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Invisible Girl

Invisible Girl

::This article is about the comic book character. For the 1940 film, see The Invisible Woman. The Invisible Woman (real name Susan Richards, née Susan Storm) formerly the Invisible Girl (alias changed in Fantastic Four #284), is a fictional superhero, who is a member of The Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. She was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, in Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #1 (1961).

Publication history

Invisible Woman has primarily appeared in issues of Fantastic Four since the very beginning. Unfortunately, Susan powers of invisibility alone proved to be of relatively little use in team's earlier missions, especially compared to the more aggressive ones of the rest of the group. Eventually, creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby realized this and gave Susan other powers, such as the ability to project invisible telekinetic force fields and the ability to make other people and objects become invisible. Despite her abilities, Susan served primarily as an assistant and second-in-command to Reed, and the comics tended to treat her in a condescending stereotypical manner. This changed when John Byrne began his celebrated run on the title. Under his authorship, Susan became much more confident and assertive in her own abilities which themselves became more versatile and impressive. For instance, she found she could use her force fields to carry herself into the air, immobilize enemies, or use them as an offensive ranged attack. This revision, also marked by Susan changing her nom de guerre to the Invisible Woman, has become the standard with Susan being recognized as the most powerful member of the team and has served stints as the team's leader on occasion.

Character history

Origin

This native of Long Island is a daughter of a physician, along with her younger brother, Jonathan. Their mother, Mary, died because of a car crash. Even with his medical expertise, their father was unable to save her life. Life began to spiral downward for her father. After his wife's death, Dr. Storm became a gambler and a drunk, which led him to accidentally killing a loan shark. With their father in prison, Susan had to become a mother figure, for her younger brother. While living with her aunt, Susan, at the young age of 12, met her future husband, Reed Richards, a house guest who was attending college. When she graduated high school, she moved to California to attend college, where she persued an acting career and encountered Richards again. The two of them began to become romantically involved, with each other. Reed Richards, working in the field of Aerospace engineering, was designing a spacecraft for interstellar travel. Everything was going well, until the government stop funding of his project. Richards wanting to see his project through, decided to make an unschedule test flight. Originally it was only going to be Reed and his best friend, Ben Grimm, involved, but Susan was instrumental in persuading Reed in letting her brother and herself join them on a dangerous space mission. In space, the quartet was exposed to massive amounts of cosmic radiation. As a result, they had to abort the mission and return to Earth. After the crash landing, they relized that they gained superhuman powers. Hers was the ability to become invisible at will. Realizing the potential use of their abilities, the four of them became the Fantastic Four, for the benefit of mankind.

Early career as a super hero

The Fantastic Four, the team found themselves headquarters in the Baxter Building, in Manhattan. The Fantastic Four encountered many villians in the early part of their career. But none of them contended for Susan affections, than Namor the Sub-Mariner. Sue felt an amount of attraction to Namor, but her heart belong with Reed's. Susan later found herself getting injured in battle with the Mole Man. Her father who escaped from prison, came to operate on her and saved her life and was able to make amends with his children before returning to prison. The Super-Skrull found a way to kidnapp Dr. Storm and mimic his appearance and fought the Fantastic Four, as the Invincible Man. In the process of defeating the Super-Skrull, Dr. Storm gave his life to protect the Fantastic Four, from a Skrull booby trap.

New life as a wife and a mother

Reed and Sue's relationship progressed more, that the two of them decided to get married. The wedding was the event of the century, where several of New York City's superheroes were in attendence. Even several super-villians wanted to attend, even if it was only to attack the Fantastic Four. Sue later became pregnant with her first child. Because of this, she wasn't able to be an active member of the team. Johnny's then girlfriend, the Inhuman Crystal, joined the team, taking over Susan's roster spot. Susan's powers became a problem for her to carry her child to term. Knowning this, Reed went to the Negative Zone, along with Johnny and Ben, to take a Cosmic Control Rod from Annihilus. The baby was safely delivered and was named Franklin, after her father. Due to his parents, Franklin was born a mutant, who one day will have powerful abilities. Because of those powerful abilities, Franklin lost control over his powers. Reed wasn't able to find an immediate solution was forced to shut his son's mind down. Angry with Reed with not seeking her input, Susan left the Fantastic Four and had a marital seperation from Reed. Taking her roster spot was Medusa, of the Inhumans. With the help of Namor, Susan reconciled with Reed and returned to the Fantastic Four, with Franklin.

Malice

Susan eventually became pregnant for a second time. This pregancy wasn't going to be a pleasant memory for Susan. This second child was birthed stillborn, because Susan was exposed to radiation inside the Negative Zone, on a previous trip. Depressed, Susan was later manipulated by events set into motion by the Psycho-Man, into become Malice. Susan with this new identity and emotions as Malice, attacked the Fantastic Four. Reed was able to save Susan by forcing her to legitimately hate him. Susan turned the tables on Psycho-Man, by making him use his technology upon himself. Susan found herself a changed person after these events changed her codename to the Invisible Woman. Finding a life outside the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue was invited into the membership of the Avengers. The two of them were Avengers only for a brief amount of time, as they rejoined the Fantastic Four afterwards. During the Infinity War, Susan was forced to absorb an evil doppelganger of herself. After the absorbtion, Susan personality was influenced by the doppelganger. Little by little, Susan was slowly becoming Malice again. Franklin who had become Psi-Lord was able to free his mother and aborb the influence of Malice into himself. He was able to eventually destroy her, from within his own mind.

Effective leader

After the apparent death of Reed, Susan found herself becoming a capable leader. Around this time, Susan who felt Reed was still alive kept searching for him and barely falling in love with Namor. The Fantastic Four eventually rescued the time-displaced Reed, who found himself temporarly losing confidence in his leadership skills, since Susan was also a capable leader. Not too soon afterwards, the team found temsleves on an alternate Earth created by Franklin following the battle with Onslaught.

Valeria

Following their return to to their Earth of origin, The Fantastic Four encounter Valeria Von Doom. This new Marvel Girl came from an alternate future, where she was the child of Susan and Doctor Doom. Susan eventually became to accept the young girl, as a friend. During a conflict with Abraxas, Franklin revealed that he used his abilites to save Susan's original stillborn child and placed it in another alternate future. After the ordeal involving Abraxas, Marvel Girl was restored to a baby again inside Susan's womb. This time around, Susan, yet again, had a difficult birthing. Due to the help of Doctor Doom, Susan was able to give birth to a healthy baby girl, which Doom named Valeria. Doom placed a spell on the baby, which made her his familiar spirit, to be used against the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four wrestle Valeria fee from Doom's control, defeated him, and sent him to Hell. Due to their actions involving the country of Latveria, the Fantastic Four seperated temporarily. The remaining members banned together to bring Ben back from Heaven.

Sue, the Human Torch

Zius, leader of group of Galactus refugees, kidnapped Susan to be used as a weapon to hide the presence of planets, from the arrival of Galactus. Reed found a way to make Zius believe that her powers were gone, by swapping powers between Susan and Johnny. After gaining respect for what Johnny goes through everyday life with his abilites, Reed reversed the swapping.

Powers and abilities

Susan has the power to use cosmic energy to make herself and turn objects invisible. She also has the capability to wield invisible force fields, which can be used offensively and defensively.

In other media

refugees

Animation

Invisible Woman had the pleasure to be featured in three animated series, throughout the years. She was voiced by Jo Ann Pflug, Ginny Tyler-Hilton, and in the 1994 series by Lori Alan.

Film

Susan is played by actress Jessica Alba in the 2005 film version of the Fantastic Four. In the film, she is a brilliant young scientist who leads Victor Von Doom's Department of Scientific Research. She is Reed's ex-girlfriend and dated Von Doom at the beginning of the film. Immediately before the cosmic storm changed her, she was offered a proposal of marriage from Victor, but she later turned him down. Her powers seem to parallel her emotions such as anger, confusion, and frustration, which she manages to control by the end of the film. She accepts Reed's proposal of marriage at the end.

