United States government used the group to found the Young Allies which consisted of Bucky, the Toro, Patrick "Knuckles" O'Toole, Geoffrey "Jeff" Vandergill, Henry "Tubby" Tinkelbaum, and Washington "Wash" Jones. Their adventures were adapted into a comic book published by Timely Comics, but the members of the Allies had their names altered, likenesses overly dramatized (and not in the most flattering ways in some cases) and the stories embellished.[1] Their first recorded adventure together involved being chased across the globe protecting a British spy from the true Red Skull and needing to be rescued by Captain America and the Human Torch in China.[13]
Later the Torch and Toro battled the Japanese spy known as Matzu.[14] Later, Betty Dean and the Ferret recruited the Torch, Toro, Sub-Mariner and the Angel to assist in searching for missing scientist Philo Zog, inventor of the robot known as Electro. They rescued Zog from the Torch's old foe Dr. Manyac who was forcing Zog to build an army of robotic Green Flames for the Nazis.[15]
The Human Torch and Toro would next clash once again with the Sub-Mariner when he was convinced by another undersea dweller named Rathia to attempt to invade the world. After Toro was injured in battle, the Torch convinced Namor the errors of his way and helped him defeat Rathia.[16] Later, Toro and his friend Bucky were pulled forward in time by Zarrko the Tomorrow Man to battle the Fantastic Four. Upon Zarrko's defeat they were returned to their appointed place in history with no memory of the past events. [17] Working as a pair the Human Torch and Toro clashed with Prince Itor and his Idol of Death,[18] saved the nation of Alslavia from Nazi invasion,[19] and embezzler Mr. Howe.[20] Later, in Pennsylvania, the flaming duo stopped Nazi spy N-4 from destroying a new prototype tank.[21]
The Human Torch and Toro then clashed with their first recurring foe as a pair, the fire proof criminal known as the Parrot, returning him to justice after a jail break.[22] The Torch and Toro next took down the so-called "King of the Crime Syndicates"[23] and foil a jail break by the Parrot, which ultimately ended in the foes death.[24] During this period they also stopped an oil smuggling operation by the Japanese Black Dragon Society,[25] illegal arms dealer Mr. Falton, and the suicidal Legion of Despair.[26] Later the Torch and Toro were asked to come to England to help escort Dr. Barrow and protect the plans for his newly invented engine as they took a train through the English countryside. The train was soon attacked by Teutonic Knight who succeeded in kidnapping the doctor. When the Torch and Toro attempted to chase after his getaway plane, the Knight dropped a bomb on a rail bridge forcing the two heroes to pull back and repair the damage to save the train and lost the Knight's trail.[27]
On December 7th, 1941 American authorities learned of a joint attack on American soil by Nazi, subversive Atlantean and Nazi forces. One of these attacks was on Pearl Harbor, and the Human Torch and Toro were sent on this mission to help turn back the invasion. It was a day that would stand in American history as the aftermath would end with the United States officially entering World War II.[7] So horrified by the senseless destruction caused by the Japanese forces, the Human Torch and Toro fought back in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor, attacking Japan directly slaying Japanese Admiral Nodope in the process.[28]
Returning to the United States, on December 22, 1941 the Human Torch and Toro were assigned on in secret as part of the security for Dr. Anderson, one of the men involved in Operation Rebirth the experiment the created Captain America. When Anderson was captured by Nazi spies and forced to use his knowledge to empower their agent Master Man. Tracking Anderson to the secret Nazi lab, the two heroes were to late to stop the empowerment of Master Man. The super-strong Nazi easily bested the two heroes and the Nazis fled after shooting Dr. Anderson. Rushing Anderson to a hospital, the Torch and Toro soon met with Captain America and Bucky. Realizing that the Nazis were plotting to attack a ship carrying British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the United States they rushed to the scene. There with the assistance of the Sub-Mariner, the heroes stopped the Nazis and when Master Man's powers failed him captured the villain and turned him over to the authorities. After his rescue, Winston Churchill suggested that the group band together, suggesting they call themselves the Invaders.[29] In the aftermath of that battle, President Roosevelt officially sanctioned the group.[7]
The Invaders then went to England to begin investigating a Nazi scientist named Brain Drain who was the apparent mastermind behind the Master Man project. After an air raid in London, they met a woman named Hilda a near amnesiac with a strange ring that led them to a location in Germany. This led to a battle against three super-humans Froh, Donar and Loga who believed themselves to be the Teutonic Gods.[30] As Toro and the others battled these so-called gods, Cap and Hilda clashed with Brian Drain, learning that the super-beings were not gods but members of the Tekeli-Li race. The battle ended with the aliens sacrificing their lives to destroy Brain Drain's lab in a massive explosion which the Invaders were able to escape.[31]
Returning to the United States at the start of 1942, the Invaders intercept a Nazi U-Boat and steal a coded message which tells of another attempt on Winston Churchill's life on his way back to England following his US visit. The attack was to be carried out by the Atlantean traitor U-Man. When Namor attempted to go to fight U-Man alone, the Torch and other Invaders attempted to stop him, but Namor managed to escape with the help of Bucky.[32] After confusion with the military,[33] the Torch, Toro and Captain America went after both the Sub-Mariner and Bucky and assisted them in saving Churchill and Namor's friend Betty Dean from U-Man.[34] Sent on a mission to the Swiss Alps to investigate strange happenings, the Torch and Toro were captured by the mad scientist Basil Frankenstein. Frankenstein (descendant of Victor Frankenstein creator of the Frankenstein's Monster) sought to duplicate the Torch's abilities in his own creation for the Nazis. The other Invaders came to the Torch and Toro's rescue, destroying Frankenstein's Nazi monster.[35] Reuniting with the Young Allies, Toro helped the group thwart a Japanese invasion of Alaska led by the Khan.[36]
Back in the United States, the Torch and Toro became less restricted to just police work in New York City and expanded their scope to dealing with domestic crime, spies from Nazi Germany, Imperial Japanese invaders and more. They clashed with Nazi saboteur the Saint.[37] Reunited with the Young Allies, Toro helped his friends locate lost explorer Martin Livingstone. They helped Livingstone defend his latest discover, the island dubbed "New America" from the Black Talon and the Nazis with the assistance of the Human Torch and Captain America.[38] With the Torch, Toro battled weapons smuggler Izan,[39] the insane Javelin,[40] and saved New York from destruction by Japanese spy Moppino and his Atom Expansion Ray.[41] Assisting with the war effort in the Pacific, the Human Torch and Toro stopped Japanese Agent X, and later stopped Nazi and Japanese spies from planting bombs all over New York's infrastructure.[42] They also prevented the Metal Mobsters from stealing an experimental metal called Y-9.[43]
Returning to the Invaders, Toro participated in a war bond parade that was interrupted by the Red Skull who captured the Torch, Toro, Captain America and Sub-Mariner. He then left Bucky (seeing him as no threat) and brainwashed the Torch and the others to do his bidding, sending them to attack American munitions factories.[44] When Bucky formed the Liberty Legion to counter his friends, the Red Skull sent the mind-controlled Invaders to attack various American landmarks. The Torch and Toro are sent to destroy the Lincoln Memorial. They are opposed by Legion memberes Red Raven and the Whizzer and forced to retreat.[45] Furious the Skull sent the Invaders to attack Wriggly Stadium during a Yankees again and they were once more opposed by the Liberty Legion. Toro was captured in advance and replaced by Yankees bat-boy Fred Davis Jr. to trick the Skull into thinking that they managed to free Toro from his control. During the fight, Toro (snapping out of the Skull's control on his own) destroyed the airship that housed the equipment that kept the Torch and the others under the Red Skull's thrall, freeing them from the Skull's control.[46]
Returning to England with the Invaders, Toro and his allies clashed with Baron Blood and met the Falsworth clan including Jacqueline Falsworth, her father Lord Montgomery (who was the hero known as Union Jack during World War I) and his brother John, who was secretly Baron Blood himself.[47] With Union Jack coming out of retirement to join the Invaders, Toro assisted the group in another clash with Baron Blood ending with the Baron's escape.[48] When it was learned that Baron Blood had been feeding on Jacqueline, the Torch and Toro hid on the Falsworth property while the other Invaders went searching for Baron Blood again, catching the Baron in an attempt of feeding on Jacqueline again. They were unable to stop Baron Blood from escaping with Jacqueline due to a rainstorm snuffing out their flames. The Invaders tracked Baron Blood to a cave where he was impaled through the heart with a stalagmite and killed. However the battle cost the Union Jack the use of his legs and Jacqueline required immediate medical attention.[49]
They rushed Jacqueline to a military hospital.[50] There, Toro and the others clashed with the Blue Bullet while the Torch gave Jacqueline a life saving blood transfusion that endowed her with super-human speed.She aided the group in defeating the Blue Bullet and joined the group as Spitfire.[51] Toro then joined in Invaders on a mission to rescue Jacob Goldstein a Jewish scholar trapped in the Warsaw ghettos. Finding Jacob, he refused to abandon his work and the Toro and the others were soon captured by the Nazis.[52] They were taken prisoner by the Nazi known as the Face, but were rescued by Goldstein who managed to transform himself into the Golem of Jewish lore.[53] Returning to England, the Toro and the Invaders were upstaged by a group of new British heroes called the Crusaders who ended up taking the task of protecting the King of England from the Invaders.[53] However, the Invaders soon learned that the Crusaders were -- unknown to them -- backed by a Nazi spy seeking to assassinate the King, and the two groups helped foil the plot.[54]
Soon after the Crusaders incident, the Invaders were given a headquarters in England within Big Ben. While the adult Invaders were given a mission to capture three Nazi operatives, Toro and Bucky were ordered to stay behind to maintain an "Invaders presence" in the area while the others were off on assignment.[55] Returning to the US with the Torch, Toro helped exposed sculptor turned spy Frank Portl.[56] When Nazi forces attempted to break out the Python from prison, the Human Torch and Toro worked with the Sub-Mariner and soon found themselves reunited with the Torch's creator Professor Horton. Horton was captured by the Python and forced to use the device he used to create the Torch to boost his powers exponentially. Turned into a compliant slave of the Python, the Torch terrorized New York City until he was restored to normal by Toro, the Sub-Mariner, and Horton. In the process the heroes prevented a Nazi invasion of New York and slew the Python. Afterward, the Torch and Horton parted on decent terms.[57] Back in New York the flaming duo stopped Von Brukk's attempt to steal TNT to blow up air craft factories in the area[58] and later captured Captain von Spitz and his spies.[59]
