How Fantastic IS Mr. Fantastic?
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Wiz: In modern times, you'd think that someone would have the intellect to make the world a better place, but only a few number of them actually use it for that certain good.
Boomstick: Yeah, the world's a pretty shitty place right now with its dumb leaders making dumb decisions with their dumb brain processing! Who would actually want to step up to make good use of their intellect?!
Wiz: I'm glad you asked, Boomstick! Born in Central City, California, Reed Richards was the only son of a highly intellectual scientist, Nathaniel Richards. From his support, he grew up with a keen sense of intelligence that would land him many different degrees in places like State U, MIT, Harvard, and many other high majoring universities.
Boomstick: One day, he met up with this dude named Victor and figured that they'd be lab partners one day, building a revolutionary age of technology to create that wonderful tomorrow.
Wiz: But that would only be a sign of what was to come. One day, Reed and Victor crafted an airship that could possibly cross between dimensions in a matter of seconds, and Reed tried to talk his friend out of the scheme due to the poor calculations. Yet Victor decided to ignore him and the machine would simply-
Boomstick: Explode. Right in front of his face. And it got so bad that Victory had his face ruined and was expelled for making unethical experiments.
Wiz: And it didn't make things any better when the both of them decided to end their friendship right then and there.
Boomstick: Not really helping the case of "I want this over that", buddy.
Wiz: This, in turn, only fueled Reed into wanting to make experiments that would make humanity better. After the sudden disappearance of his father, he was left with a financial gift that would lead to him making another spacecraft to discover the wonders of space, but not without recruiting fellow friends Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, and Reed's beloved Susan Storm.
Boomstick: And then this giant alien named a Gormuu showed up and the encounter forced the government to try and shut down the project, but Reed wasn't having it.
Wiz: Probably should have listened to them as the crew would soon come across a cosmic ray that would subject them to a heavy dose of radiation. After they managed to somehow steer themselves back to Earth, they immediately noticed the amount of changes that had occurred from the storm.
Boomstick: That's when they noticed their bodies were acting a little more different than usual. From conjuring fire to becoming a ghoooost~ to becoming... whatever Ben became.
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Wiz: But Richards' changes proved to be the most interesting. The cosmic powers would turn Reed's body into a malleable framework and can stretch his limbs like rubber.
Boomstick: This gave him the brilliant idea to use these powers to become (what else?) a superhero! With the fires of the Human Torch, the invisibility of the Invisible Girl, and the rocky strength of the Thing, he would dub himself... Mister Fantastic!
Wiz: Together, they were the Fantastic Four, a family brought together to change the world and save it one scientific method at a time. Reed's countless ventures in space made him a force to be reckoned with.
Boomstick: He's basically the Elastigirl of comics, complete with the devilish looks! Just calling it as it is. With his stretchy powers, he can wrap around people, shapeshift, curl himself into a ball, shoot himself like a slingshot, grow multiple arms, or reflect bullets shooting straight at him.
Wiz: He's managed to learn and predict people's movements before they could act, lift metal beams that could hold entire buildings, and can even resist surviving in the middle of a blizzard even with his body slowly dying on him.
Popup: Similar characters with precognitive abilities, such as Taskmaster, are capable of identifying when one's movements are enhanced and can identity their senses just by simply looking at them (Avenger: The Initiative #33), and Mr. Fantastic has been able to match them on multiple occasions.
Boomstick: And thanks to that space goo, the Fantastic Four were even durable enough to take hits from Thor's Mjolnir, which could zoom across the universe in a matter of seconds.
Wiz: Knowing how Marvel's universe is about 1 trillion light-years across, a throw like that would create speeds up to 80 octillion times the speed of light.
Boomstick: If I had a hammer like that, I would be in and out of bars in no time...
Wiz: Reed's been able to mimic many different shapes and objects without any lasting repercussions. He can even modify how his body and shape could appear as someone entirely different, turning himself into something of a golem or a Hulk or even-
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Boomstick: The god damn Wolverine! Jesus, what kind of machismo does this guy even have?