References, parodies, spoofs and homages

The Invisible Woman has been parodied many times through the years. One notable homage is in Miss Invisible of the Mega-Hyper Heroes featured in an episode of Rugrats (a spoof of both the Teen Titans and the Fantastic Four). Lil, a fan of Miss Invisible, has a superhero counterpart called Dotted-Line Girl who has similar abilities, but can be seen, as a dotted line. And it is quite obvious that Violet, in the Disney/Pixar movie The Incredibles is modelled after the Invisible Woman.

Bibliography

List of titles


- Alpha Flight Vol. 1 #92-94
- The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #1, 5, 18,
- Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
- Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #1, 4
- Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 #7
- Atlantis Rising #1-2
- Avengers Vol. 1 #1, 3, 13, 25, 60, 327, 332-333, 400
- Avengers Annual #18, 21
- Avengers Vol. 2 #6, 12
- Avengers Vol. 3 #1, 10, 11, 501-503
- Avengers West Coast #75
- Avengers West Coast Annual #4
- Avengers/JLA #2
- Cable #35
- Captain America Vol. 2 #12
- Captain America Vol. 3 #1
- Cloak and Dagger Vol. 3 #2
- Damage Control Vol. 3 #4
- Daredevil Vol. 2 #8
- Daredevil: Yellow #3
- Defenders Vol. 2 #1
- Dr. Strange Vol. 2 #53
- Fantastic Force #7
- Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #1-62, 326-341, 343-354, 356-416
- Fantastic Four Annual #1-4, 22-27
- Fantastic Four Vol. 2 #1-12
- Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #1-55, 57-66, 68-70, 500-current
- Fantastic Four Annual 1998 Annual, 1999 Annual, 2000 Annual, 2001 Annual
- Fantastic Four Unlimited #1-10, 12
- Galactus the Devourer #1-6
- Generation X #59
- Generation X Annual 1996 Annual
- Hercules #1
- Heroes Reborn: Return #1-4
- Hulk & Thing: Hard Knocks #2-3
- Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #365, 417, 450
- Infinity Crusade #1-6
- Infinity War #2-6
- Iron Fist/Wolverine #2
- Iron Man Vol. 2 #3, 6, 12
- Iron Man Vol. 3 #1, 14, 35
- Marvel Knights Vol. 1 #6
- Marvel Knights 4 #1-12
- Marvel Team-Up #3
- Marvel: Lost Generation #7, 12
- Marvels #2-3
- Maximum Security #2-3
- Moon Knight Vol. 3 #41, 44
- Namor the Sub-Mariner #4-5, 13
- Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #1
- New Avengers #8-10
- New Invaders #9
- New Mutants Annual #6
- New Thunderbolts #12
- New Warriors Vol. 1 #16-17
- New Warriors Annual #1
- Onslaught: Marvel Universe
- Onslaught: X-Men
- Power Pack Vol. 1 #54, 56, 59, 61-62
- Power Pack Vol. 3 #1-4
- Pulse #11
- Quasar #3, 20, 38-39, 60
- Rise of Apocalypse #3-4
- Secret Wars II #2, 5, 9
- Sensational She-Hulk # 23, 48
- Sentry #2
- Silver Surfer Vol. 3 # 97
- Silver Surfer Annual #6
- Sleepwalker #14
- Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 #263
- Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2 #4
- Spider-Man #23
- Super-Villain Team-Up #5-7
- Thing Vol. 1 #2, 10, 23
- Thor Annual #14, 1999 Annual
- Thunderbolts #10-12, 43-44, 57
- Uncanny X-Men #167, 336
- Uncanny X-Men Annual #5, 14
- Untold Tales of Spider-Man Annual 1996, 1997
- Venom Vol. 2 #18
- Warlock and the Infinity Watch #8
- Web of Spider-Man #104-106
- Web of Spider-Man Annual #5
- Wolverine Vol. 3 #21-22
- Wonder Man Vol. 2 #13-14
- X4 #1-5
- X-Factor Annual #5
- X-Man #59
- X-Men (Second Series) #55-56
- X-Men: Hidden Years #9, 20
- X-Statix #26

Significant stories


- Fantastic Four #400 (May 1995); "Even the Watchers die!" - Invisible Woman is able to enter the body of a Celestial and destroy it from within.
- Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #2 (February 1998); "Be it ever so humble..." - Susan was the only person able to fight and defeat the mysterious creature, Iconoclast.
- Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #21-22 (September 1999 - October 1999); "Rascals 4" - "Lost Hope!" - Susan mets her daughter, Marvel Girl, from a possible future.
- Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #54 (June 2002); "A Choice of Dooms" - Doctor Doom helps deliver Susan's baby and names her Valeria.
- Fantastic Four #509-511 (March 2004 - May 2004); "Hereafter" - Reed finds a way to bring back Ben from the afterlife.

External links


- [http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~arlen/sue.html Susan Storm Richards The Invisible Woman] - A page at [http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~arlen/ffbio.html The World's Greatest Bio Page]. Category:Avengers members Category:Fantastic Four members

The Invisible Woman

The Invisible Woman was a science fiction, comedy film that was released near the end of 1940 by Universal. It followed the successful The Invisible Man Returns film that had been released earlier in the year, but this movie was instead written as a farce that would exploit the humorous possibilities of the invisibility concept. The comedic writers Robert Lees and Fred Rinaldo wrote the screenplay in slapstick style, while H. G. Wells would again be credited as the original author of The Invisible Man. The film was be directed by A. Edward Sutherland. The cast included the aging John Barrymore, Virginia Bruce in the lead role, as well as John Howard, Charlie Ruggles, Charles Lane and Oscar Homolka. Margaret Sullavan had originally been slated for the role of the invisible woman, but the part did not appeal to her and as a result she she did not report for the filming. (As she was under contract with Universal for another film she was issued a restraining order to prevent her from appearing in other films. She later satisfied her contract with a part in the 1941 film Back Street.) This movie runs for 70 minutes and was filmed in black and white with mono sound. The special effects were produced by John P. Fulton, who earned another nomination for an Oscar following his comparable effects work in The Invisible Man Returns.

Plot

The wealthy lawyer Dick Russell (Howard) funds the dotty old inventor Professor Gibbs (Barrymore) to create an invisibility device. The first test subject for this machine is Kitty Carroll (Bruce), a department store model who had been fired from her previous job. The machine proves quite successful, and Kitty uses her invisible state to give a litte payback to her former sadistic boss, Mr. Growley (Lane). While the Professor and the invisible Kitty are off visiting the lodge of the millionaire Russell, a gangster (Homolka) sends in his gang of moronic thugs to steal the device. With the machine back at their hideout, however, they can't get it to work. By now Kitty has returned to visibility, and the thugs are sent in to kidnap her and Gibbs. However she has learned that some alcohol will restore her to invisibility, and uses this to defeat the gang (with help from Russell). At the time of its release, this film was considered slightly risqué, and the lead character enjoyed a little role reversal. The madcap comedy elements include slapstick tumbles, some humorous lines, and a lively pace.

References


- Michael Brunas; John Brunas; Tom Weaver, Universal Horrors: The Studis' Classic Films, 1931-1946, McFarland & Co., 1990, ISBN 0-89950-369-1.

External links


- Invisible woman, the Invisible woman, the Invisible woman, the

Fictional character

A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. More accurately, a fictional character is the person or conscious entity we imagine to exist within the world of such a work. In addition to people, characters can be aliens, animals, gods or, occasionally, inanimate objects. Characters are almost always at the center of fictional texts, especially novels and plays. It is, in fact, hard to imagine a novel or play without characters, though such texts have been attempted (James Joyce's Finnegans Wake is one of the most famous examples). In poetry, there is almost always some sort of person present, but often only in the form of a narrator or an imagined listener. In various forms of theatre, performance arts and cinema (except for animation and CGI movies), fictional characters are performed by actors, dancers and singers. In animations and puppetry, they are voiced by voice actors, though there have been several examples, particularly, in machinima, where characters are voiced by computer generated voices. The process of setting up characters for a work of fiction is called characterization.

