THE FANTASTIC FOUR MEMBERSHIP TOUR

One of my earliest childhood memories is when I absconded with a copy of a Fantastic Four comic book that was included on the magazine counter in my dad's Barber Shop.  I hid it away in my room and read it over and over.  I was fascinated by the people in special uniforms who were exhibiting different superpowers!  I actually got scolded for removing it from Dad's business.  But since his Barber Shop was actually the front room of our house... it wasn't that big of a problem!

My brief exposure to the Fantastic Four spurred a desire for other visually exciting stories, so I used my first allowance to buy my own comic book!  It was a DC comic featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes.  I was hooked!  And while my young, pre-teen self gravitated more to DC, I never gave up on my Fantastic Quartet published by Marvel Comics.  I faithfully collected Fantastic Four and Marvel's Greatest Adventures (a title that reprinted older Fantastic Four tales) from the early 1970s through the mid-2000s.  

One of the unique things about the Fantastic Four was that its membership shifted and changed over time (one of the things I also loved about the Legion).  In this tour, we will take a look at all the (many more than four) heroes who have been members of the Fantastic Four. 

(All references to Fantastic Four as a comic book refer to volume 1 (1961 - 1996) unless noted otherwise.)

The team debuted in Fantastic Four #1 (November 1963).  Attempting to beat the Soviets into space, a quartet comprised of pilot Ben Grimm, his best friend, Dr. Reed Richards, Richard's girlfriend, Sue Storm, and Sue's younger brother, Johnny steal a rocket ship and head up into space.  But the rocket is not lined well enough, and all four passengers are bombarded by cosmic rays.  Once the foursome returns to Earth, they discover they have all been altered.  The first to discover this is Sue, whose body turns invisible.  Next, Ben's body morphs into a hulking and powerful orange rocky exterior.  Reed's body begins stretching and molding, and finally, Johnny's body ignites and is covered by flame.  Johnny realizes that he can also fly.  While Reed, Sue, and Johnny learn how to turn their abilities on and off at will, Ben's transformation is a permanent one.   

The four assume code names and become the team known as The Fantastic Four.  By the 3rd issue of their eponymous comic book, they begin to wear matching costumes.  

MEMBERSHIP:
Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Thing (Ben Grimm)
Invisible Girl (Susan Storm)
Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

 

In Fantastic Four #22 (January 1964), Sue discovered that she had additional abilities.  She could render other objects and people to be temporarily invisible.  Additionally, she could mentally create invisible force fields and manipulate their shape and size.  

Two years after the team's debut, Reed and Sue get married in Fantastic Four Annual #3 (October 1965).  

In Fantastic Four #65 (August 1967), Johnny begins seriously dating Crystal.  Crystal is a member of the Royal Family of the Inhumans, a race of humans who had been genetically experimented on by the alien Kree and who developed individual powers.  The Inhumans chose to live in a hidden land called Atillan and generally did not interact with everyday humans.  Crystal's abilities were elemental, she could manipulate air, wind, water, and fire.  Crystal regularly tagged along with Johnny and the others on their adventures.  

In Fantastic Four Annual #5 (November 1967), Sue discovers that she is pregnant.  In Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November 1968), Sue delivers a baby boy.  The following month in Fantastic Four #81 (December 1968) Crystal officially replaces the Invisible Girl on the team while Sue takes care of the new baby.

MEMBERSHIP:
Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Thing (Ben Grimm)
Crystal (Crystal Amaquelin)
Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Crystal filling in as a replacement for the Invisible Girl is short-lived, but her time on the team is not.  In Fantastic Four #86 (May 1969), the Invisible Girl returns to active membership.  No long-term maternity leave for Sue!  When the Invisible Girl returns to active duty in the group, the Fantastic Four actually consists of five members for more than a year.

MEMBERSHIP:
Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Invisible Girl (Sue Richards)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
Crystal (Crystal Amaquelin)

In Fantastic Four #105 (December 1970), two years after joining the team, Crystal discovers that the pollution in the world outside of her native Atillan is causing her to continually be ill.  She resigns from the team and returns to her people.  The team once again consists of its four original members.

