He was joined by Susan Storm who used her own family fortune to help fund the research. Ben Grim had also enlisted with the project as the pilot given that he had become a successful test pilot and astronaut. However the government threatened to cut the funding and cancel the project thus Reed along with Sue, Ben and Sue’s younger brother Johnny planned to sneak aboard the ship and launch the vessel. The four were successful in taking off but were bombarded with cosmic radiation which penetrated the ship’s inadequate shielding. Upon their return to Earth, the radiation had altered the four with Reed being able to expand and reshape his body in ways similar to that of elastic. Reed convinced the Ben, Susan, and Johnny to band together and use their newfound abilities to better serve mankind as The Fantastic Four. Reed, taking on the name of Mr. Fantastic, was named the leader. During their time together, the Fantastic Four have clashed with the likes of Mephisto, Mole Man, and Galactus, though it is Doctor Doom who is considered their arch-enemy. Also over the years, Reed has come to marry Sue and the two have given birth to two children, Franklin and Valeria Richards.

As a direct result of exposure to cosmic radiation, Reed Richards possesses the power of elasticity. He is capable of stretching and reshaping his body in a variety of different sizes and thicknesses. He has been able to stretch up to three miles before experiencing physical pain and on occasion he has squeezed through molecular-sized openings. The elastic properties of his body also grants him a high resistance to physical attacks and projectiles as standard bullets, knives, etc. often bounce off of him. However he is vulnerable to various energy-based weapons as well as having been cut by an evolved form of the Brood queen. He is also vulnerable to extreme temperatures as heat will weaken and somewhat melt him while cold will freeze and eventually crack his body.

Reed was featured as a playable character in the original Marvel Ultimate Alliance. His abilities primarily dealt with using his elasticity to attack enemies at varying distances. One such attack stretched his arms out and he would swing them in an arc that was capable of striking multiple enemies. Another attack had the player hold down the properly assigned face button causing Reed to rotate his arms like propellers and he would walk forward damaging anyone who came within range. He was also able to roll himself into a ball and ricochet off of nearby enemies similar to a pinball. In the upcoming Ultimate Alliance 2, Reed is confirmed as a member of the Pro-Registration side as he was in the comics. As such he will only be available to players who fight for the government.

Mr. Fantastic was a fun character to use in the first game and I can only hope that the same spirit of the character is carried over. The only thing I would hope for is a better representation of his intellect. In the first game his ultra attack was known as Orbital Attack in which he brought up several holographic keyboards and screens which he used to call down several high energy beams from above. This was an interesting ability, but not very different from Iron Man’s Orbital Bombardment. Perhaps instead of basing all his attacks on his elasticity powers, one or two could make use of a crazy, experimental weapon Mr. Fantastic has recently developed. What ever the case, just about any mix of Mr. Fantastic’s elasticity powers and his incredible intellect should transfer well.