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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
- Sprache: Englisch
Discover Marvel’s Founding Family!
Before the Avengers, the X-Men, or the Defenders, there was the Fantastic Four. This team of super heroes made their name through their dynamic origin, forced together by circumstance but bonded forever as family. Fantastic Four For Dummies introduces you to Marvel’s First Family and the major villains that they’ve encountered, including the infamous Doctor Doom. Produced in partnership with Marvel Comics, this full-color guide features art taken directly from the Marvel Comics archives, giving readers all they need to know about this superhuman cast of characters. Discover their strengths and weaknesses and explore the essential comics to get up to speed on what makes this team so fantastic.
- Get to know the super heroes that make up the Fantastic Four and delve into their fateful origins
- Discover the supporting cast and major villains throughout the storylines
- Understand the characters on a deeper level and explore the family dynamics that have shaped this unlikely team
- Learn why the Fantastic Four have been so popular and have stood the test of time
Whether you’re a dedicated Fantastic Four fan or just finding your footing, Fantastic Four For Dummies is your go-to guide to making friends with Marvel’s first family.
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Seitenzahl: 350
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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Fantastic Four For Dummies®
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List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: The Fantastic Four — anything but boring!
FIGURE 1-2: Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic — Super hero, Scientist, Renaissanc...
FIGURE 1-3: Reed reminds his wife that he is both extremely gifted and extremel...
FIGURE 1-4: Reed … um … stretches his powers to the limit!
FIGURE 1-5: The Invisible Woman over the years.
FIGURE 1-6: The Invisible Girl wasn’t always given the toughest assignments.
FIGURE 1-7: The Invisible Woman makes sandwiches knowing that her enemies don’t...
FIGURE 1-8: Johnny is literally high-fiving himself.
FIGURE 1-9: Johnny uses his Nova Flame on the encroaching Annihilation Wave!
FIGURE 1-10: The first pin-up of the Marvel Age, featuring the Ever-Lovin’ Blue...
FIGURE 1-11: Family photo.
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1:
The Fantastic Four
#1 — The Marvel Age starts here!
FIGURE 2-2:
Marvel Comics
#1 — This isn’t even the FF’s Human Torch!
FIGURE 2-3:
Captain America Comics
#3 — featuring Stan Lee’s first comic writin...
FIGURE 2-4:
Journey Into Mystery
#69 — One of the first comics to sport the MC ...
FIGURE 2-5: Creator credits from
Fantastic Four
#43 — Rigorously researched by ...
FIGURE 2-6:
Captain America Comics
#1 — Jack Kirby’s first smash hit!
FIGURE 2-7: An amazing double-page spread from
Devil Dinosaur
#4 showing the Ki...
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: The Fantastic Four has too many enemies and not enough friends!
FIGURE 3-2:
Doctor Doom.
FIGURE 3-3: If there’s anything better than a dinosaur version of Marvel’s grea...
FIGURE 3-4: The Mole Man and the FF in a surprising moment of détente!
FIGURE 3-5: Fantastic Four #8: First appearance of the Puppet Master!
FIGURE 3-6: The Red Ghost and his Super-Apes — more dangerous than they sound!
FIGURE 3-7: The first appearance of the Molecule Man!
FIGURE 3-8: The Frightful Four attacks!
FIGURE 3-9: Electro … the
fifth
member of the Frightful Four!
FIGURE 3-10: Confession: This author loves big, strong lady heroes like Thundra...
FIGURE 3-11: The Brute is not Reed Richards’s best self!
FIGURE 3-12: The new Frightful Four, featuring Hydro-Man, Titania, Klaw, and th...
FIGURE 3-13: The Devourer of Worlds versus the Fantastic Four … and the Avenger...
FIGURE 3-14: Some of the most prominent heralds of Galactus … together!
FIGURE 3-15: Ronan the Accuser.
FIGURE 3-16: The Super-Skrull versus the Human Torch … and the Amazing Spider-M...
FIGURE 3-17: The creature known as Annihilus in the Negative Zone!
FIGURE 3-18: The Invisible Woman protects the Torch from the villain known as B...