Returning to England with the Invaders the Toro joined them in tracking down the Private Biljo White -- creator of the Major Victory comic book, whose title hero had an origin similar to Captain America -- who had been captured by the Nazis. Tracking White to Hitler's stronghold in Germany, the Toro and the others were trounced by Master Man and taken prisoner.[60] While they managed to get information about Operation Rebirth out of White, the result only empowered one Nazi agent turning her into Warrior Woman. When the Invaders attempted to escape, they were defeated by the combined might of Master Man and Warrior Woman. With Captain America left for death, Toro and the others are then recaptured.[61] They are then brought to Berlin to be executed following the marriage of Master Man and Warrior Woman.[62] An attempt to rescue them by Captain America and the Destroyer failed and resulted in the capture of both Captain America and Spitfire.[63] However the Destroyer (taking on his fathers guise of Union Jack) came to the Invaders rescue, freeing them during the wedding. During the battle, Toro could not generate his flames fast enough to fully melt bullets fired at him by a Nazi shoulder and was gunned down.[64] With the aid of Dyna-Mite, the Invaders managed to escape Nazi Germany in a Nazi bomber, but were forced to splash dive into the English Channel.[65] Rescued by the British navy and brought back to England, Toro was rushed back to England to get immediate medical attention.[2]
In England, doctors determined that Toro required a specialized surgery that could only be carried out by an American surgeon named Hijiri Sabuki. When the Invaders were ordered to assist in preventing the Nazis from invading Egypt, the Torch trusted Toro's care to Bucky who traveled to the United States to seek out Sabuki.[66] However, when Bucky arrived at Sabuki's home in California, he learned that because of Sabuki's Japanese ancestory he had been placed in a relocation camp by the United States military.[67] Putting Toro in the hospital, Bucky located Sabuki, but Bucky, Sabuki and his daughter Gwendolyne were all captured by Nazi operative Agent Axis.[68] Learning that Bucky sought out Sabuki to save Toro's life, Agent Axis has his men kidnap Toro and hospital visitor Davey Mitchell who happened to witness the site. Agent Axis reveals that he wants Sabuki to separate the three minds that share his body, but Sabuki only agrees to do it if he can first save Toro's life. Completing the life saving operation, Sabuki then begins to operate on Agent Axis. Axis has Davey and Gwen attached to machines that, should Agent Axis be killed, they would be electrocuted as well. Toro comes to and attacks with Bucky, freeing Gwen and Davey. The resulting short circuit causes the pair to be endowed with super-human powers. Before Agent Axis can deal with the youths, the Invaders then came smashing through the wall, having tracked down their charges.[69] Toro, Bucky, Gwen and Davey then assist the Invaders in capturing Agent Axis and following his capture decide to band together as the Kid Commandos.[70]
Back in the United States the Torch and Toro contacted their long time friend Carl Burgos a writer/artist at Timely Comics, to provide an idea for a write story that made fun of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and arranged to have the comics air dropped all over Nazi Germany. Angry, Hitler ordered assassins in New York to kill the comic book creator. The Human Torch, Toro and Carl's colleague Bill Everett saved Carl before he could be fatally poisoned.[71] The Torch and Toro stopped War Stamp counterfeiter Big Eyes in New York,[72] the Hooded Gang lynch mob in Somerville, and claustrophobic bank robber Johnny Clostro.[73] Later Toro rejoined the Young Allies, and assisted Captain America, the Human Torch and Betty Ross to stop the Red Skull's plot to poison everyone in Washington D.C., an adventure that ended in the Red Skull's seeming demise.[74]
Rejoining the Kid Commandos, Toro and his teammates are called on by the Invaders to help investigate spy activities in San Diego. The youths become a target of Lady Lotus who sends U-Man to capture Golden Girl. The Kid Commandos prove to be no match against U-Man and are easily defeated.[75] The Commandos are rescued by the Invaders, but they fail to stop U-Man from escaping with Golden Girl. Discovering that he has developed feelings for Golden Girl, Toro joins the Kid Commandos and Invaders in rescuing her from Lady Lotus. When Bucky shows a great amount of affection toward Golden Girl upon her rescue, Toro grew jealous. If he ever reconciled his feelings with Golden Girl remains unrecorded.[76] Toro then join the Kid Commandos on a war bond rally shortly thereafter.[77] Next Toro joined the Human Torch, Captain America, Bucky, the Destroyer, Black Widow, Black Marvel, Blazing Skull, and the Black Marvel in invading a Nazi compound in Europe.[78]
After, the Torch and Toro travel to Canada on vacation, the Torch and Toro prevented the so-called "Canadian Fuhrer's" bombings of Canadian cities.[79] Returning to the United States, the Torch and Toro stopped a spy ring led by J-97.[80] Toro and the Invaders also banded together to defend the Brooklyn shipyards from what they believed to be an attack by the time displaced Thor Corps.[81][82] When the Young Allies were asked to appear in a movie about their adventures, Toro and the other Young Allies took up the opportunity which led to the youths (with the help of Captain America and the Human Torch) foiling the Owl's plan to assist in a Japanese invasion of America.[83] Later the Torch and Toro tackled the Bloodsucker Plants,[84] and Stumpy's gang of fingerprint planters.[85]
Joining the American Navy on patrol of the Atlantic, the Human Torch and Toro aid in the attack of a Nazi U-Boat battalion and discover that the Sub-Mariner was aboard one of the ships. Thinking Namor was a spy, the two heroes turned their sometime ally over to the British authorities and he was locked up in Castle Depthford. The Sub-Mariner escaped and was soon tracked back to New York City. The Torch and Toro soon learned that the Sub-Mariner was posing as a traitor in order to learn how the Nazis were learning the positions of American boats. They discovered that it was the work of members of the old "White" Russia, the Baron and Baroness Kidersky who were famous ballerinas that used interpretative dance to send messages to their Nazi cohorts. Taking them captive, the Torch, Toro and Sub-Mariner then forced them to put on a show that eventually led a massive Nazi fleet into an American ambush and aided in the sinking of all the ships.[86] When the ambassador of a South American nation was later kidnapped by the Nazi spy known as the Cobra, the Torch and Toro came to the rescue,[87] exposed a plot by Nazis to poison food concentrates being shipped to American soldiers fighting abroad,[88] and stopped would be ransomer and cross-dressing villain Madam Crime.[89] In addition to this, the Torch and Toro also stopped Nazi spy the Beak form replacing supplies being shipped to the Russian front with junk to strain American-Russian relations.[90] Toro later helped the Young Allies battle Professor Kraut and the "Comet of Doom".[91]
In October of 1942 the Human Torch and Toro joined Captain America and Bucky into Shanghai, China, to locate boy genius Zhang Chin clashing with Imperial Japanese forces.[92] They succeed in getting the boy to the extraction site.[93] In early November of that year, Toro and the Invaders joined a squad of Russian troops led by Colonel Vasily Karpov to lead an attack on the Nazi occupied town of Kronas. There they encountered the Red Skull and Master Man testing out a new ray gun weapon, forcing the villains to set it to explode and flee the scene. Toro and the others had to stay behind to save the villagers who home was burned to the ground.[94]
At the beginning of 1943, the Toro joined the Invaders in occupied Poland to help with the resistance movement. There Toro accidentally blew their cover while trying to prepare a surprise for Bucky's 18th birthday, they were ambushed by Master Man and Warrior Woman.[95]
Returning to the United States, the Human Torch and Toro came to the aid of Professor Horton and his niece Doris to help protect stolen Nazi secrets she smuggled into the United States from Sweden.[96] Continuing their solo adventures together the Torch and Toro faced constant clashes with both Nazi and Japanese forces. The pair stopped Nazi Mr. Heiters attempt to blow up American ships,[97] exposed experimental Japanese fighter planes hidden in Death Valley,[98] and prevented Nazi sympathizer Eric Ward from blowing up the recently completed Mount Rushmore monument.[99]
After, he and Toro prevented Colonel von Getter from stealing a new American bomber,[100] and prevent Herr Blutcher's attempted invasion of England.[101] Returning to New York they foiled a Nazi attempt to replace dummy rounds used in practice air raids with life ammo, and prevented Nazi agent the Blue Diamond from stealing a new experimental "Puff Gun" invented by Professor Philo Baker.[102] After, Toro and the Torch exposed Nazi spies using prescription cough medicine to smuggle explosives.[103] Toro then traveled to the nation of Bonara with the Young Allies and thwarts attacks by Nazi agent the Ambassador of Terror and later helped the Young Allies destroy a secret tunnel that leads from China to the United States created by the Serpent.[104] Later, the Human Torch and Toro exposed Nazi saboteur Herr von Richter,[105] foiled Captain von Sar's bombing plot,[106] stopped the mad scientist named Bashon and his Ape-Men,[107] and put an end to the mysterious murderer known as the Sewer Man.[108]
Toro later joined the Young Allies for a war bond drive in Los Angeles California at the Paramount Theater. The event is interrupted when a group of men attack people waiting for the event. Toro manages to snap the attackers out of their trance with a bright flash of his flame powers. This puzzles the Allies, unaware that it is the work of Toro's old foe Lady Lotus, and they carry on their bond rally.[109] After interrogating the men, Bucky and Toro realize that they are dealing with Lady Lotus attempting to shake the public morale. When the Young Allies attempt to deal with her, the FBI order them to follow their orders and report to Democracy Pictures to participate in a film to support the war effort. As they participate in the shoot, they are unaware that Lady Lotus has tracked them down and by using a crystal, created by the Celestials that amplified her powers takes control of some actors dressed as Nazis. Taking control of Toro as well, Lady Lotus is able to overpower the other Young Allies and capture them in a circle of fire.[110] Telling the Young Allies she intended to take over the west coast. When the Allies continued to resist her, she used her powers to put them under her control. Lady Lotus then ordered Toro and the others to pilot a B-17 and P-40 to attack Muroc Army Airfield. However, Wash snapped out of Lady Lotus' control, then freed Toro's mind with a flare gun blast, prompting Toro to use a bright flare to snap the other Allies out of her control. Back in control, Bucky ordered the Young Allies to turn around and take the fight back to Lady Lotus.[111] Damaging their planes, Toro and the Allies return and pretend that they are still under Lady Lotus' thrall, telling her that Toro died in combat. With the airbase playing along by broadcasting that they were "attacked" Bucky and the others provided ample distraction to try and obtain the gem. When Lotus used the gem to cause a powerful earthquake, Toro threw a flame at her causing her to drop the gem into a crack opened up in the ground causing the gem to be swallowed up below the Earth. Although the Young Allies were victorious that day, Lady Lotus escaped vowing that she would get the gem back again someday.[112]
