Remembering the Gay-Coded Moment That Enshrined Chris Evans as a Sex Symbol

Chris Evans is an American classic: it’s shocking to think that he’s been in the Hollywood firmament for as long as he has. But let’s remember that Captain America got a head start: way back in 2005, Evans was already showing off his assets and charming us with his chiseled physique and strong himbo energy in The Fantastic Four.

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For years the film was legally impossible to screen in the absence of its director, due to the Stones’ own misgivings.

Why bring it up? Well because even if The Fantastic Four wasn’t the best movie on Earth, it did give us a Human Torch origin story that’s stayed burned on our brains for the subsequent 18 years. Because before he was America’s a**, he was Johnny Storm, a pink jacket-wearing superhero delighted to discover his flaming powers after coming into his own as the Human Torch.

If you’ll recall, after Johnny Storm discovers his special abilities in the film, he realizes that wearing plain old human clothes is probably not the best idea. After all, if your superpower is turning into a gigantic burst of flame, you probably need to see Edna Mode to get your outfit upgraded. But before he can find a suitable super-suit, Evans has to strip down to reveal his powers. Naked from the waist up and using only a hastily-tied pink jacket as a fig leaf, Evans gleefully snaps his fingers, causing a bright hot flame to come shooting out of his thumb.

Now if that’s not a gay-coded moment, I don’t know what is.

It wasn’t Evans’s only revealing onscreen moment, of course: the good-natured actor has stripped down plenty of times, and we’re always happy to see it.

So will we ever see Evans reprise his role as Johnny Storm? Apparently, the actor is open to it: 2018’s Deadpool 2 almost had Evans stepping into Human Torch uniform again to meet up with Michael B. Jordan, who plays Johnny Storm in the 2015 Fantastic Four film. But alas, it was not to be. I mean, maybe that’s a good thing. Evans and Michael B. Jordan stripping down only to heat up? We might have all spontaneously combusted.