Fantastic Four Biography, History

"In creating The Fantastic four and the groundbreaking books that followed it, Lee and Kirby established that the personalities of the heroes, rather than the plots, should be of paramount importance. 'I was really interested in the characters as people,' Kirby says. 'I have a genuine feeling for real people and what I do is recreate them in a fantastic formula.'

'Characterization is the most important thing in any story,' says Lee. 'first I thought of the kind of character I wanted, then I figured out what kind of super power he'd have.' in a field where gimmicks were usually considered to be most important, the approach was revolutionary

The Fantastic Four acquired their amazing powers after their experimental rocket passed through a storm of cosmic rays. For their leader, Lee envisioned 'the worlds greatest scientist, who is also a little bit of a bore. He talks too much, he's too ponderous and he drives the others crazy.' this was Reed Richards, who took the name Mr. Fantastic after he acquired the somewhat absurd ability to stretch his body into any conceivable shape. there had been other "stretch" characters in comic books before-notably Jack Cole's Plastic Man from Quality Comics- and Timely had published a few tales about Flexo the Rubber Man in 1940. Yet the contrast between the flexibility gimmick and the rigid stuffiness of Richards made Mr. fantastic fresh and interesting.

'I thought we also had to have a girl,' continues Lee, 'but with a new twist: she's not just a girlfriend who doesn't know what the hero does.' (In fact, The Fantastic Four didn't bother with secret identities; all the other characters knew about their powers.) Sue Storm, a full fledged member for the team and Richards' fianc?, was able to transform herself into The Invisible Girl (later The Invisible Woman). She also learned to project a force field as a defensive weapon.

The third member of the group was Johnny Storm, Sue's kid brother. He was a teenager, but quite different from the stereotyped worshipful sidekick. Instead, Johnny was a show-off and a bit of a troublemaker; he used his powers to attract attention, and often displayed more interest in girls and fast cars than fighting the forces of evil. "I thought it was a shame that we didn't have The Human Torch anymore," says Lee, "and this was a good chance to bring him back." So Johnny Storm was given the name and the incendiary powers of the fiery hero Carl Burgos had created in 1939 for the original issue of Marvel Comics.

The individual in the group who represented the greatest degree of innovation also became the most popular - with his creators as well as with the fans. The cosmic rays turned Ben Grimm, a tough test pilot, into an ape-shaped, orange-skinned, craggy monster known as The Thing. Ben's tragic plight was dramatized by the occasion when he temporarily reverted to human form, but his belligerent sense of humor was his most endearing trait. "I wanted something really different," says Lee, "and I realized there was no monster, no funny, ugly guy who's a hero. All these characters have powers they like, but when this guy becomes very powerful, he also becomes grotesque. It had a touch of pathos." The Thing, who griped and bickered continuously, became the prototype for a number for Marvel's later heroes who were irritable roughnecks."

MARVEL Five Fabulous Decades Of The World's Greatest Comics, p. 84-86., Fantastic Four Hero Profile. 1991 Marvel Entertainment Group. Published by Harry N. Abrams Inc. Times Mirror.