Franklin Storm is a character 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 Susan Storm and Johnny Storm better known as Invisible Woman and Human Torch 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 ...

respectively. Reg E. Cathey portrays Franklin Storm in ''

'' (2015).

Publication history

Franklin Storm first appeared in ''

'' #31 (October 1964), and was created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

Fictional character biography

Franklin Storm is an accomplished surgeon and the father of

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...

and Johnny Storm. After his wife Mary is killed in a car crash, Franklin allies with

loan sharks A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate ...

to obtain money. Later in his life, after his children become superheroes, Franklin is impersonated by

Skrulls The Skrulls () are a race of List of fictional extraterrestrials, extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #2 and were crea ...

, who eventually kill him with a concussive energy blast. Susan named her son

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

after her father in honor of his memory.

Other versions

Secret Wars

An alternate universe variant of Franklin Storm from Earth-15513 who became the leader of the Fantastic Four appears in ''

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'', is a 12-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter ...

''.

Ultimate Marvel

An alternate universe variant of Franklin Storm from Earth-1610 appears 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 ...

universe. This version is a scientist who worked on recreating the Super-Soldier Serum and helped build 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 ...

. During the ''

Ultimatum An ; ; : ultimata or ultimatums) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a coercion, threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the ...

'' storyline, he is killed when

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

floods Manhattan.

Ultimate Universe

An alternate universe variant of Franklin Richards from Earth-6160 appears in ''

Ultimate Invasion ''Ultimate Invasion'' is a four-issue American comic book limited series written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Bryan Hitch and colored by Alex Sinclair. The first issue was published by Marvel Comics on June 21, 2023. The storyline shows Maker ( ...

''. This version is the director of a space program who contributed to the Fantastic Four's space flight. However, due to the Maker's interference, all except Reed Richards are killed.

In other media

Television

Franklin Storm appears in the ''Fantastic Four'' (1994) episode "Behold, A Distant Star", voiced by

Richard McGonagle Richard Francis McGonagle (born October 22, 1946) is an American actor, voice actor and motion-capture performer. He is most known for his voice work in various video games, movies and television shows. He is also known for his work by voicing C ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

Film

Franklin Storm appears in ''

'' (2015), portrayed by Reg E. Cathey. This version is African-American and the director of the Baxter 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 by

Doctor Doom Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...

References

External links

Franklin Storm
at Marvel.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Storm, Franklin Black characters in films Characters created by Jack Kirby Characters created by Stan Lee Comics characters introduced in 1964 Fantastic Four characters Fictional surgeons