This cache is dedicated to the first superhero
family, the Fantastic Four
Names: Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Susan Storm
(Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (The
Thing)
Biography:
The Fantastic Four is formed when
during an outer space test flight in an experimental rocket, the
four protagonists are bombarded by a storm of cosmic rays. Upon
crash landing back on Earth, the four astronauts find themselves
transformed with bizarre new abilities. The four then decide to use
their powers for good as superheroes. In a significant departure
from preceding superhero conventions, the Fantastic Four make no
effort to maintain secret identities, instead maintaining a high
public profile and enjoying celebrity status for scientific and
heroic contributions to society. At the same time they are often
prone to arguing and even fighting with one another. Despite their
bickering, the Fantastic Four consistently prove themselves to be
"a cohesive and formidable team in times of
crisis.""
While there have been a number of lineup changes
to the group, the four characters who debuted in Fantastic
Four #1 remain the core and most frequent lineup.
Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific
genius, can stretch, twist and re-shape his body to inhuman
proportions. Mr. Fantastic serves as the father figure of the
group, and is "appropriately pragmatic, authoritative, and dull".
Richards blames himself for the failed space mission, particularly
because of how the event transformed pilot Ben
Grimm.
Invisible Girl/Invisible Woman (Susan Storm),
Reed Richards' girlfriend (and eventual wife) has the ability to
bend and manipulate light to render herself and others invisible.
She later develops the ability to generate force fields, which she
uses for a variety of defensive and offensive effects.
The Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue Storm's
younger brother, possesses the ability to control fire, allowing
him to project fire from his body, as well as the power to fly.
This character was loosely based on a Human Torch character
published by Marvel's predecessor Timely Comics in the 1940s, an
android that could ignite itself. Lee said that when he
conceptualized the character, "I thought it was a shame that we
didn't have The Human Torch anymore, and this was a good chance to
bring him back". Unlike the teen sidekicks that preceded him, the
Human Torch in the early stories was "a typical adolescent – brash,
rebellious, and affectionately obnoxious".
The Thing (Ben Grimm), Reed Richards' college
roommate and best friend, has been transformed into a monstrous,
craggy humanoid with orange, rock-like skin and super-strength. The
Thing is often filled with anger, self-loathing and self-pity over
his new existence. He serves as "an uncle figure, a longterm friend
of the family with a gruff Brooklyn manner, short temper, and
caustic sense of humor". In the original synopsis Lee gave to
Kirby, The Thing was intended as "the heavy", but over the years
the character has become "the most lovable group member: honest,
direct and free of pretension".
The Fantastic Four has had several different
headquarters, most notably the Baxter Building. located in New
York. The Baxter Building was replaced by Four's Freedom Plaza
at the same location after the Baxter Building's destruction at the
hands of Kristoff Vernard, adopted son of the team's seminal foe
Doctor Doom (Prior to the completion of Four Freedoms Plaza, the
team took up temporary residence at Avengers Mansion). Pier 4, a
waterfront warehouse, served as a temporary headquarters after Four
Freedoms Plaza was destroyed by the ostensible superhero team the
Thunderbolts, shortly after the revelation that they were actually
the supervillain team the Masters of Evil in disguise. Pier 4 was
eventually destroyed during a battle with the longtime Fantastic
Four supervillain Diablo after which the team received a new
Baxter Building, courtesy of one of team leader Reed Richards'
former professors, Noah Baxter. This second Baxter Building was
constructed in Earth's orbit and teleported into the vacant lot
formerly occupied by the
original.
The cache is a plastic test tube, and the FTF
gets a Human Torch coin.