Reed and Sue named their son Franklin in memory of Susan and Johnny's father.  Because Reed and Sue were genetically altered by the cosmic rays they were bombarded with, their son is born a mutant.  As Franklin gets a bit older, Reed and Sue come to odds about Sue's participation in Fantastic Four adventures.  Sue is angry that Reed has stopped treating her as a partner, or even as a wife, but only as a mother.  After arguing, Sue informs Reed that until he can see her as an equal she is going to take Franklin and quit the team.  To her dismay, Reed thinks this is a great idea.  Her resignation occurs in Fantastic Four #130 (January 1973).

Around this same time, when the team visits Atillan, Johnny finds out that Crystal has fallen in love with the Avenger known as Quicksilver.  Following an adventure with the Inhumans, Crystal's sister, Medusa, decides to join the Fantastic Four by replacing Sue on the team.  She is said to have developed an immunity to the outer air.  Medusa joins the team in Fantastic Four #132 (March 1973).  Her unique Inhuman power is super strong prehensile hair which she can control by psychokinetics.    

MEMBERSHIP:
Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Medusa (Medusalith Amaquelin)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

  

Reed and Sue eventually reconcile and Sue returns to the team in Fantastic Four #159 (June 1975) and Medusa resigns in the same issue.

It doesn't take long for the status quo to be upset.  Just 8 issues after Sue returns to the team, Thing is in a battle with the Hulk that results in Thing reverting back to his human form of Ben Grimm.  Reed wastes absolutely no time replacing him.  In Fantastic Four #168 (March 1976) Power Man becomes a member of the Fantastic Four.

Power Man is known as Luke Cage, the Hero for Hire.  Seeking legitimate employment, he uses his powers to earn a living for those able to afford his services. Power Man has superhuman strength and durability and dense skin that can withstand bullets.  His powers are the result of scientific experimentation.  

MEMBERSHIP:

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Power Man (Luke Cage)

Invisible Girl (Susan Richards)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Power Man's membership was extremely short, lasting just three issues.  Reed constructs an exo-skeleton suit that Ben can wear which allows him to appear like the Thing and also provides him with enhanced strength that is near the level of his normal Thing powers.  For the first time since being bombarded by cosmic rays, Ben is able to enjoy time appearing like a normal human being.  The Thing is back on the team and Power Man is out!

This period for Ben eventually comes to an end when the cosmic entity known as Galactus uses his immense power to convert him back to permanently being the Thing.  This occurs in Fantastic Four #175 (October 1976).

In 1984/85, Marvel published a maxi-series titled Secret Wars.  This series included a vast array of Marvel characters, including the three male members of the Fantastic Four.  At the conclusion of the Secret Wars adventure, Ben decides he is going to stay on the planet of the Beyonder.  He convinces She-Hulk to resign from the Avengers and take his place in the Fantastic Four.  This takes place in Secret Wars #12 (April 1985).  However, because of publishing times involved with the Secret Wars series, She-Hulk's official first appearance as a member of the Fantastic Four occurred a year earlier in Fantastic Four #265 (April 1984).

She-Hulk is Jennifer Walters, a cousin to Bruce Banner (the Hulk) who received hulk abilities through a blood transfusion that used Bruce's gamma-affected blood.  Unlike the Hulk, Jennifer retains her intelligence and memory when she transforms into her She-Hulk persona.  She possesses super-level strength, stamina, durability, and speed.   

It is during this time when She-Hulk is a member of the team that Sue changes her code name from Invisible Girl to Invisible Woman.
  

MEMBERSHIP:

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

Invisible Woman (Susan Richards)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

The Thing eventually returns to Earth and decides he wants back on the team.  Though She-Hulk sticks around for a few more issues, her membership in the team comes to an end in Fantastic Four #299 (February 1987).  

The original members of the Fantastic Four enjoy a very short reunion as a team.  In Fantastic Four #305 (August 1987), Crystal is visiting the FF headquarters when out of the blue, Ben asks her if she'd like to rejoin the team.  He explains that Reed and Sue have decided they want to take some time away from the team to concentrate on their son Franklin.  Ben is hoping that Crystal can be one of two new members he needs to refill the roster of the team. 

