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    Mr. Fantastic

    Character » Mr. Fantastic appears in 6884 issues.

    Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic, is the leader of the Fantastic Four. He can stretch his body to great distances due to his exposure to cosmic rays while in space. He is also considered to be one of the smartest men alive, using his brain to explore alternate dimensions and save the world alongside his family from science-based threats.

    Can Reed Richards actually be killed?

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    Methos

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    #1  Edited By Methos

    as i'm expanding my knowledge base of characters i'm trying to do some research on Mr Fantastic, now the question is this, can he be killed?

    he can stretch and warp his body in amazing ways, pretty much like Plastic Man, but not as versatile, and we know Plastic Man is pretty much immortal, does the same hold true for Mr Fantastic?

    has he ever been mortally wounded? or effected in such a drastic manner than his life was in danger?

    does radiation or aging effect him in the same way is does normal people, as his DNA is now unstable does he age at all?

    M

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    zero edge

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    #2  Edited By zero edge

    Yes, he was nearly beaten to death in World War Hulk.

    Also I think he ages normally as it hasn't been stated otherwise, at least that's what I think.
    Post Edited:2008-02-14 10:27:29

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    Resonate

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    #3  Edited By Resonate

    Why did the other forum get locked?

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    zero edge

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    #4  Edited By zero edge

    cause I pwned methos' thread

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    Resonate

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    #5  Edited By Resonate

    Ah i see

    ???

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    Methos

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    #6  Edited By Methos

    zero edge says:

    "Yes, he was nearly beaten to death in World War Hulk.Also I think he ages normally as it hasn't been stated otherwise, at least that's what I think."

    hmmm, interesting, so he can actually be bruised and cut unlike Plastic Man... so i'm assuming his body isn't as unstable as i thought it was...

    M

    Resonate says:

    "Why did the other forum get locked?"

    i double posted because there was a lag in the forum for some reason...

    M

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    #7  Edited By zero edge
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    Resonate

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    #8  Edited By Resonate

    Oh ok

    Yeah I always wondered about Reed too, but I never bothered to ask because you're the only one that answers my questions apparently :P

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    Methos

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    #9  Edited By Methos

    i just wasn't sure how far his 'elasticity' went... he seems to be quite an interesting character, not as versatile as Plastic Man but has the intelligence to make up for the lack in shapechanging...

    i just wondered if his molecular elasticity went as far as him being able to 'pull' cuts back together to heal them... obviously not lol

    M

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    zero edge

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    #10  Edited By zero edge

    Another case of DC overpowers haha j/k

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    the creator

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    #11  Edited By the creator

    Reed does appear to age as normal. He can shapechange to adopt other body forms (taller, shorter etc) and facial forms as demontsrated in the Ff comic. The facial changes can be held for some time as demonstrated when Redd and Sue adopted secret ID's during Byrnes run on the FF.

    His powers are listed out below from one of the old handbooks,

    Mister Fantastic possesses the ability to convert the mass of his entire body into a highly malleable state at will. In such a state, he can stretch, deform, expand, or compress his entire body or parts thereof into any contiguous shape he can imagine. He can extend his limbs, torso, or neck to great distances: the maximum length he can distend before his body segments become painful is about 1,500 feet. (Although he can extend discrete body parts, such as a single finger, an ear, or an eye, he seldom if ever isolates such parts in his elongations.) He can also extend his body in two directions, creating a canopy, parachute, or sheath, its thickness determined by the extent of its distention. He has compressed his body into the shape of a solid sphere, a cylinder, a cube, a toroid, and a rectangular prism: he can assume the shape of any solid that he can envision clearly, of a volume no greater than 1.7 cubic feet (a sphere about 18 inches in diameter). He can generate thin-walled shapes that enclose great volumes of space. Mister Fantastic can flatten himself to the thickness of an average sheet of typing paper (.0035 inch) or narrow himself to a diameter small enough to pass through the eye of a #10 beading needle (about .045 x .06 inches). How his body's respiration and circulatory systems function at these distorted extremes is as yet unknown. Mister Fantastic can alter his form in a matter of seconds, often much less (depending on the complexity of the shape), and revert to his normal humanoid shape within a similar time. The greater the distance he stretches or the more extended the size of the object he becomes, the weaker his overall strength becomes.

    Due to the great malleability and elasticity of his molecular structure, Mister Fantastic is able to absorb the impact of any type of man-made ballistic projectile by deforming his body along the path of the projectile's trajectory at the point of initial impact. After his body absorbs the kinetic energy of a ballistic projectile's impact, he can expel the object back along its trajectory by flexing like a trampoline if he is adequately braced. He can enclose and absorb the energy of a large explosive, on the order of 8 to 12 pounds of TNT (excluding exotic, high density explosives). Such shocks to his system are physically exhausting.