Names of characters

The names of fictional characters are often quite important. The conventions of naming have changed over time. In many Restoration comedies, for example, characters are given emblematic names that sound nothing like real life names: "Sir Fidget", "Mr. Pinchwife" and "Mrs. Squeamish" are some typical examples (all from The Country Wife by William Wycherley). Some 18th and 19th century texts, on the other hand, represent characters' names by the use of a single letter and a long dash (this convention is also used for other proper nouns, such as place names). This has the effect of suggesting that the author had a real person in mind but omitted the full name for propriety's sake. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo uses this technique. One reason for this dash is that, in Britain and in other countries with a feudal heritage, the names of counties and places might be the names of the feudal lords over those places. One cannot arbitrarily give someone the name "Earl of Manchester" because someone may either have or be elevated to such a title, so it may be grounds for a lawsuit. Hence fictitious names are based on disparaged historical characters, or tend to be re-used. For example, "Lady de Winter" is a character in Dumas pères Three Musketeers, and the family name was used in Du Maurier's Rebecca. (The same holds true for the names of houses: in the latter book, "Windermere" is named after a lake, not a feudal holding). The 19th century movements of sentimentalism, realism and naturalism all encouraged readers to imagine characters as real people by giving them realistic names, names that were often the titles of books, such as Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre or Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. These conventions were followed by the majority of subsequent literature, including most contemporary literature. However, there are few characters with names that are completely arbitrary. At the very least, names tend to indicate nationality and status. Often, the literal meaning or origin of a name is of some symbolic importance.

Some ways of reading characters

Readers vary enormously in how they understand fictional characters. The most extreme ways of reading fictional characters would be to think of them exactly as real people or to think of them as purely artistic creations that have everything to do with craft and nothing to do with real life. Most styles of reading fall somewhere in between. Here are some typical ways of reading fictional characters in literary criticism:

Character as symbol

In some readings, certain characters are understood to represent a given quality or abstraction. Rather than simply being people, these characters stand for something larger. Many characters in Western literature have been read as Christ symbols, for example. Other characters have been read as symbolizing capitalist greed (as in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby), the futility of fulfilling the American Dream, or quixotic romanticism (Don Quixote).

Character as representative

Another way of reading characters symbolically is to understand each character as a representative of a certain group of people. For example, Bigger Thomas of Native Son by Richard Wright is often seen as representative of young black men in the 1930s, doomed to a life of poverty and exploitation. Dagny Taggart and other characters from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand are seen as representative of American's hard-nosed, hard-working class. Many practitioners of cultural criticism and feminist criticism focus their analysis of characters on cultural stereotypes. In particular, they consider the ways in which authors rely on and/or work against stereotypes when they create their characters. Such critics, for example, would read Native Son in relation to racist stereotypes of African American men as sexually violent (especially against white women). In reading Bigger Thomas' character, one could ask in what ways Richard Wright relied on these stereotypes to create a violent African-American male character and in what ways he fought against it by making that character the protagonist of the novel rather than an anonymous villain. Often, readings that focus on stereotypes demand that we focus our attention on seemingly unimportant characters, such as the ubiquitous sambo characters in early cinema. Minor characters, or stock characters, are often the focus of this kind of analysis since they tend to rely more heavily on stereotypes than more central characters.

Characters as historical or biographical references

Sometimes characters obviously represent important historical figures. For example, Nazi-hunter Yakov Liebermann in The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin is often compared to real life Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal, and corrupted populist politician Willie Stark from All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren is often compared to Louisiana governor Huey P. Long. Other times, authors base characters on people from their own personal lives. Glenarvon by Lady Caroline Lamb chronicles her love affair with Lord Byron, who is thinly disguised as the title character. Nicole, a destructive, mentally ill woman in Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is often seen as a fictionalized version of Fitzgerald's wife Zelda. Perhaps because so many people enjoy imagining characters as real people, many critics devote their time to seeking out real people on whom literary figures were likely based. Frequently authors base stories on themselves or their loved ones.

Character as words

Some language- or text-oriented critics emphasize that characters are nothing more than certain conventional uses of words on a page: names or even just pronouns repeated throughout a text. They refer to characters as functions of the text. Some critics go so far as to suggest that even authors do not exist outside the texts that construct them.

Character as patient: psychoanalytic readings

Psychoanalytic criticism usually treats characters as real people possessing complex psyches. Psychoanalytic critics approach literary characters as an analyst would treat a patient, searching their dreams, past, and behavior for explanations of their fictional situations. Alternatively, some psychoanalytic critics read characters as mirrors for the audience's psychological fears and desires. Rather than representing realistic psyches then, fictional characters offer us a way to act out psychological dramas of our own in symbolic and often hyperbolic form. The classic example of this would be Freud's reading of Oedipus (and Hamlet, for that matter) as emblematizing every child's fantasy of murdering his father to possess his mother. This form of reading persists today in much film criticism. The feminist critic Laura Mulvey is considered a pioneer in the field. Her groundbreaking 1975 article, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema"[http://www.jahsonic.com/VPNC.html], analyzed the role of the male viewer of conventional narrative cinema as fetishist, using psychoanalysis "as a political weapon, demonstrating the way the unconscious of patriarchal society has structured film form."

Round characters vs. flat characters

Some critics distinguish between "round characters" and "flat characters" or types. The former are made up of many personality traits and tend to be complex and both more life-like and believable, while the latter consist of only a few personality traits and tend to be simple and less believable. The protagonist (main character, sometimes known as the "hero" or the "heroine") of a novel is certain to be a round character; a minor, supporting character in the same novel may be a flat character. Scarlett O'Hara, of Gone with the Wind, is a good example of a round character, whereas her servant Prissy exemplifies the flat character. Likewise, many antagonists (characters in conflict with protagonists, sometimes known as "villains") are round characters. An example of an antagonist who is a round character is Gone with the Wind's Rhett Butler. A number of stereotypical or "stock" characters have developed throughout the history of drama. Some of these characters include the country bumpkin, the con artist, and the city slicker. Often, these characters are the basis of "flat characters", though elements of stock characters can also be present in round characters as well.

Unusual uses

Postmodern fiction frequently incorporates real characters into fictional and even realistic surroundings. In film, the appearance of a real person as himself inside of a fictional story is a type of cameo. For instance, Woody Allen's Annie Hall has Allen's character call in Marshall McLuhan to resolve a disagreement. In some experimental fiction, the author acts as a character within his own text. One of the earliest examples of this is Niebla ("Fog") by Miguel de Unamuno (1907), in which the main character visits Unamuno in his office to discuss his fate in the novel. Paul Auster also employs this device in his novel City of Glass (1985), which opens with the main character getting a phone call for Paul Auster. At first the main character explains that the caller has reached a wrong number, but eventually he decides to pretend to be Auster and see where it leads him. In Immortality by Milan Kundera, the author references himself in a storyline seemingly separate from that of his fictional characters, but at the end of the novel, Kundera meets his own characters. With the rise of the "star" system in Hollywood, many famous actors are so familiar that it can be hard to limit our reading of their character to a single film. In some sense, Bruce Lee is always Bruce Lee, Woody Allen is always Woody Allen, and Harrison Ford is always Harrison Ford; all often portray characters that are very alike, so audiences fuse the star persona with the characters they tend to play, a principle explored in the Arnold Schwarzeneggar vehicle, Last Action Hero. Some fiction and drama make constant reference to a character who is never seen. This often becomes a sort of joke with the audience. This device is the centrepoint of one of the most unusual and original plays of the 20th century, Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, in which Godot of the title never arrives.

Iconic fictional characters

Some fictional characters are so famous that they can be references easily outside of the work from which they came, often because they have come to symbolize some archetype or ideal.