In the time since her previous stint as a member, Crystal married Quicksilver and they had a daughter named Luna.  The Inhumans had all moved to a new home on Earth's moon, and Reed developed a serum that allowed the Inhumans to survive in Earth's polluted air whenever they visited.  Quicksilver was experiencing many mental issues and his marriage to Crystal was basically over.  Crystal felt that rejoining the Fantastic Four at this time would be in her best interest, so she accepted Ben's offer. 

One issue later (Fantastic Four #306), Ben extends an invitation to join the Fantastic Four to Ms. Marvel.  Marvel Comic's second Ms. Marvel was Sharon Ventura, a former "lady wrestler" who allowed herself to undergo experimentation to gain super strength so she could be a true superhero.  She was also a former love interest of the Thing.

In Fantastic Four #307 (October 1987), the new version of the team is official.  Reed and Sue are out, and Crystal and Sharon are in.

MEMBERSHIP:
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
Crystal (Crystal Amaquelin)
Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura)

A mere three issues later, the Thing and Ms. Marvel find themselves in space and bombarded by cosmic rays.  Thing is further mutated, appearing even more brick-like than before.  Sharon also mutates into a Thing-like being, but looking more like hardened clay, similar to Ben's appearance when he was first exposed to cosmic rays.  Though she never officially abandoned the moniker of Ms. Marvel, she often became identified as She-Thing.  Over time her outer appearance changes to look more rock like.

     
Crystal's membership on the team is much shorter-lived than her first time around.  In Fantastic Four Annual #21 (September 1988), just eleven months after joining the team, Crystal is commanded to return to Atillan and her husband.  The Inhumans inform her that they have been able to cure her husband's insanity.  At first, she has no intention of returning, but when the Inhuman's King Black Bolt implores her, she acquiesces and resigns from the Fantastic Four.  

Following Crystal's departure, the Fantastic Four consists of just three members for a short time, beginning in Fantastic Four #318 (September 1988).

MEMBERSHIP:
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
Ms. Marvel ("She-Thing") (Sharon Ventura)

In Fantastic Four #326 (May 1989), Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman rejoin the Fantastic Four.  In the same issue, Ben loses his powers and reverts to being human Ben Grimm.  He continues to participate in the team, despite the lack of his powers.  He occasionally dons another exoskeleton costume beginning in Fantastic Four #336 (January 1990).  The Fantastic Four consists of five members during this time.

MEMBERSHIP:
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Invisible Woman (Susan Richards)
Ms. Marvel ("She-Thing") (Sharon Ventura)

Okay, from here we need to take a quick detour in the tour.  One storyline during this time involved a Skrull villain named De'lila.  She used her shapeshifting and telepathic abilities to trap the entire Fantastic Four and hold them hostage.  Then, disguised as the Invisible Woman, she assembles a new Fantastic Four team to assist her.  Acting as a grieving widow, she tells this new team that the other members of her team are all dead, and she can't tell the world yet for fear of their enemies attacking.

This team functions as a temporary Fantastic Four for three issues (Fantastic Four #347 to #349 in 1990).  They would also assemble an additional time two years later.

This team worked to defeat the Mole Man and eventually subdued De'lila and freed the original team.  With the real team back up and running, this new team quickly disbanded.  (They would reassemble once again two years later.)

**TEMPORARY**  MEMBERSHIP:
Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett)

Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch)
Hulk (Bruce Banner)

Now back to the real team... 

Following Ms. Marvel's addition to the team and her subsequent transformation, she and Ben began a romantic relationship.  His reversion back to being Ben Grimm caused Sharon to be very insecure as to whether he could still love her.  She also battled with not wanting to give up her powers but disliking her appearance.  

In Fantastic Four #350 (March 1991)we are given a sort of Gift of the Magi moment when Ben decides, after two years in human form, to subject himself to one of Reed's giant scientific gadgets to revert himself back into being the Thing so that Ms. Marvel will understand how much he loves her.  What he doesn't know is that at the same time, Ms. Marvel is with Dr. Doom.  Doom has seduced her with the promise that he can convert her back to being human-looking Sharon Venture.  And he does.