FIGURE 3-19: The Psycho-Man fights the FF on his home turf!
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The Fantastic Four — traveling through time!
FIGURE 4-2: Take a gander at how cool the Baxter Building really is!
FIGURE 4-3: An architect’s view of the exterior of Four Freedoms Plaza.
FIGURE 4-4: That sure doesn’t look like a “car” to me!
FIGURE 4-5: The long-range Fantasticar Mark II in action.
FIGURE 4-6: You’ve left normal space behind when you enter the Crossroads of In...
FIGURE 4-7: The FF begins a new adventure in the Negative Zone!
FIGURE 4-8: The barbaric splendor of Atlantis in the 60s!
FIGURE 4-9: Wakanda in the wake of the Black Panther’s great hunt of the FF!
FIGURE 4-10: Attilan’s great migration happens here!
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Franklin Richards is powerful. Like,
really
powerful.
FIGURE 5-2: Valeria Richards demonstrates the difference between intelligence a...
FIGURE 5-3: Does Alicia love the Thing more than Ben Grimm? Ben thinks so …
FIGURE 5-4: … and Sue can’t help but wonder.
FIGURE 5-5: I love these freakin’ kids.
FIGURE 5-6: Agatha Harkness as she initially appeared.
FIGURE 5-7: Babysitting, H.E.R.B.I.E.-style!
FIGURE 5-8: Wyatt Wingfoot getting swept off his feet.
FIGURE 5-9: It takes talent to be the FF’s mailman!
FIGURE 5-10: Narrator: Lyja wasn’t really carrying Johnny’s baby.
FIGURE 5-11: An emotional reunion between friends
always
includes smack-talk.
FIGURE 5-12: We could all use a friend like the Silver Surfer!
FIGURE 5-13: The Royal Family of the Inhumans — in their own comic!
FIGURE 5-14:
Fantastic Four
#26 - The first time two great tastes taste great t...
FIGURE 5-15: Imagine if he
didn’t
have an oath of noninterference!
FIGURE 5-16: Don’t worry, this is just a goodbye kiss. A really
good
goodbye ki...
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: The ‘90s were all about being extreme, and they certainly
looked
ex...
FIGURE 6-2: Insert joke about needing good vibrations here …
FIGURE 6-3: Doom 2099!
FIGURE 6-4: 2099 was not a very good year for our heroes!
FIGURE 6-5: Still the FF, but Fantastic Four no longer!
FIGURE 6-6: Can you believe this guy used to have the IQ of a schnauzer?
FIGURE 6-7: Gravity manipulation ain’t no joke!
FIGURE 6-8: “Those are some smart Moloids,” is a thing I never thought I’d say....
FIGURE 6-9: Come on … if you were a super hero — and a DAD — you’d bring this k...
FIGURE 6-10: Friends can be family — that’s what this comic is all about.
FIGURE 6-11: Sometimes you need a whole page to take in the awesomeness.
FIGURE 6-12: She can do this all day.
FIGURE 6-13: A taste of the Torch/Spidey series that might have been …
FIGURE 6-14: I mean, we could’ve done this in
Fantastic Four!
FIGURE 6-15: This too!
FIGURE 6-16: (You get the idea!)
FIGURE 6-17: Never a bad idea to have the hottest artist in comics draw your co...
FIGURE 6-18: I’ve heard of cold wars, but this feels like a step too far.
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: Reed Richards, in all his infinite variety.
FIGURE 7-2: This isn’t hyperbole. Sue leaves Reed … and the Fantastic Four!
FIGURE 7-3: Sue has often been presented as “traditional,” but her overall arc ...
FIGURE 7-4: Reed thinks he’s being objective here, but this is his fear for his...
FIGURE 7-5: Sue understandably doesn’t see it the same way.
FIGURE 7-6: Reed’s IQ might be off the charts, but his EQ could use a little wo...
FIGURE 7-7: Sue Richards is just shady.
FIGURE 7-8: Ah, boys will be boys!
FIGURE 7-9: Of course, there’s always been a problem with “boys will be boys,” ...
