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Marvel’s First Family, not only were they what are often considered Marvel’s Heroic Age. Even though other heroes have existed before them, they’ve left their mark on the world. So how do this group of people get together, get powers, and become the face of heroism? Let’s find out!

Reed Richards was a brilliant man with dreams of bringing space travel within his lifetime. He had made strides but his investors were losing out hope he could produce results sooner rather than later. Reed took a risk, but his friends wouldn’t let him make it alone. His best friend, Ben Grimm, would pilot the ship. His girlfriend, Sue Storm, and her brother, Johnny Storm, would accompany them.

Things did not go as planned. Cosmic rays pelted the ship, which was not shielded against such new energies. The four were irradiated by these rays, they would crash land safely back on Earth but that was only the beginning. The cosmic rays changed each of them, Reed was able to stretch his body like rubber. Sue could become invisible and make force fields. Johnny was able too ignite himself in flame, fly, and shoot fire. Ben became a super strong and tough rock skinned behemoth.

Riddled with guilt, Reed would spin this to become an opportunity for them. Showing off their newfound powers, getting codenames and costumes, he made them not just heroes, he made them icons. They became the Fantastic Four, heroes and explorers of the strange as well as protectors of Earth. They would come up against all manner of bizarre beings, both native to Earth and from beyond the stars.

They would face off against cosmic threats such as the planet-eating, Galactus, making them loved from all over the world for stopping him. Reed’s own past would come back to haunt him again and again with his old friend turned arch-nemesis, Doctor Victor Von Doom. Doom blamed Reed for many of his setbacks and had a nation at his command to be a major threat.

The friends would become a family, both by choice and through marriage as Reed and Sue would marry and have two children, Franklin and Valeria. The family made their home in the Baxter Building in New York City, becoming a hub for scientific research and development for the hero community.

As they continued their existence as heroes, more heroes would team up with them over the years, some even becoming members of the Fantastic Four when one of the originals, sometimes all the originals, were away. The team was becoming more than just the original four, they were becoming an institution and foundation for the heroic community.

Many heroes would get their start or make a living working with the Fantastic Four. Many an Avenger would work with the family but also come to see them as friends. King T’Challa of Wakanda teamed up with them and even invited them to Wakanda. The Baxter Building would become a school for scientifically gifted children from around the universe, aiding them in becoming the next generation of scientific-minded heroes. This would be known as the Future Foundation and even became the core team when the family went missing on an adventure.

The years go by and while the roster may change, their headquarters may relocate, the Fantastic Four tends to return to being Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben, ready to take on the mysteries and dangers of reality. As a family.

There you have it! The Fantastic Four lay the ground work for the Marvel time line. Their confrontation with Galactus is often cited as the beginning of the modern era of heroes. You can literally trace back all other things, Cap’s defrosting, Spidey’s encounter with the spider, all that, is around the time these four went up against the giant eater of worlds. They’ve been on the big screen, the small screen, animated, and live action. What will they be in the MCU? We’ll have to wait and see, until then, see you next time!

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Fantastic Four
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Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net