Team NameFantastic Four
Baxter Building, New York, New York. Formerly Four Freedoms Plaza; Antarctic Laboratory; Pier 4
Other Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.)
Lyja the Lazerfist
Other Info
While a student at Empire State University, Reed Richards began working on plans for one of the first vehicles capable of interstellar travel. His roommate and best friend, Ben Grimm, jokingly promised to pilot the craft if Reed was able to build it. But, after studying to be an aeronautical engineer, Reed finally realized his lifelong dream. Exhausting the majority of his vast inheritance, he funded the construction and launch of such a starship. However, other financers, particularly the U.S. government, were losing interest and they threatened to cut off their funding of the project. Therefore, Reed embarked on an immediate unauthorized test flight (Reed's longtime sweetheart and fiancée Susan Storm and her younger brother Johnny insisted on joining Reed on the flight and Ben Grimm was convinced to pilot the rocket). Once in space, the rocket was bombarded by a wave of cosmic radiation which resulted in the their craft crashing back on Earth. When the four emerged from the ruins, they had discovered that the radiation had mutated their bodies: Reed gained the ability to stretch his body and limbs, Johnny was able to fly and become engulfed in flames he could control, Sue was able to bend light around her body and become invisible, and Ben gained incredible strength and durability--but his body was tragically transformed into a muscular orange, rock-like hide. (To learn about the school and/or the Fantastic Four members, just click on the highlighted names above. Beware of the form-fitting outfit worn by one on Johnny Storm's bio page.)
After this, all four decided to use their powers to better humanity and founded the Fantastic Four. Individually, they called themselves Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing. The team established their headquarters atop the Baxter Building in midtown Manhattan. (Noah Baxter, a friend and fellow inventor, helped Reed Richards purchase the Baxter building). The profits from Reed's patents and royalties continued to fund the team's goal to safeguard the world from any and all threats beyond the purview of conventional peacekeeping forces. In addition, the team also the became very involved with new scientific discovery, such as the discovery of the parallel dimension known as the Negative Zone. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the building, character, and/or place.)
The Fantastic Four first put its abilities on public display when the subterranean Mole Man attempted to annihilate the entire human race by destroying Earth's power plants and unleashing an army of gigantic monsters. However, the Fantastic Four were able to fight off the Mole Man's threat. Soon afterward, the Fantastic Four were thrown into conflict with the shape-shifting alien race known as the Skrulls. After this (and many more public adventures), the Fantastic Four soon became worldwide celebrities, and their exploits showed up in newspapers, comic books, and on television. (To learn about the above highlighted character and/or race, click on their names above.)
Later on, after a battle with the Miracle Man, Johnny left the team and encountered the World War II hero Namor, the Sub-Mariner living as an amnesiac. Recognizing Namor from comic books, Johnny dropped him into the sea--hoping to restore his memory. His plan worked; however, after Namor found Atlantis in ruins, he declared war on humanity. Johnny ended up rejoining the Fantastic Four and together they drove Namor back into the sea. (To learn about the characters and/or place highlighted above, just click on their name.)
Meanwhile, Reed's former college rival Victor von Doom became the villainous "Doctor Doom." Doom's attempts at world domination forced the Fantastic Four to face him time and time again. In addition to Doom, the Fantastic Four went head to head with many threats including, Kurrgo, the Impossible Man, the Super-Skrull, and the Molecule Man. One time, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers had to team up when the Hulk attacked New York in his most destructive rampage yet. In addition, due to the schemes of the Puppet Master and the Mad Thinker the Fantastic Four even had to go up against the X-Men at one point. (To learn about any of the highlighted characters above, just click on their names.)
Eventually, Reed and Sue were married, which became a celebrity event. In addition, the wedding was attended by the Avengers and most of the world's heroes.
Later on, despite Utau the Watcher's efforts to hide it, Galactus came to Earth determined to consume the energy-rich planet; however, his herald, the Silver Surfer, rebelled. In addition, Reed Richards thwarted Galactus by threatening to use an alien device called the Ultimate Nullifier on him (a doomsday weapon that could lay waste to the universe and kill even Galactus). Galactus was forced to vow to spare Earth in exchange for the Nullifier's return. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters and/or item.)