Following these events, Ben and Sharon's relationship limps to an odd end.  Sharon appears for four more issues as Ben wonders if he can learn to trust her again.  In Fantastic Four #355 (August 1991), the title gets a new writer and Sharon basically vanishes and isn't referenced at all.

The team once again consists of its founding members.
  

MEMBERSHIP:
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Invisible Woman (Susan Richards)

It takes a year, but Sharon Ventura finally returns, pronouncing herself to be the Thing's girlfriend.  This is much to the Thing's chagrin.  She sticks around for a bit, trying to get back with Ben, but it's not working, he doesn't trust her.  And for good reason.  Doctor Doom is forcing her to spy on the Fantastic Four as payment for returning her to human form.  When she finally turns on Doom and refuses to betray the FF, her cure slips away as she turns into a hideous-looking blob,  Punishment for her betrayal of Doom.  

In Fantastic Four #381 (October 1993), Doctor Doom is near death and seeks to fulfill his lifelong goal.  That goal is killing Mr. Fantastic.  As Reed reaches out to him, Doom detonates some sort of explosion that appears to reduce the two of them to nothing more than ashes.

Believing her husband to be dead, the Invisible Woman hires Scott Lang as a technical consultant for the team.  Scott is also the hero known as Ant-Man, who becomes part of the Fantastic Four.  This happens in Fantastic Four #384 (January 1994).

Scott is the second person to assume the mantle of Ant-Man.  Scott was a reformed thief and an electronics expert.  Originally stealing the Ant-Man suit, it was later freely given to him by Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man.  Using the suit and the Pym Particle technology, Scott can shrink in size down to a sub-atomic level.  He can also telepathically communicate with insects.

MEMBERSHIP:
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Invisible Woman (Susan Richards)
Ant-Man (Scott Lang)

Part of the team travels to space to find Mr. Fantastic, who they have come to believe was not killed, but rather transported, in the explosion with Dr. Doom.  They discover him in Fantastic Four #407 (December 1995).  Reed has lost his memory, but Sue's presence and the love they share help him to begin remembering who he is.  The next issue confirms, "Mr. Fantastic has finally returned to the fabulous Fantastic Four!" 

After Reed returns to the fold, Scott Lang continues working with the team in their Baxter Building offices, though he no longer suits up as Ant-Man.  Scott stays through the end of this first volume of the Fantastic Four, which published its final issue, #416, dated September 1986.

Following a Marvel Comics company-wide reboot event called Heroes Reborn, the second volume of FF adventures begins in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #1, dated November 1996.  It lasts 13 issues and the membership of the team is its four original members.  No membership shakeups in this volume.

Fantastic Four (volume 3) #1 debuts with a cover date of January 1998.  The quartet returns from the Heroes Reborn universe and they pick up supposedly from where their initial volume left off.  Of course, this isn't quite true.  While the team already exists within this new Marvel Universe, much of the team's history (or what some writers would call "baggage"!) has been discarded.  But for all intents, this is supposed to be a continuation from Fantastic Four (volume 1) #416.

As this new volume kicks off, the team's membership is comprised once again of its original core.  Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing.

In Fantastic Four (volume 3) #43 (July 2001), three members of the team have been lost in the Negative Zone.  The only remaining member on Earth is the Human Torch. For the second time in the history of the Fantastic Four, a core member of the team creates a temporary Fantastic Four.

The Human Torch recruits former FF member Ant-Man, former FF member She-Hulk, and Namorita (the cousin of Sub-Mariner)... to form a temporary replacement team.  Johnny's team lasted just 5 issues until the original FF successfully returned from the Negative Zone. 

**TEMPORARY**  MEMBERSHIP:
Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

Ant-Man (Scott Lang)
Namorita (Namorita "Nita" Prentiss )

Reed, Sue, and Ben are rescued and the temporary team disbands to go their own way.  

