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This page covers the Marvel comicbook hero Mr. Fantastic also known as Rudion Richards , Invincible Man , Reed Benjamin , Sir Richard Reed . If this is not the page you were looking for check here.
Reed Richards is Mr. Fantastic, leader of the Fantastic Four, loving husband of the Invisible Woman, mentor to the Human Torch, and best friend to the Thing.
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Origin
Reed Richards was born in Central City, California and the son of Nathaniel and Evelyn Richards. Reed’s father was a brilliant scientific genius and Reed appears to have inherited that trait. Reed excelled in mathematics, physics, and mechanics and was enrolled in college by the age of 14. He went to multiple colleges including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Columbia University, and Empire State University. While attending EMU he met and became a roommate of Ben Grimm, the future Thing. They became great friends and Reed shares his dream of building a spaceship himself.
After EMU Reed continued to go to school at Columbia University, he rented an apartment where the landlord was the aunt of Sue Storm, the future Invisible Woman. Sue quickly fell in love with Reed. Also while attending Columbia University, Reed met Victor Von Doom, who would later be known as Doctor Doom. Doom loved that Reed could rival his intellect. Eventually Doom became jealous of Reed and began conducting reckless experiments that scarred his face.
Next up was Harvard, this is where Reed earns his Ph. D. in both physics and electrical engineering by the age of 22. After he was done with school he used his inheritance and government funding to finance his project. He began building his spaceship in Central City. Sue Storm would move to this same area and eventually was dating Reed again. Reed would ask Ben to pilot the ship for him. The government denied the flight into space so Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny decided to sneak onto the ship and they took the ship into outer space. Reed miscalculated and forgot the abnormality of the radiation from the cosmic radiation. The rays destroyed the ship and the crash-landed back on earth. Reed finds out he can stretch his body like elastic at will. Reed adopts the name Mr. Fantastic and convinces the 4 of them to use their powers for good.
Fantastic Four
Reed went on to create much of the equipment for the Fantastic Four. It includes clothing that were made of unstable molecules that allows them to use their powers without destroying the clothing and the Fantasticar. Reed was also determined to find a cure for Ben because he feels all the blame is to him for causing Ben to become The Thing. Eventually the Fantastic Four would become one of Earth’s greatest heroes saving the world countless times. They would battle their greatest enemy, Doctor Doom many times as Doom blames Reed for causing the scars on his face and turning him into Doctor Doom in the first place.
After a long time Reed and Sue finally married and had a son, Franklin Richards. Franklin was born with powers that are unimaginable and would be considered one of the strongest beings ever. When Reed decided to shut down Franklin’s mind so he does not use his powers to destroy the universe, Sue became enraged. She even filed for divorce, but they would reconcile soon afterwards.
During the crisis with Onslaught, Onslaught wanted to take Franklin Richard’s powers to add to his own. The Fantastic Four and many Marvel heroes sacrificed themselves to defeat Onslaught. They universe was destroyed until Franklin Richards pulls out the pocket universe he created. Soon after all reality was restored but the Fantastic Four had lost their home. Reed would later become a member of the Illuminati and would not tell Sue about it.
Civil War
Reed worked with Iron Man on the pro-registration side and was one of the higher ranks. The choices he makes during Civil War would cause a rift between him and Sue, especially when he unleashed his clone Thor that killed Goliath. Sue and Johnny would leave Reed and join Captain America’s group, the Secret Avengers. It was later revealed that one of the reasons Reed sided with the Super-Human Registration Act was because of his uncle. His uncle had picked a fight against the American Government and was imprisoned, it ruined his career and reputation and was no longer able to find work. He believed his Uncle was wrong for picking a fight that he cannot win, which is similar to Reed not going against the Registration Act because it is impossible to win.
The other reason dealt with a mathematical equation he was working on. In that equation he used theories to surmise that at the current path humanity was heading in, it would be a matter of time before they all destroyed themselves. He hid the knowledge from his family, and it wasn't until Johnny decided to visit with his brother in law in secret, that this information came to light. He enlisted the help of the Mad Thinker to check his work. The Mad Thinker theorized that the plan was flawed because he didn't include a person's decision, hence an improbable variable. The Mad Thinker's theory was proven when Sue made herself known. She had been there the whole time, and finally knew why Reed wanted the Registration Act to exist. Angry, she stormed off leaving Reed with the Mad Thinker.
After Civil War, Reed wrote a letter to Sue asking her to come back. And after receiving it, Sue returned to the Baxter building. In an effort to reconcile and fix the emotional strain their marriage had endured during the Civil War they decided to take a leave of absence. In their place, Storm and the Black Panther would take over their spots.
He took Sue to one of the moons of Saturn to try to rekindle their love, as well as give her their first true honeymoon, since they never had one. While there Reed discovered a strange object and teleported back to Earth in order to find information on it. Unbeknownst to him, the Frightful Four commandeer the ship with Sue still within in and kidnap her. They're only goal to destroy the Fantastic Four.
