Time: 22:08
One of the biggest changes in the Marvel Universe that I foresee causing all sorts of arguments, besides what we have planned for the X-Men, is what to do with what can be considered the premiere group of the Marvel Universe, “The Fantastic Four”.
As most readers are aware, the Fantastic Four was created when an experimental rocket ship, built by Reed Richards, piloted by Benjamin Grimm, and crewed by siblings Susan and Johnny Storm, flew through the Van Allen radiation belt, and the passengers of the rocket were bombarded by cosmic radiation. The ship crashed, and all four were found to possess strange powers. Reed Richards had the ability to stretch himself in a variety of ways; Susan Storm gained the ability to turn invisible, project invisible shields and invisible projectiles, Susan’s brother Johnny gained the ability to turn into a “human torch”, and Ben Grimm became super strong when his body was transformed and became covered with a coating of orange rocks.
Okay, most of that is not going to be changed. What will be changed, however, are two aspects of their origin, and where their headquarters are located. Okay, first thing: Instead of trying to “beat the Russians”, which was the “in” thing to do at the time (It was the early ‘60s), we propose that Reed Richards has developed a new kind of radiation shield, and wanted to test it. He even went as far as to design and build his own craft with which to do this.
The second thing we would change is the reason the ship got hit by so much radiation in the first place. We decided on this: Reed and Ben are all set to go into space, everything that can possibly be accounted for has been accounted, but there is one thing that Reed never planned on occurring. The night before the launch, Susan and Johnny stow away. The added weight causes the ship to veer off-course, and enter a part of the Van Allen belt that has a higher level of radiation than where they were supposed to go. Now, you might ask, “But why didn’t Reed install a stronger shield?”, and the answer to that is, “As this was a test, Reed decided on a lower level shield as they were supposed to be traveling through an area of lower level radiation.” And now, for the other thing to be changed: The location of their headquarters. Instead of putting them in this enormous building in midtown Manhattan, and thereby be a target for every invading Galactus, Skrull, and Annihilus, I propose to put them in Brooklyn. The reason for Brooklyn instead of possibly Queens, or even Staten Island or the Bronx, is because Peter Parker has Queens covered. The Bronx does not have the access I wish to give them, and Staten Island is just out of the question.
Anyway, where I would like for them to be located is in Brooklyn Heights, as close to the docks on the East River as possible. The reason for that is their lab, storage areas, and launch bays can be in and under a large warehouse on the docks themselves. This will allow the “Pogo Plane”, the “FantastiCar”, and whatever other vehicles they use to have a subterranean and/or submerged launch. But the main reason to put them in Brooklyn Heights is that it is a really nice area. It is close to many forms of transportation, and Ben Grimm would feel a little at home seeing as Fulton Street is a short walk from where their house would be. By the way, the house would be specially designed by Reed Richards, with a special transport tube to allow them to travel to and from their “warehouse” with ease.
The transport tube uses magnetism in such a way that the vehicle that travels along the tube reaches extremely high speeds. This travel tube is one of Reed’s inventions. It is used by the Fantastic Four themselves, Captain America and the Avengers, and the X-Men. Since Captain America uses it, it is safe to assume that it has been purchased, or at least leased by the U.S. government. However, although it was bought or leased by the government, Reed, Ben, Johnny, and Sue are the only ones who are qualified to repair it if anything goes wrong. This goes for all of Reed’s inventions that are purchased, and/or leased by governments and businesses. This is because the technology is proprietary, and as such, will self-destruct if anyone but the members of the Fantastic Four tampers with it.
The character of Iron Man will be next.
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