FIGURE 7-10: It’s not like Johnny didn’t
know
that Ben had a temper …
FIGURE 7-11: I mean, if you read this story, it feels kind of inevitable. Awful...
FIGURE 7-12: It might not have been so bad, except … Namor.
FIGURE 7-13: Ben
does
have a reason to be mad here, the FF is being framed, but...
FIGURE 7-14: Unfortunately, Ben would never fit in a fridge in order to survive...
FIGURE 7-15: Reed is Ben’s best friend — and the source of all his woes.
FIGURE 7-16: Ben’s now the one helping others with their angers and...
FIGURE 7-17: … Johnny …
FIGURE 7-18: … or one of his own adopted kids.
FIGURE 7-19: The Fantastic Four is no place for a regular dude, much to Ben’s d...
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: I’m talking about Namor … but I can’t take my eyes off of the Thing...
FIGURE 8-2: Reed’s evolved head is a promise of things to come.
FIGURE 8-3: In my humble opinion, this is one of the most important pages in co...
FIGURE 8-4: See those black gutters between the panels? That’s how you know thi...
FIGURE 8-5: Nine panels is considered a lot now, but wasn’t at all unusual in t...
FIGURE 8-6: Note the larger panels and more cinematic layouts.
FIGURE 8-7: This might be my favorite piece of art in this book … so...
FIGURE 8-8: No one drew weirder tech than Jack Kirby.
FIGURE 8-9: The Thing gets stuck holding heavy stuff
a lot.
FIGURE 8-10: This is supposed to be a
building.
FIGURE 8-11: I was
obsessed
with this comic when I was a kid.
FIGURE 8-12:
The Uncanny X-Men
#141 - One of the most imitated covers in the hi...
FIGURE 8-13: Superpowers are like anything else … practice makes perfect!
FIGURE 8-14: Speaking of comics that I was obsessed with as a kid.
FIGURE 8-15: The New Fantastic Four in the house!
FIGURE 8-16: Yes, that is the Invisible Woman on fire!
FIGURE 8-17: Sue hits the nail right on the head. This is
big.
FIGURE 8-18: The Fantastic Two and Two-Halves!
FIGURE 8-19: Kinda puts a lump in your throat, right?
FIGURE 8-20: When Reed needs to perceive reality in FOUR dimensions … let’s jus...
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: Who ordered the Code Red?
FIGURE 9-2: I don’t know about you guys, but I think this would make a cool pos...
FIGURE 9-3: This is before anyone knew that Valeria was the smartest person in ...
FIGURE 9-4: A member of the FF is getting married? That calls for
extra
shenani...
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: If you didn’t know better, you’d think the
bald guy
was Galactus. ...
FIGURE 10-2: And what is up with that ghoulish shade of green?
FIGURE 10-3: Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home!
FIGURE 10-4: This cover says it all!
FIGURE 10-5: If you look carefully, you can “see” that she’s standing on an inv...
FIGURE 10-6: The first appearance of the Invisible Woman!
FIGURE 10-7: If you got this kind of phone message, you’d probably start speaki...
FIGURE 10-8: Reading all this
Fantastic Four
has made Ben and Alicia pretty muc...
FIGURE 10-9: Being a hero means sacrifice. Sometimes it’s your life. Sometimes ...
FIGURE 10-10: Whatever happened in New York … it obviously wasn’t good.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: See? Cats always land on their feet.
FIGURE 11-2: I mean, taking initiative is a pretty good quality in a new hire, ...
FIGURE 11-3: I mean, Spidey gets a Fantastic Four uniform …
FIGURE 11-4: …
and
a Future Foundation uniform!
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1:
Never
turn your back on Doctor Doom.
FIGURE 12-2: I mean, I’ve seen worse in the mirror some mornings!
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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Fantastic Four For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
© 2025 MARVEL
MARVEL PUBLISHING
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Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2025935520
ISBN 978-1-394-29938-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-29939-3 (ebk)
Introduction
“Aren’t you a mega FF fan too?”