Sue becomes pregnant again, and this pregnancy has even more complications than their first child.  Not only are their mutated genes a factor in the child's development, but the baby was conceived in the Negative Zone.  Her delivery is fraught with complications.  When she goes into labor, Mr. Fantastic is battling a world-threatening crisis and can't be by her side.  The Inhumans attempt to assist with the complications that Sue is experiencing but are unable.  Out of desperation, the Human Torch and Invisible Woman accept an offer from their arch-enemy, Dr. Doom, to help with the birth using not only his vast intelligence but also his connection to mystical powers.  In return, he gets to name the new baby.  He gives her the name "Valeria" after a girl he loved as a young man.  Valeria's birth occurs in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #54 (June 2002).

 
In an attempt to return the grandeur of the team's legacy in the Marvel Universe, it was decided to revert the title's numbering to incorporate the previous two volumes of Fantastic Four.  What would have been Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #71 is instead Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #500 (incorporating the 416 issues in volume 1, 13 issues in volume 2, and 71 issues in volume 3).  The legacy numbering would be used from here out for volume 3.

In Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #543 (May 2007), Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman decide to resign from the team again so that they can work on their marriage.  They picked their replacements before departing.  Black Panther and his wife Storm moved into the Baxter Building and became the newest members of the Fantastic Four.

Black Panther is a long-time ally of the FF.  He is also Marvel's first Black superhero.  T'Challa is the king of an advanced African nation called Wakanda.  He has advanced strength, speed, and senses.  He is an accomplished athlete and wears a suit made of vibranium, a metal that can absorb kinetic energy, store it, and then release it as desired.

Storm was a long-time member of the X-Men, a superhero team of mutants who are one of Marvel Comics' most popular line of titles and characters.  She is considered one of the most powerful mutants on Earth.  She possesses a psionic ability to control all forms of weather. 

MEMBERSHIP:
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Black Panther (T'Challa)
Storm (Ororo Munroe)

Reed and Sue were able to take a second honeymoon and work out issues in their marriage before finding themselves involved in an adventure with the current FF to save the universe!  Once that adventure is concluded, Reed and Sue decide to return to the team.  The FF offered Black Panther and Storm the opportunity to stay on with them, but the duo had already decided to depart once Reed and Sue returned.

So, in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #550 (December 2007), the membership of the Fantastic Four is once again comprised of its founding members.

MEMBERSHIP:
Thing (Ben Grimm)

Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Invisible Woman (Susan Richards)

Jump forward to the cover date March 2011, in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #587, the Human Torch appears to die, sacrificing himself fighting a horde of aliens in the Negative Zone so that Thing and young Franklin and Valeria can escape back to Earth.  The situation is caused by their long-time foe, Annihilus.  

In the following issue (#588) a memorial is held for Johnny in a touching issue in which there is not a word of dialogue spoken in the first 24 pages. 

Publication of this volume is temporarily halted and another comic book titled FF takes its place.  In FF #1 (May 2011), as the team and family come to terms with the loss of Johnny, Sue makes two big changes.  The first is altering the uniforms of the team to be black-and-white, a more somber look to replace their typically bright blue.  The second change is talking Spider-Man, Johnny's long-time friend, into taking Johnny's spot in the Fantastic Four.  This was a request that Johnny had made before being cut off in the Negative Zone.

Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, which imbued him with many of the attributes of a spider, including the ability to cling to walls, superhuman strength, agility, and balance, and a precognitive sense of danger.  He also utilizes custom-made "web-shooters" that allow him to shoot artificial webs for multiple purposes including capturing people and providing him with a means of transportation as he uses them to swing from place to place.

MEMBERSHIP:

Thing (Ben Grimm)

Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Invisible Woman (Susan Richards)

After 12 issues in FF, the team's adventures jump back over into the third volume of Fantastic Four, which incorporates these 12 issues by picking up publication as issue #600 (January 2012).  It is in this issue that we find out that the Human Torch did not die.  

