| Franklin Storm | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #31 (Oct. 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Abilities | Gifted surgeon |
Franklin Storm is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He is the father ofSusan Storm andJohnny Storm, better known as Invisible Woman and Human Torch of theFantastic Four, respectively.
Reg E. Cathey portrays Franklin Storm inFantastic Four (2015).
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(June 2016) |
Franklin Storm first appeared inFantastic Four #31 (October 1964), and was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby.
Dr. Franklin Storm, the father ofSusan andJohnny Storm, was an accomplishedsurgeon. While driving with his wife Mary to a dinner being held in his honor, one of the tires in his car blew out, and the car swerved off the road and crashed, severely injuring Mary. Storm unsuccessfully operated on Mary in a desperate attempt to save her life, but the injuries proved fatal. He blamed himself for her death. Leaving his career, he turned to gambling, eventually borrowing money from aloan shark. When Storm was unable to pay, one of the loan shark's men threatened Storm and his children. Storm grappled with the man, and during the ensuing fight, the man accidentally shot and killed himself. Storm was sentenced to prison for 20 years formanslaughter. Upon his request, Susan did not visit him while in prison and told Johnny that he was dead.[1]
Years later, Susan and Johnny gain superhuman powers and become members of theFantastic Four. Franklin Storm escapes from prison early in the Fantastic Four's career. When he learns that Susan had been seriously injured while escaping from theMole Man's lair, he comes out of hiding and operates on her, saving her life. After the operation, Storm is returned to prison.[2]
Shortly thereafter, Storm is captured bySkrulls and impersonated by theSuper-Skrull. Disguised as Storm and claiming to have acquired superhuman powers, the Super-Skrull breaks out of prison and confronts the Fantastic Four.Reed Richards recognizes the impostor and forces the Skrulls to exchange their agent for Storm.[1]
Under the advice of the warlordMorrat, the Skrulls attach a concussive energy beam projector to Storm's chest which would activate the moment he saw the Fantastic Four. He warns the heroes to stay away and rolls over on the floor, sacrificing himself by taking the force of the concussive blast.[1] Susan names her sonFranklin after her father in honor of his memory.[3]
An alternate universe variant of Franklin Storm from Earth-15513 who became the leader of the Fantastic Four appears inSecret Wars.[4]
An alternate universe variant of Franklin Storm from Earth-1610 appears in theUltimate Marvel universe. This version is a scientist who worked on recreating the Super-Soldier Serum and helped build theBaxter Building.[5][6][7] During theUltimatum storyline, Storm is killed whenMagneto floods Manhattan.[8]
An alternate universe variant of Franklin Richards from Earth-6160 appears inUltimate Invasion. This version is the director of a space program who contributed to the Fantastic Four's space flight. Due to theMaker's interference, all except Reed Richards are killed.[9]
Franklin Storm appears in theFantastic Four (1994) episode "Behold, A Distant Star", voiced byRichard McGonagle.[10]
Franklin Storm appears inFantastic Four (2015), portrayed byReg E. Cathey.[11] This version is African-American and the director of theBaxter Foundation, with Johnny being his biological son while Susan is adopted. After the formation of the Fantastic Four, Franklin works with the government to help them control and understand their powers before being killed byDoctor Doom.
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