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History

Early Life[]

Much of Reed Richards' early history is mirrored by his Earth-616 counterpart.

In his youth, Reed fought in World War II, getting to know future master spy Nick Fury.[1]

In a bid win the space race, Reed, Susan Storm, Benjamin Grimm and Johnny Storm performed an unauthorized launch of a space-shuttle, despite the warnings of the pilot Ben Grimm in regards to the dangers of cosmic rays and the ship's untested shielding. The shuttle crashed, but not before the group were exposed to a sizeable dose of cosmic radiation, causing all of them to mutate. Together they formed the superhero group known as the Fantastic Four and would go on to have countless adventures. Reed eventually married Susan Storm, and they had a son by the name of Franklin.[2]

At some point during his adventures, unaware of Galactus' role as a cosmic equalizer intended to stop the Celestials from inadvertently ending the universe, Reed turned him into a star.[3]

Eventually, Reed's discovery of the Negative Zone was made known to the United Nations. To Reed's horror, the United Nations used the Negative Zone as a dumping ground for nuclear weaponry, toxic waste, and undesirables who could not be held in human prisons. Legislation was even being worked on that would have resulted in the exile of mutantkind to the Negative Zone.[2]

Despairing that his discoveries were only seen as vistas for exploitation, Reed destroyed all Negative Zone portals and any means of travelling to different dimensions, and instead focused his efforts on discovering ways to transcend the natural limits of Earth.[2]

Reed began experimenting with Vibranium in an effort to create an efficient and limitless energy resource, believing that solving the energy crisis would unify the world. He funded his research with diamonds from an underground valley he had discovered during a battle with the Mole Man. He conceived of a way of converting vibranium into sound waves which could then be reconverted into enough power to satisfy the needs of the world. His idea received the support of the great powers and the United Nations, leading to the construction of receiving stations around the world. However, a fluke accident involving one of the stations' technicians caused an explosion that was transmitted across the relay towers, triggering explosions all over the world. [4]

This coincided with the mutation of the world's population due to Black Bolt releasing the Terrigen Mist into the Earth's atmosphere. Since Black Bolt's actions were done in secret, Reed was unaware of the true reason for the mutation of humanity, and blamed himself, believing that the explosions of his relay stations had caused the mutations.[4]

Mutation of Humanity[]

The mutation of humanity led to complete anarchy, as people found themselves deformed and superpowered over night. Barricading himself in the Baxter Building, Reed worked day and night to try and reverse the mutations, aided by super-scientist colleagues such as Bruce Banner, Henry McCoy, Hank Pym and Tony Stark.[5]

When the last unmutated human, a child by the name of David Jarrett was found by Ghost Rider, Reed took him in and began running experiments on him. Due to the machinations of Norman Osborn and the fact that many in New York City blamed Reed and other heroes for what had happened to them, the Baxter building was stormed by a mob of mutated humans. Despite doing their best to hold the mob at bay and defend David, he was killed in the fighting, before order could be restored.[6]

By now, Reed and Sue's son Franklin had grown to adulthood and had begun joining the Fantastic Four on missions. One such mission brought the Fantastic Four to the United Nations to stop Namor and Doctor Doom from slaughtering the delegates there. Namor was protesting the UN's refusal to recognize Atlantis and humanity's dependence on aquatic life as a source for food in light of a global meat shortage.[2]

During the ensuing battle, the Human Torch was killed by Namor, causing Franklin to lash out with his powers. He cursed Namor, making it so that half of his body would forever burn while out of water, prompting Namor to retreat. Doom plotted to kill Reed using a bomb that was wired into his armor, and planned to teleport his body away leaving his foes to believe both Reed and Doom were killed. But Doom was chased away by a maddened Invisible Woman. Doom detonated his bomb, and due to a malfunction in his armor both he and Sue perished in the blast.[2]

Not long after this, the Avengers were killed in battle against the Absorbing Man. The Absorbing Man's rampage was stopped by the Vision, who tricked him into turning into stone before shattering him into pieces. Reed was one of many heroes entrusted with a piece of the Absorbing Man.[7]

Shortly thereafter Franklin and Reed traveled to Wundagore Mountain. The High Evolutionary, the Silver Surfer, and Adam Warlock had become aware that Reed's turning Galactus into a star had upset the delicate balance of the universe. Franklin agreed to allow the High Evolutionary to use his equipment to accelerate his mutation, allowing him to be shaped by the perceptions of others. Accompanied by the Silver Surfer, Franklin lost his real identity and came to believe that he was Galactus, leaving Earth to carry on his grim task.[8]

