Mr. Fantastic

Few characters can claim to have helped launch an entire universe, but Mr. Fantastic — Reed Richards, Marvel's brilliantly elastic scientific genius — did exactly that when Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby introduced him in Strange Tales #101 in 1962, one of the defining moments of the Silver Age. As the cornerstone of the Fantastic Four, he's spent over six decades sharing adventures with icons like Ben Grimm, Susan Storm Richards, Johnny Storm, and The Thing across more than 800 catalog appearances, including a staggering 51 key issues that collectors prize to this day. His presence stretches from the flagship Fantastic Four series through Ultimate Fantastic Four and even The Amazing Spider-Man, proof of just how deeply woven into Marvel's DNA this character truly is. If you want to trace the heartbeat of Marvel from its earliest Silver Age triumphs all the way to the present day, Mr. Fantastic is an essential place to start.