| Valeria Richards | |
|---|---|
 Valeria Richards as depicted inSecret Invasion: Fantastic Four #3 (September 2008). Art byAlan Davis. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #15 (March 1999) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont (writer) Salvador Larroca (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Valeria Meghan Richards (née von Doom) |
| Place of origin | Manhattan, New York |
| Team affiliations | Fantastic Four Future Foundation |
| Notable aliases | Brainstorm Marvel Girl Val |
| Abilities | Genius-level intelligence Superhuman strength Invulnerability Invisibility Time travel Force field generation Energy blasts Limited telekinesis Telepathy |
Valeria Meghan Richards, originallyvon Doom, is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is the daughter ofMister Fantastic (Reed Richards) and theInvisible Woman (Susan Storm-Richards) andgoddaughter ofDoctor Victor von Doom. She is the younger sister ofFranklin Richards (though because oftime travel she has sometimes been older than her brother). Valeria made her first appearance under the code nameMarvel Girl and is currently using the nameBrainstorm.[1][2]
Valeria von Doom first appeared inFantastic Four (vol. 3) #50 (February 2002), during writerChris Claremont and artistSalvador Larroca's run.[3] While Chris Claremont intended to resolve the storyline, he never got the chance, asRafael Marín,Carlos Pacheco, andJeph Loeb took overFantastic Four and brought Valeria back into the title, changing the character's origins. In the comics themselves,Roma professed to have cared for the girl, but theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe states that Valeria was raised in an alternate future as the daughter ofDoctor Doom and Sue Storm.
Mr. Fantastic, theThing and theHuman Torch were on the moon of an alternative future when they sawSusan Richards, appearing as the Baroness von Doom, with her childrenFranklin and Valeria.[4] Valeria later appeared in the main timeline by suddenly materializing in the Fantastic Four's headquarters, professing to be from the future, as well as being the daughter ofDoctor Doom (Victor von Doom) and the Invisible Woman. This was very disturbing to the Fantastic Four, but after an initial period of conflict, the Invisible Woman accepted Valeria into the FF's home and she aided them on several missions.[5]
It was unknown how Doctor Doom and the Invisible Woman would come together in the future, and how Mister Fantastic would be removed from the picture. Things seemed to be coming together when Mister Fantastic became trapped in Doom's armor,[6] and publicly pretended to be the villain, remarrying Sue and making her his baroness shortly after Valeria is sent to Haven, a safe house at the end of the universe, for her own protection,[7] but as events proceeded, Reed was freed from the armor,[8] again calling Valeria's future into question.
She was revealed to be the second, unborn child of Reed and Sue Richards, whom Sue had seemingly miscarried years before,[9] and who had originally been named Valeria Richards.[5] Under the guidance ofRoma, Franklin had used his powers to save the child, taking her from her native reality and sending her "someplace else" where she was raised by another Invisible Woman who had married a now heroic Doctor Doom after the death of her first husband.
As the FF went up against the cosmic menace ofAbraxas, she was summoned by Roma and fulfilled her purpose by merging her powers with Franklin and reconstitutingGalactus to stop Abraxas. In the restructuring of reality that ensued, Valeria regresses to an unborn fetus which is later reborn.[10][11] Unknown to the Fantastic Four, Doom places a spell on Valeria, making her hisfamiliar.[12]
Due to the numeroussupervillain attacks on theBaxter Building, New York City'sChild Protective Services questioned the safety of Franklin and Val. After much reluctance, Reed and Sue decided to relinquish custody of their children. However, they re-obtain custody after the safehouse that the children were staying in is destroyed.[13]
In theSecret Wars: The Runaways crossover, Valeria is the headmistress of the Victor von Doom Institute for Gifted Youths inLatveria.[14] After the conclusion of Secret Wars, Valeria leaves to explore the multiverse with Franklin, Reed, and Sue, returning at an older age similar to her original appearance.
Some years later, the Fantastic Four andFuture Foundation battle the Griever at the End of All Things. During this time, Valeria has taken up the codename of Brainstorm.[1]
Valeria possesses no superhuman abilities, but possesses remarkable intelligence that she claims surpasses her father's. This enabled her to solve aRubik's Cube at a young age and create advanced technology, such as an artificially intelligent toy and a special belt that recreates her mother's force fields.[15][16][7][5] The device also allows her to neutralize her brother's powers and travel through time.[17][18][5] Valeria also used an armored costume that mixed elements of the Fantastic Four's uniform and Doctor Doom's armor. She could summon the armor, apparently through the metallic paint of Doom's mask on her fingernails.[18]
InMarvel Knights 4, Johnny Storm encounters an alternate timeline variant of Valeria who developed Sue's invisibility.
In 2021,CBR.com ranked Valeria Richards / Brainstorm 2nd in their "Marvel: 10 Smartest Female Characters" list.[19]
Two alternate universe variants of Valeria Richards appear inWhat If...? (vol. 2) #30.
An alternate universe variant of Valeria Richards from Earth-2149 appears inMarvel Zombies: Dead Days #1. She and Franklin are killed by a zombifiedShe-Hulk, driving Reed insane and leading him to infect himself and the Fantastic Four.
An alternate universe variant of Valeria Richards from Earth-13729 who became Doctor Doom and an enemy of Sorcerer SupremeBilly Kaplan appears inDoctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme.
An alternate universe variant of Valeria Richards from Earth-18366 appears inAll-New Wolverine #33.[20]
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