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Mister Fantastic
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- Mister Fantastic (Dr. Reed Nathaniel Richards) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character is a founding member and the leader of the Fantastic Four.
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Mister Fantastic (Dr. Reed Nathaniel Richards) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character is a founding member and the leader of the Fantastic Four.
- Overview
- History This is an abridged version of Reed Richards' history. For a complete history see Reed Richards' Expanded History. Early Years
- Personality
- Attributes
- Paraphernalia
- Notes
- Trivia
- See Also
- Links and References
I learned that the difference between living and dying is managing fear. Not being so afraid of losing the things you love that you hold them too tight. I used to believe in universal contraction. Entropy and the end of all things. Well, I changed my mind. I'm letting go. Because now I believe in expansion. I believe we endure. Don't you see? Everything lives.
—Mister Fantastic
Early Years
Reed Richards was born in Central City, California as the only son of wealthy physicist Nathaniel Richards and his wife Evelyn. He was a child prodigy with special aptitude in mathematics, physics, and mechanics. Evelyn died when Reed was seven, leaving Reed to be raised by his father Nathaniel.
Education
Nathaniel encouraged and guided young Reed in his scientific studies, and Reed was taking college-level courses. Reed entered college at fourteen at Caltech (California Institute of Technology). He also attended Harvard University and M.I.T. He studied abroad at the University of Vienna in Austria. It was there he met fellow "super-genius" Alyssa Moy. By the time he was eighteen, he had obtained four degrees in fields such as engineering, math, and physics. However, during Reed's teen years, Nathaniel got recruited by the secret Brotherhood of the Shield and had to leave Reed. It was when he was working on his fifth at State University in Hegeman, New York, that Reed Richards first met two of the most important individuals in his life. He was assigned to room with a foreign student, a scientific genius named Victor von Doom. The imperious Von Doom, taking an immediate dislike to Richards, decided to take other quarters. Instead, Richards gained as his roommate former high school football star Benjamin J. Grimm, who became Richards' closest friend. Richards was already intending to build a starship for interstellar travel. When he told his ambitions to Grimm, Grimm jokingly said that he would pilot the starship for Richards someday. While attending State University, Richards rented living quarters at the Manhattan boarding house owned by the aunt of a young woman named Susan Storm. Reed instantly fell in love with Sue, although he soon deemed it prudent to move out, because he was too distracted from his work due to his romance with Sue. While not friends, Richards and Doom saw each other as intellectual peers. Needing a better computer than the university's, they designed a revolutionary new one together. Richards and Doom debated esoteric theories day and night that amazed faculty members, who compared their brilliance to that of Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci. While Richards designed his starship, Doom became obsessed with developing a machine that could project the astral form of a being into other dimensions. Reed pointed out a flaw in Doom's calculations, but Doom arrogantly ignored his warning, feeling that Reed was trying to upstage him. The machine exploded, scarring Doom's face. He was soon expelled for conducting unethical experiments. As Doctor Doom, von Doom would later become Richards' greatest rival and enemy. Doom blamed Richards for his deformities and he continually tried to prove himself superior, especially intellectually. They battled many times, but Richards almost always emerged triumphantly. Reed and Ben later served in the military together. Their time in war increased their trust in each other. Three years before Richards tested his starship, his father mysteriously disappeared. Nathaniel Richards had devised a time machine which he had used to attempt to journey into the future of his own world. However, the machine actually transported him to an alternate Earth with a history considerably different from their own. Reed Richards would be reunited with him while visiting this alternate Earth years later. Before Nathaniel Richards left his own time, he made arrangements that left two billion dollars to his son. Reed Richards spent most of the money on his project to build and launch his starship. This project, based in Central City, California, received further funding from the federal government.