Travelling to Turkey, the Torch and Toro next foil plans by Nazi spy Elanor von Drei to possess as yashmak that would give her command over warriors in that country.[113] Back with the Allies, Toro clashed with the Young Nippon Society.[114] Returning to the US, the Torch and Toro then came to the aid of a German defector who was targeted for elimination for smuggling state secrets out of the country.[115] Later, with the Young Allies Toro was kidnapped by Nazi agents who then stole a new experimental bomber and attempted to fly to Germany. The Young Allies forced the plane to land in Africa instead and they managed to escape the Nazis. Fleeing to Algiers, they assisted French Resistance fighters and Allied Forces in liberating the area from Nazi control. Returning to the United States, the Young Allies then pursued Japanese agent the Whip who stole the designs for a device to test demolition explosives. This brought them all the way to Tokyo where they were once more captured by the Imperial Japanese army. They broke free with the plans, landing another humiliating personal defeat to Hirohito, and leaving the Whip to commit suicide for his failure as they fled back to the United States.[116] Participating in a FBI sting operation, the Torch and Toro next prevented Nazi agents from claiming the body of their dead comrade Franz Papp which contained a hidden tattoo revealing defense secrets.[117] The Toro then reunited with the Invaders and assisted on an attack on the Red Skull and Nazi forces in Europe.[118] Next, the Torch and Toro prevented the Carnival of Doom from slaughtering the entire cast of an Anti-Nazi play.[119] When Nazis began launching massive rockets from occupied France at the Untied States that could travel the length of the Atlantic, the Human Torch and Toro traveled there and destroyed the arsenal. After returning to the states, they reversed the brainwashing done on Russian war hero Sonia Petroya by the Nazi agent known as the Rabbit.[120]
Earning a citation from the President, the Torch and Toro traveled to Washington D.C. where they prevented Nazis led by Moonface from detonating bombs planted at key government facilities.[121] Next they stopped the Claw's acts of sabotage across the United States,[122] clashed with the saboteur known as the Vulture,[123] stopped the proliferation of tainted black market beef sold by Nazi agents.[124] With the Young Allies, Toro assisted them in battling the Black Dirge.[125] With the Human Torch, Toro foiled the Nazi's Purple Terror plot, and prevented Nazi spies from using newly developed "War Water" to destroy the George Washington Bridge.[126] The Torch and Toro clashed with Nazi agents led by Zomber,[127] stopped a Nazi attempt to blow up the White House,[128] stopped Nazi killer the Masked Fiend,[127] captured Nazi scientist Professor Fear,[129] Japanese assassin the Kangaroo.[130] Reuniting with the Young Allies, Toro also traveled into Fascist Italy where he and his friends clashed with Benito Mussolini, and later with the assistance of Captain America the group battled Nazi operative Herr Executioner.[131]
Later, the Human Torch and Toro began operating out of an office that the Torch rented in New York City. From there they spoiled the Japanese scientist known as the Beetle from unleashing a swarm of lethally poison Japanese Beetles.[132] Next, the duo traveled to Russia where they assisted Allied Forces on the front and stopped a Nazi plot to prevent the ousting of Nazi forces in the region.[133] Returning to the United States, the Torch and Toro foiled the black market meat operation of the Head,[134] took down Nazi operative the Hawk's airship "Der Tag",[123] Nazi operatives Ratter, the White Vampire and Herr Schmutz.[135][136] After exposing a Nazi spy Fritz von Arnheim posing as a Civil War veteran along the Mississippi River,[137][138] disgruntled stunt man the Director of Death in Hollywood,[139] in Poland the Torch and Toro stopped Nazis from developing powerful explosives,[140] and stopped the umbrella wielding criminal Wilbur the Great.[141] With the Young Allies, Toro travelled to Germany where they saved prisoners of war, and back home prevented Captain Osaki from stealing an allied plane and using it to bomb American targets.[142] They also put a stop of the Reptile who was terrorizing the plantation home of Chloe Webster, revealing him to be her husband Andrew who was attempting to kill her and claim her fortune.[143] Travelling abroad again, the Torch and Toro prevented Nazi spy the Wisp from souring relations between the United States and the Middle East[144] before travelling to France to assist their fellow Invaders against Nazi forces led by the Red Skull and Master Man.[145]
In December 1943, the Toro accompanied their fellow Invaders and a squad of American troops into Monte Cassino Italy to stop the Nazi's newest project Operation: Time Ghost. Ambushed by Nazi troops, the Torch, Toro, Captain America, Bucky, Sub-Mariner and Private Paul Anselm all found themselves transported to the modern era by the Cosmic Cube. The group appeared in New York City as the Thunderbolts were once more attempting to apprehend Spider-Man for violating the Superhuman Registration Act. Thinking the Thunderbolts to be Nazi operatives, Toro and the others easily trounced them before the group fled to make sense of what happened to them.[146] Realizing that they were in the future, the heroes were soon confronted by Iron Man and the Mighty Avengers who had come to contain the Invaders before they could learn too much about the future and endanger history. The Invaders, unwilling to trust anyone in this era attempted to fight back but were all captured save for the Sub-Mariner who managed to escape.[147]
Drugged and contained aboard the SHIELD helicarrier, Toro was examined by SHIELD scientists. Able to hear what they were saying, he overheard them confirm that he was a mutant, a fact that he was not aware of at the time.[148] Eventually, the Toro was freed by Bucky who was charged with freeing the other Invaders.[149] Soon Dr. Strange's New Avengers joined the fray helping the Invaders escape, however Captain America and Namor were recaptured. While at Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, Toro met the mutant adventurer Wolverine who explained to him what a mutant was and was amused in knowing of a mutant hero that existed before the X-Men's leader Cyclops.[150] Tracking the source of what brought the Invaders to the future, Dr. Strange brought them all to the home of Paul Anslen's future self whose grief over the loss of his fellow soldiers during the war and Captain America's recent death in the modern era caused the Cosmic Cube to bring them to the present. There Toro saw a photo of Paul next to his future gravestone and learned that he was destined to die in the future thanks to the manipulations of a villain calling himself the Mad Thinker. Disturbed by this revelation, Toro did not believe it until he traveled to Cypress Hills Cemetery and saw the tombstone for himself. Distraught, Toro blamed his friends for not being there to save him in the future.[151]
Reuniting with the Invaders and New Avengers, Toro bitterly followed them into the sewers beneath New York to locate the Cosmic Cube and angrily tell Bucky his displeasure with learning that none of his friends were there to save him from death. There they found it in the possession of a creature claiming to be the demon D'Spayre who then used the Cube to fill Toro and the others with despair.[152] Toro and the others were saved from D'Spayre -- really the Vision in disguise testing the Cube -- by Echo. With the Cube in their possession, the heroes then returned to the SHIELD helicarrier to recover the rest of the Invaders. Before they could use it to send the heroes back home, Paul Anselm grabbed Cube and used it to go back in time in the hopes of saving his fellow soldiers from dying in combat. This caused a time wave to come crashing to the present threatening to erase everyone out of existence. Dr. Strange then used his magic to send the Torch, Toro, Cap, Bucky, Namor, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Wasp, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, and Wolverine to 1943 to correct the past.[153]
Upon their arrival they were shocked to find out that the Red Skull had taken control of the Cube and used it to take over the world. After fleeing Nazi occupied New York City aboard an Atlantean sub, the assembled heroes traveled to Europe to find that the Skull had erected a massive "Aryan Wall" around the the continent.[154] Rerouting to Wakanda they then teamed up with the Black Panther, Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos, and used a drill to dig their way into Europe. There they reunited with their comrades Spitfire and Union Jack but were too late to prevent two of the Red Skull's Dogs of War of learning their presence and reporting to to their master.[155] Travelling to Berlin, the gathered heroes faced opposition from U-Man, Baron Blood, Master Man, Warrior Woman, Thor, and Iron Cross.[156] After defeating these villains, the heroes were attacked by the Red Skull, who felled them all. When Bucky briefly grasped the Cube, he used it to wish for some way to help Toro survive in the future. However, it was not until Paul Anselm retrieved the Cosmic Cube he used it to defeat the Skull and restore history back to its proper order. While Toro's memory of events were forgotten and he continued on his appointed course in history, Bucky's wish would have an impact decades into the future.[157]
Back in their own time, the Human Torch and Toro resumed their solo adventures together. First they stopped Nazi loyalist Pop Kunz (aka the Flaming Steel) from sabotaging a New York shipyard,[158] exposed Senator Doaks as the Nazi spy known as the Brain, stopped Nazi Hans Thysenn from selling tainted meat to the military, and stopped Nazi spies from using information on soldiers dog tags to terrorize their families back home.[159][160] Later in the Pacific, the Torch foiled an attempt by the Imperial Japanese Navy to bog down American ships by blasting loose icebergs and sending them south.[161] With the Young Allies, Toro prevents Japanese agent the Head from gaining military secrets from the severed heads of his murder victims. Then travelling with the Allies to the Swiss Alps, Toro helps destroy the lab of the Nazi's Mad Mechanic.[162]