Time in the Negative Zone operates differently there, so from Johnny's perspective, he had been trapped in the Negative Zone for over two years, thus making him older in his own reality.  Annihilus had Johnny's body implanted with insect-like creatures that acted like nanobots, repairing his human body.  Annihilus kept Johnny alive so that he could use him as a means to getting the portal between the Negative Zone and our universe opened, so he could attempt to rule both regions.

The Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the Inhumans team together to take down not only Annihilus, but Galactus.  The multi-issue adventure ends in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #604 (May 2012).  This is the final time we see Spider-Man suited up as a member of the team.
  

The original team is officially reunited and volume 3 of Fantastic Four lasts a mere 8 more issues, finishing its run with #611 (December 2012).

Reigniting tiles with new volumes that begin with a NUMBER 1 (typically with popular writers and artists) has become a common practice by comic book companies seeking to build interest in older franchises... hopefully earning new and younger readers with the notion that a number 1 is an easy starting point.

In the case of the Fantastic Four, Marvel decided to start publishing two different Fantastic Four-themed titles, both starting with a cover date of January 2013.  Fantastic Four (volume 4) centered around the original team following the events of Fantastic Four volume 3.  The original quartet, along with Franklin and Valeria, set off to explore infinite time and space.  This series focuses on their adventures off-Earth.  

 Meanwhile, the second Fantastic Four-centric title, FF (volume 2) also began publication with issue #1, cover dated January 2013.  

This title focuses on a new Fantastic Four team, selected by the original members before they head off into the cosmos.  Three of these new members had served on the team previously.  Mr. Fantastic chose Ant-Man, the Invisible Girl selected Medusa, and the Thing talked She-Hulk into being his replacement.  The only newcomer is Darla Deering who becomes Ms. Thing by using one of Ben Grimm's former exoskeletons.  

Darla was having a romantic fling with Johnny during the time that the original Fantastic Four were going to head off into space.  Johnny didn't plan properly to find a replacement, so Darla was a very last-minute decision.  But as a pampered socialite, Darla was ready to explore having more meaning to her existence. The exoskeleton gave her the same strength and durability that it did for Ben Grimm when he wore it.

MEMBERSHIP:

Ant-Man (Scott Lang)

She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

Medusa (Medusalith Amaquelin)

Ms. Thing (Darla Deering)

Both Fantastic Four (volume 4) and FF (volume 2) end after 16 issues.  

Opting to try again with a "NUMBER 1" issue, Marvel Comics trots out a 5th volume of Fantastic Four (April 2014).  This title is basically a continuation of Fantastic Four volume 4.  And to add insult to injury, following issue #14, this volume once again decides to incorporate the 14 issues already published into the legacy numbering from volume 1.  In other words, the issue following Fantastic Four #14 is Fantastic Four #642.  This tactic doesn't improve sagging sales, and the 5th volume of Fantastic Four ends with issue #645 (June 2015).  

The membership of the team in this 5th volume is comprised of the original members, and no substitutions occur.
 

Are you exhausted from all the reboots yet?  Yeah, me too.  But unfortunately, we have to continue with Fantastic Four volume 6.  Once again Marvel Comics decides to try selling, yet again, the FIRST ISSUE concept.  Fantastic Four (vol. 6) #1 (cover date October 2018) debuted 3 years after the team's previous volume.  Yet rather than fully committing to this "new" volume of Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics decided that each issue would also feature what would have been the legacy numbering from volume 1.  Ugh!  So Fantastic Four (vol. 6) #1 also acknowledges that it is Fantastic Four (legacy) #646.  This acknowledgment continues on every issue until volume 6 ends with issue #48 or #693 (December 2022), depending on which numbering system you are following.  

This volume of the Fantastic Four begins with the original team of Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing, and the Human Torch.

 
Fantastic Four (vol. 6) #3 (or #648!) features a tale called "Family Reunion".  Reed calls upon all the former FF members for assistance. 

The reunion featured Crystal, Medusa, Power Man, She-Hulk, She-Thing, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Hulk, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Namorita, Black Panther, Storm, and Ms. Thing.  It also included the former X-Man known as Iceman (Bobby Drake).  There's no explanation for why he's included in the FF Reunion. 