Later on, Reed and Sue found out that they were going to have a baby. Due to a difficult pregnancy for Sue, she temporarily left the team. During this time (Johnny's girlfriend) Crystal joined the Fantastic Four. At the last moment, to save the unborn child, the Fantastic Four had to visit the Negative Zone and borrow the Cosmic Control Rod of Annihilus. Reed and Sue's child, Franklin, manifested strong and unusual powers almost immediately. When Annihilus found this out, he kidnapped Franklin to tap into those powers. Due to this, Franklin's powers increased exponentially, and Reed felt he had no choice but to inhibit Franklin's mental activity. Outraged by her husband's actions, Sue left Reed and took Franklin with her. During Sue Storm's absense, the Inhuman Medusa took her place. The old bonds, though, eventually drew Sue back to the team. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters, item, and/or race. Note: Beware of the very revealing/form-fitting outfits worn by Medusa on her and the Inhumans' bio pages. Also, pictures of Crystal and Medusa are shown in the forth picture posted above--Medusa is the far left and Crystal is the second from the right.)
In another membership shake-up, when Ben Grimm temporarily lost his powers, Reed Richards hired the mercenary Power Man to take his place on the team. However, this lasted only until Reed could finish an armored exoskeleton for Ben. (To learn about Power-Man, just click on his highlighted name above. Power-Man is shown in the forth picture posted above on the far right.)
At one point, the Fantastic Four were among the various heroes transported to the distant "Battleworld" created by the alien Beyonder for the first of the so-called "Secret Wars." After defeating the Beyonder, the Thing refused to return to Earth with the heroes--happy to have found the ability to transform into his human form at will on this planet. The Thing then asked She-Hulk to take his place on the team. (To learn about the above highlighted place, characters, and/or event, just click on their names above. Note: Beware of the very form-fitting/revealing outfits on the She-Hulk and the Beyonder's bio page)
Later, during an extended trip to the Negative Zone (a sort of second honeymoon) Sue conceived another child. This unborn daughter began to give off radiation. Despite bringing in fellow scientists and radiation experts Bruce Banner, Michael Morbius, Walter Langkowski, and Otto 
Octavius, Reed Richards was unable to save his daughter, Valeria, who appeared to be stillborn. (However, it was later revealed that Franklin had actually "saved" his sister by sending her to another dimension and raised there.) (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the different characters.)
When the Thing returned months later, he was distraught to find that his former girlfriend, Alicia Masters, had begun a relationship with his teammate, Johnny Storm. The Thing quit the Fantastic Four to wander the country for a time, and She-Hulk remained in his stead. (It was later revealed that this woman was not the real Alicia, but the Skrull Lyja.) (Click on Alicia and/or Lyja's highlighted names above learn more about them.)
At one point, the Baxter Building came under attack Kristoff Vernard (a youth who had been programmed to believe he was Doctor Doom) and shot the building into space and destroyed it. Afterwards, instead of rebuilding the old building, Reed Richards designed and oversaw the construction of a new tower, named Four Freedoms Plaza. (Click on the names above to learn about the highlighted character and/or place.)
Later on, the Thing rejoined the team and She-Hulk returned to the Avengers. Soon after this, Reed and Sue Richards announced they were leaving the Fantastic Four to focus on raising their son, and they left Ben in charge. During this time, Ben recruited Crystal and Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura) to join him and Johnny as the Fantastic Four. At one point, both the Thing and Ms. Marvel were subject to another shuttle accident, bombarding them both with cosmic rays. This mutated Ben further into a spiky-hided Thing, and turned it Ms. Marvel into a "She-Thing." (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about the characters. Note: Beware of the revealing/form-fitting outfits on Ms. Marvel's bio page. Also, the fourth picture posted shows Ms. Marvel in her "She-Thing" form.)