Lists of fictional characters

General


- List of advertising characters
- List of aliens in fiction
- List of comic and cartoon pairs
- Comic and cartoon characters named after people
- List of notable female fictional characters
- List of dead fictional characters
- List of fictional characters with one eye
- List of fictional clergy and religious figures
- List of mad scientists
- List of mythological pairs
- List of real-life characters
- List of fictional robots and androids
- List of Greek mythological characters
- List of heroic fictional scientists and engineers
- List of unseen characters
- List of video game mascots
- List of fictional witches
- List of fictional television sitcom characters
- List of fictional people known for their names
- List of horror film killers

Stock characters


- Damsel in distress
- Femme fatale
- Butch and femme
- Hero
- Mad scientist
- Villain

Fictional animals


- list of fictional apes (and other non-human primates, excluding Monkeys)
  - list of fictional monkeys
- list of fictional bears
- list of fictional birds
- list of fictional cats
- list of fictional dinosaurs
- list of fictional dogs
- list of fictional dragons
- list of fictional elephants
- list of fictional horses
- list of fictional mice and rats
- list of fictional pigs
- list of fictional rabbits
- list of fictional sheep
- List of fictional animals of other species

Lists of fictional characters in specific works or series


- List of X-Men
- List of Digimon
- List of Pokémon
- Characters from Dune
- Characters of The Sandman
- Characters in Atlas Shrugged
- List of DC Comics characters
- List of Dickens characters
- List of Disney characters
- List of Dragon Ball characters
- List of Middle-earth peoples
- List of Middle-earth characters
  - Characters from The Lord of the Rings
- List of Characters in Grand Theft Auto Vice City
- List of characters in Beavis and Butt-head
- List of Hercules and Xena characters
- List of Mortal Kombat characters
- List of Archie Comics characters
- List of Characters in The Chronicles of Narnia
- List of characters from Family Guy
- List of characters from The Simpsons
  - Fictional characters within The Simpsons
  - List of celebrities on The Simpsons
  - List of recurring characters from The Simpsons
  - One-time characters from The Simpsons
- List of characters from The Sopranos
- List of the Legend of Zelda characters
- List of Hanna-Barbera characters
- Invader Zim characters
- List of Mario series characters
- List of Marvel Comics characters
- List of Nintendo characters
- List of Final Fantasy characters
- List of Characters from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- List of Mega Man characters (original series)
- List of Mega Man characters (X series)
- List of Mega Man characters (Zero series)
- List of Mega Man characters (Legends series)
- List of Mega Man characters (Battle Network series)
- List of Metroid characters
- List of Tekken characters
- List of the Adventures of Tintin characters
- List of Carmen Sandiego characters
- List of characters in translations of Harry Potter
- List of characters in the Harry Potter books
- Characters in the Wheel of Time series
- List of Soul Calibur characters
- List of Star Trek characters
- List of Star Wars characters
- List of Sesame Street characters
- Minor characters from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- List of characters from Alias
- List of characters in the Oz books
- List of Robert Heinlein characters
- Love Hina main characters
- Love Hina minor characters

Heroes and villains


- List of fictional heroes
- List of anti-heroes
- List of black superheroes
- List of female superheroes
- List of male superheroes
- List of literary works with eponymous heroines
- List of supervillains

See also


- Archive of fictional things
- Fictional realm
- Grand argument
- Mary Sue
- The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time Category:Fiction Category:Lists of fictional characters
- ja:架空の人名一覧

Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a Marvel Comics superhero group. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 (1961). Although the group’s membership has occasionally changed temporarily, the team usually consists of four friends who gained superpowers after being exposed to cosmic rays:
- Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), the leader of the group, a scientist who can stretch his body.
- The Invisible Woman (Susan Richards, née Storm; originally the Invisible Girl), his wife, the second-in-command of the group who can become invisible at will and create invisible force fields.
- The Human Torch (Johnny Storm), her brother, who can surround himself in flames and fly.
- The Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy friend with a heart of gold, who possesses superior strength and whose body is made of craggy orange rock. Since their introduction, the group has been portrayed as a dysfunctional superhero family of sorts. They squabble and even hold some deep animosity towards one another, but ultimately truly love and care for each other. The team launched the revival of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, giving them a pivotal place in the history of American comic books. They have remained more or less popular since and have been adapted into other media, including three somewhat successful cartoon series and a big-budget 2005 film.

Publication history

film Legend has it that in 1961, longtime magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman was playing a round of golf with rival publisher Jack Liebowitz of DC Comics. Liebowitz told Goodman about the success DC had been having with the superhero team the Justice League of America, which had debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (Feb. 1960) before going on to its own hit title. Whether or not this mythic meeting actually occurred, Goodman, a publishing trend-follower aware of the JLA's sales success, directed his comics editor and head writer Stan Lee to begin publishing a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. Lee, who'd served as Timely's second editor and had run Goodman's comic-book division for two decades, had by now found the medium restrictive. Intending to leave after completing this assignment, Lee teamed with artist Jack Kirby to produce a groundbreaking series featuring a family of superheroes who were fallible and more human than anything seen in comics. To forestall possibly upsetting DC (which, in addition to being a competing publisher, also owned Marvel's distributor), Lee and Kirby deliberately avoided making the new book look like a competing superhero comic; the new characters appeared on the cover without costumes and had no secret identities. Lee's intended swan song became phenomenally successful, and Lee and Kirby stayed together on the book and began launching other titles from which the Marvel Universe grew. Through the lengthy run of the creators' involvement, the series produced many acclaimed stories and characters that have become central to the Marvel Universe, including Doctor Doom, The Silver Surfer, Galactus, The Watcher, The Inhumans and The Black Panther. After Kirby's departure from Marvel in the early 1970s, the title continued with less distinguished results until the 1980s, when writer-artist John Byrne created the most hailed acclaimed run since Lee and Kirby's. Among his contributions was the modernization of the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman — a self-confident and dynamic character whose newfound control of her abilities made her the most powerful member of the team. In February, 2004, Marvel launched Ultimate Fantastic Four, a version of the group in the Ultimate universe. Marvel launched Marvel Knights 4, a more adult version of the Fantastic Four, in April, 2004

Character history

The Fantastic Four acquired their superhuman abilities after an experimental rocket designed by the scientist Reed Richards passed through a storm of cosmic rays on its test flight. Upon crash landing back on Earth, the four occupants of the craft found themselves transformed and possessed of bizarre new abilities. Richards, who took the name Mister Fantastic, was now able to stretch his body into nearly any shape he could imagine (similar to the earlier Plastic Man). His fiancée, Susan Storm, gained the ability to become invisible at will and named herself the Invisible Girl (later the Invisible Woman). She later developed the ability to project force fields, create invisible objects, and turn other objects visible or invisible. Her younger brother, Johnny Storm, possessed the incendiary powers of the Human Torch, enabling him to control fire, project burning bolts of flame from his body, and fly. Finally, pilot Ben Grimm was transformed into a craggy, orange-skinned monster with incredible strength and a nearly invulnerable hide. Filled with self loathing and self pity, he dubbed himself the Thing, a term which was Susan's initial reaction to his transformation. The four characters were modeled after the four classical Greek elements: earth (The Thing), fire (The Human Torch), wind (The Invisible Girl) and water (the pliable and ductile Mr. Fantastic). They also appear inspired by co-creator Kirby's DC Comics team the Challengers of the Unknown. The team of adventurers have used their fantastic abilities to protect humanity, the earth and the universe from a number of threats. Propelled mainly by Richards' innate scientific curiosity, the team have explored space, the Negative Zone, the Microverse, other dimensions and nearly every hidden valley, nation and lost civilization on the planet. They have had a number of headquarters, most notably the Baxter Building in New York City. The Baxter Building was replaced by Four Freedoms Plaza, built at the same location, after the Baxter Building's destruction at the hands of Kristoff Vernard, adopted son of the Fantastic Four's seminal villain (and rumored half-brother of Mr. Fantastic) Doctor Doom. Pier 4, a warehouse on the New York waterfront, served as a temporary headquarters for the group after Four Freedoms Plaza was condemned, due to the actions of another superhero team, the Thunderbolts. Most recently, an orbiting satellite version of the Baxter Building has been used. The comic has typically emphasized that the Fantastic Four, unlike most superhero teams, are truly a family. Three of the four members are directly related, with The Thing being the exception. Although not strictly related, The Thing's role is that of the beloved Dutch uncle, and his relationship with Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch is nonetheless quite sibling-like. The children of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards, are also regulars in the series. Unlike most superheroes, the Fantastic Four's identities are not secret and they maintain a high public profile, enjoying celebrity status for their scientific and heroic contributions to society. Recent issues have revealed that this is a deliberate move by Reed Richards, who works to keep the team highly visible and well-regarded out of guilt for causing their mutations.
- List of Fantastic Four members

Characters

Heroes


- Mister Fantastic - real name Reed Richards
- The Thing - real name Benjamin Jacob Grimm
- Invisible Girl (later renamed Invisible Woman) - real name Susan Storm (later Susan Richards)
- The Human Torch - real name Johnny Storm

Temporary Replacement Members


- Medusa - An Inhuman; filled-in for the pregnant Invisible Girl
- Crystal - An Inhuman and Johnny Storm's girlfriend at the time; left due to pollution allergies
- Luke Cage - Power Man - Replacement during the Thing's brief absence
- Nova - Mutant Frankie Raye; later became herald to Galactus
- She-Hulk - Jennifer Walters, first cousin of Bruce Banner, the Hulk; replacement for the Thing
- Ms. Marvel - Former wrestler Sharon Ventura; gained powers and appearance similar to the Thing's
- Lyja - An undercover Skrull whom Johnny Storm married, believing her to be Alicia Masters
- Ant Man II - Scott Lang, reformed thief utilizing Henry Pym's shrinking particles; briefly hired when Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic was missing and presumed dead
- Kristoff - Doctor Doom's protege, mind-conditioned to behave as Doom. Attracted to Ant Man's daughter, joined team in last issues of series I
- The Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Ghost Rider have together served as a complete replacement Fantastic Four on occasion. In the main Marvel Universe, they stepped in to temporarily replace the team when the Four had been kidnapped by an enemy, while in the Ages of Apocalypse timeline, they remained in the roles more permanently.