Back in the United States, the Torch and Toro then stopped the mobster known as the Dagger from selling blackmarket products.[163] In New York, the flaming duo stopped the Nazi organization known as the Hours from blowing up every clock tower in the city.[164] They later traveled to Brazil to investigate the disappearance of American aircraft, taking down a Nazi operation commanded by the definitive Colonel Straudheim.[165] Returning home, the Torch and Toro then exposed phony medium Professor Tarbu.[166][167][168] Later, the Torch and Toro ventured to Washington D.C. where they protected General Mershing from a Nazi assassination plot,[169] stopped Nazi spy the Jackal from sabotaging American rail lines,[170] and stopped the Mistress of Death from smuggling secret shipping routes to her fellow Nazis through merchant sailors dog tags.[171]
The After the Invaders in took down the massive German battleship called the Deutchland and turned it over to the British authorities Toro helped the Torch melt the ship down to be reused in the Allied war effort.[172] Later, the Toro assisted the Invaders in attacking Nazi forces in Normandy.[173] Later he and the Torch provided cover for soldiers storming the beaches.[174] Back in the United States, the Torch and Toro foiled cross-dressing Nazi Madame X from forcing female factory workers to blow up their places of employment,[175] stopped Nazi counterfeiter the Wolf from causing America's economy to collapse. Later they traveled to Turkey to stop Baron von Ritter from using stolen plans to gain a strategic advantage in the area.[176] Returning to the Pacific, the Torch and Toro destroyed a Japanese naval base on Kobe Island, stopped Nazi spies operating out of a British pub in England, and prevented the Robber Baron from robbing a bank back in New York.[177] With the Young Allies Toro traveled to India where they clashed with Indian mystic Tehru and his Japanese masters.[178][179] Next, the flaming duo stopped a Nazi spy named Mawbry from stealing plans from American defense plants,[180] destroyed the Nazi's "Mechanical Mole" device from causing massive earthquakes in New York City,[181] and stopped another Nazi spy -- named Lambert -- from stealing government plans.[182]
Reuniting with the Invaders, the Torch assisted in attacking Japanese fleets in the pacific. When the Red Skull and Warrior intervened in an attempt to capture the Sub-Mariner to learn the location of Atlantis, they captured Captain America by mistake instead. The Torch and the other Invaders located the Red Skull's secret hideout and rescued Cap, forcing the Skull and Warrior Woman to flee.[183] The Torch and Toro then assisted the Invaders in fighting Nazi forces in France.[184] In June of that year Toro and the Young Allies clashed with resurrected criminal Killer Bane and his Walking Dead, finding a means to slay the seemingly immortal killers,[185] and by August 1944 participated in Operation Dragoon to liberate the country. The Torch joined the Invaders and Allied Forces in battling through Buchenwald and ultimately to Allied victory.[186]
Returning to the United States, the pair became involved in a Hollywood film titled the "History of Fire". On September 9th their shoot was ruined by the intervention of the heat hating Snowball who was then fired from his job and vowed revenge on anyone who wronged him.[187] The Human Torch and Toro stopped Professor Svengalie and his giant robots,[188] foiled the ransom plot of the Cadaver,[189] and stopped the Nazi known as Herr Bat from destroying an American glider school.[190] The Torch and Toro then finished the year foiling and illegal gambling operation in a mid-western town run by the crooked chief of police.[191] On Christmas Eve that year, the Toro returned to Europe with the Invaders. He and Bucky attended a Christmas Eve dance, accompanied by Captain America.[192]
Returning to the United States with the Torch, the pair witness a murder committed at the Relasco Theater by a killed calling himself the Past and capture him, exposing him as the theater's embittered janitor.[193] The flaming duo also round-up the Bandit Murder Gang,[194][195] and travelled to Oregon where they capture a gang of crooks who murdered everyone aboard a train to steal gold bullion.[196] When on the trail of Ghostly Terrill, an escaped con, the crook dies attempting to flee the Torch and Toro. Later, they expose unscrupulous lawyer Mr. Howard as being a saboteur hired by Japanese spies, and help clear the name of reformed con Jim Langdon who was framed for a robbery by his neighbour.[197] They also expose the wealthy Mr. Jordan's insurance scam which involved murdering a homeless man that looked exactly like him.[198]
Reuniting with the Young Allies, Toro clashed with the Green Death, a Nazi spy mutated by Radium. The group also clashed with Japanese spies who had recruited American psychologist Wilton Wilkes to create an insanity ray, stopping him before he could finish testing the device.[199] Back with the Torch, Toro helped take down criminal Luke Bowie,[200] shut down a doll makers extortion racket,[201] stopped Mark Mankin from blackmailing Mary Simpson in order to purchase her father store for a lucrative redevelopment scheme,[202] and stopped a group of Nazi spies from trying to replace a manifest of other spies attempting to smuggle themselves into the United States.[203] Later, the pair stopped insane violinist Benjamin Loufitz from murdering his rivals before taking a trip to Brazil to assist diamond prospectors and capturing escaped American criminal Alonio Gonzalez.[204] Back in the United States, they protected the McCarthy Steel Mill from rival Carter Blackstone and his hired thugs the Three Aces.[205] Also during this time they exposed a man named Rawlings who was attempting to keep the discovery of pitch blend in a mine secret so he could buy it at a cheap price.[206]
Going on vacation to Atlantic City, the Human Torch and Toro exposed puppeteer Professor Kilgory as a thief who was assisted by a dwarf posing as his puppet.[207] Back in New York, the pair helped to solve the murder of actress Rita Worth, and with a tip from the FBI track down and capture a group of diamond smugglers.[208] The flaming duo also got caught up in the love triangle between Laura Dane, her employer Percival Lawrence, and mechanic Chuck Brandon. When Lawrence attempted to frame Brandon for a crime, the Torch and Toro exposed the frame up and brought Lawrence to justice.[209] Reunited with the Young Allies, Toro assisted the group to an island on the South Pacific where the Japanese Suicide Battalion were hampering efforts of American troops to secure the island. Returning to the United States, Toro and the Allies also stopped a crook named Shiv, shutting down his counterfeit ration card racket in the process.[210] Afterword, the Torch and Toro captured Danbury Fawcett, an obsessive art collector who hired crooks to steal works of art that were not for sale.[211] Also during this period, they stopped a group of crooks trying to obtain a stolen jewel hidden in a worthless glass necklace.[212]
On April 25, 1945 the Human Torch and Toro were part of a super-hero invasion of Berlin in the final days of the war in Europe.[213] Burning their way into Hitler's bunker, the flaming duo arrived just moments before Hitler could commit suicide. The Torch offered Hitler to surrender to the United States instead of the Russians, however Hitler resisted capture firing on the Torch and forcing the hero to burn him alive.[214][215] After Hitler's death, the Toro and the rest of the Invaders were called back to London where they were informed that Captain America and Bucky seemingly died battling Baron Zemo. Shocked by this revelation, the Invaders were then called back to Washington. There President Truman introduced them to the new Captain America and Bucky, William Nasland (formerly the Spirit of '76) and New York Yankees bat-boy Fred Davis Jr.. Torch, Toro, and the Sub-Mariner then welcomed the new Cap, Bucky, and returning Miss America and Whizzer into the Invaders ranks.[216] The group soon clashed with remaining Nazi forces in Europe.[217]
Returning to solo work for a time, the Torch and Toro next encountered Snowball as her robbed a bank on May 16th but failed to capture him.[187] The later exposed yet another group of diamond thieves attempting to smuggle stolen diamonds out of Brazil,[218] broke up an illegal nylon black market in New York,[219] and dismantled the illegal gambling operations of Lucky Benson and his gang of juvenile delinquents.[220] Later, they shut down the Black Master and his cult the Legion of Black Worshipers. When they failed to stop the murder of a star witness in the Waxy Jordan murder trail, the Torch and Toro collected evidence proving that Jordan killed the witness sending him to jail.[221] That summer, Toro and the Young Allies decided to take up jobs helping out on a farm in the town of Hampton. There, they learned of a protection racket being run by Tony Lucas and help the local farmers shut it down.[222]
Also during this period, the Torch and Toro found a group of Nazi spies who were still active, and attempting to turn the workers against their colleague who was a recent immigrant from Europe.[223] The Torch and Toro also came to the rescue of a young woman who was the prisoner of Chris Ramsey -- aka the Mad Sculptor -- who murdered her fiancée in an attempt to force her to marry him.[224] During this period, the Torch and Toro reunited with the Invaders to clash with Japanese forces on the South Pacific.[216][225][226] Soon after they returned to America where they helped solve the murder of Rufus King.[227]
With the war coming to an end, the Invaders were allowed to remain together to fight lawlessness in the United States and renamed themselves the All-Winners Squad. In July of that year, the team was sent to Boston where they learned that the Torch's creator Professor Horton had created a new android Adam II. Adam II turned out to be evil, and the All-Winners Squad prevented him from replacing Presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy with an android duplicate. The battle did not come without a price, as William Nasland was killed in action, but he was replaced by Jeff Mace, the hero formerly known as the Patriot.[216][228]
The Human Torch and Toro eventually caught up with Snowball again, this time foiling his attempt on their lives, and sending him to death row. The flaming duo next foiled an art smuggling ring that saw many priceless paintings altered and smuggled out of war torn Europe and resold in the United States.[187] The Torch and Toro next got involved in a complicated inheritance fraud scheme that sought to keep Tom Young away from his family fortune through murder, deception, and voodoo.[229][230] Bucky then returned to the Young Allies and the team took down childish criminal Big Boy Bates, and Karr the Mummy.[231]
Following this, the Human Torch and Toro helped to capture the Cat who was attempting to murder millionaire Thornton Kennedy.[232] In a more mundane case, the two heroes helped a group of local children in New York take down a bike theft ring,[233] and stop an attempt by Mr. Werner to fake his own death in order to steal his co-owned company from his colleague.[234] The Torch and Toro next chased a man named Baxter, who could "wish" his victims to death, to New Jersey where they finally arrested him.[235] The pair then rescued the son of Judge Drake who was kidnapped by Tony Sloan's gang who were trying to pressure the judge into giving their boss a lighter sentence. Next they busted Trigger and his gang of pawn shop robbers, and put an end to a Hollywood movie revenge scheme orchestrated by cameraman Homer Hamlen and his accomplice Ace Maxwell.[236] When Walt Nelson is framed by his uncle for a bank robbery, the Human Torch and Toro help clear his name.[237][238][239] Later, the Torch and Toro's discovery of a murder at a retirement home revealed that the owners were stealing oil from a government pipeline.[240]
