Mister Fantastic in the MC2

 

By now Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been in cinema for a while, and I want to finish my quartet of posts delving into the MC2 Universe’s own founding members of the Fantastic Four …. or the Fantastic Five, as they became in this world. For today, let’s look at the big brain of the Fantastic Four, the most flexible and elastic Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic in the MC2.

 

All four core members of Marvel’s First Family debuted in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1961 title Fantastic Four #1, launching the very Marvel Universe itself as we know it today by depicting the fateful space launch which gave this famous four their powers.  

 

 

Unlike  Johnny Storm and Benjamin Grimm, or even Susan Richards, Reed’s first MC2 appearance is less straightforward. There is a cameo of the team in What If #105 which includes a shot of the H.E.R.B.I.E.-like Big Brain robot which Reed pilots remotely from the Negative Zone. Big Brain makes his full debut in Spider-Girl #3 but we don’t physically glimpse Richards himself until Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1 where we see Reed in flashbacks, before the dénouement of the issue reveals his hand…

 

Approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Franklin engaged Hyperstorm in a 'mind-war' on every plane of existence which ultimately left Hyperstorm comatose and apparently stripped Franklin of much of his god-like power (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4).

 

 Unfortunately, the doomsday device had already begun to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. When Reed Richards was forced to overload the device to stop it, Susan Richards attempted to shield him from the radiation with her force field. Caught in the blast radius, half of Reed's body was left in a melted and deformed state. With the reality rip still widening, Susan used her powers to hold the tear in place, with the strain leaving her in a coma and she was placed in suspended animation.

 

In the wake of the tragedy, The Fantastistation was built in the Negative Zone around the tear in reality. This allowed Reed to keep Sue company while she remained in suspended animation as he worked to slowly repair the hole in the fabric of reality (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Over the next few months, while the Fantastic Four remained in seclusion, rumours and speculation spread about the fate of Susan Richards despite the team never releasing details to the public. Reed developed the Big Brain robot to allow him to remain on the team by remotely controlling it from the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1).

 

It's not until Spider-Girl #87 that things change, with the cosmically empowered Apox the Omega Skrull heading into the Negative Zone to exact revenge on members of the Fantastic Five. During the battle, Reed Richards conceives a method to utilize Apox’s power cosmic to seal the tear in reality and in doing so, heal himself and allow Susan to awaken from her coma (Spider-Girl #88). Finally, a happy ending for the Fantastic Family.

 

While the couple do get some alone time on a vacation to another galaxy, it wouldn’t be long before they were drawn back into another universe-ending threat, this time orchestrated by devourer of worlds Galactus. But that’s a story for another time.

 

Until I find a way to stretch myself even thinner to reach my goals, I remain

 

frogoat

The Invisible Woman in the MC2

 

Marvel Studios has released The Fantastic Four: First Steps in cinema, and I’m inspired to continue delving into the MC2 Universe’s own founding members of the Fantastic Four …. or the Fantastic Five, as they became in this world. For today, let’s look at the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four, the heart of the team herself Susan Storm-Richards aka The Invisible Woman in the MC2.

 

All four core members of Marvel’s First Family debuted in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1961 title Fantastic Four #1, launching the very Marvel Universe itself as we know it today by depicting the fateful space launch which gave this famous four their powers.  

 

Unlike her brother Johnny Storm and Benjamin Grimm, Susan Richards didn’t make a cameo appearance in the pages of What If #105 where we saw a cameo appearance of the MC2’s Fantastic Five. It’s not until Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1 where we see Susan, albeit only in flashbacks, the most relevant being our first glimpse to a crucial event in Sue’s history…

 

Approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Franklin engaged Hyperstorm in a 'mind-war' on every plane of existence which ultimately left Hyperstorm comatose and apparently stripped Franklin of much of his god-like power (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4).

 

 Unfortunately, the doomsday device had already begun to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. When Reed Richards was forced to overload the device to stop it, Susan Richards attempted to shield him from the radiation with her force field. Caught in the blast radius, half of Reed's body was left in a melted and deformed state. With the reality rip still widening, Susan used her powers to hold the tear in place, with the strain leaving her in a coma and she was placed in suspended animation.