While Reed vowed he would not allow this, he kept the secret of this new Galactus and would not reveal the truth for years to come. Sometime after his son became Galactus, Reed had taken to wearing Dr. Doom's armor and living in Doom's old castle, taking the deceased monarch's place while trying to figure out how the entire planet was mutated. He spent months in solitude with nobody but the Doombots and a hologram of Susan to keep him company. He began keeping a diary and often contemplated using Doom's time machine to change history, but always refrained from doing so.[2]

The Final Host[]

Years later, Reed was approached by the Inhuman Royal Family who had returned to Earth to find their dispersed nation as well as the son of Black Bolt and Medusa, who was promised to marry his cousin Luna Maximoff. In learning what Reed believed to be the reason for humanity's mutation, the Inhumans also told him of the long missing Eternals, whom the Inhumans had found floating through space encased in vibranium, among the shattered fragments of a planet.[4]

Helping the Inhumans find their people, Reed traveled to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and collected Professor Xavier's Cerebro machine. Using his own stretching powers to stretch his brain to match Xavier's own and modifying Cerebro, Reed then used the device to try and track the missing Inhumans. He soon found out that everybody on the planet had Inhuman physiology.[9]

Confronting the Inhumans about this, Reed was told that during their final confrontation with Black Bolt's mad brother Maximus, the insane brother had created a bomb that would release the Terrigen Mists planet wide. They had thought that with Maximus' defeat the threat of the bomb was ended, however it was soon revealed that Black Bolt set it off himself to prevent his people (who were leaving the Hidden Land for the outside world) from being persecuted as mutants and dying due to the polluted air of the outside world.[10]

Soon afterwards, Reed was confronted by X-51, who had been watching the Earth on behalf of Uatu, the Earth's former Watcher who had been blinded by Black Bolt years ago. X-51 revealed to Reed that the Celestials had manipulated the human race to mutate into super-beings in order to defend the Celestial embryo in the core of the Earth that would destroy the planet upon its birth. Furthermore, he revealed that the Final Host of Celestials was en route to scour Earth of all life, as the premature mutation of humanity endangered their embryo.[10]

Reed convinced Black Bolt to contact Galactus and returned to the moon with X-51, confronting Uatu, who had been charged with ensuring the survival of the Celestial embryo and had manipulated Reed and humanity into unknowingly defending it. Black Bolt battled the Celestials in Earth orbit, and although he perished in combat he was able to summon Galactus to Earth with his dying breath by calling him by his true name; Franklin.[11]

After Galactus defeated the Celestials in New York Harbor, Reed himself asked Galactus to spare the people of Earth and destroy the Celestial embryo growing in the planet without eradicating everyone on the surface. By making Galactus believe that the people of the universe believed him to be compassionate and merciful, he succeeded in making it so. Galactus destroyed the embryo, and Reed resisted the temptation of revealing the truth to his son.[12]

Soon after, Reed and the Earth's heroes began construction of what would be called the "Human Torches", built out of his old Vibranium relay towers. These torches would burn the Terrigen Mists from the air so that Reed could find a way to reverse the mutations. Just as the first Human Torch was unveiled to the public, an exhausted Reed fell asleep and encountered deceased hero Captain Mar-Vell. Mar-Vell revealed his part in saving the Earth from the Celestials, and told Reed he was returning from the dead to save everyone. He asked Reed to hide him upon his return.[12]

Reed He resumed residence at Castle Doom with the Thing and his family as well as Adam Warlock and Her, who was pregnant with child. This child would be the reincarnation of Mar-Vel.[12]

Universe X[]

Mar-Vell's rebirth as an unmutated human made him the target of fearful mobs, who viewed the unmutated child and Reed's plans to burn away the Terrigen Mists as a threat to their newfound superpowers. Desperate to hide Mar-Vell, Reed contacted the one person he believed no one would suspect him of working with; Prince Namor. Mar-Vell was sent to Atlantis, where he was protected by Namor and cared for by Agatha Harkness.[13]

After 3 years it became apparent that the death of the Celestial embryo in Earth's core had destabilized the planet's polar axis causing the poles to shift and ecological disasters across the planet. Most of humanity (in part thanks to the propaganda created by Immortus and Mr. Church -- whom was really Mephisto in disguise) believed this was due to the Torches leading to constant attempts to put them out.[13]

Now three-years old, Mar-Vell returned to Castle Doom and gave Reed a gift. Following his rebirth, Mar-Vell now existed as a binary being, both in the Land of the Dead and in the world of the living. Using Adam Warlock's Soul Stone, Alicia Masters' powers and Reed own arm, Mar-Vell was able to resurrect Sue Storm, reuniting Reed with his dead wife.[13]