Allies/Supporting Characters


- Alicia Masters
- The Inhumans
  - Black Bolt
  - Crystal (former member)
  - Medusa (former member)
  - Gorgon
  - Karnak
  - Triton
- Namor the Sub-Mariner
- Silver Surfer
- The Watcher
- Postal worker Willie Lumpkin
- Wyatt Wingfoot

Antagonists


- Air-Walker
- Annihilus
- Blastaar
- Devos (The Destroyer)
- Diablo
- Doctor Doom
- Dragon Man
- Frightful Four
- Galactus
- Hydro-Man
- Impossible Man
- Kang the Conqueror/Rama-Tut/Immortus
- Klaw
- Mad Thinker
- Mephisto
- Mole Man
- Molecule Man
- Overmind
- Puppet Master
- Red Ghost
- Skrulls
- Super-Skrull
- Thanos
- Terrax
- The Sandman
- Thundra
- Trapster
- Wizard

Comic book within a comic book

Some early issues of The Fantastic Four established the conceit of the characters having been adapted to comic books within the context of the Marvel Universe, with the Fantastic Four having sold Marvel a license to use their likenesses. One early Doctor Doom story included Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as characters. It was again used in Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #262. The issue depicted writer/artist John Byrne being asked by editor Michael Higgins for the latest issue, since it was almost late. Byrne explained that he had been unable to contact the Fantastic Four for the latest story, since they were away. He was about to make up a story when the Watcher whisked him away to take part in the Fantastic Four's latest adventure. At the end of the issue, Byrne submitted his story. Such self-reference faded out as the Marvel Universe developed, but was occasionally revived, most notably with the character She-Hulk in the 1990s, again written by John Byrne. Marvels Comics: Fantastic Four (2000) was a mockup of what the comic book published in the Marvel Universe might have looked like, and was (within the fictional context of the story) produced with the official approval of Fantastic Four, Inc.

Other media

Over the years, there have been three short-lived TV animated series and two feature-length film adaptations (though one was never released, and is only available in bootleg) of the Fantastic Four comic book series. Currently, there is a new animated series being planned for 2006 (estimated). The Fantastic Four also guest-starred in the "Secret Wars" story arc of the 1990's Spider-Man animated series.

1967 Animated Series

The first series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions (with character designs by Alex Toth) and aired on ABC from 1967 to 1969. It lasted for 20 episodes, and it is favorably remembered as one of the better cartoon adaptations of a Marvel comic book series. This Fantastic Four series was rerun as part of the continuing series Hanna-Barbera's World of Super Adventure.

1967 Fantastic Four animated series cast


- Gerald Mohr - Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) (voice)
- Jo Ann Pflug - Invisible Woman (Susan Storm Richards) (voice)
- Jack Flounders - The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (voice)
- Paul Frees - The Thing (Benjamin J. Grimm)/The Watcher/Additional Voices (voice)

1967 Fantastic Four animated series episode guide

#Klaws #Menace Of The Mole Men #Diablo #The Red Ghost #Invasion Of The Super Skrulls #Three Predictions Of Dr. Doom #The Way It All Began #Behold A Distant Star #Prisoners Of Planet X #The Mysterious Molecule Man #Danger In The Depths #Demon Of The Deep #Return Of The Mole Man #It Started On Yancy Street #Galactus #The Micro World Of Dr. Doom #Blastarr #The Terrible Tribunal #Rama-Tut #The Deadly Director

1978 Animated Series

The second series was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (who would ironically become known as Marvel Productions, Ltd. in 1980) in the mid-1970s. It is infamous for starting a long-running urban legend that persists in comic book and animation fandom to the present day. The 1970s Fantastic Four series replaced the character of the Human Torch with a "cute" (and "annoying" by many Four fans) robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. A long-lasting rumor persisted that this change was made by the TV network (NBC) because they supposedly did not want young viewers to imitate the Human Torch by setting themselves on fire. However, this rumor was false; the true reason for the change was because of merchandising concerns. (A movie featuring the Human Torch was in the early stages of production at the time, though the film was never completed.) movie

1978 Fantastic Four animated series cast


- Ted Cassidy - Thing/Benjamin J. 'Ben' Grimm (voice)
- Mike Road - Mr. Fantastic/Prof. Reed Richards (voice)
- Dick Tufeld - Opening Narrator
- Ginny Tyler-Hilton - Invisible Girl/Susan 'Sue' Richards (voice)
- Frank Welker - H.E.R.B.I.E. (voice)

1978 Fantastic Four animated series opening narration

"It was the world's strangest accident. While testing a new rocket ship, our heroes were bombarded by mysterious cosmic rays from outer space. Though they crash-landed safely, the strange and powerful rays had changed each one of them. Transforming their leader, Reed Richards, into the plastic-skinned Mr. Fantastic; Sue Richards into the "now you see her, now you don't" Invisible Girl; and Ben Grimm into a mighty-muscled powerhouse called The Thing. Now together with H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot, the newest member of the group, they have become the greatest team of superheroes the world has ever known. The NEW Fantastic Four!"

1978 Fantastic Four episode guide

#A Monster Among Us! #The Menace Of Magneto #The Phantom Of Film City #Medusa And The Inhumans #The Diamond Of Doom #The Mole Man #The Olympics Of Space #The Frightful Four #Calamity On The Campus! #The Impossible Man #Meet Doctor Doom #The Final Victory Of Doctor Doom

1994-96 Animated Series

In the mid-1990s, Marvel Productions syndicated a new Fantastic Four animated series as part of the "Marvel Action Hour". The first half of the hour was an episode of Iron Man; the second half an episode of Fantastic Four (many episodes of which were direct recreations of episodes from the original 1960s series). During the first season, Stan Lee was featured speaking before each show about characters in the following episode and what had inspired him to create them. Both Fantastic Four and Iron Man were radically retooled in their second seasons, sporting new opening sequences, improved animation and more mature writing, though noticeably missing the introductions by Stan Lee. The "Marvel Action Hour" lasted two seasons before being cancelled. Recently, the entire 94-95 series was released on DVD, now featuring new introductions by Stan Lee for all 26 episodes.