 

 

In the wake of the tragedy, The Fantastistation was built in the Negative Zone around the tear in reality. This allowed Reed to keep Sue company while she remained in suspended animation as he worked to slowly repair the hole in the fabric of reality (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Over the next few months, while the Fantastic Four remained in seclusion, rumours and speculation spread about the fate of Susan Richards despite the team never releasing details to the public. Reed developed the Big Brain robot to allow him to remain on the team by remotely controlling it from the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1).

 

It's not until Spider-Girl #87 that things change, with the cosmically empowered Apox the Omega Skrull heading into the Negative Zone to exact revenge on members of the Fantastic Five. During the battle, Reed Richards conceives a method to utilize Apox’s power cosmic to seal the tear in reality and in doing so, heal himself and allow Susan to awaken from her coma (Spider-Girl #88). Finally, a happy ending for the Fantastic Family!

 

After all that, it’s nice to end on a positive note especially because it speaks to the hopeful outlook of the MC2 overall. I’m enjoying these briefer posts and they leave space to explore more in the future.

 

Until I get to wear a see-through costume without controversy, I remain

 

frogoat

 

H.E.R.B.I.E. in the MC2

 

There’s this highly-anticipated movie on the horizon called Fantastic Four: First Steps from Marvel Studios. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? One of the aspects unique to this big-screen theatrical adaption of Marvel’s First Family is the debut of the robotic companion H.E.R.B.I.E. So, let’s look at the history of H.E.R.B.I.E. in the MC2.

 

H.E.R.B.I.E.’s origins lie outside the comics, having been conceived by Stan Lee for 1978’s The New Fantastic Four animated series as a replacement fourth member of the team when the Human Torch was unavailable for use due to a planned but never realized solo film. Fantastic Four co-creator and comic book legend Jack Kirby provided the design for the character.

H.E.R.B.I.E. or ‘Herbie’ was soon after introduced into the comics, making his (‘its’?) first appearance in the pages of Fantastic Four #209 by Marv Wolfman and John Byrne in 1979. Built by Reed Richards (and Master Xar of Xandar), it is revealed the animated series itself exists in-universe as a licenced product and that Reed offered the design to the producers as a replacement for Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch who was out of town that day and unable to sign a contract. According to Richards, H.E.R.B.I.E. stands for Humanoid Experimental Robotic B-Type Integrated Electronics.

Let us hop on over to the MC2 Universe now, where what appears to be a version of H.E.R.B.I.E. makes a cameo appearance as a member of the Fantastic Five in What If #105. But is this really H.E.R.B.I.E.? When we next see the Fantastic Five in Spider-Girl #3, we learn the public story that Reed Richards body was mangled in an accident, leading him to use a robotic form resembling H.E.R.B.I.E. albeit under the codename ‘Big Brain’.

 

We learn more of the mystery surrounding Reed’s accident in Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #1 when the Big Brain robot is destroyed. Soon after we see flashbacks to a battle in the Negative Zone about 5 years beforehand between the Fantastic Four and the villainous Hyperstorm. In the aftermath of this battle, a doomsday device had already begun to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. When Reed Richards was forced to overload the device to stop it, Susan Richards attempted to shield him from the radiation with her force field. Caught in the blast radius, half of Reed's body was left in a melted and deformed state. With the rip in reality still widening, Susan used her powers to hold the tear in place, with the strain leaving her in a coma, forcing the misshapen Reed to place her suspended animation (Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #4).

 

In the wake of the tragedy, The Fantastistation was built in the Negative Zone around the tear in reality. This allowed Reed to keep Sue company while she remained in suspended animation as he worked to slowly repair the hole in the fabric of reality (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Over the next few months, while the Fantastic Four remained in seclusion, rumours and speculation spread about the fate of Susan Richards despite the team never releasing details to the public. Reed developed the Big Brain robot to allow him to remain on the team by remotely controlling it from the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1).

 

With the destruction of the previous Big Brain robot in Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #1, Reed begins using a new model with a more humanlike shell, marking the last time we’d see the H.E.R.B.I.E. design utilized in the MC2.

 

Until I decide to put my brain in a robot to spend more time with my wife, I remain

 

frogoat