During World War Hulk, Reed Richards, with the help of Sue Storm and the new Fantastic Four tried to stop the Hulk by creating a hologram of the Sentry to calm the Hulk down. The plan failed and led to the Fantastic Four's defeat and Reed's capture. When Hulk built the gladiatorial stadium in New York, Reed was forced to fight Tony Stark to the death.
Prior to the events of the Secret Invasion, the Illuminati conveyed a meeting to investigate the corpse of a Skrull impersonating Elektra. It wasn't until Black Bolt voiced out his opinion that things wasn't looking good for them. Black Bolt then turns into a Skrull and attacked the Illuminati to retrieve the dead Skrull. After it was killed by Namor, the Illuminati separated, perhaps for the last time, because anyone of them could be also a Skrull and they can never trust anyone from no on. In his laboratory, Reed is doing an autopsy on the dead Skrull together with Hank Pym to find out why the Skrulls are now undetectable. When Reed finally finds out, Hank shot from behind and revealed himself to be a Skrull.
Powers
Reed is an extremely brilliant man, often considered the smartest in the world. His body becomes elastic and he has complete control over it. This allows him to use his body as an offensive or defensive purpose. He can stretch over three miles or fit himself through a pin hole, or even smaller. He can also expand his inner organs, able to hold his breathe longer than an average human, being able to expand his lungs. He can bounce off sharp weapons such as bullets, darts, knives etc. but he is not invulnerable. Though it is difficult to do, his skin has been cut. Because he is like rubber, he suffers all the drawbacks of it, like melting in heat and freezing in cold conditions. Other drawbacks include taffy-puller machines that can pull him behind his tensile strength. This causes great pain and he cannot snap back to his original human form as quickly.
Reed can also change his appearance and even imitate an inanimate object. He can use his elasticity to one area of his body. For example, it can all go to his fist, making it an effective offensive weapon. This can increase his strength and size considerably. Though he has many great physical feats, his intellect is also considered a power of his. He is one of the smartest in the Marvel Universe, showing himself to be even as smart as alien civilizations. Because of this, mind control is useless, though when it does affect him, it wears off more quicker than an average human. He is not flawless though, as he has tried many times to revert Thing back to his normal human form. He also indicates that he cannot understand magic. Later in life, he also earned a Black Belt in Judo.
Reed, at one time, was the possessor of the Power Gem.
Alternate Realities
Earth-295
In the alternate reality known as Age of Apocalypse, Richards attempted to evacuate a large group of humans from Manhattan when Apocalypse came into power. Along with Ben Grimm as the pilot and his friends Johnny and Susan Storm as crew, Richards used one of his prototype rockets to fly off the island. Unfortunately, an angry mutant sabotaged the launch and both Reed and Johnny sacrificed themselves to let the others blast off safely.
Reed Richards did not have any powers in this reality before he died, as he never was bombarded with cosmic radiation in space.
Earth-1610
In the Ultimate universe Mr. Fantastic is a bit younger and still a member of the Fantastic Four.
Earth-2149
In the Zombieverse Mr. Fantastic is, as most other heroes, transformed into a zombie. Although he purposely turned himself into a zombie because of the insanity he endured when his children was killed by the zombie She-Hulk.
Earth-721
In this reality, also known as Earth A, (first seen in Fantastic Four #118), Only Reed Richards and Ben Grimm was aboard the spaceship and got exposed to cosmic rays. Afterwards Reed Richards got the Thing powers and Ben Grimm got the Mr. Fantastic powers. Furthermore Johnny Storm was believed to have died in Vietnam, but he became Gaard and later Vangaard. Sue Storm married Ben Grimm.
Earth-311
In the 1602 reality, Sir Richard Reed is a member of the Four of the Fantastick. His powers are based on the fluidity of water. this version is more of a perfectionist in his studies than his mainstream counterpart.
Earth-982
In the MC2 reality it is originally believed that Reed transfered his intelligence to the robot Big Brain after the death of Susan.
However, it turns out that Reed is controlling him remotely from The Negative Zone, where he is protecting Susan as she holds together holes in reality.
Earth-772
In this reality Mr. Fantastic is a member of Fantastic Five alongside Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing and Spider-Man.
Earth-917
In this reality Mr. Fantastic is a member of Fantastic Five alongside Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing and Namor. Here Sue is married to Namor instead of Reed.
Earth-912
In this reality Mr. Fantastic is a member of Fantastic Five alongside Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing and Silver Surfer.
Earth-4400
Mr. Fantastic was also a member of Fantastic Five in this reality, alongside Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing and Spider-Man. They were all killed by Hyperion and Weapon X.
Earth-1720
In this reality Reed is in a relationship with Elektra. They are enemies of Sue Storm who is the leader of Hydra and Wolverine.
Earth-9811
In the Battleworld reality, Reed Richards is killed in the fight between Galactus and the Beyonder. With his death, the Avengers are stuck and must live in the world as their new home.
Earth-8311
In this reality, Mister Fantastic is turned into an anthropomorphic moose named Mooseter Fantastic and is the leader of the Fantastic Fur.
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