 When the Fantastic Four property was made into an animated series in 1978, the character of the Human Torch was unable to be used as, at the time, the character had been optioned separately for use in a solo movie (which never materialized).A popular urban myth contends that the Torch was replaced due to fears that children might attempt to emulate him by setting themselves on fire, but that is not true.Needing a fourth member to round out the team, Stan Lee pitched the idea for a cute robot sidekick and artist Dave Cockrum was commissioned to design it.