FMX04Pro hitTest w/ any instance?

hey, im pretty new to actionscript so the answer is problably simple, but here goes:
i have a stickman movie clip and i want a spike (a movie clip) to make you lose the game if the stickman hits it. but my stickman can also shoot fireballs (dont ask), and i dont want to lose if an enemy hits the fireball instead of you because im going to make killable enemies later, so i cant just do a hittest with the entire stickman. is there any way i can make the hitTest work if it hits ANY instance of his torso(a movie clip inside of him)? or, better yet, can i make the hitTest work if it hits any part of him EXCEPT the fireball(which is a movie clip)? im using flash mx 2004 pro, let me know if you need more info