Fantastic Four
Richards recruited his old friend Ben Grimm, who had become a successful test pilot and astronaut, to pilot the starship, which was named the Marvel-1. Richards was joined in California by Susan Storm. Richards and Storm were dating at the time. Shortly before the starship was to be launched, Richards used his scientific knowledge to defeat the extraterrestrial being Gormuu, who had intended to conquer Earth. Richards' encounter with Gormuu strengthened his resolve to finish the starship, which he saw as a first step for mankind to defend itself from extraterrestrial threats. When the federal government then threatened to withdraw its funding from the starship project, Richards decided to take the Marvel-1 on a test flight before the funding was withdrawn. Grimm was opposed to the idea, warning that the starship's shielding might prove inadequate protection from the intense radiation storms. Nevertheless, Grimm was persuaded to serve as pilot, and Susan Storm and her adolescent brother Johnny insisted on accompanying Richards as passengers. The four friends stole onto the launch facility, entered the starship, and blasted off. They intended to travel through hyperspace in the ship to another solar system and back in order to convince the government to reconsider. However, when the ship passed through a cosmic ray storm, it was met with an unexpected level of intensity. Since the ship was designed to shield against ordinary levels of radiation, the cabin volume was subjected to intense cosmic ray bombardment which irradiated the four passengers and wrought havoc on the ship's controls. Pilot Grimm was forced to abort the flight and return to Earth. Once back on Earth, the four passengers discovered that the cosmic radiation had triggered mutagenic changes in their bodies. Reed Richards discovered that his body had become malleable and that he now had the ability to elongate his body at will. Richards convinced the others that the four of them should use their new-found powers for the good of humanity as members of a team he named the Fantastic Four. Richards, who became the team's leader, named himself Mister Fantastic, while Ben Grimm, Susan Storm, and Johnny Storm named themselves the Thing, the Invisible Girl (later the Invisible Woman), and the Human Torch, respectively. The profits from Richard's patents and royalties funded the team's activities. Under Richards' leadership the Fantastic Four has become Earth's most honored team of superhuman adventurers, and has saved the world from conquest or destruction many times. Richards proposed to and eventually married Susan Storm in a wedding ceremony attended by most of the world's heroes, and they had a son, Franklin. Franklin proved to be a vastly powerful mutant whose fluctuating abilities have alternately saved or menaced both the Fantastic Four and the world, forcing Reed to take steps to contain Franklin's powers. On one such occasion, Franklin's mind was temporarily shut down. An outraged Sue, already resentful of Reed at this point because she felt that he did not regard her as an equal, left her husband and quit the team. She was replaced in the Fantastic Four for an extended period by Medusa of the Inhumans, but Sue reclaimed her spot on the roster after she and Reed finally reconciled. However, Reed and Sue were separated. A number of Earth's most powerful heroes -- Mister Fantastic, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Professor X, Iron Man, and Namor -- traveled to Skrullos to confront the Skrull King, informing him that the Earth was strictly off-limits. Upon arrival, however, the heroes were captured and experimented upon before they were able to escape. Mr. Fantastic would later blame himself for the Skrulls increased transforming powers. While the meeting predictably turned violent, the experience would provide the basis for the later establishment of the Illuminati. The secretive group of Earth's most influential heroes would meet only a few times, and these, only to tackle events of extraordinary importance. Reed added the viewpoint and perspective of a scientist. After losing his powers for a time, Reed was imprisoned and impersonated by the Brute, his then-criminally insane counterpart from the High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth, who ultimately exiled himself to the Negative Zone after finally regaining his senses. The Fantastic Four even broke up for a while, during which time Doom hypnotized Reed into capturing his former teammates as the Invincible Man. The team regrouped after Reed took a solo space flight into the Van Allen radiation belts, guided by information from colleague Stephen Beckley (later Comet Man), regaining his powers at amplified levels, and the Fantastic Four foiled Doom's latest world-conquering plot. Later, seeking a more normal family life, Reed and Sue established a household in small town Belle Porte, Connecticut for a while, living quietly in disguise there as the Benjamin family while continuing to serve with the Fantastic Four in their original identities.