1994 Fantastic Four animated series cast


- Beau Weaver - Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards
- Lori Alan - Invisible Woman/Susan Storm Richards
- Quinton Flynn - Human Torch/Johnny Storm (season 2)
- Chuck McCann - The Thing/Benjamin J. Grimm
- Brian Austin Green - Human Torch/Johnny Storm (season 1)

1994 Fantastic Four animated series theme song (Season 1)

Opening lyrics: :On an outer space adventure :They got hit by cosmic rays :And the four were changed forever :In some most fantastic ways :No need to fear they're here :Just call the Four :Fantastic Four :Don't need no more :Reed Richards is elastic :Sue can fade from sight :Johnny is the Human Torch :The Thing just loves to fight :Call the four :Fantastic Four :Fantastic Four Closing lyrics: :There's Galactus looking hungry :And ol' Doctor Doom is near :Here come the Skrulls invading :Do you run and hide in fear? :No way, no way, no way :Just call the Four :Fantastic Four :That's all, no more :Reed Richards is elastic :Sue can fade from sight :Johnny is the Human Torch :The Thing just loves to fight :Call the four :Fantastic Four :Fantastic Four

1994 Fantastic Four animated series episode guide

Season 1
#The Origin Of The Fantastic Four - Part 1 #The Origin Of The Fantastic Four - Part 2 #Now Comes The Sub-Mariner #Incursion Of The Skrulls #The Silver Surfer & The Coming Of Galactus - Pt 1 #The Silver Surfer & The Coming Of Galactus - Pt 2 #Super Skrull #The Mask of Doom - Pt 1 #The Mask of Doom - Pt 2 #The Mask of Doom - Pt 3 #Mole Man #Behold The Negative Zone #The Silver Surfer & The Return of Galactus
Season 2
Brian Austin Green #And A Blind Man Shall Lead Them (guest starring Daredevil) #Inhumans Saga Pt 1: And The Wind Cries Medusa #Inhumans Saga Pt 2: The Inhumans Among Us #Inhumans Saga Pt 3: Beware The Hidden Land #Worlds Within Worlds #To Battle The Living Planet (guest starring Thor) #Prey Of The Black Panther #When Calls Galactus (guest starring Ghost Rider and Thor) #Nightmare In Green (guest starring the Incredible Hulk) #Behold, A Distant Star #Hopelessly Impossible #The Sentry Sinister #Doomsday

Video Games

In 1998 a side-scrolling video game was released for the PlayStation based on the Fantastic Four characters. In the game you and a friend could pick among the Fantastic Four characters, along with the She-Hulk and battle your way through various levels until you meet up with Doctor Doom. The game was widely panned by critics for having a weak storyline, and handling of the characters powers. The Fantastic Four also appeared in the Super NES and Sega Genesis video game based on the 1990's Spider-Man animated series, and inevitably, they starred in their own multiplatform games based on their 2005 movie.

Movies

PlayStation, Jessica Alba, and Ioan Gruffudd.]] A movie adaptation of The Fantastic Four was completed in 1994 by famed b-movie director/producer Roger Corman. While this movie was never released to theaters or video, it has been made available from various bootleg video distributors. The film was made on a shoestring budget and is largely mocked by fans of the comic book foursome for what they see as poor acting and disappointing special effects (at one point, The Human Torch turns into an obvious cartoon). It was ultimately revealed by Stan Lee that unbeknownst to the cast and crew, this movie was never intended to be released in the first place. It was only because the studio who owned the rights to make a Fantastic Four movie would have lost the rights if they did not begin production by a certain date. Another feature film adaptation of The Fantastic Four was released July 8 2005, directed by Tim Story. Fantastic Four opened in 3602 Theaters and despite predominately poor reviews has generated US$154M+ & $329M+ Worldwide, making a sequel probable. It stars Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom, with Stan Lee making a cameo appearance as Willie Lumpkin, the mailman.

Parodies and references


- The cartoon series The Tick featured in several episodes an obvious Fantastic Four parody known as The Civic Minded Five, which included team members Four-Legged Man, Captain Mucilage, The Carpeted Man, Jungle Janet, and Feral Boy.
- On an episode of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Jimmy and his friends pass through a raidiation belt that gives them super powers. The only person to get a Fantastic Four power is Libby. She gets all the powers of Invisible Woman and calls herself "Invisible Sister".
- An episode of the animated series The Venture Bros., titled Ice Station Impossible, involved an obvious parody of the Fantastic Four.
- An early episode of Batman Beyond, called "Heroes," features a trio of superheroes who closely resemble The Fantastic Four.
- The SpongeBob SquarePants episode Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V had a parody of the Fantastic Four, although SpongeBob's powers were a parody of The Flash and not of a particular Fantastic Four member.
- The hit cartoon show The Simpsons has also poked fun at the Fantastic Four.
  - In The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror X episode, Bart and Lisa are exposed to radiation and transformed into 'Stretch Dude' and 'Clobber Girl'
  - In The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XIV episode, Bart discovers a magic stopwatch; near the end of the episode he gives it to Lisa, who presses the button repeatedly — at one point briefly turning the family into the Fantastic Four.
  - In another episode of The Simpsons entitled "I Am Furious, Yellow" guest-starring Stan Lee, a boy in the comic book shop wants to buy a Batman action figure, but Stan tries to sell the boy an action figure of The Thing instead.
- The universe of writer Kurt Busiek's various Astro City comics includes a Fantastic Four-like group called The First Family.
- The 2004 Disney/Pixar animated feature The Incredibles is built around a family of superheroes whose powers include stretching, super strength, invisibility/force field, and, to a more briefly seen extent, flame. (Another family-member has superspeed.) Indeed, Marvel Studios chairperson Avi Arad told Entertainment Weekly that, "In the words of Stan Lee, when someone asked him about The Incredibles, he said, ‘You know, it feels like I wrote it.’'"
  - Source: EW 7-1-05, "Fantastic' Voyage?: Fantastic Four has incredible trouble -- The would-be blockbuster had a tough time getting released" by Scott Brown at http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1078809_1_0_,00.html
- An episode of "The Mask" animated series featured four stones that granted the exact same powers as those of the Fantastic Four. Only the invisibility stone was used, however.
- An episode of "Atomic Betty", featured three Betty clones possessing the powers of the Torch, Mr. Fantastic, and the Thing, including their traditional colors.
- The Wildstorm comic series Planetary has as its main villains a group called simply The Four. They are counterparts to the Fantastic Four in many ways, mostly in their powers and in the relationships between the analogs to Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman.
- The animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers featured a villain named Duke Nukem, who had rocky skin similar to that of the Thing. Similarly, Duke Nukem's condition was brought about due to radioactive exposure.
- In issues 29-30 of the 1989 Legion of Super-Heroes series, a team of four villains (Elasti-Kid 5, Ghost 6, Flare and Alloy 12) had powers based on those of the Fantastic Four.
- In issues 50-52 of Power Pack, a quartet of Kymellian heroes called Force 4 (Teamleader, Ghostmare, Firemane and Thunderhoof) was based in powers (though Teamleader's power was only his superior intelligence, and not any variation of Mister Fantastic's stretching power) and in name (with the exception of Ghostmare, the real names of these heroes was a Pig Latin version of their Fantastic Four counterparts') on the Fantastic Four. Ghostmare was later renamed Matriarch, paralleling the Invisible Woman's role in the Fantastic Four family as well.
- The opening of a Garfield Sunday strip parodied the opening of a FF comic book. Garfield was the Thing, Odie was Mr. Fantastic, Nermal was the Human Torch (who was trying to blow out his flaming tail), and Arlene was the Invisible Woman. The name of the comics company that turns out Garfield was placed instead of Marvel Comics, as Paws Comics Group.
- In Family Guy, in the episode "Petarded", Peter Griffin refers to Fantastic Four while playing Trivial Pursuit

See also


- Bibliography of Fantastic Four titles
- Ultimate Fantastic Four
- Ultimate Marvel
- The Four
- Maximum Fantastic Four

External links


- [http://www.marvelpics.co.uk Official Marvel Picture site]
- [http://www.fantasticfourmovie.com Official Fantastic Four movie webpage]
- [http://www.ffplaza.com/ The Fantastic Four @ FFPlaza.com]
- [http://www.fantasticfourheadquarters.com/ A site looking at the critical history and media of the Fantastic Four]
- [http://www.knightmare6.com/faq/fantastic_four Knightmare6.com, Fantastic Four]
- [http://members.aol.com/drg4/ffx.html DRG4's Fantastic Four the Animated Series Page]
- [http://marvel.toonzone.net/fanfourtas/ Fantastic Four: The Animated Series (1994-5) @ Marvel Animation Age]
- [http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/1999-11-19/screens_video.html A review of the 1994 FF Film]
- [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120667/ The IMDb entry on the 2005 feature]
- [http://dialbforblog.com/archives/49/ Dial B for Blog: Secret Origins of the Fantastic Four]
- [http://www.teako170.com/ffmovie.html The Fantastic Four-Gotten: In-depth article of the 1994 film - includes cast/crew comments, interviews, photos] Category:Fantastic Four Category:Marvel Comics superhero teams Category:Marvel Comics titles Fantastic Four, The Category:1960s TV shows in the United States Category:1970s TV shows in the United States Category:1990s TV shows in the United States Category:NBC network shows Category:ABC network shows Category:Fictional families simple:The Fantastic Four

