Marvel's first family bounced on to the scene in November of 1961, created by Jack "King" Kirby and Stan Lee, and helped launch a new wave of success for the publisher, along with one of the most famous superhero teams in comics. Ever since their original 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four have been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional, yet loving, family. Breaking convention with other comic book archetypes of the time, they would squabble and hold grudges both deep and petty, and eschewed anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status.
Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic, acts as the leader and father figure of the Fantastic Four, although in recent years he has increasingly been portrayed as being cold and distant towards his teammates due to his scientific, methodical nature. This is particularly true with his best friend, Ben Grimm, who partially blames Richards for his transformation into a large, rocky creature called the Thing. Whenever Richards is confronted with a challenge, his attention can be so focused that he can neglect even his own family. Regardless, he is the loving husband of Sue Storm, father of son Franklin Richards and daughter Valeria Richards, and mentor of his brother-in-law, Johnny Storm.