Reed is an intellectual who prefers to examine foes and if possible negotiate with them before actually fighting them. He is often intrigued by the scientific implications of a problem, so much so that he almost forgets there is a problem in the first place. As Ben once put it, "...if an alien stubbed his toe, Reed would want to spend ten years stu...
Powers
Gifted superhuman powers by cosmic rays bombarding his body. Plasticity: Mister Fantastic possesses the ability to convert the mass of his entire body into a highly malleable state at will. How his body's respiration and circulatory systems function at these distorted extremes is as yet unknown. Mister Fantastic can alter his form in a matter of seconds, often much less (depending on the complexity of the shape), and revert to his normal humanoid shape within a similar time. The greater the distance he stretches or the more extended the size of the object he becomes, the weaker his overall strength becomes. Mister Fantastic's transformation to a malleable state is reflexive and nearly instantaneous: if he was at his normal form and taken unaware by machine gun fire, his body would still absorb the bullets' impact through radical deformation. In fact, it was revealed that it was Mr. Fantastic, despite being in a weakened state, who protected all the heroes other than Hulk from the impact of the 150 billion ton mountain falling on them before the Jade Giant caught the mountain, although the strain caused him to pass out. Mister Fantastic's skin is virtually impervious to laceration or punctures unless he willfully relaxes his reflexive control over small areas of his body. In that case, scalpels and ordinary needles can penetrate his skin. •Dense Flesh: Due to the great malleability and elasticity of his molecular structure, Mister Fantastic is able to absorb the impact of any type of man-made ballistic projectile by deforming his body along the path of the projectile's trajectory at the point of initial impact. •Contain Explosions: Mister Fantastic may use his elastic form to contain explosions by enveloping them and allowing their force to expand him. He can enclose and absorb the energy of a large explosive, on the order of 8 to 12 pounds of TNT (excluding exotic, high density explosives). Such shocks to his system are physically exhausting. •Redirect Projectiles: After his body absorbs the kinetic energy of a ballistic projectile's impact, Mister Fantastic can expel the object back along its trajectory by flexing his body like a trampoline if he is adequately braced. •Elongation: Mister Fantastic can extend his limbs, torso, or neck to great distances: the maximum length he can distend before his body segments become painful is about 1,500 feet. (Although he can extend discrete body parts, such as a single finger, an ear, or an eye, he seldom if ever isolates such parts in his elongations.) •Grappling: Mister Fantastic may restrain opponents very efficiently by using his elastic form to entangle them. •Movement: Mister Fantastic can move at great speeds by stretching to his destination. •Shape Changing: Mister Fantastic can stretch, deform, expand, or compress his entire body or parts into any contiguous shape he can imagine for a variety of uses. •Imitation: Mister Fantastic may alter his basic physical features, allowing him to take on the appearance of any other man with similar hair and skin tone. One time, Mister Fantastic actually increased his size and mass density, in effect bulking his body to "Thing"-like proportions while increasing his strength to the same levels as well. The force of his strikes was enough to stagger even Onslaught. •Two-Dimensionality: Mister Fantastic can flatten himself to the thickness of an average sheet of typing paper (.0035 inch) or narrow himself to a diameter small enough to pass through the eye of a #10 beading needle (about .045 x .06 inches). •Canopy, Parachute or Sheath: Mister Fantastic can extend his body in two directions, creating a canopy, parachute, or sheath, its thickness determined by the extent of its distention. •Gliding: Mister Fantastic can transform himself into aerodynamic shapes such as parachutes or hang-gliders. In this form he can support an additional 1000 pounds (enough to hold the rest of Fantastic Four, even the Thing). •Cushion: Mister Fantastic may form his elastic form into a trampoline and other cushion-like objects, allowing him to safely catch falling people and objects.[100] •Sling Shot: Mister Fantastic may use his elastic form as a slingshot to hurl objects with great force. Johnny Storm used his body to hurl the Thing and Medusa ten New York City blocks.[101] •Geometric Shapes: Mister Fantastic has compressed his body into the shape of a solid sphere, a cylinder, a cube, a toroid, and a rectangular prism: he can assume the shape of any solid that he can envision clearly, of a volume no greater than 1.7 cubic feet (a sphere about 18 inches in diameter). He can generate thin-walled shapes that enclose great volumes of space. •Bludgeoning Weapons: Mister Fantastic may form his fists into large hammers, maces, etc., which improve his physical effectiveness in hand-to-hand combat. •Bouncing Ball: Mister Fantastic can transform himself into any of a number of resilient shapes, such as balls or springs that allow him to leap or bounce great distances.