Near the end of the tale, there is a writer's joke inserted when one of the younger Freedom Foundation children asks Iceman, "Mr. Bobby Drake. Please explain. What  does "not canon" mean?"   Iceman responds, "It means "Mr. Johnny Storm is a butt-head. You should write that down."

This matter is finally addressed in Fantastic Four (vol. 6) #24 (or #669!) when Iceman shows up and he and Johnny argue over whether Iceman had been an official FF member (as Iceman insists) or if he had simply "teamed up" with them once (as Johnny insists).  The rest of the issue features a humorous flashback tale that explains how Johnny once left the team believing he was meant to be a solo star and that the team was holding him back.  At the same time, Iceman was feeling coddled by the X-Men and took off to prove himself.  Iceman met up with the Fantastic Four, helped them out, and was indeed welcomed to the team by Ben, Reed, and Sue.  He is said to have participated in several adventures with the team before returning to the X-Men.  Reed told him, "Our door is always open for you."

Back to the current time, Johnny is forced to admit that Iceman was indeed the first substitute member of the Fantastic Four, having served before his former girlfriend Crystal ever showed up!

RETROACTIVE MEMBERSHIP:

Thing (Ben Grimm)

Iceman (Bobby Drake)

Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Invisible Girl (Susan Storm)

This 6th volume of Fantastic Four ended with issue #48 (December 2022).

A 7th volume of Fantastic Four began publication in January of 2023.  Since that volume is still in publication, we will leave it out of this tour.  For now!

Before we bring things to a conclusion, there are a few more heroes who deserve some recognition on this tour.  They may not have been extended full membership, but they most certainly acted as honorary members.  Let's take a quick look at them before we bring this trip to its final destination!

Honorary Membership

Frankie Raye.    

Before Power Man temporarily joined the team, Johnny began dating a woman named Frankie Raye who works as an interpreter for the United Nations. She appeared randomly between 1975 and 1981.  Frankie had an immense fear of fire, so it took some effort for her to reconcile that the man she was dating was also the Human Torch.  Then, in 1982 the readers find out that Frankie's fear of fire is actually a mental block induced by her step-father, Phineas Horton.  Phineas was the inventor of the android that became the original Human Torch.  (Decades before the creation of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics published adventures of another character named Human Torch.)  Once Frankie overcomes her mental block, she's able to engage her own flame-based powers.  These powers are the result of having been doused as a child in the same chemicals that the original Human Torch had been. She first "flames on" in Fantastic Four #238 (January 1982).  

Reed tests Frankie's abilities and claims, "that after a suitable training period, we may be calling our friends at Marvel Comics and telling them to start publishing The Fantastic Five!"  Frankie serves alongside the team for 20 months.  In Fantastic Four#244 (August 1983), Reed claims, “Frankie is very near a member of the Fantastic Four.”  But in this same issue, Frankie opts to accept the offer of Galactus and act as his new herald.  He enhances her powers and she is rechristened Nova.  She departs Earth and leaves the Fantastic Four behind.

Honorary Membership

H.E.R.B.I.E.

H.E.R.B.I.E. was created in 1978 as an FF member for the New Fantastic Four animated Saturday morning children's cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera.  Marvel had previously licensed the rights for the Human Torch to Universal Studios (for a possible TV film) so he was not available for the cartoon.  Tiny robots were all the rage at this time thanks to the success of the Star Wars movie and its character of R2D2, so H.E.R.B.I.E. became his replacement.  The series consists of just 13 episodes.

H.E.R.B.I.E. stands for Humanoid Experimental Robot B-type Integrated Electronics.  The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the cartoon.  (This was Kirby's last work for Marvel.)  

H.E.R.B.I.E. was ultimately added to the printed mainstream Marvel universe in Fantastic Four #209 (August 1979).  The character is typically used for scientific calculations and its ability to interface with computer mainframes.  H.E.R.B.I.E. is often a technical assistant for Mr. Fantastic and is also used for comic relief when paired with the Thing.  Over the years there have been several versions of H.E.R.B.I.E. and he's been included in most volumes of Fantastic Four comics since his inception. 

