Mister Fantastic

Real Name
Reed Richards

Occupation
Scientist, adventurer; former computer technician, university professor, student

Citizenship
United States of America

Place of Birth
Central City, California

Known Relatives
Susan Richards (Invisible Woman, wife), Franklin Richards (son), Valeria Richards (daughter), Johnny Storm (Human Torch, brother-in-law), Evelyn Richards (mother, deceased), Nathaniel Richards (father), Major John Richards (grandfather), Franklin Storm (father-in-law, deceased), Mary Storm (mother-in-law, deceased), Cassandra Richards (Warlord, stepmother, deceased), unnamed Richards child (half-brother), Tara Richards (Huntara, half-sister), Kristoff Vernard (alleged half-brother); Kang, his divergent counterparts, and offspring (common ancestry)

Group Affiliation
Fantastic Four, the Illuminati; formerly Knights of the Atomic Table, Avengers, Defenders associate

Education
Multiple scientific doctorates in fields such as engineering, math and physics from California State Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Harvard and State University, and others

Height
6'1" (variable)

Weight
180 lbs.

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Brown, graying at temples

Powers
Mister Fantastic can shift his body (or portions of same) into a super-malleable state, enabling him to stretch, compress, expand, deform, elongate, contract or otherwise reshape his physical form at will. He can stretch his limbs, neck and torso to incredible lengths, though extending himself beyond approximately 1500 feet is a serious physical strain. When assuming non-humanoid shapes, he tends to favor simple constructs such as barricades, canopies, cylinders, cubes, nets, parachutes and spheres, generally assuming a volume of no greater than 1.7 cubic feet (though he can expand far beyond that volume if the shape he forms is thin-shelled and hollow). He can render himself paper-thin, or become slim enough in diameter to thread the eye of a needle. His malleable form renders him relatively immune to most conventional impacts; for instance, bullets fired into his body tend to bounce back at the shooter, and he can bodily contain small explosions. It is almost impossible to lacerate or puncture his skin unless he consciously allows such penetrations. By reshaping his features, Reed can disguise himself at will.

Abilities
Reed Richards is perhaps the greatest living genius of his time, proficient in almost all fields of science and technology, a visionary theoretician and inspired machine smith who has made breakthroughs in such varied fields as space travel, time travel, extra-dimensional travel, biochemistry, robotics, computers, synthetic polymers, communications, mutations, transportation, holography, energy generation, spectral analysis and more. He is also a natural leader and a gifted tactician and strategist.

Other Info
Reed Richards was born to Evelyn and Nathaniel Richards. His father, Nathaniel, was a scientific genius whose inventions and discoveries made their family very wealthy. Reed's mother, Evelyn, died when Reed was only seven years old. His father raised him which led Reed to become the genius that he is today. Reed took college-level courses at age 14, attended four different universities, and earned various degrees before he was out of his teens. (To learn a more about Reed's father, click on his name above.)

While attending State, Reed met a fellow student named Victor Von Doom. Victor refused Reed's offer to room with him. So instead of rooming with Victor, Richards roomed with football scholarship recipient, Ben Grimm (aka the future Thing), who would become Reed's best friend. Amused by Reed's dream of someday creating a starship, Ben jokingly promised that he would fly the ship if Reed ever built it. While at State, Doom pursued a rivalry with Reed, trying to prove himself the superior intellect. One time Richards try to warn Doom about Doom's miscalculations when building a machine, but Victor didn't believe Reed and the machine ended up blowing up in Victor's face, leaving Doom badly scarred and expelled from the university. (To learn about the above highlighted characters, just click on their names.)