    Mister Fantastic's transformation to a malleable state is reflexive and nearly instantaneous: if he was at his normal form and taken unaware by machine gun fire, his body would still absorb the bullets' impact through radical deformation. Mister Fantastic's skin is virtually impervious to laceration or punctures unless he wilfully relaxes his reflexive control over small areas of his body. In that case, scalpels and ordinary needles can penetrate his skin.

    This info matches that on the Marvel Universe site but includes more details.

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    zee crusher

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    #12  Edited By zee crusher

    Methos says:

    "as i'm expanding my knowledge base of characters i'm trying to do some research on Mr Fantastic, now the question is this, can he be killed? he can stretch and warp his body in amazing ways, pretty much like Plastic Man, but not as versatile, and we know Plastic Man is pretty much immortal, does the same hold true for Mr Fantastic? has he ever been mortally wounded? or effected in such a drastic manner than his life was in danger? does radiation or aging effect him in the same way is does normal people, as his DNA is now unstable does he age at all? M"

    Yes his limit unlike plastic mans is 3 miles namor when they first fought almost ripped him in half. Also energy blast an hurt him and some times he accidently snap himself back by himself causing pain but if you cut him or shot certain energy blast at him he can die.

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    Methos

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    #13  Edited By Methos

    hmmm... interesting...

    so he can't alter the mass or density of his body and has to actually stay at his normal volume... that's useful info :D

    M

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    warlock360

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    #14  Edited By warlock360

    Doom killed him a couple of Times... just never in 616

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    WARLOCK2792

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    #15  Edited By WARLOCK2792

    Methos says:

    "as i'm expanding my knowledge base of characters i'm trying to do some research on Mr Fantastic, now the question is this, can he be killed? he can stretch and warp his body in amazing ways, pretty much like Plastic Man, but not as versatile, and we know Plastic Man is pretty much immortal, does the same hold true for Mr Fantastic? has he ever been mortally wounded? or effected in such a drastic manner than his life was in danger? does radiation or aging effect him in the same way is does normal people, as his DNA is now unstable does he age at all? M"
    LMAO! I used to wonder the same thing! I mean, he's always bending and stuff. But, after looking at this thread, it definitely gives me a clear answer. One question, can severe heat affect him?
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    zee crusher

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    #16  Edited By zee crusher

    Methos says:

    "hmmm... interesting... so he can't alter the mass or density of his body and has to actually stay at his normal volume... that's useful info :D M"

    He can when he fougth onlsaught he buffed his body up to things proportions and grabbed onslaught by his neck or chest and said you better stay away from my son.

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    zee crusher

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    #17  Edited By zee crusher

    White Mage says:

    "Methos says:
    "as i'm expanding my knowledge base of characters i'm trying to do some research on Mr Fantastic, now the question is this, can he be killed? he can stretch and warp his body in amazing ways, pretty much like Plastic Man, but not as versatile, and we know Plastic Man is pretty much immortal, does the same hold true for Mr Fantastic? has he ever been mortally wounded? or effected in such a drastic manner than his life was in danger? does radiation or aging effect him in the same way is does normal people, as his DNA is now unstable does he age at all? M"
    LMAO! I used to wonder the same thing! I mean, he's always bending and stuff. But, after looking at this thread, it definitely gives me a clear answer. One question, can severe heat affect him? "

    yeah and cold.

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    Hawk

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    #18  Edited By Hawk

    Can he be burned?

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    #19  Edited By Methos

    zee crusher says:

    "He can when he fougth onlsaught he buffed his body up to things proportions and grabbed onslaught by his neck or chest and said you better stay away from my son."

    Buffed up how?

    actually grew in size or just shifted mass from one area of his body to another...

    from what Creator said he had to stay at the same mass no matter what shape he was in, so he couldn't turn himself into a letter or something and mail himself across country, he's have to be at the same mass his body started out with.

    M

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    #20  Edited By vance_astro  Moderator

    Hawk says:

    "Can he be burned?"

    Of course.

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    the creator

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    #21  Edited By the creator

    Vance Astro says:

    "Hawk says:
    "Can he be burned?"
    Of course."

    From the info shown, he has at best a slightly higher than normal resistance to cold and heat but nothing that would qualify as enhanced or even superhuman resistance to these 2 effects.