This was my friend’s second question. The first had been, “Have you done any prose work?” Now, the answer to both questions is an unequivocal yes, but I paused anyway. My favorite-favorite comics characters intimidate me. I’m scared of an opportunity to write for Captain America (although I’ve done it) — and I’m even more scared to write for the Fantastic Four.
The bar is just so high.
Look, there are hundreds of great comic book super heroes, almost too many to make listing them worth it, but if there were such a list … the FF, as a group, is easily top five. More than that, they’re arguably the most important comic book super heroes.
So yeah … . I was a little hesitant at first. Me? Writing Fantastic Four? The comic, the characters, that changed everything? Maybe I wasn’t being asked to write the comic, but instead for a new animated series because I have experience with Marvel animation and …
… but I wasn’t being asked to write Fantastic Four. I mean, I’d like to think I could, that I could reach inside and find the voices of a man so smart that it’s practically a superpower — of a woman still coming to grips with the fact that, on a team of titans, she is the most powerful — of a guy who somehow manages to redefine the word “hot” — and a man whose heroism wasn’t born of tragedy but instead overcomes it.
But it turned out that I’m not writing Fantastic Four. I’m writing about the Fantastic Four — who they are, who created them and why, the ways in which they’re special, and the obstacles they overcome (villainous and otherwise).
As you can see, I can do that. I can do that all day. (Dang it, this isn’t about Captain America!)
About This Book
This isn’t a “How To” book. It’s more a “Why You Should” book.
This book, and the Marvel For Dummies books that preceded it, probably weren’t even a glimmer in even the biggest Marvel Zombie’s eye, even after 2008’s Iron Man hit theaters. (Yes, I know that there were immensely popular super hero films before Iron Man.) Iron Man is a universally beloved film, but it’s not the one that changed the game.
That honor goes to The Avengers. (And you should definitely go get The Avengers For Dummies by my buddy Gene Selassie if you haven’t already. He’s the one I quoted in the previous section.) The Avengers really introduced the world at large to the idea of a Marvel Universe, even though that had been a thing for decades in the comics. Anyway, with the advent of “cinematic universes,” Marvel became one of the pillars of pop culture, and that makes it something worth examining. That’s what this book does.
But this isn’t some dry treatise on a standout example of a burgeoning genre — and I’m not an historian. I’m a comics guy to my core, and this book is necessarily going to reflect that. I’m a comics fan, and more than that, a Fantastic Four fan … I’m here to tell you why the Fantastic Four are awesome and why they’re worth your time as a reader (and eventually, a viewer).
I’m also a comics writer. I’ve produced thousands and thousands of pages of comics, both in print and online; I’m a student of the medium, and I’ve spent a lot of time reading great comics for more than pleasure. I mean, sure, I love them, but I need to understand why I love them, so maybe people will love the comics I make.
This book is intended to share all of that with you — to introduce you to … well, fantastic characters and stories and maybe draw back the curtain just enough so that you understand why they’re so fantastic.
Foolish Assumptions
Now, I know that I kicked off the last segment with a brief discussion of a couple of Marvel movies, I know that there have already been three Fantastic Four movies, and I know that the MCU’s version of the characters is on the horizon in the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but this book is not about the movies. They might get name-checked here and there, and so might some of the cartoons — but this book is not about those things. This book is about characters and comics.
My assumption here is that you’ve come here looking for the basics about the Fantastic Four plus a little more. Maybe you’ve seen one or more of the movies and you want to go deeper. Maybe you’re about to watch one of the movies for the first time and you don’t want to go in cold. Maybe you’re a new Marvel fan and you heard a phrase like “Marvel’s First Family” or maybe you just want to see where and how it all started. If you fit any of the above assumptions, then this book is for you.
Is it a good starting point for people who want to see the upcoming movie? I mean, sure. If you don’t know these characters, I’m going to introduce them to you. But this book will have so much more geeky goodness than what’s in, or going to be in, the movies.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout the book, you will find icons in the margins or alongside sidebars containing definitions of interesting new terms or supplementary stories that add context and enjoyment. Here’s what to look for.
