Fantastic Four

Lore & Background

The Maker was created by writers Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar and artist Adam Kubert, while his Maker identity was created by Jonathan Hickman. He debuted in 2004 in Ultimate Fantastic Four. Born in the suburbs of New York City, Reed Richards was a brilliant child genius with an IQ of 267. He was recruited for a government think-tank and conducted research at the Baxter Building with other students including Victor Van Damme. At age 21, an experiment to teleport organic material through the N-Zone went awry due to Victor secretly changing the coordinates, granting Reed the ability to stretch his body parts to incredible lengths. After the Ultimatum miniseries resulted in the death of many heroes, Sue Storm broke up with Reed and the Fantastic Four disbanded. Reed's worldview changed to a more sinister outlook due to the mental and emotional trauma from Ultimatum coupled with Sue's rejection. In Ultimate Mystery, Reed orchestrated his family's murders and faked his own death. In Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates, Reed was revealed to be the Maker, creator of the City and leader of the Children of Tomorrow, having spent 1,000 years in the distant future. During the "Absolute Carnage" and "King in Black" storylines, the Maker revealed he had been coordinating with the Council of Reeds and had utilized Symbiote Codexes extracted from various heroes and villains who had been previous hosts.

In Their Own Story

The Maker's path crossed with Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote when he appeared as a member of Project Oversight. He interrogated Eddie Brock about the incident revolving around the Grendel symbiote and Knull, stating that he is not the Mister Fantastic whom Brock knows. During this interrogation, the Maker discussed how the Venom symbiote had lost its personality, acting akin to a dog. When Brock asked if he could restore Venom to its normal behavior, the Maker stated that the only way to do so remained unclear. The Maker had previously utilized the many Symbiote Codexes he had extracted from various heroes and villains who had been previous hosts as a means to repeat his long-standing goal: restoring his native dimension. This plan set out to be enacted in the 2023 miniseries Ultimate Invasion, resulting in the creation of the new Ultimate Universe after altering the timeline of another universe.

Reader's Guide

The Maker's history begins with his origin as Ultimate Reed Richards, a brilliant scientist with an IQ of 267 who gained stretching powers after a teleportation experiment went wrong. After the Ultimatum storyline, he became increasingly villainous, eventually murdering his own parents and faking his death. He spent 1,000 years in the distant future, unable to age due to his powers, and returned as the Maker leading the Children of Tomorrow. During Secret Wars, the Maker worked with his Earth-616 counterpart to defeat God Emperor Doom, but attempted to eliminate 616-Reed by devolving him into a monkey. Molecule Man intervened, turning the Maker into a pizza. Despite this, the Maker survived and was split into an infinite number of beings by Molecule Man, with one version placed in each newly formed universe. He emerged in the new Prime Earth, taking over W.H.I.S.P.E.R. and assembling the New Revengers. After being defeated by Sunspot, the Maker was imprisoned. He later appeared working with Project Oversight, interrogating Eddie Brock about the Grendel symbiote and Knull, discussing how the Venom symbiote had lost its personality and acting akin to a dog.

Did You Know?

• The Maker has an IQ of 267, making him one of the most intelligent beings in the Marvel Universe.
• He spent 1,000 years in the distant future, unable to age due to his powers, before returning as the Maker.
• During Secret Wars, Molecule Man turned the Maker into a pizza after he attempted to devolve his Earth-616 counterpart into a monkey.
• The Maker orchestrated his own parents' murders and faked his own death in the Ultimate Mystery storyline.
• He utilized Symbiote Codexes extracted from various heroes and villains who had been previous hosts to restore his native dimension.