Fantastic Four For Dummies Cheat Sheet

The Fantastic Four! Created by comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961, Marvel’s First Family is the foundation upon which the Marvel Universe has been built. Following are quick answers to some common questions about the Fantastic Four as well as guidance on where you need to go to learn more.

Who are the Fantastic Four?

After an accident in space endows them with superpowers, the Fantastic Four devotes themselves to lives of exploration, discovery, adventure, and public service. The Fantastic Four is a family as much a super team, so even though members are sometimes replaced, the originals always return. Speaking of the originals, Figure 1 shows them in all their glory!

Mister Fantastic

The leader of the team, Reed Richards is often considered the smartest man in the universe. When he and his family are exposed to cosmic rays in outer space, Reed develops the power to stretch and alter his shape however he sees fit.

The Invisible Woman

Susan Storm-Richards starts off as Reed’s girlfriend who develops the power to turn herself invisible. Over time, she finds that she can turn other things invisible and also gains the ability to project and control invisible force fields. Having worked as a spy, an archaeologist, and a mother, Sue is the most powerful member of the team.

The Human Torch

Johnny Storm is just a teenager when he accompanies his family into space and is exposed to the cosmic rays that turn him into a Human Torch! His passion for hot rods and hot girls is matched only by his love for life as a high-flying master of flame!

The Thing

Test pilot and former football star Benjamin J. Grimm is Reed Richards’ only choice to pilot their ill-fated journey into space. Ben takes being “rough around the edges” to new heights when he is transformed into a mightily muscled monster carved from orange rock. His transformation is an incredible weight on him, but he finds more strength in his wife and kids than he ever gained from cosmic rays!

Friends, enemies, and paraphernalia

Like any great super team, the Fantastic Four have collected an array of allies and adversaries to add nuance and excitement to their adventures, as well as a cool collection of vehicles housed in an amazing Manhattan headquarters. (You can see some of them in Figure 2 below!) Here, I’ll share with you some of the supporting characters and concepts that help make the FF great!

Alicia Masters-Grimm

This blind sculptress meets the FF and the Thing, when she is used as a pawn in the villainous efforts of her evil stepfather, the Puppet Master. Initially drawn to Ben’s innate strength and kindness, she has become a supportive wife, a fierce protector of their adopted children, and a capable ally to the entire team.

Franklin Richards

Oldest of the Richards children, Franklin has inherited his parents’ cosmic legacy and might be the most powerful being in the universe. Determined to be as normal a kid as possible, Franklin only allows himself access to his powers one day a year.

Valeria Richards

The youngest of the Richards children and perhaps the only person in the universe smarter than her father, Valeria is always out to prove that intelligence is a good enough super power to be in the Fantastic Four!

Doctor Doom

The Fantastic Four’s archenemy and the premier villain in the Marvel Universe, Victor von Doom bends his incredible intelligence and advanced battle armor to his twin goals: ruling the world and the destruction of the Fantastic Four.

Galactus

One of the most powerful beings in the universe, Galactus sustains himself by consuming the energies of life-giving planets. He is led to new worlds by a series of cosmically powered heralds. Defeated and ultimately saved by the Fantastic Four, he has sworn not to destroy the Earth — but he also will do as he must.

The Silver Surfer

Galactus’s first herald, the Silver Surfer finds himself an ally of the Fantastic Four when refuses to allow Galactus to consume the life energy of the Earth. Gifted with a portion of the World Devourer’s Power Cosmic, the Surfer now soars the spaceways in search of adventure and opportunities to help those less powerful than himself.

The Frightful Four

This rotating roster of super villains is driven by greed and an overwhelming need to prove themselves against the Fantastic Four.

The Future Foundation

Both advanced school and high-level think tank, the Future Foundation is formed by Reed Richards as a place to push the boundaries of science and to teach the superintelligent children of the Marvel Universe.

The Baxter Building

Both home and headquarters to the Fantastic Four, the Baxter Building stands in midtown Manhattan. It has served both the FF and the Future Foundation and is one of most advanced laboratory facilities in the world.

The Fantasticars

These high-flying modular vehicles were built by Reed Richards and Johnny Storm to allow the team to respond rapidly to any threat.

A Fantastic Four timeline

A quick caveat: The dates presented here are in real time. The Marvel Universe operates under a sliding timescale; in the comics themselves, the Fantastic Four got their powers approximately 15 years ago — all of their adventures took place in that time period.

1961: While testing a spaceship of Reed Richards’ design, our heroes are exposed to the cosmic rays that turn them into the Fantastic Four!

1962: Doctor Doom attacks the Fantastic Four for the first time.

1962: Ben Grimm meets Alicia Masters

1965: In a wedding attacked and protected by scores of super-beings, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl become man and wife.

1965: The Silver Surfer leads Galactus to Earth for the first time. The Fantastic Four defeat Galactus with the Surfer’s help.

1966: The Fantastic Four meets the Black Panther in the African nation of Wakanda.

1968: Franklin Richards is born.

1985: The Invisible Girl becomes the Invisible Woman.

1999: Valeria Richards is born.

2019: Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters are married after an extremely long courtship.

2020: Ben and Alicia adopt the alien children Jo-Venn and N’Kalla.

Where to find the Fantastic Four

If you don’t have enough cosmic rays in your life and want to dig deeper into Marvel’s First Family, this should get you started!

Books

Many of the best runs of Fantastic Four have been collected into books, both hardbound and trade paperback. These treasuries give readers access to some of the oldest and hardest to find Fantastic Four stories ever published!

• Marvel Masterworks: Hardcover editions reprinting Fantastic Four comics from back in the day
• Epic Collections:Large trade paperbacks reprinting big chunks of the Fantastic Four series, including some runs that are otherwise hard to find in collected editions.
• Marvel Omnibuses:Massive hardcover bookshelf editions that contain dozens of comics.
• Fantastic Four - Visionaries: A series of collections highlighting the work of particular creators associated with the Fantastic Four.

Comics

Let’s be real, the Fantastic Four got their start in comics and that’s probably still the best way to read them! A new issue of Fantastic Four drops every month and you can find them in select bookstores or in your local comic shop. (Can’t find a comic book store? Never fear! Try www.comicshoplocator.com!)

Digital Comics

If you’re like me and your wife doesn’t want any more boxes of comics taking up space in your home, digital comics just might be the way to go. Hundreds of Fantastic Four comics are available on the Marvel Unlimited app or can be purchased outright on Amazon/Comixology. If you have a library card, many comics and graphic novels can be checked out digitally through the library website.

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