Popup: His molecular structure also allows Reed to prevent any altercations to his body, such as when Molecule Man tried to take over his mind and body, only for his mental defenses to redirect the PSI flowing throughout so that The Thing could destroy the Amplifier of which it was doing so. (Fantastic Four Vol 1 #187-188)
Wiz: His physical traits aren't always what makes him a beast to behold. Perhaps his greatest tool to his arsenal is his intelligence. He can speak multiple different languages ranging from those on Earth to alien tongues, mastered every Ph. D in the world (including those he created),
Boomstick: He's also made countless machines that's gotten him and other superheroes out of messy situations: A laser pistol, a hologram projector, a vortex machine, a gas gun, all the works!
Wiz: But let's not forget his bigger artillery. He, such as creating a hypnotizing machine to trick the Super Skrulls, some of the deadliest alien races in the Marvel universe.
Boomstick: He created traps and guns that could nullify any person's powers, such as when he used Dekion Pulses to weaken Utau the Watcher. Yes, THE bobble-headed nerd. His weapons are so OP that it could rival gods themselves. If you really think about it, why wasn't he even considered a candidate for Scientist Supreme?
Wiz: Well, his dedication to making and creating machines that could be upgraded from any failed experiment that villains could try and rain parades on became essential to his workings. He knows the ins and outs of what could be deemed to be irredeemable.
Boomstick: Too bad that Victor had to roll back in town, now as the sinister Doctor Doom! By this point, Doom was powerful enough to fight off legions of demons and was a high contender for Sorcerer Supreme.
Wiz: And the amount of times the Fantastic Four battled Doom, it later proved to show a much more deeper side to Reed. Their earlier rivalry proved that above all else, he cared about his family. But sometimes, he'd put more into trying to do what he believes is the right decision and often outs himself at risk more times than not.
Boomstick: Take the time when Doom tried to pose AS Richards in an attempt to seduce Sue and bed him instead- Jesus christ! This guy's petty as hell! Okay, maybe some of these actions Reed took were warranted... Namor.
Wiz: While his good intentions were able to get his team out of messy situations, it also gets them into even worse trouble. Take for example when a Superhero Civil War broke out and both Reed and Iron Man wanted to enact the Superhuman Registration Act. This led to other members of the Four opting to join the Secret Avengers in response.
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Boomstick: And it took this bastard getting no-scoped for him to realize the errors of his way and realize that not everything can go as he expected. Trust me. I know a thing or two about these types of marriages.
Wiz: Now realizing how much this could potentially put himself AND others on the brink of death, he took the dedication to better himself and start acting more human on top of being a hero.
Boomstick: Now was that so hard to do?
Boomstick: Anyways, Reed's managed to endure the light of Silver Surfer's supernova flashes, survive bouts from the World War Hulk and Daken, restore balance to the multiverse's temporal stability with his son Franklin Richards, and most famously went brain-for-brain against the planet-eating Grimace himself, Galactus.
Popup: When Doctor Doom held the Power Cosmic for himself, he was powerful enough to rewrite all of reality, Reed would simply swipe it off of him without any fancy tech, meaning that he doesn't always rely on technology to accomplish such feats.
Wiz: The same Devourer of Worlds that was so powerful, he could destroy Marvel's entire infinite multiverse just as an aftereffect of a battle. Just ask the Scrier or the Phoenix Force to see how that would even go down. In one case, Richards was able to replicate the powers and effects of the herald's trump card: the Ultimate Nullifier.
Boomstick: An artifact so powerful, it could erase anything that's in its way with the push of a button!
Wiz: Until Reed managed to snag it out of Galactus' hands and threatened him to use it on him, forcing him to retreat and spare Earth. What's even more baffling is that he's even managed to make an exact copy of the Ultimate Nullifier to stop the Reckoning after absorbing Utau's powers and having even MORE knowledge.
Boomstick: I'm starting to think this is him trying to compensate for being a workaholic. But it's still a symbol of what hard work mixed with trial and error can do to a man.
Wiz: But despite the wavering force of evil trying to tamper all that's good and holy, you could always rest assured that Richards will always have something scheming in the back of his pocket to save the day.
Boomstick: Even if he has to jump years into the future to put everything back together, he and his Fantastic Four teammates will prove why they're Marvel's first superhero family.
Wiz: Through thick and thin, Reed Richards' intelligence and ingenuity will always strive him to be Fantastic.
Invisible Woman: Reed? You do have a plan to stop Victor, don't you darling?
Mister Fantastic: Would you still love me if I said "not yet"?
Invisible Woman: Of course... but I would also be extremely concerned...
Mister Fantastic: As would I, my dear... As would I...