This icon highlights information that might be useful in broader discussions of pop culture, comics, or Marvel, not just stuff specific to Fantastic Four.
This icon points you to pieces of info, particularly story continuity or in-universe facts, that might have bearing on other subjects in the book.
Beyond the Book
Come on … what kind of geek would I be if my book didn’t have a little something extra available online? Heck, there are all kinds of cool things to be found outside of this book, if you just know where to look.
You can find the
Fantastic Four For Dummies
Cheat Sheet just by going to
www.dummies.com
and searching for … well, “Fantastic Four For Dummies Cheat Sheet.” (It’s exactly what it sounds like.)
The first place I always go to look for comics is my local comic shop (LCS). Don’t know where any comic shops are? Go to
www.comicshoplocator.com
and throw in your zip code and they’ll give you the closest one to you!
A lot
of great Marvel comics have come out in the past 60-plus years and your LCS might not have the one you’re looking for. You can always snag yourself a subscription at
www.marvel.com/unlimited
, where they have 30,000+ Marvel comics online just waiting to be read.
Finally, there is nothing in the world so noble as the public library, many of which carry comics and graphic novels that you can borrow for
free.
And if you have a library card, you can go to
www.hoopladigital.com
and borrow all kinds of stuff online … again, for free. (And they do have a bunch of FF comics!)
Where to Go from Here
Okay, you’ve read the Introduction … so what now?
I mean, there are plenty of ways to go with this. Are you intrigued by the latest character announcement for an upcoming movie? Head back to the Table of Contents and look up their name, because this book will cover a lot of them.
Maybe you already know the basics and you’re looking for a reading list of Fantastic Four comics to check out. If that’s what you’re looking for, head straight to Part 4 (Get it?): Reading the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.
If this is all new to you, if you’re coming to the Fantastic Four for the first time, I suggest you just turn the page and start at the beginning.
Part 1
Flight School: Getting to Know the Fantastic Four
IN THIS PART …
Meet Marvel’s First Family, the super heroes whose adventures launched the Marvel Age of Comics.
Learn about Marvel before it was Marvel — and meet the legendary creators that built the Marvel Universe.
Chapter 1
The Founding Family of Marvel
IN THIS CHAPTER
Non-traditional super heroes
Examining their not-so secret origin
Exploring family dynamics
The first thing to know, when you’re talking about the Fantastic Four, is that these characters are important. They are literally the foundation of the Marvel Universe — all of the other Marvel characters are in some way influenced by them. The characters we know best — the Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Jean Grey — are all variations on a theme introduced in Fantastic Four.
I mean, Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards, Invisible Woman/Susan Storm-Richards (although it was Invisible Girl back then), Human Torch/Johnny Storm, and the Thing/Benjamin J. Grimm are the first super heroes created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby together. (If the magnitude of that escapes you, be sure to read Chapter 2, where I discuss both men, their prolific collaboration, and how their creations continue to resonate in the Marvel Universe.) Without these characters, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or should I say, MCU?) as we know it would not exist … and Disneyland would be a much more boring place. As you can see in Figure 1-1, the FF (as they are often referred to) aren’t boring.
Nowadays, fans take it for granted that a super hero is more than a square jaw and flowing cape. Our heroes grapple with more than just the bad guys. They’re people and they struggle with everything that comes with that — but that wasn’t always the case. Spider-Man has to worry about paying the rent and his Aunt May’s health. The X-Men are targets of anti-mutant bigotry as much as they are of super villains. Daredevil struggles as a man of faith who revels in violence to battle evil.
There was a time when super heroes was a genre aimed squarely at kids, and more than that, at boys. The Marvel Age of Comics is what began to make super heroes a genre for everybody. This is a good time to tell you that the Marvel Age of Comics began with the publication of The Fantastic Four (1961) #1. Like I said before, these characters are important.
Art by Alex Ross.
FIGURE 1-1: The Fantastic Four — anything but boring!
Explorers versus Super Heroes — Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together
One of the first — and coolest — things to know about the Fantastic Four is that they’re not super heroes in the traditional sense. I mean, yes, they have incredible superpowers, they wear eye-catching outfits, and they do battle with some of the worst villains the Marvel Universe has to offer. They check a lot of super hero boxes.