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics, (AKA Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Characters, Inc., and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) sometimes called by the nickname The House of Ideas, is an American comic book company. Its best-known comics include The Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, and X-Men. Since the 1960s, it has been one of the two largest American comics companies, along with DC Comics. rightrightright

History

Origins

right), the first comic from Marvel precursor Timely Comics. Art by Frank R. Paul]] Marvel Comics was founded by established pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman in 1939 as an eventual group of subsidiary companies under the umbrella name Timely Comics. Its first publication was Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), featuring the first appearance of Carl Burgos' android superhero, the Human Torch, and the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett's mutant anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner. The contents of that sales blockbuster were supplied by an outside packager, Funnies, Inc., but by the following year Timely had a staff in place. The company's first editor, the writer-artist Joe Simon, teamed with soon-to-be industry legend Jack Kirby to create one of the first patriotically themed superheroes, Captain America, in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). It, too, proved a major sales hit. While no other Timely character would be as successful as these "big three", some notable heroes — many continuing to appear in modern-day retcon appearances and flashbacks — include the Whizzer, Miss America, The Destroyer, the original Vision, and Paul Gustavson's The Angel. Timely also published one of humor cartoonist Basil Wolverton's best-known features, Powerhouse Pepper. Sales of all comic books declined drastically in the post-war era, and the superheroic übermensch archetype popular during the Depression and the war years went out of fashion. Like other comics companies, Timely — generally known as Atlas Comics in the 1950s — followed pop-cultural trends with a variety of genres, including funny animals, Western, horror, war, crime, humor, romance, spy fiction and even medieval adventure, all with varying degrees of success. An attempted superhero revival in 1953-54 with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner and Captain America failed. In 1957, Atlas nearly closed its doors due to the bankruptcy of its distributor, American News Service. This summer of 1957 debacle is infamously known as the "Atlas Implosion". The final comic to bear the famous Atlas Globe on its cover was Dippy Duck #1, the only "Atlas" comic with an October 1957 cover date. The Atlas "one-shots" of 1957 reveal that Martin Goodman was attempting to open a new range of "kiddies" titles just as the ax fell. Goodman switched to the distributor Independent News on constrained terms that allowed him only a limited number of titles per month. The surviving sixteen titles are sometimes referred to as the "sweet sixteen" (published bi-monthly, eight titles per month), the first of which to bear the new "Ind." label was Patsy Walker #73, ironically (like Dippy Duck) bearing an October 1957 cover date. The sixteen survivors of the summer of 1957 (the two fantasy and two war titles clearly were simply using up left over "inventory") reveal that the best selling titles were westerns (Kid Colt Outlaw starring in two titles) and girl humor (led primarily by Millie the Model along with Patsy Walker and Hedy Wolfe). The two fantasy titles (Strange Tales and World of Fantasy) clung on printing "inventory" (stories stored away in summer 1957) from late 1957 until late 1958. At the end of 1958 Martin Goodman attempted a new direction (after recently reviving Journey into Mystery) by launching a short-lived space fantasy sci-fi range of stories in six titles :Strange Worlds #1, World of Fantasy #15 , Strange Tales #67, Journey into Mystery #50, Tales of Suspense #1 and Tales to Astonish #1. The space fantasy tales were unsuccessful and faded out after less than a year, but by the end of 1959 most of these titles (Strange Worlds and World of Fantasy were both cancelled) were now sporting covers featuring great hulking monsters and featuring a line-up of Jack Kirby-drawn stories (often inked by Dick Ayers) followed by Steve Ditko's wonderful mysterious "ooky" tales and Don Heck's very atmospheric rendering of jungle/prison escapes and weird adventures. The Kirby/Ayers monster stories were riding on the coattails of popular movie trends of the time with a science fiction bent. Ind-Marvel also expanded its line of girls humor titles in 1959-61 with Kathy the Teen-Age Tornado (Oct 1959) and Linda Carter, Student Nurse (Sept 1961). This fact along with the fanstasy title expansion of late 1958 (and the addition of Amazing Adventures, cover dated June 1961 -- a title which eventually became the Lee & Ditko showpiece Amazing Adult Fantasy before becoming Amazing Fantasy #15 which in turn led to Amazing Spider-Man #1) clearly reveal that Martin Goodman and Stan Lee were looking for ways to expand their comics line.

1960s

Stan Lee), the cornerstone of Marvel and the introduction of a new style of superhero. Art by Jack Kirby.]] In the wake of DC Comics' success reviving superheroes in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly with The Justice League of America, Marvel decided to follow suit. Editor/writer Stan Lee and freelance artist Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four, vaguely reminding one of DC's adventuring quartet the Challengers of the Unknown. The book was a success, and Marvel began publishing further superhero titles featuring such heroes and anti-heroes as the Hulk, Spider-Man, The Mighty Thor, Ant-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men and Daredevil, and such memorable antagonists as Doctor Doom, Magneto, Galactus, the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. The most successful new series was The Amazing Spider-Man, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Marvel's comics were noted for focusing on characterization to a greater extent than most superhero comics before them — Spider-Man in particular, its young hero suffering from self-doubt and mundane problems like any other teenager. Marvel superheroes are often flawed, freaks, and misfits, unlike the perfect, handsome, athletic heroes found in previous traditional comic books. Some of the Marvel heroes looked like villains and monsters. In time, this non-traditional approach would revolutionize comic books. Peter Sanderson, in an October 10, 2003, column for IGN.com [http://comics.ign.com/articles/595/595576p1.html], said that
"DC was the equivalent of the big Hollywood studios: After the brilliance of DC's reinvention of the superhero ... in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it had run into a creative drought by the decade's end. There was a new audience for comics, now, and it wasn't just the little kids that traditionally had read the books. The Marvel of the 1960s was in its own way the counterpart of the French New Wave.... Marvel was pioneering new methods of comics storytelling and characterization, addressing more serious themes, and in the process keeping and attracting readers in their teens and beyond. Moreover, among this new generation of readers were people who wanted to write or draw comics themselves, within the new style that Marvel had pioneered, and push the creative envelope still further."
Lee became one of the best-known names in comics, with his charming personality and relentless salesmanship of the company. The "voice" of Stan Lee is what one senses in so many of the Marvel Comics of the first half of the 1960s. His sense of humor and general light-hearted manner, and the depiction of the Bullpen (Lee's name for the staff) as one big happy family. In later years it became clear the artists often had as much to do with Marvel's product and success as Lee. Jack Kirby in particular is often credited as the creative well from which sprang many of the cosmic ideas and characters of The Fantastic Four and The Mighty Thor (such as The Watcher, The Silver Surfer and Ego the Living Planet) while Steve Ditko is recognized as the driving artistic force behind the moody atmosphere and street-level naturalism of Spider-Man and the surreal atmosphere of Dr. Strange. Lee, however, continues to deserve great credit for his well-honed skills at dialog and story sense; for his keen hand at choosing and motivating artists and in assembling creative teams; and for his uncanny ability to connect with the readers. In 1968, company founder Martin Goodman sold Marvel Comics and his other publishing businesses to the Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation. It grouped these businesses in a subsidiary called Magazine Management Co. Goodman remained as publisher.