[100] •Infiltration: Mister Fantastic can lower his body's cohesion to such an extent that he can actually flow through minute openings. •Open Locks: Mister Fantastic may form his fingers into various types of keys, allowing him to open most forms of mechanical locks. •Wind Generation: Mister Fantastic may form his hands into fans, allowing him to generate wind by twirling them at great speeds. •Semi-Solid Liquid State: Mister Fantastic can willfully reduce his body into an almost liquid state in order to flow out of small cracks or passages, even through needle-sized holes.
Abilities
Super-Genius Intelligence: Dr. Richards is one of the most intelligent beings on the planet. Reed possesses a mastery of electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineering, electronics, chemistry, all levels of physics, and human and alien biology. A visionary theoretician and inspired machine smith, he has made breakthroughs in such varied fields as space travel, time travel, extra-dimensional travel, biochemistry, robotics, computers, synthetic polymers, communications, mutations, transportation, holography, energy generation, spectral analysis and more. He is one of the few people on Earth to be an expert on other dimensions and the methods by which to travel to and through them. Reed's patents are so valuable that he is able to bankroll the Fantastic Four, Inc., without any undue financial stress. Not only has Reed proven himself to be a genius in virtually every science native to Earth, he has shown himself to be more knowledgeable than even some of the most highly advanced alien civilizations in the known universe as well.[104] He has often been stated to be the smartest man on Earth, and possesses a photographic memory.[105] Hypnotism: Mister Fantastic is trained in hypnosis.[106] Martial Arts: Mister Fantastic is one of Earth's best Judo experts.[107] He is the master of Atemi-Waza (body-striking techniques).[108]
Weaknesses
Fantastic Four Power Synergism: The original members of the Fantastic Four are tethered to each other, and act as as their own conduits of power. They can be apart within their own universe and retain a connection, but prolonged periods cut off from each other in other universes result in a gradual decline in power levels. If they spend too much time separated this way, they would eventually become powerless.[109]
Equipment
Although the Fantastic Four have numerous devices, crafts, and weapons, there are some items that Reed Richards carries with him at all times: Fantasti-Flare: Launches a fiery "4" symbol into the sky that is used during combat situations to let other members of the group know their location. Fantastic Four Uniforms: Like all the Fantastic Four's costumes and the rest of Reed's wardrobe, his suit is made of "unstable molecules". This means that the suit is attuned to his powers, which is why Reed's costume stretches with him. The costume also insulates them from electrical assaults. In addition, the team's uniforms are also, in essence, wearable computers. Their costumes have a complete data processing and telemetry system woven into the material of the uniform on a molecular level. This forms a network with the entire team, providing a constant, real-time uplink of everyone's physical condition as well as their location and current situation. The suit is capable of displaying data and touch-pad controls on the gauntlets. Its sensors can track all of the team's uniforms and provide a picture of their immediate vicinity. The suit has an intricate scanner system which can detect things around the wearer, from how many people are in the next room to what dimension or planet they are on. Reed can also up-link the bodysuit to any computer by stretching his fingertips to filament size and plugging them in to an I/O data-port. With this, Reed can establish a fairly comprehensive database of any computer's cybernetic protocols and encryption algorithms. Universal Translator: Reed has a Universal Translator that can decipher and interpret languages, both alien and terrestrial, into the native language of the user.[110] Memorium Device: This device allowed the Fantastic Four to look through the memories of individuals.[111] Former Equipment •The Reality Gem. •Mister Fantastic's Armor: During the Cotati Empyre and the Kree/Skrull Alliance's attacks, Tony Stark built a new suit of armor specifically for Reed which still allowed Richards to use his elastic powers.[112] Reed then decided to give the armour to his son Franklin after he had lost his power.[113]
•Along with his penchant for inventing, Dr. Richards is often known to rewrite works of Stephen Hawking[114] and decode alien languages.[115]
•Reed allegedly won Nobel prizes.[116] One of which was for the discovery of the Negative Zone.