In one of their more prolific mission of the year, the Human Torch and Toro teamed up with the government to stop a group of Nazi war criminals from using stolen atomic bomb plans to threaten the world, destroying their island and atomic weapons in the process.[241] This was followed by more mundane cases such as when they stopped Ernest Parker from posing as his employer renown economist Professor Marshall in order to fool investors into making bad investments; Foiled an insurance fraud scheme planned by Jay Kelsey by framing former arsonist John Drake; and stopping actor Edmond Kenyon's murder spree after he began believing he was really Mr. Hyde.[242] Also during this time they stopped the criminal operations of Dan Gorgan[243] and were personally hired by J. Edgar Hoover to help the FBI capture a number of Nazi spies who were still loose in the United States.[244]
In one of their more bizarre adventures, the Torch and Toro were captured by John Harriman and almost forced to marry his niece as part of an inheritance scheme. However the Torch and Toro defeated Harriman and his operative the Eye.All Winners Comics #18 They also investigated an apparent haunted house, but soon uncovered a murder plot by criminal Dr. Marshall to kill a newspaper photographer and destroy evidence of his criminal activities.[245] The Human Torch was later forced to help Crusher, a death row inmate, escape prison when the crook took Toro and the wardens daughter hostage. However the Torch and Toro eventually captured Crusher and his pal Steeley, who managed to previously avoid police capture[246] and after stopped criminal ventriloquist Bert and his mechanical dummy Ollie. At a routine meeting with the Young Allies, Toro was shocked when his team mate Jeff Vandergill was rude and insulting to the team, forcing Bucky to kick him off the team. However, the Allies soon rescued Jeff and Schuyler van Wickham from Terror Tate and learned that it was all a fraternity prank and allowed Jeff back on the team.[247]
The Human Torch and Toro then gathered the All-Winners Squad to the local history museum where the team was issued a challenge by a criminal named Isbisa who challenged the heroes to solve various crimes based on a the various ages of man. To the Torch's surprise, when Namor was implicated in by Isbisa, Toro took Namor's side and went to work with him instead, leaving the Torch to work alone for the first time in years. Toro joined the Sub-Mariner to defend an Eskimo trading post on the Bearing Straight from modern day pirate Black Patch. Reuniting with the Torch and the other All-Winners Squad members, they all deduced that Isbisa created these schemes to distract the heroes while he attempted to steal an atomic bomb. Rushing to the facility, the Torch and Toro burned the knock out gas Isbisa used out of the air allowing their team mates to catch up and capture Isbisa.[248]
Returning to pair crime fighting, the Torch and Toro stopped the ransom scheme of the Wax Master,[249] saved a small Connecticut town from a werewolf, stopped the Invisible Terror's revenge scheme, and stopped the sabotage plot of the so-called House Killer.[250] Later, the Torch was almost forced into a life of crime by the Queen of Crime when she took Toro hostage, but the two heroes freed themselves and stopped her armored car robbery and with the Young Allies, Toro helped save young heiress Patricia van Dyke from mobster Devil Don.[251][252][253] After, the Torch and Toro captured would-be criminal Ed Fallon after he was given the eyes of a Indian mystic.[254] The Torch and Toro also busted Elmer Bright's illegal gambling den which left his clients to die in a fire, busted up Arch Murdock's numbers racket which was manipulating fortune teller Futura to eliminate their enemies, and stopped a group of racketeers who were defrauding family members of soldiers who died in the war.[255] Lastly, the Torch and Toro stopped the robberies of Mother Goose and "her" minion King Cole. Toro also helped his fellow Young Allies prevent Warren Louis from using dirty tricks to keep their friend Knuckles O'Toole out of a soapbox derby race.[256]
Called back to action with the All-Winners Squad by the new Captain America, the Human Torch and Toro were informed of the threat of the Future Man of the year One Million AD and his woman Madame Death. Future Man created a number of global disasters, prompting the Torch and Toro to defend North America. They were briefly distracted by a deliberate forest fire started in Canada, meant to distract them from the real threat: An Atomic Match set to burn North America from the Southern deserts. The Torch and Toro managed to douse the flames with it's own ashes, foiling the Future Man's schemes. The Torch and Toro then reunited with the All-Winners Squad and they clashed with the Future Man and Madame Death aboard his time ship.[257] When Captain America damaged the controls to Future Man's ship, the team fled as Future Man and Madame Death where hurtled into the distant past. When the All-Winners Squad headquarters was attacked by apparent zombies of death US soldiers including the supposed reanimated corpses of Steve Rogers and James Barnes, the Torch realized that they were really illusions and revealed their creator: Madame Death. She had returned from the distant past to get revenge against the All-Winners Squad for the eventual death of Future Man, but she herself died battling the All-Winners Squad.[258]
In September of 1946, Toro joined the rest of the All-Winners Squad on a mission to England where they prevented atomic scientist Karl Fuschs from being captured by Russian operatives led by Red Guardian.[259]
In 1947, the Human Torch and Toro resumed mostly solo adventures on their own, with Toro taking occasional time to assist the Young Allies on their various adventures. Early in the year they clashed with the serial killer known as the Catman who was a mental patient who was being manipulated by Dr. Kale to murder former patients who he tricked into willing their material worth.[260] In one of their few missions with the All-Winners Squad that year, the Torch and Toro were tasked with protecting a newly built atom bomb called "Rosebud". However, they failed to stop a criminal named Dutch from stealing it, as he was aided by the time travelling She-Hulk and Wanda Mason.[261] Later the Toro and the All-Winners squad teamed up with his old wartime friends, Union Jack and the Destroyer on a mission, which later inspired the two British heroes to later form the V-Battalion.[262] Returning to work as duo, the Torch and Toro began investigating the apparent murder spree of criminal musician Ed Clements, they discovered that Clements had reformed and his former employer Sid Otis was framing Clements in an attempt to kill his partners and sell off their music recording company. Back with the Young Allies, Toro assisted in stopping the murder spree of failed comedian Joe Diller.[263] Working with the Torch again, they put a stop to the Green Mask Killer, who was framing struggling writer Hillary King for his murders.[264] When the Human Torch and Toro began investigating the revenge murders of the late theater actress Helen Hale, apparently carried out by her long lost son, the Torch and Toro exposed the real killers: Robert Newell and his wife Jane who were trying to eliminate investors who purchased phony stocks from Robert. They next arrested actor Arnold Jordan for murdering Ralph Mortimer, after Jordan attempted to throw them off by acting as his two non-existant brothers and later prevented Roy James from murdering his surviving family members so that he could inherit the family estate.[265][266] Spending time at the circus with the Young Allies, Toro assisted his team in stopping the murder spree Derko the Clown, who like Joe Diller, had snapped after being fired from his profession.[267]
Always the humanitarians, the Torch and Toro next prevented the Autistic Blank Benny from being exploited by his relatives who were paid by a local mob to use his ability to crack safes.[268] Sent to investigate a chemical explosion at the Kenny Tool Company, the Torch and Toro uncovered the fact that the owner, Lydia Kenny, was using her legitimate business to create burglary tools for criminals. Reunited with the Young Allies, Toro assisted the team and police detective Tom Lanson apprehend Moose Mulligan and his gang.[269] Later, the Torch and Toro apprehended Killer Mulligan, the brother of the the Torch's old foe the Asbestos Lady. When Mulligan was executed for his crimes, Asbestos Lady attempted to get revenge against the two heroes. Although they bested her death trap, the Torch and Toro failed to capture Asbestos Lady.[270] The Asbestos Lady later trapped the two heroes in an asbestos lined net and left them to drown in a river, then began a crime spree which ended in an attempted robbery of the Fort Wright's gold reserve and frame the Torch for the crime. The Torch and Toro freed themselves and stopped the robbery, and sent Asbestos Lady and her gang to jail. Later, when the talented Bourbon Sisters were being threatened by curo-shop owner Madame Lafarge, the Torch and Toro exposed Lafarge as the Sisters veil wearing third sibling, Yvette, who had a prematurely aged face.[271]
Soon after, the Torch and Toro came to the assistance of Joyce Curtis and her wealthy father John who were being blackmailed by the Photo Phantom who threatened to use a doctored photo of Joyce to implicate her in the murder of photographer Bruce Fearing. The pair exposed the Phantom as the Curtis family lawyer Kenneth Stanton who was really responsible for the killing. In his last adventure with the Young Allies, Toro grew jealous of Bucky being awarded the privilege of being the mayor of New York City for the day. Attempting to capture Gypper Jordan and his gang alone, Toro was framed for their latest jewel heist and was arrested. However, Bucky used his power as mayor to free Toro and the team captured Gypper and cleared Toro's name.[272] They also assisted Joyce Claton who was being forced out of her family fortune by her cousin Tom, who was attempting to get her insane twin sister Elaine to pose as Joyce and sign over the fortune. The flaming duo also took down fast rising criminal "Scarface" Ed Samson with the help of Officer Daniel O'Toole, who just happened to be Samson's childhood friend.[273] The pair rounded off the year stopping the Thief of Bagdad who had come to America to steal expensive wedding gifts for the daughter of the sultan of Baghdad.[274]