1970s

Martin Goodman). Art by Gene Colan and Steve Leialoha]]In 1972, Goodman retired as publisher and was succeeded by Lee, who stepped aside from running day-to-day operations at Marvel. A series of new editors-in-chief oversaw the company during another slow time for the industry. Once again, Marvel attempted to diversify, and achieved moderate success with titles themed to horror (Tomb of Dracula), martial arts, (Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu), sword-and-sorcery (Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja), satire (Howard the Duck) and science fiction ("Killraven" in Amazing Adventures). Some of these were published in larger-sized black-and-white magazines, targeted for mature readers. Marvel was able to capitalize on its successful superhero comics of the previous decade by acquiring a new newsstand distributor and greatly expanding its comics line. Even more importantly, during a time when the price and format of the standard newsstand comic were in flux, Marvel captured a significant piece of DC's market share by offering a lower-priced product with a higher distributor discount. In 1973, Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation changed its name to Cadence Industries, which in turn renamed Magazine Management Co. as Marvel Comics Group. Goodman, now completely disconnected from Marvel, created a new company called Atlas/Seaboard Comics in 1974, reviving Marvel's old Atlas name, but this project lasted only a year-and-a-half. In the mid-1970s, Marvel was affected by a decline of the newsstand distribution network. Cult hits such as Howard the Duck were the victims of the distribution problems, with some titles reporting low sales when in fact they were being resold at a later date in the first specialty comic-book stores. An attempt by Marvel to buy DC was frustrated by DC's refusal to sell its entire library of characters (wanting to retain control of Superman and Batman), and DC was sold to Warner Communications instead. By the end of the decade, Marvel's fortunes were reviving, thanks to the rise of direct-market distribution (selling through those same comics-specialty stores instead of newsstands) and the sales increase of previously borderline books — such as the canceled '60s title The Uncanny X-Men, revived to become a hit series under team of writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, or the more naturalistic, urban-crime superhero comic Daredevil, by writer/artist Frank Miller.

1980s

Frank Miller). Art by Mike Zeck]]By the 1980s, one-time wunderkind Jim Shooter was Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. Although a controversial personality, Shooter cured many of the procedural ills at Marvel (including repeatedly missed deadlines) and oversaw a creative renaissance at the company. This renaissance included institutionalizing creator royalties, starting the Epic imprint for creator-owned material, and launching a brand-new (albeit ultimately unsuccessful) line named New Universe, to commemorate Marvel's 25th anniversary, in 1986. However, Shooter was responsible for the introduction of the company-wide crossover (Contest of Champions, Secret Wars) and was accused by many creators, especially near the end of his tenure, of exercising his job in a draconian manner and interfering with the writers' creative process. In 1981 Marvel purchased the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises animation studio from famed Looney Tunes director Friz Freleng and his business partner David H. DePatie. The company was renamed Marvel Productions Ltd. and it produced well known animated TV series such as G.I. Joe, The Transformers and Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, Dungeons & Dragons and movies based on the G.I. Joe and The Transformers TV series. Following the acquisition of Marvel by Ronald Perelman, Marvel Productions sold its back catalog to Saban Entertainment and Marvel management permanently closed the animation studio opting to have its animation projects contracted out to third party production companies. In 1982, Marvel launched its creator-owned imprint Epic Comics, specifically for the "direct market," the emerging retail phenomenon of comic-book stores. In 1988, Marvel was bought by investor/entrepreneur Ronald Perelman, who made Marvel a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and oversaw a great increase in the number of titles published by the company.

1990s

New York Stock Exchange), one of many spin-offs of The Amazing Spider Man. Art by Todd McFarlane]] Marvel earned a great deal of money and recognition during the early decade's comic-book boom, launching the highly successful 2099 line of comics set in the future (Spider-Man 2099 etc.) and the creatively daring though commercially unsuccessful Razorline imprint of superhero comics created by novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker. Yet by the middle of the decade, the industry had slumped and Marvel filed for bankruptcy amidst accusations that Perelman had strip-mined the company for his own gain. The casualties included the comic-book distribution industry in 1994, when Marvel announced it was acquiring Heroes World to use as its exclusive distributor. As the industry's other major publishers made exclusive distribution deals with other companies, the loss of the industry's largest companies threw the majority of the comic book distributors out of business. Although Marvel's plan failed, only Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. now exists as the major distributor of comic books in North America, a development many comic retailers believe profoundly damaged the business status of the industry. Investor Carl Icahn attempted to take control of Marvel, but after protracted legal battles, in 1997 control of the company landed in the hands of Isaac Perlmutter, owner of the Marvel subsidiary Toy Biz. With his business partner Avi Arad and publisher Bill Jemas and editor-in-chief Bob Harras, Perlmutter helped Marvel back on its feet. In addition to Marvel revitalizing its comics line, several of its properties have been licensed to become hit movies, most notably X-Men and Spider-Man. Creatively and commercially, the '90s were dominated by the use of gimmickry to boost sales, such as variant covers, cover enhancements and regular company-wide crossovers that threw the universe's continuity into disarray. In 1996, Marvel had almost all its titles participate in the Onslaught Saga, a crossover that allowed Marvel to relaunch some of its flagship characters, such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, in the Heroes Reborn universe, in which Marvel defectors Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld were given permission to revamp the properties from scratch. After an initial sales bump, sales quickly declined below expected levels, and Marvel killed the experiment after its planned one-year run; the characters returned to the Marvel Universe proper. In 1998, the company launched the imprint Marvel Knights, taking place within Marvel continuity; helmed by soon-to-become editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, and featuring tough, gritty stories showcasing such characters as the Inhumans and Daredevil, it achieved substantial success.

2000s

With the new millennium, Marvel Comics escaped from bankruptcy and again began diversifying its offerings. In 2001, Marvel withdrew from the Comics Code Authority and established its own Marvel Ratings System for comics. It also created new imprints, such as MAX, a line intended for mature readers, and Marvel Age, developed for younger audiences, including children. In addition to this is the highly successful Ultimate Marvel imprint, which allowed Marvel to reboot their major titles by deconstructing and updating their major superhero and villian characters to introduce to a new generation. This imprint exists in a universe parallel to the proper Marvel continuity, which allowed the writers freedom from the characters' convoluted history and the ability to redesign them, and to maintain their other ongoing series without replacing the established continuity. This also allowed Marvel to capitalize on an influx of new readers who were not familiar with comics but became familiar with their characters through their film franchises, making it easier for a mainstream audience to follow. The company has also revamped its graphic novel division, establishing a bigger presence in the bookstore market. Marvel remains a key publisher in the comics business, even as the industry has dwindled to a fraction of its peak size decades earlier. Stan Lee is no longer officially connected to the company, save for the title of "Chairman Emeritus," but remains a visible face in the industry and occasionally remarks on his fondness for the characters. In 2002, he sued successfully for a share of income related to movies and merchandising of Marvel characters, based on a contract between Lee and Marvel from the late 1990s; according to court documents, Marvel had used "Hollywood accounting" to claim that those projects' "earnings" were not profits. Regardless, Marvel has also become a key player in Hollywood, with many of its characters being turned into successful film franchises, with perhaps the best examples being X-Men starting in 2000, and Spider-Man beginning in 2002.

Editors-in-chief

The Marvel editor-in-chief has great power and oversees many creative decisions taken within the company. The position evolved sporadically. In the earliest years the company had a single editor overseeing the entire line, but as the company grew it became increasingly common for individual titles to be overseen separately. The concept of the "writer-editor" evolved, stemming from the days when Stan Lee wrote and oversaw most of the line's output. Overseeing the line in the 1970s were a series of chief editors, though the titles were used intermittently. Confusing matters further some appear to have been appointed merely by extending their existing editorial duties. By the time of the appointment of Jim Shooter in 1978 the post of editor-in-chief was clearly defined. In 1994, Marvel briefly abolished the position, replacing Tom DeFalco with five "group editors", though they each held the title "editor-in-chief" and had some editors underneath them. It reinstated the position later in the year, installing Bob Harras.
- Joe Simon (1939-1941)
- Stan Lee (1941-1942)
- Vincent Fago (acting editor during Stan Lee's military service) (1942-1945)
- Stan Lee (1945-1972)
- Roy Thomas (1972-1974)
- Len Wein (1974-1975)
- Marv Wolfman (B&W magazines 1974-1975, entire line 1975-1976)
- Gerry Conway (1976)
- Archie Goodwin (1976-1978)
- Jim Shooter (1978-1987)
- Tom DeFalco (1987-1994)
- No overall editor-in-chief (1994-1995)
- Bob Harras (1995-2000)
- Joe Quesada (2000-) Sources: [http://www.newkadia.com/MarvelComics.html], [http://www.manwithoutfear.com/interviews/ddINTWolfman.shtml], [http://www.geocities.com/marvel80s/mrv_hist.html].

Imprints


- Current
  - Marvel Next
  - Icon Comics
  -