Nathaniel Richards is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

time-traveling Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. He is the father of

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character is a founding member and the leader of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mast ...

of the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

and is the

namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...

of his descendant, the futuristic villain known as

Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #19 (October 1963) as Rama-Tut, an ...

. Unlike his descendant, the original Nathaniel is more of an adventurer who has a genuine love for his son.

Publication history

Nathaniel Richards first appeared in ''

The Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in ...

'' #272 (November 1984) and was created by writer-artist John Byrne.

Fictional character biography

Dr. Nathaniel Richards was a successful scientist who specialized in multiple fields. He was married to Evelyn and together had a son named Reed Richards who possessed an intellectual mind like his father. When Evelyn died, Nathaniel continued to raise his son by supporting his scientific endeavors. Later, Nathaniel is approached by the Brotherhood of the Shield and joins their group. Along with

Howard Stark Howard Stark is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the founder of Stark ...

, the two meet a super powered individual named Leonid and help him resolve a dispute between the time traveling

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

and

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

who had split the organization in two. These events somehow resulted in Nathaniel gaining the ability to travel through time. Nathaniel found himself in the far future along with several other alternate versions of himself. The villain

Immortus Immortus (; Nathaniel Richards) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the future self of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Iron Lad, Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, and a ...

had gathered them together and forced them to kill each other off. Nathaniel fled. To protect Reed, Nathaniel provided for his future and then disappeared from his life. Nathaniel ended up in another dimension where the Earth had become a desolate wasteland when the moon was destroyed. He married a woman named Cassandra who bore two children for him, one of which grew up to be

Huntara The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in ...

. Cassandra turned out to be a power-mad individual who used Nathaniel's technology to rule the remaining humans. The

and

Wyatt Wingfoot Wyatt Wingfoot is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While having no superpowers, he has spent much time in the company of the Fantastic Four due to his friendship with Human Torch, and ...

arrived in this dimension, defeated Cassandra and freed Nathaniel. After father and son had a heartfelt reunion, Nathaniel stayed behind to help rebuild. However, Nathaniel arrived in the present to kidnap Franklin Richards. Nathaniel aged Franklin to a teenager in an effort to prevent Franklin from having a child with

Rachel Summers Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-plotter John Byrne (comics), John Byrne. In her first appearance, the cha ...

. Their child would eventually grow up to become the villain

Hyperstorm Haechi Haechi (Mark Sim) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Christopher Yost and Marcus To, he first appeared in ''New Warriors'' (vol. 5) #2 (March 2014). Sim is among the latent ...

. Nathaniel would help Franklin and the Fantastic Four battle Aron the Rogue Watcher by rescuing

Uatu Uatu (), often simply known as the Watcher, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #13 (April 1963). He is a member o ...

the Watcher. Nathaniel later trained

Susan Storm The Invisible Woman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), The Fantastic Four'' #1 (November 1961). Susan St ...

to better master her powers. Nathaniel returned to help Reed jump-start the

Future Foundation The Future Foundation is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jonathan Hickman, the team first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #579 (July 2010) and stars in the series ''FF,'' wri ...

, using the technology he gathered over the years. He then helped them battle the

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are an List of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and have a scientificall ...

Army and the Mad Celestials.

Powers and abilities

Nathaniel Richards has no superpowers, but he is a scientific genius and skilled inventor in advanced technology. He invented a device called the Time Platform, which allows him to travel through time. The armor that he built on his own granted him increased strength, physical resistance, and access to various gadgets, as well as energy weapons for defense.

Other versions

The Beast

A version of Nathaniel Richards pulled into the far future with the other Nathaniels by

, called the Beast, was a homicidal maniac who took the opportunity to slaughter all of his counterparts. The Nathaniel of Earth-616 teams up with young college-age Reed Richards, Ben Grimm and Victor von Doom in order to defeat him.

Ultimate Marvel

In the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

reality,

Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

's father is renamed Gary Richards and he does not have a scientific background. He also seems to despise his son's scientific mind, preferring his friend Ben Grimm's athletic abilities. When the

Baxter Building The Baxter Building is a fictional 35-story office building appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the building first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #3 (Marc ...

's think tank accepted Reed, Gary was glad that he was gone. When Diablo kidnapped Reed's younger sister Enid, Gary went to Reed for help even though he still resented him. When Reed quit the Fantastic Four, Gary was there to greet him, not acting surprised. Gary, along with his wife Mary and two daughters, were killed in an explosion directed at the Richards household, later revealed to have been perpetrated by Reed himself, now the

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

ous Maker.

What If?

Nathaniel Richards was seen in two

What If What If may refer to: Film * ''What If'', a 2006 TV film starring Niall Buggy * What If... (2010 film), ''What If...'' (2010 film), an American film * What If... (2012 film), ''What If...'' (2012 film), a Greek film * What If (2013 film), ''What ...

stories: * In "What if the Fantastic Four were

Cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s?", Nathaniel named his son Rudion and was interned in a

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

after America lost faith in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. * In another reality based on

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

, Nathaniel Richards is a variation of

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

to a version of

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with ...

In other media

A variation of Nathaniel Richards known as Mr. Richards appears in ''

'' (2015), portrayed by

Tim Heidecker Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric. As an actor, Heidecker's filmography includes roles in ' ...

. This version is Reed's stepfather.

References

External links

Nathaniel Richards
at Marvel.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Nathaniel Characters created by John Byrne (comics) Comics characters introduced in 1984 Fantastic Four characters Fictional child abusers Fictional kidnappers Fictional inventors in comics Marvel Comics characters who can teleport Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Fictional characters from Chicago Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics supervillains Time travelers