After the return of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisble Woman to the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom lured a powerful alien entity known as Hunger to his nation of Latveria--he wanted its power. In the subsequent battle both Reed and Doom apparently died. Sue refused to believe that her husband had died; however, in Reed's absence, she took over leadership of the Fantastic Four. In addition, she recruited Ant-Man (Scott Lang) as the team's new scientist. Sue also formed an alliance with Namor during this time. (To learn about the above highlighted characters, just click on their names.)
Eventually, the team discovered that Reed and Doctor Doom had not died, but were snatched moments before death by the villain Hyperstorm. During the subsequent rescue mission, Doom was able to escape; however, with the help of the planet-devouring Galactus the Fantastic Four were able to defeat Hyperstorm. Upon the Fantastic Four's return, Ant-Man and Namor parted company. (To learn about Hyperstorm, just on his name above.)
Soon afterwards, Franklin Richards was kidnapped by the psychic being known as Onslaught. In order to defeat this villain, the Fantastic Four allied with the Avengers, the X-Men, the Inhumans, Doctor Doom, and others. The insane battle ended with the apparent deaths of most of the heroes present. However, the team was instead saved by Franklin Richards, who created a pocket dimension called "Counter-Earth" to keep them all safe. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Thunderbolts moved into the Four Freedoms Plaza. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the character, place, and/or team.)
After several months away, the missing heroes returned back to Earth. The Fantastic Four decided to not worry about their old headquarters and created a new warehouse headquarters called Pier 4. (To learn about Pier 4, click on the highlighted name above.)
Later on, their reputation with the general public had taken a terrible beating due to a controversy in Latveria. The Fantastic Four broke up, Reed and Sue split up, and Reed was even forced to sign over most of his patents to the government as part of a deal to escape prosecution. However, soon afterward, the team once again came back together. Reed led them in rebuilding the Baxter Building, their finances, and their reputations.
During the time of the super-human Civil War, Johnny Storm was beat into a coma during a visit to a nightclub. The furthering of the tension between super-humans led to the team to split once again. Mr. Fantastic supported the Superhuman Registration Act, while Sue and Johnny joined the Resistance. The Thing announced that while he thought the registration was wrong, he was also not going to fight the government, so he left the country for France. However, during the final battle of the Civil War, Reed shielded Sue from an attack by the Taskmaster and was severely wounded. In the aftermath of the war, Sue and Johnny were granted amnesty. In addition, Sue and Reed took a leave from the team to work on their marriage. In their place, the recently married Black Panther and Storm filled in for them. (To learn about the super-human Civil War and/or the characters above, just click on their highlighted name above. Note: Beware of the EXTREMELY revealing outfit on Storm's bio page--block images, if possible.)
Much later, after Reed and Sue rejoined the team, the two were away on a mission when a group known as the "Cult of the Negative Zone" successfully made their way into the Baxter Building. The cult breached the portal to the Negative Zone, and once inside they managed to unleash what seemed to be an endless army of Annihilus Insectoid Soldiers upon Johnny, the currently powerless Ben, and the kids of the Future Foundation. It was apparent that Franklin had his powers back when he destroyed much of the army. The team pushed the rest of the army back into the Negative Zone; however, the only way to hold the army off permanently was by going through the portal and locking it from that side. Ben was prepared to make the sacrifice, but Johnny threw himself through the portal to do it instead, sealing himself inside the Negative Zone and bringing on an inevitable death. (Click on the highlighted name above to learn about the Future Foundation.)
More recently, while in the Negative Zone, Johnny was revived by Annihilus to participate in his "Gladiator competition." When Annihilus was planning a new Annihilation Wave to enter Earth, Johnny and the Light Brigade rebelled and took Annihilus prisoner. Using the Cosmic Control Rod, the Human Torch became the new ruler of the Negative Zone. Soon afterward, the Fantastic Four was reformed. (Click on the the names above to learn about the highlighted event and/or group)
I like it when you post about groups/ teams- it's cool =)
ReplyDelete