While attending Columbia, Reed met Sue Storm (aka the future Invisible Woman), his landlady's niece. Reed also befriended Sue's younger brother, Johnny (aka the future Human Torch). Later, Reed ended up traveling a bit when he was pursuing a mystical artifact. This is where he proposed to a colleague. She refused, but they have stayed friends. Richards returned to America. Reed was able to secure government funding for his starship project and persuaded his old friend, Ben Grimm (now a successful test pilot and astronaut), to fly the ship for their mission. Sue and Johnny Storm insisted on sharing the risk with Reed and Ben and they came along for the ride. The four successfully launched into space, but intense cosmic rays penetrated the ship's shielding and irradiated the crew, forcing them back to Earth. Back on Earth, the four discovered that the cosmic rays had mutated them into superhumans, with Reed gaining stretching powers. Now with their powers, the four became the Fantastic Four and Reed became the leader known as Mister Fantastic. Reed used his scientific genius, remaining family fortune and the income from his patents to fund and equip the new team, establishing their high-tech headquarters in the Baxter Building. (One of Reed's most lucrative, well-known and widely used inventions is the material known as "unstable molecules" which is generally used to fashion extraordinarily durable fabrics that adapt to the form and physical state of their wearers-giving Reed, for instance, an outfit that stretches along with him.) (To learn about the above characters, team, and place, just click on their names above.)

Mister Fantastic led the Fantastic Four against many foes, notably Namor the Sub-Mariner, a misguided Atlantean warrior who became Reed's rival for Sue's affections; the Wizard, an evil genius who founded his own criminal Frightful Four in envious imitation of Richards; and Reed's old college foe Victor Von Doom, who had become the armored super-villain named Doctor Doom and had seized the throne of his native Latveria. Determined to conquer the world and destroy Richards, Doom quickly became the Fantatsic Four's most frequent opponent. Namor, meanwhile, became a valued friend and ally to the Fantatsic Four, even though Sue ultimately married Reed.

After Reed and Sue were married, they had their first child, Franklin. Franklin proved to be a vastly powerful mutant whose fluctuating abilities have alternately saved or menaced both the Fantastic Four and the world, forcing Reed to take steps to contain Franklin's powers; on one such occasion, Franklin's mind was temporarily shut down. Follwing this, Sue became angry and left her husband and quit the team. She was replaced for a short time, but she returned and reclaimed her spot on the team after she and Reed finally worked things out. (There has been many occasions where the Fantastic Four have broken up, but eventually they come back together and reform their team.)

Reed and Sue's second child was stillborn despite Reed's frantic efforts to save their unborn baby. However, years later, a surprising resurrection resulted during the Fantastic Four's reality-warping conflict with the cosmic being Abraxas. Reed's son, Franklin, revealed to his parents that he had used his powers to rescue Sue's seemingly stillborn second child years earlier. As a side-effect of Abraxas' defeat, the child was restored to her original state, as an unborn child in Sue's womb. This time, Sue's pregnancy resulted in the birth of a healthy baby girl. (To learn about Abraxas, click on this name above.)

During a team breakup, both Reed and Sue were invited to join the Avengers which both reluctantly agreed to join. After a a couple short missions with the Avengers they decided to quit due to leadership differences between Mister Fantastic, who he used to being the leader, and Captain America. However, they two still remain friends and allies with the Avengers. (To learn about the Avengers or Captain America, click on their highlighted names above.)

At one point, Reed led the Fantastic Four to Latveria to try to dismantle Doom's regime, neurtalize his arsenal, erase Doom's legacy, and create a beter state while Doom was absent. Unfortunately, Mister Fantastic became increasingly tyrannical himself in the process and ignored threats of international criminal charges from the United Nations. Dr. Doom returned, and the Fanatastic Four returned to America where their standing with the authorities and their reputation with the general public had taken a terrible beating due to the Latverian controversy. Reed was even forced to sign over most of his patents to the government as part of a deal to escape prosecution.

Reed Richards joined Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) who took the lead in the Superhero Registration initiative which lead to the act that required all super-powered beings to register as living weapons of mass destruction and it required all costumed heroes to unmask themselves before the government and subject themselves to federally mandated standards. Mister Fantastic was eager to put his scientific abilities to use in the capture and imprisonment of unregistered heroes. This decision created a rift between Reed and Sue that expanded when Reed spent more time working on his blueprints than visiting his brother-in-law in the hospital (an angry mob had attacked Johnny outside of a nightclub). Sue soon left and joined the anti-Registration side, led by their mutual friend, Captain America. Even though Mister Fantastic was on the winning side, he was left to put back together the pieces of a family and a team who joined against him before surrendering to the law.

To learn more about Mister Fantastic and the different break ups with the Fantastic Four, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Mister_Fantastic.