The Human Torch and Toro began the year travelling to Florida where they protected Jack Bartley of the Typhoons baseball team who was being targeted by a gambling racket led by his own coach.[275] The pair next travel to Hollywood where they participated in an anti-crime picture. There they stopped Starra, an embittered stunt woman who had turn to crime, continued crime spree. Returning to New York, the Torch and Toro witnessed the tragic life of theater comedian Hubert Humphrey as he committed suicide on stage after putting on the dramatic performance he always yearned to have.[276] The Torch and Toro then stopped the Turtle from murdering members of the "Famous Names Club" as part of an insurance fraud scheme being carried out by one of their own members.[277] The Torch and Toro once more went on a mission with the All-Winners Squad, working with their old wartime allies Union Jack and the Destroyer.[278]
By April 1948 the All-Winners Squad had moved into their new headquarters located within the Baxter Building. There the Torch and Toro celebrated Captain America's birthday with the other members of the All-Winners Squad.[259] That night, Bucky was gunned down by a criminal calling herself Lavender. The Torch and the other members of the All-Winners Squad offered to join Cap in the manhunt for Bucky's shooter, but Cap refused the offer, wanting 24 hours to capture the shooter himself. After Cap captured Lavender with the aid of his new partner Golden Girl and Bucky's successful surgery, the Toro and the other All-Winners wished Cap good luck after he decided to leave the All-Winners Squad.[279]
Following this, the Torch and Toro decided to take a trip to Africa where they prevented ivory poacher Prestor Jim from discovering the location of an Elephant graveyard.[280] Returning to the United States, the Torch and Toro next assisted nightclub owner Willie Flower promote his new club based on the "Gay 90's" and prevent his lead competitor Philip Bradley from using criminal means to shut it down. After, the Torch and Toro clashed with their old wartime foe the Hyena who was hired to sabotage the Miller Trucking Company in order to force its owner to sell.[281] Travelling to a town owned by the miserly Garko, they fail to stop a murderer from killing the spiteful old man but reveal the killer to be his own disowned stepson.[282] Back in New York, the pair pay a visit to their friend Ted Sparks a horror writer who lives in Greenwich Village and help him with is relationship woes.[283] Later, the pair put a stop to the murderous Gambler and shut down fraudulent fortune teller Swami Krishna before he can swindle the fortune of their friend Alice Graham.[284] They then put a stop to the Gay Blade's string of thefts[285] and solved the murder of inventor Bert Neaver.[286]
By this time the Human Torch had hired on Mary Mitchell as his secretary, who during the 1920's Mitchell was the costumed heroine known as Sun Girl. When the Toro was called back to Pop's Circus to deal with family affairs, Mary (having developed an attraction to the Torch) convinced him to allow her to be his partner and resumed her costumed identity. Toro's family business kept him out of crime fighting for the remainder of the year, requiring Sun Girl to continue to serve as the Torch's sidekick until late 1949.[215]
Toro had finished up his family business in 1949 and returned to the Human Torch. With the pair reunited they resumed their crime fighting partnership with Sun Girl once more retiring her costumed identity to act as the pair's secretary. They began investigating a local crime syndicate and were tricked into entering a trap. The Crime Boss of the Crime Syndicate sprayed the Torch and Toro with Solution X-R which doused their flames and immobilized them. The Torch was then buried alive to the Nevada Desert where he remained inert until 1953. Toro meanwhile was sold to North Korea and brainwashed into their service.[214][215]
In December 1953, atomic tests in the region revived the Human Torch, freeing him from Solution X-R and boosting his flame powers to exponential levels. His first order of duty was tracking down and apprehending the Crime Boss. This put him into contact with his former ally Chief Wilson of the NYPD who assisted him in locating Toro, who was being used by the communists to fight UN forces in the Korean War. Freeing Toro from his brainwashing the two heroes rescued Chief Wilson's daughter Mary from the new leader of the Crime Syndicate known as the Butcher. Happily reunited, the Human Torch and Toro resumed their crusade against crime and the new threat of communism.[214]
Their first case brought them into conflict with Dr. Markov who was offering a de-aging device to New York's elderly in exchange for committing robberies, with the consolation that if they got caught they'd still be young when they were released from prison. The Torch and Toro infiltrated Dr. Markov's and revealed that a side-effect of the treatment caused those who underwent it rapidly aged to dust after 30 days, Dr. Markov died in the resulting confrontation.[287] Shortly thereafter, the Torch and Toro clashed with their first new recurring foe, the international criminal named Vulture who was attempting to build atomic weapons in the New Mexico desert. They destroyed the Vulture's base and rescued Mary in the process, but the Vulture managed to escape.[288] The Torch and Toro next stopped communist spies from stealing the plans to a new atomic ray, a radioactive dinosaur that was awoken by atomic testing, and rescued the son of miserly millionaire Dan Carlisle who was being held for ransom by the mobster known as the Ape.[289]
The pair next stopped the international criminal the Hypnotist who attempted to organize criminals around the world in a bid to overthrow the world government, the Hypnotist died in the encounter, before he could drink the blood of Betty Wilson, the other daughter of Chief Wilson, to revitalize himself.[290] When investigating sightings of flying saucers at a local fair, the Human Torch and Toro exposed and thwarted an invasion of mechanical beings who claimed to be Martians.[291] Not long after this the Vulture resurfaced and kidnapped Betty also and took her to the Florida Everglades where he pitted his army of robots against the Torch and Toro. The pair destroyed his robots, and the Vulture once more evaded capture.[292] Returning to New York, the pair next foiled the Jet's attempt to sabotage the city's infrastructure in order to loot New York in the ensuing chaos.[293]
The pair next investigated sightings of vampires but learned that the killers were not true vampires but members of the Psi Centurian race who were exiled on Earth millions of years ago, they stopped their reign of terror just in time for benevolent members of their race came to recapture them. After this they exposed governor hopeful Dean Prentis as a communist spy and rescued a missing atomic scientist in the process. Following this they exposed an member of the extra-dimensional race known as the Tyclosians who was trapped on Earth and sought to conquer it with an army of life-like robots.[294] While touring a top secret germ warfare lab in Maine, the Torch and Toro thwarted communist spies attempting to steal the highly toxic Virus X.[295] Getting involved with the United States first tests in rockets to reach outer space, the Torch and Toro prevented the Vulture from stealing a rocket in an attempt to conquer the moon. While in space, the Torch encountered the so-called Guardians of Space who told the Torch that so long as mankind was at war with itself it was not ready for space. When the Torch return to Earth he told the authorities that man could not survive in space, setting back the race to the moon by another decade.[296] Investigating yet another alien sighting, the Torch and Toro discovered a peaceful member of the Arc Centurian race, who restored Toro to life when he was accidentally killed trying to attack the creature. Learning the alien was trapped on Earth, the Torch helped repair the alien's ship and send him on his way home before a lynch mob came to kill the creature.[297]
The Torch and Toro encountered yet another alien visitor, this time the alien Ksa whose arrival coincided with a cosmic dust cloud that spread a plague on Earth. Ksa sought to provide a cure to the people of Earth, but the prejudiced and paranoid American thought him an invader and only realized the truth after they beat the alien to death. The antidote was then administered to those infected. The entire incident continued to reinforce the Torch's ideals that mankind was not yet ready for the stars.[298] Next the Torch and Toro faced more terrestrial threats by way of the mad Professor Marko who threatened to steal all of Earth's oxygen so his crippled daughter could rule a dead world. They then traveled to Korea where they rescued a high ranking general's daughter from gorilla soldier Comrade Kung. Returning to the states, they proved that Captain Joring of the USAF was not a coward when they assisted him in stopping communist spies from stealing a new super-jet.[299] Later the Torch and Toro returned to New York and stopped a complex criminal scheme to steal all the diamonds in the city.[300]
in late 1955 the Human Torch sensed that the radiation from the bomb that initially boosted his powers years earlier was causing him to lose control of his flame, and thus endangering others. After bidding farewell to Toro, the Torch flew to a desert in the western United States where he tried to destroy himself by overloading his solar cells in a single burst of maximum output flame. The Torch succeeded in burning himself out and plunged to earth to lie insensate.[301] Toro retired from heroics and settled into a normal life and was inactive for many years.[302][303]
Resurface and Death
Years later, the Mad Thinker found and reactivated the Human Torch and forced him to attack the Fantastic Four.[304] The Torch was deactivated again, supposedly permanently, in the course of the battle. Funeral services were announced for the Human Torch, and Thomas Raymond decided to attend. The Mad Thinker confronted Raymond outside the cemetery and drugged him. When Toro awoke, the drug had given him partial amnesia, and the Thinker convinced him that he was the Human Torch. Moreover, the Thinker had fastened a collar around Toro's neck through which he could induce enough pain to force Toro to act as his servant. However, in a battle between Toro and the Sub-Mariner, the collar was damaged so that it could not hurt him, and Toro joined forces with the Sub-Mariner against the Thinker. During ensuing events, Toro's full memory returned. Enraged at the Thinker for enslaving and brainwashing him, Toro attacked the Thinker, who was escaping in a skycraft. Toro entered the ship's rocket tubes and used his own power to propel it towards the Thinker's pacific island laboratory, where the ship crashed and exploded. The Thinker escaped through a teleportation device, but Toro was killed in the crash.
Mister Raymond
Sometime after Toro's death, his wife Ann resurfaced with a man with flame powers who called himself "Mr. Raymond". He was discovered by the Power Pack,[305] but he sought to keep his powers secret. However this man soon disappeared and was never seen again, the true identity of this man and his connection to Toro is unexplained.[306]
Toro was one of the WWII era heroes sent to the future, just before the Secret Invasion, where he would learn of his impending death. After returning to his time line, he, along with the rest of the Invaders and several Avengers, battled the Red Skull for the Cosmic Cube. After winning the battle, the two teams of Avengers were returned to the present, but not before Bucky wished his friend to life using the Cosmic Cube.[157]
Aarkus, in the present, was there when he awoke, initially helping him on his journey.[307]
Invaders NOW!
