List of Fantastic Four members
The Fantastic Four is a team of comic book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. Although the name suggests the team only has four members, in reality a number of other characters have, at one point or another, been considered members.
Fantastic Four
| Character | Real Name | Joined In | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Fantastic Four | |||
| Mister Fantastic | Reed Richards | Fantastic Four #1 | Currently an active member |
| Invisible Woman (formerly Invisible Girl) |
Susan Storm Richards | Fantastic Four #1 | all four fingers |
| Thing | Benjamin Grimm | Fantastic Four #1 | Currently an active member |
| Human Torch II | Jonathan Storm | Fantastic Four #1 | Currently an active member |
| Later Recruits | |||
| Crystal | Crystalia Maximoff | Fantastic Four #81 | Formerly dated Human Torch. Served as a replacement for the Invisible Woman during her pregnancy with Franklin Richards. |
| Medusa | Medusalith Amaquelin | Fantastic Four #132 | She is the sister of Crystal. She first appeared in Fantastic Four #36 as an amnesiac member of the Frightful Four. She soon regained her memory and, years later, served as a replacement for the Invisible Woman during a marital separation with Mr. Fantastic. |
| Luke Cage (formerly Power Man) |
Carl Lucas (at birth); legally changed to Luke Cage | Fantastic Four #168 | Superhero for hire. He was hired by Mr. Fantastic to serve as a member of the Fantastic Four after The Thing briefly lost his powers. |
| Human Torch III (later known as Nova) |
Frankie Raye | Fantastic Four #239 | Longtime ally of the team before joining. She is the stepdaughter of Phineas Horton, creator of the original android Human Torch. She had powers similar to Johnny Storm (whom she dated), and almost prompted the team to change its name to the Fantastic Five. She left Earth to become a herald of Galactus. Killed by Morg in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #75. |
| She-Hulk | Jennifer Walters | Fantastic Four #265 | Former member of the Avengers. Cousin of Bruce Banner (the Hulk). She replaced The Thing on the Fantastic Four after the events of Secret Wars while he remained on Battleworld. |
| Ms. Marvel II (also known as the She-Thing) |
Sharon Ventura | Fantastic Four #306 | Love interest of The Thing. At one point, after being bombarded by cosmic rays, she resembled a female version of The Thing. |
| Ant-Man II | Scott Lang | Fantastic Four #384 | The Fantastic Four's technical advisor while Reed Richards was missing thanks to the actions of Hyperstorm. Killed by a zombified Jack of Hearts under the influence of the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #500 (September 2004). |
| Namorita | Namorita Prentiss | Fantastic Four vol. 3 #43 | Human Torch's girlfriend; Namor the Sub-Mariner's cousin. Joined for one mission into the Negative Zone to rescue Reed, Sue, Ben. Died in Civil War #1, in the incident which precipitated the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act and the start of the superhero "civil war". |
| Storm | Ororo Munroe | Fantastic Four #543 | Queen of Wakanda and member of the X-Men. The Black Panther and Storm replaced Reed and Susan Richards after they decided to take a leave of absence in the aftermath of the events of Civil War. Storm is the wife of the Black Panther. |
| Black Panther | T'Challa | Fantastic Four #543 | Hereditary monarch of Wakanda and former member of the Avengers. The Black Panther and Storm replaced Reed and Susan Richards after they decided to take a leave of absence in the aftermath of the events of Civil War. The Black Panther is the husband of Storm. |
| Franklin Richards | Franklin Richards | Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #3 | Franklin Richards is the son of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. He has been a part of the Fantastic Four mythos since his birth. |
| Valeria Richards | Valeria Richards | Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #3 | Valeria Richards is the daughter of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. She has been a part of the Fantastic Four mythos since her birth. |
New Fantastic Four
In Fantastic Four (1st series) #347- 349 (December 1990 - February 1991) a female Skrull alien who was both a shape-shifter and a telepath managed to capture the team. Impersonating the Invisible Woman, she falsely reported the other members to be deceased and recruited four other heroes as a new Fantastic Four to avenge them, before dispatching them to try and steal a powerful weapon from the Mole Man. Members of this short-lived team included:
- The Hulk (in his grey "Mr. Fixit" persona)
- Spider-Man. He had actually once applied for membership in the team in Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #1 (March 1963), but quit upon realization that he wouldn't be paid. He and the Human Torch remain longtime friends.
- Wolverine
- Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch)
In Fantastic Four (1st series) #374- 375 (March 1993 - April 1993) Dr. Strange brings this same team back together to arrest the Human Torch after he went nova and destroyed a whole quarter of the city. This story was the start for the Secret Defenders ongoing series.
In Wolverine #148 (January 2000) the team comes back together during the Ages of Apocalypse reality to fight Arnim Zola, Blastaar and Annihilus with all four members wearing the popular blue FF costumes and the Hulk frequently switching between his various personalities. They also came together to battle a version of the Wendigo.
Close associates
A number of characters are closely affiliated with the team, share complex personal histories with one or more of its members but have never actually held an official membership. They include but are not limited to:
- Namor the Sub-Mariner: Was cured of amnesia by the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (1st series) #4 (May 1962). He has at times been an ally and at other times an enemy of the team. Namor and the Invisible Woman have occasionally been romantically attracted, though she eventually chose Mister Fantastic to marry.
- Doctor Doom: He and Mister Fantastic attended college together, and he blames Richards for an experiment gone wrong which scarred his face. As the monarch of Latveria, he is the team's most deadly foe, although he has sometimes helped them, such as when he aided in the birth of Valeria Richards.
- Alicia Masters: Blind sculptress, stepdaughter of the supervillain Puppet Master. She was introduced to the team along with her stepfather in Fantastic Four vol. 1 #8 (November 1962). Longtime love interest of the Thing, as her blindness meant she was able to see the man inside rather than what he looked like.
- Lyja the Skrull. Female Skrull, trained to impersonate Alicia Masters as an espionage agent. Secretly replaced Alicia in Fantastic Four vol. 1 #265 (April 1984). She fell in love with the Human Torch and they married in Fantastic Four vol. 1 #300 (March 1987). Her identity was revealed in Fantastic Four (1st series) #357-358 (October-November 1991), though in truth this was a retcon. Lyja helped the team recover the original Alicia to prove that she could be trusted. Her allegiances were since divided between her native race and her new family, particularly her husband.
- H.E.R.B.I.E., robotic ally who first appeared in the 1978 Fantastic Four animated series. Introduced into regular Marvel Universe continuity in Fantastic Four #209 (August 1979). Original H.E.R.B.I.E. destroyed fighting Dr. Sun. Reed Richards has built later generations of H.E.R.B.I.E.s to act as a nanny/guardian for Franklin and Valeria.
- Kristoff Vernard, the former heir of Doctor Doom.
- Wyatt Wingfoot, Johnny Storm's college friend, a Native American sometime-adventurer, and one-time love interest of She-Hulk. Son of "Big Will Wingfoot", one of Empire State University's most legendary football players.
Fantastic Five
In the MC2 alternate future, the team is known as the Fantastic Five and consists of the following members:
- Reed Richards (Big Brain)
- John Storm (the Human Torch) (team leader)
- Franklin Richards (Psi-Lord)
- Ben Grimm (the Thing)
- Lyja Storm (Ms. Fantastic)
This version appears frequently in Spider-Girl and were the focus of a Fantastic Five limited series.