But for most super heroes, the mandate is to battle evil and protect the innocent … those things are job one. But the FF looks for ways to help humanity more than protect it … and they do so in the same way that people do in the real world, by expanding human knowledge and potential through discovery and invention.
Writer Mark Waid, in the first issue of his run on Fantastic Four, coined the term “imaginauts” for them. They weren’t simply battling evil or adventuring — they were learning. They were creating. In a way, they were cut from the cloth of their hyper-imaginative creators (we’ll get to them in a bit).
“These guys aren’t super heroes. Not really. They don’t fight crime. They don’t go on patrol … They’re astronauts. They’re envoys. Adventurers. Explorers … Maybe they’ve been around a while, but the only thing old about the FF is that they never stop taking us to the new.”
—MR. SHERTZER, THE FF’S PUBLICIST, FANTASTIC FOUR (1998) #60 BY MARK WAID, MIKE WIERINGO, KARL KESEL, PAUL MOUNTS, RICHARD STARKINGS, AND ALBERT DESCHESNE.
Getting to Know Marvel’s First Family
The Fantastic Four travel the world (or rather, the Multiverse), exploring and learning … and occasionally getting into huge fights with monsters and villains bent on mayhem! But through one magical choice, the FF are more relatable, more accessible … and more fun than their Golden Age forebears.
Lee and Kirby made the Fantastic Four a family … and that somehow gives fans more of what they want from these kinds of characters, whether they’re explorers or super heroes (or both).
I mean sure, when you’re looking for stories with characters to root for, you want something dynamic and exciting, but you also want more than that. You want something thought-provoking. You want something that offers new perspectives on the world and the people in it. You want something that surprises you while still feeling comfortably familiar. You want your families … but more. The family dynamic is on display from the very beginning, in The Fantastic Four (1961) #1 … albeit a dysfunctional one.
Their very first interaction as a group is a flashback to their origin, with test pilot Ben Grimm admonishing Reed Richards about their upcoming test flight and the dangers of “cosmic rays.” Ben refuses to fly until Sue calls him out for cowardice. Ben angrily agrees to fly the mission … but then Reed tries talking Sue and Johnny out of accompanying them, to no avail. Sue is Reed’s fiancée — she goes where he goes … and Johnny goes where she goes.
But Ben’s worries are justified. The ship is bombarded by cosmic rays! The crew is overcome, and they crash land back on Earth … but the damage, the miracle, has been done. This bickering but deeply loyal family has become the Fantastic Four.
They have become more.
Before I begin diving deeply into these characters and what makes them who they are, let me make it clear that I’m talking about these characters and events as they appear in the comics, specifically on “Earth-616,” which is the main Marvel Universe. All of this inspires what eventually happens in films, TV series, and cartoons, but none of this necessarily applies to their canon. (This is the real geeky stuff!)
Mister Fantastic — A hero as complex as his stretchy body
Take a good look at Figure 1-2. This shot really captures the essence of the Fantastic Four’s leader, because it offers a number of insights that you really need if you want to understand who he is. It shows us a collection of super-sciencey (and Jack Kirby-esque) gizmos, it shows us one stretching arm, and it shows us the small, satisfied smile of a man who thinks he knows what he’s doing.
I don’t see any choice but to look at each of those qualities (albeit not in that order)!
His real superpower isn’t what you might think
Every super hero has an origin, secret or otherwise. Spider-Man has his radioactive spider, Captain America his Super-Soldier Serum, and the Hulk his gamma bomb. The Fantastic Four have theirs, in the form of those pesky cosmic rays … but they’re not really what created the Fantastic Four.
Reed Richards is the secret origin of the Fantastic Four. Mister Fantastic is his own secret origin … in large part because he had his real superpower before he ever even smelled a cosmic ray.
Some of you might read that and think, “Justin, what the heck are you talking about? Mister Fantastic stretches, and he’s not able to do that until that fateful flight through the cosmic rays!” And you’d be right to say so … but I’m not talking about his stretching.