 

   
Honorary Membership
Lyja

Lyja is an alien Skrull, a race of beings who can alter their size, shape, and color... transforming their appearance in any way they can imagine.  They are longtime enemies of the Earth and specifically the Fantastic Four.  Lyja was sent to Earth to infiltrate the Fantastic Four by impersonating Alicia Masters, the longtime girlfriend of Ben (Thing) Grimm.  But, a kink in this plan occurs when Ben decides not to return to Earth after the original Secret Wars event.  He was replaced on the team by She-Hulk (1984).

Disguised as Alicia, Lyja decides to begin a romantic relationship with Johnny (Human Torch) Storm instead.  This relationship builds over a couple years and culminates in Johnny and "Alicia" marrying in Fantastic Four #300 (March 1987).  Ben returned to Earth, and to the team, but had a difficult time accepting that Alicia was now with Johnny. 

It wasn't until Fantastic Four #357 (October 1991) that Lyja is found out... not just by the Fantastic Four, but also by the readers.  That Alicia was an imposter had been unknown for seven years (since Fantastic Four #265).  Lyja reveals that the real Alicia is a captive of the Skrulls.  She also explains how she truly has fallen in love with Johnny and is no longer working on behalf of the Skrulls.  She agrees to assist the Fantastic Four as they travel to the Skrull Empire to rescue the real Alicia.  During this rescue attempt, Lyja throws herself in front of a blast intended for the Human Torch.  My saving him, she is believed to have died.

Fantastic Four #374 (March 1993) has Lyja, who did not perish, betray her species again and return to Johnny and the Fantastic Four.  It takes quite a while for trust to be rebuilt, but eventually, both Johnny and the team accept her back into the fold.  Lyja served alongside the team through the final issue of volume 1 of Fantastic Four (issue #416, September 1996).  

Honorary Membership
Franklin Richards

Franklin is the son of Fantastic Four founders Reed (Mr. Fantastic) Richards and Susan (Invisible Woman) Richards.  He was born in Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November 1968).  He was born with immense powers that began manifesting at a very young age.  

Franklin has the ability to warp reality on a cosmic scale.  He can rearrange matter and energy at will.  One time he even created an entirely new pocket universe subconsciously.  Additionally, Franklin possesses an array of psionic abilities including telekinesis, telepathy, precognition, and psionic blasts.

Over the years the Fantastic Four have encountered various incarnations of Franklin at different ages who have traveled through time.  Franklin has been portrayed as a teenage future version, a young adult future version, and as a fully grown adult male.  Franklin's ability to control and manifest his powers often depends on the experience and maturity he has when using them. 

He's been a member of Power Pack, Generation X, and the alternate future version of the Fantastic Five.  Mr. Fantastic eventually created the Future Foundation.  This is an organization designed to help the brightest and strongest young minds in the known world.  Franklin is one of them. 

Franklin has assisted the FF pretty much since the moment he was able to.  After all, the team is literally his family.  Depending on age, timeline, and reality, Franklin has used several code names including Psi-Lord, Avatar, and Zero Man.  At the time this tour is being published, he is using the code name Powerhouse.

  
Honorary Membership
Valeria Richards

Valeria is born in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #54 (June 2002), though a time-traveling version of the character first appeared several years earlier.  Like her brother, versions of Valeria of differing ages have appeared in several volumes of Fantastic Four due to time-traveling storylines.

Also like her brother, Valeria is a member of the Future Foundation, receiving education and guidance alongside other gifted children.  Valeria has been tested by her father for mutant or genetically based superpowers, but the results were negative.  She does, however, possess a genius level of intelligence and skills for invention and technology.  Her intelligence is said to be superior to her father's.  She has used her abilities to assist her family and the Fantastic Four since the age of two!  At the time this tour is being published she is portrayed as being a pre-teen and uses the codename Brainstorm.  

And there you have it!  We've covered all the heroes who have served as members of the Fantastic Four from 1963 through 2022.  That's a 60-year legacy packed into one tour! I hope you've enjoyed the ride!  


The Fantastic Four and all related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Comics.
The Fantastic Four is the creation of  Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.