Recently Toro joined a new group of Invaders gathered by Steve Rogers.[308]
↑ 1.0 1.1 Young Allies Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Invaders #22
↑ All-New Invaders #8
↑ Marvels Project #5
↑ Human Torch Comics #2
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Marvels Project #6
↑ Marvel Mystery Comics #18
↑ Human Torch Comics #5 (Summer)
↑ Young Allies #1
↑ All Winners Comics #1
↑ Marvel Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1
↑ Human Torch Comics #5 (Fall)
↑ Fantastic Four #405
↑ Invaders #29
↑ Giant-Size Invaders #1
↑ Invaders #1
↑ Conspiracy #1
↑ Marvel Premiere #30
↑ 53.0 53.1 Invaders #13
↑ Invaders Annual #1
↑ Invaders Vol 2 #1
↑ Marvels #1
↑ Thor Corps #1
↑ Captain America Comics #19
↑ Human Torch Comics #10
↑ Captain America Vol 5 #43
↑ Captain America Vol 5 #5
↑ Captain America: Forever Allies #1
↑ Kid Komics #2
↑ Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #5
↑ All-Select Comics #1
↑ 123.0 123.1 All Winners Comics #10
↑ 127.0 127.1 Marvel Mystery Comics #47
↑ Appearance in Marvel Mystery Comics #51 goes here, but I have no data on this issue
↑ Appearance in Marvel Mystery Comics #52 goes here but I have no data on this issue
↑ Young Allies #11
↑ Sub-Mariner Comics #23
↑ All Winners Comics #12
↑ Captain America #600
↑ Avengers / Invaders #1
↑ Avengers / Invaders #10
↑ 157.0 157.1 Avengers / Invaders #12
↑ Appearance in Kid Komics #4 goes here
↑ Appearance in Marvel Mystery Comics #56 goes here
↑ Marvel Universe #1
↑ The Order Vol 2 #7
↑ Avengers: West Coast #65
↑ Daring Comics #9
↑ Amazing Comics #1
↑ Mystic Comics Vol 2 #1
↑ Captain America Annual #2001
↑ 187.0 187.1 187.2 Human Torch Comics #21
↑ Winter Soldier Winter Kills #1
↑ Toro's appearance with the Young Allies in Complete Comics #2 goes here
↑ Daring Comics #10
↑ Twelve #1
↑ 214.0 214.1 214.2 Young Men #24
↑ 215.0 215.1 215.2 Saga of the Original Human Torch #3
↑ 216.0 216.1 216.2 What If? #4
↑ Captain America Annual #6
↑ Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #9
↑ Events of Marvel Mystery Comics #66 go here
↑ Captain America: Patriot #1
↑ Appearance in Young Allies #19 goes here
↑ Appearance in Kid Komics #10 goes here
↑ All-Select Comics #10
↑ All Winners Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1
↑ 259.0 259.1 Captain America: Patriot #2
↑ Sensational She-Hulk #22
↑ Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1
↑ Appearance in Marvel Mystery Comics #81 goes here.
↑ Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #1
↑ All Winners #1
↑ Young Men #25
↑ Captain America #76
↑ Men's Adventures #27
↑ Fantastic Four Annual #4
↑ Saga of the Original Human Torch #4
↑ Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special #1
↑ Power Pack #52
↑ Torch #1
↑ Invaders Now! #1
Retrieved from "https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Thomas_Raymond_(Earth-616)/Expanded_History?oldid=5616334"


UPDATE: Councillors voted to defer decision on Farr's proposal pending more information from Hamilton Police. Councillors wish to have an update on costs, the necessity of the extra officers, and alternatives to sworn police officers. The matter will return to the next Planning Committee meeting on June 16.
Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr says paying for policing is hurting the ability of Hess Village bars to market themselves and attract customers – resulting in a drop of approximately 65 percent in patrons.
Farr proposes the City take on 65 percent of the annual $115,000 in extra policing costs incurred to deal with the problems of alcohol-influenced public disorder and violence in the Hess Village area during the bar nights of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Despite the extra policing, the number of incidents have created a public perception of Hess Village which is decreasing business.
This perception, combined with competition of Sarcoa nightclub, which leases from the Hamilton Waterfront Trust, resulted in the Village having a significant decrease in revenue last summer.
Farr hopes relieving the businesses of paid duty costs will enable them to put more funds into marketing and creating a Business Improvement Area to assist in recovering their businesses.
Paid Duty fees were imposed by Council in 2010 to address the increased need for police response to Hess Village and have been contested by the owners in Hess Village.
At present, owners are required to pay their paid duty fees which are then held in trust by the City of Hamilton pending the outcome of a court case challenging the paid duty bylaw.
Councillor Farr's motion will be debated at Planning Committee on May 19.


Using a clear 'engage – practice – communicate' approach in every lesson, Starlight's lively stories, songs, projects, CLIL lessons and high-level course syllabus help students master the language they need for exams and develop their 21st century skills.
Starlight is an engaging story-based course with a fresh, modern design.
Every lesson in Starlight follows a clear Engage – Practice – Communicate approach. Lively and imaginative stories with lovable characters introduce new language in every unit, and songs, role plays and games give students plenty of opportunities to practise new vocabulary and grammar, and communicate with one another.
Exciting projects, CLIL lessons and cross-curricular videos link English to the world outside the classroom and develop students' 21st century skills.
The carefully-designed grammar, vocabulary and skills syllabus ensures that students develop the language they need for success in Cambridge Young Learner and KET examinations.
The flexible teaching package offers an array of easy-to-use support resources, providing students with lots of opportunities to practise and consolidate their learning.
The lively and imaginative stories capture students' attention and introduce new language in a meaningful context. Visual vocabulary presentations, story cards and activities activate students' existing knowledge, and encourage creativity and critical thinking.
A variety of contexts and songs, projects and communicative pair work give students plenty of opportunities to practise new vocabulary and grammar.
CLIL lessons are consolidated and practised through listening activities and personalised communication games in the Student Book, as well as further activities in the Workbook.
The Workbook provides plenty of extra practice of the vocabulary and grammar learnt in every unit. Lots of the activities are personalized, and extension activities keep faster learners motivated.
Role plays, games, projects, and group or paired speaking activities provide opportunities for students to communicate with one another.
Starlight's high-level course syllabus covers a wide range of grammatical structures and vocabulary in line with the Cambridge Young Learner and KET examinations.
The integrated approach to language and skills development focuses on fluency and accuracy. Systematic recycling of all core language in every unit through review lessons are designed to elicit all unit language from students in preparation for their exams.
Motivating CLIL lessons and projects encourage critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration, developing children's 21st century skills.
Culture pages offer the opportunity to transfer useful, practical English language to a range of different areas of the school curriculum such as Art, Music, Science, Geography, History and Maths. The colourful culture pages have real photos to increase student's intercultural awareness.
The course offers rich video content with animated stories and cross-curricular clips that resemble authentic materials, bringing English to life.
A Project and Value Lesson in every unit integrates socio-cultural aspects of learning and promotes self-esteem, positive attitude, tolerance and respect. The Project and Value Lesson is an active, hands-on, long-form task in which students develop an item or skills that will be useful in real life. The lesson also introduces a civic value that connects to the unit topics. The project has tie-ins to the civic value, the CLIL lesson, the unit grammar structures, and/or the unit vocabulary.
The project development makes it easy to practise the 21st century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity in the classroom.
The Teacher's Toolkit includes a Teacher's Resource CD with worksheets, tests and test audio so students can practise and consolidate their learning.
Posters, flashcards and story cards in the Teacher's Resource Pack offer opportunities for students to connect with the content and review vocabulary.
The Classroom Presentation Tool delivers heads-up learning.
The student's website with interactive games, story animations, audio and downloadable resources extends students' contact with the language outside the classroom.
Online resources for teachers include tests, extra worksheets and flashcards, and word cards.
To access the Starlight Teacher's Website, go to: www.oup.com/elt/teacher/starlight. All the worksheets, tests and test audio from the Teacher Resource CD can also be downloaded via the access code on the inside cover of the Teacher's Toolkit.


text:
China bus collision kills 10, injures 38: state media
Ten people were killed and another 38 injured when a passenger bus collided with a cement truck in southwestern China, state media reported on Friday.
The collision late Thursday in Yunnan province, near the border with Myanmar, tossed the bus on its side and flipped the cement truck off the road, Xinhua news agency said.
Nine people were killed instantly while another died after being taken to hospital, the report said.
Read also: 32 dead in Taiwan's worst highway accident for decades
Deadly road accidents are common in China, where traffic regulations are often flouted or go unenforced by police.
There were more than 180,000 traffic accidents in 2015, causing 58,000 deaths, authorities said in December.
The country's frequently overcrowded long-distance buses are particularly prone to high fatalities.
At least 18 people were killed when a minibus plunged into a lake in the central city of Wuhan in December, state media reported earlier.
In November, a pile-up on an expressway in the northern province of Shanxi killed 17 people and damaged 56 vehicles.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


by Three Sheets T' Wind, featuring Leesa Mae. Video made by Rattle Media.
Картини Ben Greaves's song: A Life Less Igorant – The latest music video from Rattle Media.
Rattle Media moves into the business of making music videos… Also downloadable via the podcast.


The books are very ... .
Can you bring me ... book?
What`s ... matter with you?
... buy a new book?
He ... go to London next month.
He must ... his teeth.
- Who goes to the stadium every day?
I don`t like this story. It is ... story in the book.
Your brother is ... a red sweater, isn`t he?


text:
More Fundsters Decry Wednesday's Riot In D.C.
More fundster chiefs are speaking up about the Wednesday protests in Washington, D.C. that culminated with a crowd storming the U.S. Capitol building.