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    Hawk

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    #22  Edited By Hawk

    The_Creator says:

    "Vance Astro says:
    "Hawk says:
    "Can he be burned?"
    Of course."
    From the info shown, he has at best a slightly higher than normal resistance to cold and heat but nothing that would qualify as enhanced or even superhuman resistance to these 2 effects. "
    Then he can die
    Post Edited:2008-02-14 12:50:53
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    vance_astro

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    #23  Edited By vance_astro  Moderator

    Hawk says:

    "The_Creator says:
    "Vance Astro says:
    "Hawk says:
    "Can he be burned?"
    Of course."
    From the info shown, he has at best a slightly higher than normal resistance to cold and heat but nothing that would qualify as enhanced or even superhuman resistance to these 2 effects. "
    Then he can die
    Post Edited:2008-02-14 12:50:53"

    Yes.The Thing is Reed is to smart and to skilled to be killed by just anyone.You have to be like the Sentry or Hulk or Silver Surfer.Someone like that.Someone where his smarts won't help him unless he had prep time and even then he still might now win.

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    Hawk

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    #24  Edited By Hawk

    Vance Astro says:

    "Hawk says:
    "The_Creator says:
    "Vance Astro says:
    "Hawk says:
    "Can he be burned?"
    Of course."
    From the info shown, he has at best a slightly higher than normal resistance to cold and heat but nothing that would qualify as enhanced or even superhuman resistance to these 2 effects. "
    Then he can die
    Post Edited:2008-02-14 12:50:53"
    Yes.The Thing is Reed is to smart and to skilled to be killed by just anyone.You have to be like the Sentry or Hulk or Silver Surfer.Someone like that.Someone where his smarts won't help him unless he had prep time and even then he still might now win."

    oh I agree.....but the question was...."can he be killed" yes

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    vance_astro

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    #25  Edited By vance_astro  Moderator

    Hawk says:

    "Vance Astro says:
    "Hawk says:
    "The_Creator says:
    "Vance Astro says:
    "Hawk says:
    "Can he be burned?"
    Of course."
    From the info shown, he has at best a slightly higher than normal resistance to cold and heat but nothing that would qualify as enhanced or even superhuman resistance to these 2 effects. "
    Then he can die
    Post Edited:2008-02-14 12:50:53"
    Yes.The Thing is Reed is to smart and to skilled to be killed by just anyone.You have to be like the Sentry or Hulk or Silver Surfer.Someone like that.Someone where his smarts won't help him unless he had prep time and even then he still might now win."
    oh I agree.....but the question was...."can he be killed" yes"

    Yea your right.

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    POHOCOM

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    #26  Edited By POHOCOM

    I've seen Reed nearly killed when : 1 Gladiator nearly stretched him beyond his limit. 2 He was exposed to some aging ray, by the skrulls, causing him to age at a high rate. (Human Torch found a way to reverse the process before it was too late. 3.He was nearly suffocated by the Hulk and Dr Doom in separate fights. (the man still needs air, water, and food.

    Reed appears to be totally vulnerable to radiation, temperature extremes, electrocution,

    and disease like regular people as well.

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    Titank

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    #27  Edited By Titank

    I was looking at hat 'question of the day' thing and in 'what shocked you most in comics' or something like that, someone put reed dying and there was a pic of him being shot and he looked like an over stretched piece of gum; could someone explain what happend please?

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    the creator

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    #28  Edited By the creator
    RavenStar said:
    "I was looking at hat 'question of the day' thing and in 'what shocked you most in comics' or something like that, someone put reed dying and there was a pic of him being shot and he looked like an over stretched piece of gum; could someone explain what happend please?"
    Unless he is prepared for an attack, he can suffer trauma as a projectile can force him to strtch unexpectedly. He will recover but it's like getting the air knocked out of you.
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    #29  Edited By vance_astro  Moderator

    Is Reed even alive now?

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    Spider-Pantrelli

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    #30  Edited By Spider-Pantrelli
    RavenStar said:
    "I was looking at hat 'question of the day' thing and in 'what shocked you most in comics' or something like that, someone put reed dying and there was a pic of him being shot and he looked like an over stretched piece of gum; could someone explain what happend please?"

    It was me!!! Anyway, what happened was that Reed Richards was trying to work out how the skrull was able to be on Earth undetectable. When he did eventually work it out, he was shot by a skrull posing as Hank Pym..
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    Titank

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    #31  Edited By Titank

    so did he die?

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    Spider-Pantrelli

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    #32  Edited By Spider-Pantrelli
    RavenStar said:
    "so did he die?
    "

    Not really sure at the moment...
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    Sinistron

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    #33  Edited By Sinistron

    i'm sure he could be burned to death or suffocate

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    @methos: Mr Fantastic is not immortal, he can die of natural causes like diseases but he cannot be killed. In Marvel:Secret Invasion, Reed Richards gets shot in the face with a pistol by a skrull agent. Instead of dying he effectively went splat as his head literally stretched at the point of impact of the bullet. He in other words went splat and couldn't reassert himself and was later rescued by Angent Abigail Brand who happens to know the skrull language.

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