The Marvel universe is full of superheroes who only want to do good. However, in some stories, this leads to even celebrated heroes becoming nasty supervillains. In a dark world, this happens to a character who will soon have her own movie.
Which hero is it about? Reed Richards, as Mr. Fantastic, along with his team, the Fantastic Four, is a shining hero who has done much good with his intellect. Regularly, he and his team save the universe from dangerous Marvel villains like Galactus.
However, not every version of Reed Richards has a happy life. In Universe-1610, he is still one of the smartest heroes in the universe, but tragic events turn him into a ruthless villain.
The Fantastic Four made their first film appearance in 2005:
Similar Origin with a More Tragic Ending
What happens to the other Reed Richards? In Universe-1610, Reed Richards does not have a significantly different origin story than the well-known hero. He was also very intelligent from a young age and had an infinite interest in science, even though he came from a difficult home environment.
He met Ben (later The Thing) early on, and during his studies, he worked for Dr. Franklin Storm, who introduced him to his children, Susan (later The Invisible Woman) and Johnny (later The Human Torch). He worked for a while on research projects that led to work on the N-Zone. This is an alternate zone that exists outside the normal universe. During the research, he also met Victor Von Doom (later Dr. Doom).
In an accident involving an N-Zone experiment, caused by Victor Von Doom, the heroes received their known powers. They formed the Fantastic Four, and everything went quite well. But then came the Ultimatum Wave. That was a tragic event in which Magento killed thousands of people in New York by manipulating the Earth’s magnetic fields.
Sue Storm tragically fell into a coma, and her father died. Reed Richards wanted to find the perpetrator. As it turned out, Dr. Doom was the mastermind behind the disaster. Sue woke up, and at her father’s funeral, Reed proposed to her, but she refused.
Through the tragedy, the Fantastic Four broke apart, and Reed moved back in with his parents. Reed became a new dark version of himself and thus a powerful villain due to Sue’s rejection and the tragic event of the Ultimatum Wave.
The Birth of The Maker
What happened after his split from the Fantastic Four? Due to his new worldview, Reed Richards was okay with anything. This escalated when an alternate version of Kang visited him and told him that the world would soon end. Following that, he killed his parents and faked his own death.
He began to plan attacks on various locations such as superhero bases or homes. This went well for a while until Sue Storm discovered that Reed was alive and now a villain. Ultimately, this also led to a fight, in which Johnny Storm burned Reed’s face and the heroes destroyed his base in the N-Zone. However, Reed escaped again.
He returned to Earth, took on the name The Maker, and founded the Children of Tomorrow. A fanatic group that wants to improve and conquer the world. This also led to confrontations with many heroes. After every failure, The Maker gets back up and tries to push through his plans. Sometimes he is saved by Kang, sometimes he pretends to be a hero again.
One of his worst deeds was the rebirth of his Ultimate Universe in Universe-6160. There, he ensured that many heroes never become heroes but rather just ordinary people. He wanted to become the ruler. Even there, he was stopped.
He keeps coming back to gain new abilities, like a symbiote. Furthermore, he is nearly immortal and is virtually present throughout the entire universe.
Why is The Maker so dangerous? Despite his ruthless streak, he is still Reed Richards and thus one of the smartest people in the entire Marvel universe. The unyielding drive to achieve his goals is incredibly dangerous on both sides.
A less dangerous version of Reed Richards can be seen in theaters again starting July 24, 2025. There, it seems to be about the multiverse again. Almost all well-known heroes have quirky variants. Also Spider-Man: 7 absurd variants of Spider-Man that will never get their own Marvel movie
