History: Earth-A is an alternate/divergent dimensional counterpart to the Earth-616.
(Fantastic Four I#118 (fb) - BTS) - In this world, it was only Ben Grimm and Reed Richards who were aboard the attempted space flight that bombarded them with cosmic rays and granted them superhuman abilities. In this reality, Ben Grimm become Mr. Fantastic, while Richards became the Thing.
(Fantastic Four I#118) - The Thing of Earth-616 inadvertently traveled to Earth-A alongside Lockjaw, while teleporting out of an exploding temple during a battle with Diablo. Grimm encountered Reed, who mirrored his form, and learned the truth.
(Fantastic Four I#160-163) - Sometime later, Earth-A fell victim to a dimensional spanning scheme of Arkon of Polemachus and the Earth-616 corporation Roxxon, which also involved the Fifth Dimension and the Earth-616. This plan involved inciting a nuclear war among three separate parallel dimensions, which would generate sufficient power to light the realm of Polemachus for all eternity. As part of this plan, Albert DeVoor of Roxxon, established a business known as Inter-Related Technocracies (IT) on Earth-A. DeVoor met with Reed and succeeded in buying out his company, Reed Richards Robotics. DeVoor also established two similar companies on the Earth-616 and the Fifth Dimension.
I.T. then sent Richards' Andrones to attack the Fifth Dimension, while simultaneously sending dinosaurs and other "time-menaces" from Earth-616's Reed Richards' time machine to attack Earth-A, and using the Heat-Cold Weapons of Phineas of the Fifth Dimension to threaten a new ice age on the Earth-616.
On Earth-616, Alicia Masters, the girlfriend of the Thing, witnessed a struggle between Reed of Earth-A and Arkon. Thinking it was her boyfriend injured, she was surprised to see him later unharmed. She related these confusing events to the Thing, who recalled his previous encounter with another Thing and had Lockjaw return him to Earth-A. There he encountered Ben and Sue and became involved in a struggle against the "time-menaces" attacking their world. The people of Earth-A distrusted him due to the attacks from the Earth-616. The Thing of Earth-616 was captured and brought before
This three-way war progressed as planned until Reed contacted Reed Richards of Earth-616 and told him the truth. Richards of Earth-616 informed the other involved parties and put a temporary halt on the hostilities. Reed then sent the Thing of Earth-616 on a mission to the Nexus through which Arkon hoped to channel the power of the nuclear wars. While Reed helped the other members of the Fantastic Four defeat Arkon's forces and bring down IT, the Thing overpowered the guardian of the Nexus, Gaard, and successfully destroyed the Nexus.
Andro, the creation of Dr. Doom formerly known as the Doomsman, established his base on Earth-A. He is no relation to the Andrones.
(She-Hulk II#21 (fb) - BTS) - Teaming with his Earth-616 counterpart, Albert DeVoor used Interlocking Technologies in a money-making vacation scheme where the non-powered residents of Earth-A could be sent through an Atomic Resequencer where their molecules would be beamed to Earth-616 (which they call Earth-B) and realigned to match the structure of their Earth-616 counterpart.
(Uncanny X-Men#345-346) - She-Hulk of Earth-A (posing as her 616 counterpart) defended the Juggernaut (Cain Marko) in a court of law and then had a sexual affair with him.
(Avengers: The Initiative#2-3) - Hulkling & Wiccan of Earth-A impersonated their 616 counterparts. They trained and served in the Initiative.
(She-Hulk II#21 (fb) - BTS / She-Hulk II#21) - Interlocking Technologies' plot was discovered and various residents in superhuman forms -- including Armadillo, Beast, Captain Ultra, Dazzler, Albert DeVoor, Dr. Strange, Egghead, Hammer & Anvil, Hulkling, Jack of Hearts, Ms. Marvel, Monica Rambeau, Rhino, Scarlet Witch, Scorpion, 3-D Man, Vermin (deceased), White Tiger, Wiccan, and the Wrecker -- were rounded up, stripped of their powers, and sent back to Earth-A. The Thing of Earth-A assisted Reed Richards-616 with a counterpart device on Earth-A to facilitate the return of the Earth-A natives, though he noted the strong temptation to travel to Earth-616 and realign his atoms with Richards-616. Jen Walters of Earth-616 considered trading places with her Earth-A counterpart, but Reed Richards returned her to Earth-616 and used the Atomic Resequencer to restore her powers (based on the template of her pre-nannite-depowered state her Earth-A counterpart was using). Jen Walters of Earth-712 was happy to be reunited with her lover, Pug.
Comments: Created by Archie Goodwin and John Buscema.
