When Reed Richards took his wife Sue Storm, future brother-in-law Johnny Storm, and best friend Ben Grimm into space, the foursome came back transformed and banded together as the millennium’s greatest superhero team, the Fantastic Four. Reed and Sue wed and had one child, Franklin Benjamin Richards, who soon developed cosmic powers. Johnny Storm married Alicia Masters, who was later exposed as a Skrull imposter, Lyja. Their marriage was annulled, but Lyja and Johnny eventually realized they truly loved each other and remarried, with Lyja aiding the four as Ms. Fantastic. Ben Grimm married Sharon Ventura, who served with the Four as Ms. Marvel; she gave birth to twins, Alyce and Jacob. When Ben lost his left arm and suffered severe damage across his entire left side, Reed built a bionic arm and protective armor that allowed Ben to function at his previous levels. Though the team’s membership changed over the years, the Fantastic Four remained primarily an extended family; Franklin grew up to join officially as Psilord, making the team a Fantastic Five in fact, if not in name.
Franklin’s alternate future son Hyperstorm attempted to create a rift in the Negative Zone and destroy the universe, but Franklin engaged him in a mind-to-mind conflict which left Hyperstorm comatose and greatly reduced Franklin’s powers. When Reed and Sue tried to contain Hyperstorm’s rift, a radiation blast severely damaged Reed’s face, but Sue contained the rift using her force field. Sue voluntarily went into suspended animation, from which her universe-protecting force field was permanently maintained, while Reed remained in the Negative Zone with her. The team built a Fantastistation there to house them (and to double as a suspended animation prison for foes who discovered it). The Four continued with a roster of Human Torch, Ms. Fantastic, Psilord and Thing until Reed built a mechanical form which he could control from the Negative Zone and joined the team as Big Brain, Earth’s populace believing Reed’s consciousness now lived inside the robot.
Lyja and Johnny soon had a son, Torus. Dissatisfied with the danger Ben was continually in, Sharon Grimm divorced him, taking the twins with her to Los Angeles. The team continued, but uncomfortable with calling themselves the Fantastic Four while Sue was comatose and Reed present only as a simulacram, Johnny and Ben dissolved the team’s charter and regrouped under a new name as the Fantastic Five.
The Five’s notable foes include Hyperstorm; Dr. Doom (who vanished years ago while fighting Namor); other-dimensional thief Spyral; the cosmic-powered Apox the Omega Skrull; and the Wizard (who blames Reed for the loss of his legs) and his Wizard’s Warriors (Binder, Bullet, Dominator, Freefall, and Impact). Apox recently invaded the Fantastistation, and Reed used Apox’s cosmic powers both to cure himself and to close the one-dimensional rift. With the rift closed, Sue awoke and reunited with Reed; they soon discovered Galactus’s attempt to recreate himself by triggering a new Big Bang. With the Five, Reed employed a cosmic vibratory cannon designed to stop Galactus, but was forced to fire it against other cosmic powers who endangered Earth, temporarily incapacitating them. The blast destroyed the upper levels of the Fantastic Five Building, briefly forcing the team to relocate to Pier Four; Galactus’ threat was eventually resolved.
The team soon returned to their Manhattan headquarters, the Fantastic Five Building. Its first ten floors still house the Fantastic Five museum, an interactive science and history museum drawing on the teams’ histories to educate and entertain. The building’s upper floors housed the Five, their extended family and their labs and equipment. This included the Negative Zone gateway, the team’s supersonic Pogo Plane, the Fantasticar and the Star-Jumper, an intergalactic spaceship. Now teenagers, Ben and Sharon’s children have developed superpowers, Jacob (Grim) has transformed into a Thing-like creature, while Alyce (Rad) generates cosmic rays, using these to fly and create energy blasts; each has recently asked to join the Five. Lyja and Johnny’s half-Skrull son Torus posesses both his mother’s shape-changing abilities and his father’s flame-control powers; he dreams of joining the Five as “Super-Storm”. As of yet, none of the three have been allowed membership, but are training with Kristoff Vernard (Doom), who recently returned after years away and took Big Brain’s spot on the team while resuming a romantic relationship with Cassie Lang (The Avenger’s Stinger). It remains to be seen if Reed and Sue will officially rejoin the Fantastic Five, though they remain a vital part of the fantastic family.