•Reed Richard is Agnostic and does not believe any human religion could be the one true religion.[117] He well aware that Abstract Entities exist but would in no way worship them, considering them as highly evolved life forms,[citation needed] but also believes in a higher power that guides the universe, "Something bigger than us; something we can't totally comprehend". When asked by his son if he believed in God he answered "Yes I do Franklin. Because I believe religion and science go hand-in-hand".[118]
•Reed has stated that the accident that gave him and the other members of the Fantastic Four their powers, as well as the fact that they survived the exposure and crash landing, led him to believe that there was "Something or someone bigger and more mysterious than us, who was watching us that day, protecting us".[119] He cites the frequent resurrection of super heroes as "almost proof of a higher power, of someone who needs us to live to stop what's coming. To fight the good fight".[120]
•Mr. Fantastic was one of the characters featured in Series A of the Marvel Value Stamps issued in the 1970s.
•Despite the clear and obvious use of magic in the Marvel Universe, Reed admits to having a poor understanding of it, often calling it a form of other dimensional science he doesn't understand. This may be why he duplicated Doctor Doom's Time Platform instead of inventing his own.[121]
•The powers of all of the Fantastic Four are based on one of the four elements; in Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602, his power is associated with the classical element of water. The association to the element of water was also brought up in Fantastic Four (Vol. 2), X-Men / Fantastic Four, Ultimate Fantastic Four and in the Marvel Boy mini-series by Grant Morrison.
•Reed failed his driving test four times.[122]
•Though both Moon Girl and Reed's own daughter Valeria have surpassed him in intelligence,[123] Moon Girl still considers Reed Richards to be the "smartest man" on Earth.[124]
•When the Power Cosmic-empowered Tony Stark gave everyone in New York City Stark-level intelligence so they could all be super-geniuses like him, doing so made Reed Richards less intelligent.[125]
•2140 appearance(s) of Reed Richards (Earth-616)
•41 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Reed Richards (Earth-616)
•374 minor appearance(s) of Reed Richards (Earth-616)
•646 mention(s) of Reed Richards (Earth-616)
•26 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Reed Richards (Earth-616)
•2505 image(s) of Reed Richards (Earth-616)
Jun 19, 2023 · He is one of Marvel Comics' oldest characters, the patriarch of the first superhero family, and 12 degrees more intelligent than fan-favorite genius inventor Tony Stark. He is none other than...
Jun 21, 2023 · Who is the Maker? Discover more about this Reed Richards doppelganger, who hopes to rebuild the Ultimate Universe in his dark image.
- Tim Webber
As Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards utilizes his scientific brilliance and pliable form to make a difference in the world with what he knows, and explores the unknown to learn everything else he doesn’t. Read Profile.
Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic, is the leader of the Fantastic Four. He can stretch his body to great distances due to his exposure to cosmic rays while in space.
Feb 15, 2024 · Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Fantastic Four #1, Reed Richards was the genius scientist who, alongside his girlfriend, Sue Storm, her brother Johnny and Reed’s best friend Ben...