Jose Minaya
Nuveen
Jose Minaya, CEO of Nuveen, called on politicians to "come together to heal America" in light of the "tragic events in our nation's Capitol." Minaya's boss, outgoing TIAA president and CEO Roger Ferguson, echoed Minaya's concerns about "the disheartening events at the U.S. Capitol."
Bob Reynolds, president and CEO of Putnam Investments, shared his "shock, disgust, and disdain."
"To see our government's hallowed halls vandalized and desecrated by an angry mob of rioters was an affront to our core beliefs as Americans," Reynolds wrote. "This act of complete lawlessness and disregard for the safety of others and utter disrespect for the heartbeat of our nation cannot be condemned loudly or strongly enough."
Kevin Birzer, CEO of TortoiseEcofin, stressed the importance of a "peaceful transition" of power and wrote that he and his colleagues "strongly denounce the acts of violence" at the Wednesday protest.
Marty Flanagan, president and CEO of Invesco, described the protest as an "unprecedented attack on our nation's Capitol." He, too, emphasized the importance of ensuring "a peaceful transition of power."
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms this assault on the democratic institutions that have served for nearly 250 years as a beacon for people around the globe," Flanagan wrote. "I was also heartened to see Congress reconvene after the attack to complete the critical task of certifying the election results."
Lisa Woll, CEO of US SIF (the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment), noted that the trade group's offices are "within blocks of the White House," and revealed that the city's government had warned office workers in central downtown "to stay away on Tues & Wed because of fear of violence." She also described a contrast with the law enforcement response to different protests half a year ago.
Ron O'Hanley, chairman and CEO of State Street (parent of SSGA), wrote that, "whatever one's political beliefs, any attempt to overturn the results of a legitimate election must be universally condemned."
"Our democratic system is an idea and an ideal that relies on the rule of law and the peaceful transition of power to sustain itself," O'Hanley shared. "We call on all of our country's leaders to come together, reject this violence and preserve the foundations of our democracy in order to serve the American people and unify these United States."
Walt Bettinger, president and CEO of Charles Schwab (parent of Charles Schwab Investment Management), shared that "violence, takeovers or intimidation are never the answer to challenges or issues facing us as individuals or as a nation."
"As a law abiding citizen, I believe what happened yesterday must never happen again — in Washington, D.C. or anywhere in our country," Bettinger wrote.
Manny Roman, CEO of Pimco and Dan Ivascyn, group chief investment officer, stated that they're "disturbed and saddened," describing the storming of the Capitol as "an attack on our intstitutions and the values of democracy which guide us."


Arrabbiata pasta sauce is a simple recipe for spicy tomato sauce that uses fresh ingredients right from the garden! It is bold in flavour thanks to the combination of chilli and peeled tomatoes with just the right amount of fresh parsley. Sprinkle it with pecorino cheese and you will have a healthy, delicious, vegetarian meal you can enjoy almost any time of the day. But BEWARE, Arrabbiata means "angry" because it's traditionally enjoyed quite HOT.
1. Put a large pot with 5L water on the stove so the water starts to boil in preparation for the pasta to boil.
2. Place a wide pan on medium heat and add 2-3 generous tablespoons of EVOO to it.
3. Crush 2 x cloves of garlic and add them to the pan, before mixing the most important ingredient to our pasta all'arrabbiata: finely chopped chilli to the pan too.
4. Mix this through well, dropping it to a lower temperature if it is getting too hot!
5. Put the peeled tomatoes into a large mixing bowl, and using your stainless steel masher, break down the tomatoes, so you are left with a thick, rich puree.
6. Add salt and pepper to the tomatoes and mix it through well.
7. Once the garlic and chilli have simmered for a couple of minutes, add the tomato puree for your pasta all'arrabbiata and mix it through well.
8. Leave the sauce on a medium heat for 15 minutes, mixing it every now and then.
9. The water should have boiled by now, so after you've added a small handful of rock sale – and while waiting for the sauce – add the Busiati Trapanesi and leave to cook until al-dente, for approximately 12 minutes.
9. A couple of minutes before the Arrabbiata sauce is ready, add the chopped parsley and break up some fresh basil and drop it in.
10. Strain the pasta and add it to the pan while it is still on the stove, lathering it completely in the sauce.
VINCENZO'S PLATE: Add a small amount of the boiling water to the sauce to help it spread all over the pasta.
11. Sprinkle grated pecorino cheese all over the pasta all'arrabbiata, then mix it through.
Serve up a few delicious scoops of pasta on to a flat plate and sprinkle some pecorino cheese over the top along with some fresh parsley.
Add a small parsley or basil leaf to the centre – and a small chilli too for decoration if your guest likes it extra spicy.
E ora si mangia….Vincenzo's Plate! Enjoy!
SALAMI TIME Perfect way to start a meal. #Salame & Cheese. Which one do you love the most?


text:
è il sesto singolo della cantautrice giapponese Nana Kitade, pubblicato il 20 luglio 2005. Debuttò alla posizione numero 26 dell'Oricon. La canzone Kanashimi no Kizu è stata utilizzata come tema musicale del videogioco per PlayStation 2 Fullmetal Alchemist 3 -Kami wo Tsugu Shoujo-.

Tracce
 Kanashimi no Kizu (悲しみのキズ)
 Call me
 Kanashimi no Kizu (instrumental)

Note

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Evidence supports HPV testing as screen for cervical cancer, experts say
Researchers laid out the argument for why HPV may be better than the Pap test to screen for cervical cancer, and addressed some concerns that may be hindering the HPV test's more widespread use.
"HPV testing is coming and the role of cytology will be reduced … this collection of evidence summaries, guidelines, and editorials aims to illustrate the variety of ways the changeover will occur globally," Mark Schiffman, MD, MPH, senior investigator in the clinical genetics branch at the National Cancer Institute, and guest editor of the special issue of Preventive Medicine, wrote in an editorial. "More broadly, this special issue illustrates the importance and limits of epidemiology as the 'basic science of public health.' The conclusion … is that given an established epidemiologic set of scientific facts and validated prevention tools, real-life concerns that vary by region will determine which public health strategies are used."
Other authors also believe that HPV is a better way to screen for cervical cancer.
"It has … become clear that testing for the causal agent, human papilloma virus (HPV) can bring substantial improvements and efficiency to cervical cancer screening," Sandra D. Isidean, PhD student, department of oncology, McGill University, Montreal and Gayle A. Shinder, PhD, department of oncology, McGill University, wrote in a second editorial.
Joseph E. Tota, PhD, division of cancer epidemiology and genetics, at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues noted that though there is "sufficient evidence" for HPV test adoption, most countries have not yet implemented this approach.
"The delay is of particular concern as the first cohorts of vaccinated women are reaching screening age," Tota and colleagues wrote. "Pap cytology will be an inadequate mainstay of cervical cancer screening for these women, a situation that will be further aggravated after introduction of the nonavalent HPV vaccine."
Tota and colleagues outlined the advantages of HPV testing: its performance is expected to be less adversely affected as a consequence of reduced lesion frequency; it is better at identifying cervical adenocarcinoma precursor lesions; it allows for self-sampling; it can be automated, more reproducible, and is not subjective; it is more cost-effective; negative HPV tests provide longer, greater reassurance; and is more sensitive than the Pap test in identifying high-grade precancerous lesions.
In a separate report, Nicolas Wentzensen, MD, PhD, division of cancer epidemiology and genetics, National Cancer Institute, and Marc Arbyn, MD, unit of cancer epidemiology, Belgian Cancer Centre in Brussels, addressed the concerns aired for not using the HPV test. These include health care advocates requiring that a new method show feasibility and effectiveness, which Wentzensen and Arbyn pointed out has been well-established with HPV testing in trials in much of the world. They addressed other concerns, such as HPV screening efficacy trials not including cervical cancer endpoints, by stating the rare nature of cervical cancer in existing screening programs makes it difficult to power trials adequately for cancer programs. Another point of contention, that extending the time between cervical cancer screening tests could lead to fewer follow-up visits and leave women without the other benefits these follow-up visits achieve, could be eliminated by creating a "well-organized" program that sends reminders to women about their follow-up care, Wentzensen and Arbyn stated.
"There is overwhelming evidence demonstrating that a HPV-based screening program at longer intervals can be more efficient with potentially fewer screening-related harms compared to cytology screening," they wrote, adding that three factors should be considered when making the switch to HPV tests: what triage test should be used, what should the screening interval be for HPV-negatives and what HPV screening assay should be used.
In a second report by Tota and colleagues, the authors explored various triage methods associated with HPV, particularly morphologic biomarkers and molecular biomarkers. They stated that using HPV primary screening with genotyping and cytology triage was the most cost-effective when compared with cytology screening (with reflex HPV testing for management of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance), HPV and cytology co-testing, and HPV primary screening (with reflex to cytology).
"Despite these results, there is currently no obvious winning strategy when it comes to selecting the best triage approach compatible with HPV primary screening," Tota and colleagues wrote. "We expect the decision will be based on local experience … and successful implementation of HPV primary screening, incorporating either cytology, genotyping plus cytology, or another strategy in similar settings."
Schiffman stated that although there is a growing mindset towards using HPV testing, the best way to use it is still debatable. He also stated any method chosen must withstand vigorous tests that can be applied to as many different groups as possible.
"I believe that among experts, there is an emerging consensus that HPV testing is theoretically the optimal available primary screening test, but that its optimal implementation is far from settled," he wrote. "Regardless of what prevention strategy is chosen, it should be scientifically and medically defensible… As different strategies are applied worldwide, the hope is that they will be translatable and represent different societal conclusions sharing a jointly understood scientific base." – by Janel Miller
Disclosure: Please see the studies for the full list of all authors' relevant disclosures.
Isidean, SD and Shinder, GA. Prev. Med. 2017:doi:/10.106/jypmed.2016.12.038.
Schiffman, M. Prev Med. 2017:doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.12.028.
Tota JE, et al. Prev Med. 2017:doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.11.029.
Wentzsen, N, et al. Prev Med. 2017:doi:10.106/jypmed.2016.12.040.
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