An invigorated Reed turned his attention to solving the ecological disasters plaguing Earth. However, mounting pressure from the mutated humanity prevented Reed from being able to find a solution to the problem as he and his family spent most of their time defending Latveria's human torch. When the castle was stormed by mutated humans, it took the aid of Ransak the Reject and other deformed mutates known as the Monster Generation to save the Torch from falling. However during the course of the battle the Tong of Creel stole the piece of the Absorbing Man that Reed was safeguarding and Mephisto stole Dr. Doom's time machine in hopes of tricking Immortus into using it to change history, and thus create yet another parallel world for him to escape into.[8]

After the battle, Reed had decided to give up and take his chances in space, and began loading his family, the Monster Generation and the Inhumans into the Inhumans' own ship in hopes of escaping the planet before it was destroyed by its own repolarization. However, this was not meant to be, as the newly resurrected Absorbing Man sacrificed his own life in order to prevent the planet from destroying itself. During this time in the Realm of the Dead, Mar-Vel also succeeded in killing Death and setting up his own Paradise in this realm for those who had died.[14][15]

Paradise X[]

The destruction of Death would have great ramifications for the living. With Death's passing nobody on Earth was able to die, and with Mephisto mortally wounding people the world over, soon the Human Torches were converted into giant hospitals. Reed and his family soon converted Castle Doom into a waiting room for the would-be dead.[16] Calling together the greatest minds of the planet, Reed argued in favor of the need to find a new Death.[17]

They soon found themselves traveling to the Florida Everglades, in search of Jude the Entropic Man whom the Thing and Captain America had fought years ago. Reed with the help of others managed to capture Jude and come up with a way to synthetically duplicate his entropic touch in order to use it to ease the suffering of the dead.[18] However, Mephisto plotted to use Jude as a tool of revenge against the heroes and set Jude free, with the understanding that Jude would kill Reed's wife Susan[19]

Narrowly escaping Jude, Reed and the world's heroes became aware that Mar-Vel's new Paradise was threatening to swallow the Negative Zone, and all points beyond, and decided to investigate. With Mar-Vell's living, human form having become separated from his deceased Kree self, doubts about Mar-Vell's intentions began to mount.[17][20]

Reed jumped into the giant antimatter star that was the gateway to Paradise and was lost to all waiting for him. The heroes sent Hyperion after Reed, but Hyperion was killed when he tried to follow Reed into the black sun that orbited over Paradise and soon found himself involved in the battle there against the Kree.[21]

Inside the star, Reed was confronted by Mar-Vel who explained that Paradise wasn't destroying everything in its path, but instead shielding it from the influence of the Elders of the Universe and the Celestials. He revealed that the chaos that had been unleashed onto Earth and Paradise was Mar-Vell's way of ending the cycle of violence once and for all, before ending the Kree's attempted invasion. Mar-Vell chose to pass his omniscience to Reed, making him the new Eternity. Freeing his brother-in-law Johnny from his own paradise-gone-bad, Reed announced his intentions to save his son.[22]

Attributes

Powers

Reed's original powers included the ability to stretch his body, these powers matched his Earth-616 counterpart. However it was revealed by Mar-Vell that Reed had reached his third tier of mutation and his abilities were limitless only in the effect that so long as others believed him to have certain abilities he was limited only to stretch. This was yet another reason Mar-Vell was able to return Susan Richards from the dead using one of Reed's own arms. However Reed's ability to stretch had become hampered due to lack of use. He later stretched his brain to match that of Charles Xavier, giving him telepathic abilities that as yet have not been fully explored, nor have any limitations been made apparent other than lack of experience. Sue gained Reed's abilities, and Reed was able to reattach himself to hear and utilize his powers through her as well. When he was given the Cosmic Consciousness by Mar-Vell, Reed essentially became a god, capable of doing anything he could imagine. He became omnipotent and was able to alter reality and matter as well as travel to other dimensions. Limitations while possession of the Cosmic Consciousness, if any, are unknown.

Abilities

Similar if not greater to his Earth-616 counterpart.

Weaknesses

For a time, Reed only had one arm.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

For a time Reed wore a suit of Dr. Doom's armor, which presumably contained all the devices and abilities that Doom's armor possesses. Reed seldom utilized it's powers except to create a small holographic image of his wife Sue. He never wore Doom's mask. Later Reed developed a gun that would mimic Sue Richards' invisible force field, he'd go on to use this to trap Jude. Later he wore a special space suit that allowed him to pass through the antimatter star in the Negative Zone, it had a mechanical arm in place of his missing one. Other than its ability to keep Reed safe in the harsh environs of the Negative Zone and protect him from the barrier between the Zone and Paradise any other abilities are yet unknown. For a time Reed used a modified version of Cerebro, which was able to identify those of the Inhuman race.

Transportation

Many devices similar to Earth-616, later Reed transported himself using the tuning fork that once was at the brow of the Inhuman royal pet, Lockjaw, which retained its ability to teleport people.

See Also

Links and References

References

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