As cool as stretching is, what makes Reed Richards such a special character is his incredible intellect. His genius begins to reveal itself at an early age — he is canonically taking college courses at age 14, and by age 20 has multiple degrees from schools like CalTech, MIT, and Harvard. He also attends the fictional Empire State University, where he meets both his best friend, Ben Grimm, and his worst enemy, Victor Von Doom. (We’ll get to the Thing later in this chapter, in the section “The Thing — The real heart of the team” — and the villains get their moment in Chapter 3!)
A true polymath, Reed is considered among the best in the world (universe?) at most branches of science, including multiple fields of engineering, physics, chemistry, and even biology — and this is true before he and the others take their momentous spaceflight.
Oh, and did I mention that this particular test flight is aboard a spacecraft that he himself designed and built? Reed Richards is as smart as people get … and he knows it, as we see in Figure 1-3.
This brings us to another quality of Reed’s that drives stories and events in the Marvel Universe forward far more than stretching, his defining character flaw: his arrogance.
Art by Dale Eaglesham.
FIGURE 1-2: Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic — Super hero, Scientist, Renaissance Man!
By Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham.
FIGURE 1-3: Reed reminds his wife that he is both extremely gifted and extremely arrogant.
Genius has its downside
Reed and his family do not become the Fantastic Four by design. They are not supposed to be exposed to the cosmic rays. The flight is funded by a U.S. government on the verge of pulling the financial plug. There has not been enough testing of the vessel, in particular its radiation shields, but Reed proposes sneaking aboard and launching now.
Ben, who I remind you is Reed’s best friend, cautions them against this reckless choice. He’s an actual test pilot, after all … he knows the risks.
“Count me out! You know we haven’t done enough research into the effect of cosmic rays! They might kill us all out in space!”
—A PRE-THING BEN GRIMM, FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #1 (BY STAN LEE & JACK KIRBY)
But Reed doesn’t listen. After all, they have to beat the Commies into space! (Hey, it was 1961! Nowadays, Reed’s fervor to launch his ship is considered more a young man’s scientific need than anything nationalistic.)
I should note here that Marvel tends to eschew “retcons” (as in, retroactive continuity) when it comes to the events taking place in the Marvel Universe, at least in the sense of line-wide reboots, but there are times when they simply have no choice. (There are also times when new creative teams want to add new perspectives to old events.) If “beating the Commies” in 1961 is allowed to remain a thing, then the FF are probably in their eighties. Time is allowed to pass in the comics (Reed and Sue have gotten married and had two kids, after all), just slowly … and the entire Marvel timeline exists on what they call the sliding timescale. As of this writing, and for the foreseeable future, The Fantastic Four (1961) #1 took place about 15 years ago — no matter when now is.
This combination of Reed’s towering intellect and equally impressive overconfidence turns them into super heroes … and that same combination will get them into trouble again and again over the years:
He splits from his family during the so-called “Civil War” because he believes he can predict the outcome of a world without the Super Hero Registration Act. (It’s a whole thing.) He, along with others, cloned the super hero Thor, in an effort to subdue rebelling heroes, who instead became the murderous super villain Ragnarok.
He co-founds the Illuminati, a group of super-powered leaders and geniuses, in an effort to protect the world clandestinely, which directly leads to the “Secret Invasion” by the shape-changing Skrulls.
He creates a whole new batch of trouble when he attempts to
solve everything
— and ends up at odds with a “Council of Reeds,” sociopathic versions of himself from other universes, free of pesky familial connections.
Perhaps worst of all, Reed sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong — in someone else’s experiment, namely that of Victor Von Doom. With the best of intentions, Reed tries to tell Von Doom that he’s made a mistake … and when the experiment goes awry, permanently scarring Von Doom’s face, Reed is (unfairly) blamed and has helped to create the Fantastic Four’s worst enemy.
In each of the instances above, Reed acts with nothing but good intentions — assuming that he knows best. Usually, he does … and that often keeps him from seeing the times when he doesn’t. (You know what they say about good intentions!)