The Earth-A dimension was shown in the past travels of the entity Vangaard (formerly Gaard), who destroyed redundant realities. Either the reality was NOT considered redundant, or if it were, then a divergent counterpart survived.
Earth-A was also depicted in Fantastic Four III#47.
Profile by Snood
Clarifications: Andrones were the humanoid robots designed by Reed as part of
Reed Richards Robotics. They were sent to attack Earth-A as part
of the plot by IT.
--Fantastic Four I#118/2, 161 (named); (162 They should not be confused with: --Fantastic Four I#118/2 (160, 161 Susan Storm
Grimm never went on the space
flight and so never gained the powers of the Invisible
Girl/Woman. She married Ben Grimm instead of Reed Richards.
--Fantastic Four I#118/2 Inter-Related
Technocracies, Unlimited was the
name for the Earth-A branch of Roxxon's IT plot. It was run by
Albert DeVoor, and bought out Reed Richards Robotics in order to
send his Andrones to attack the Fifth Dimension. It was presumably renamed Interlocking Technologies
sometime later. --Fantastic Four I#161 (162 Sometime later, Reed recovered from his
profound depression sufficiently to establish a company, Reed
Richards Robotics. This company designed the Andrones. Reed was
duped by Albert DeVoor of Inter-Related Technocracies into
selling his company, in exchange for much-needed cash to fund his
continuing experiments. Too later, Reed learned of the true plot
of IT, and he traveled to the prime Earth in an effort to gain
help from the Thing. Before he could do so, he was attacked and
overpowered by Arkon, and taken to the IT base. After some time
there, he managed to reach across the dimensional barrier and
contact Reed Richards I and explain the truth to him about the
extra-dimensional attacks. He then met up with the Thing I who
had traveled to Earth-A in search of him, and had been captured
as well. The two escaped from IT and helped put a stop to the
inter-dimensional wars. Reed accompanied the the Fantastic Four
on a mission to bring down IT, and he succeeded in overpowering
Arkon himself. Reed of Earth-A assisted Reed Richards-616 with a
counterpart device on Earth-A to facilitate the return of the Earth-A natives,
though he noted the strong temptation to travel to Earth-616 and realign his
atoms with Richards-616. Reed possessed superhuman strength and
durability roughly comparable to the Thing (Class 90). He
lacked his training and the fighting spirit. Reed was a genius
inventor, specializing in the creation of robots. --Fantastic Four I#118/2 (118/2(fb), 118/2,
162(fb), 160-163 Reed
Richards Robotics, Inc was the name
of Reed's Androne designing company. It was bought out by
Inter-Related Technocracies as part of the IT plot. It was based
in a castle on a deserted island, and surrounded by a moat of
acid. Riochards designed robots and androids of every size, every
shape, and every use. Many of these had the forms of normal
humans, while other possessed more monstrous forms and abilities.
--Fantastic Four I#160 Johnny Storm-see GAARD and VANGAARD. originally believed
to have perished in the Viet Nam War
--Fantastic Four I#163 Also identified: Nelson Rockefeller (president of USA) Appearances: Last updated:
09/25/07 Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know. Non-Marvel Copyright info
Andrones, humans mutated into partially metallic form by
Ultron, @ Avengers West Coast#65
Ben Grimm gained combined powers of flame and stretching to
become Mr.Fantastic. Grimm, instead of Richards, gained the love
of Sue Storm, and eventually her hand in marriage. Ben didn't
really want or need his superhuman powers, so he had Reed remove
these abilities. Shortly thereafter, he and Sue were attacked by
the Andrones which were now controlled by IT. They were saved by
the Thing, who had come in search of Reed. However, recent
attacks by the "time-menaces" of the prime Earth had
made the people of Earth-A distrustful, and Ben gassed the Thing
I, knocking him out. He claimed to have done this to prevent the
Thing from receiving greater injury at the hands of the military.
Ben formerly possessed the combined flame powers of the Human
Torch (Johnny Storm) and the stretching powers of Mr.
Fantastic
Reed
Richards was transformed into the
hideous form of the Thing. Bitter over his transformation and the
loss of the woman he loved, Richards exiled himself to an island.
Initially delusional over his losses, he exiled himself to a
secluded island and designed a large number of scenes and robots,
patterned after various eras on Earth, such as the @ England @
the late 19th Century, England @ the Crusades, and the O.K.
Corral. In each of these cases, he designed the villain of these
eras, such as Moriarity, the sheriff of Nottingham, and the
Clanton Brothers, to have the form of Reed Richards. In this way,
he acted as his subconscious hatred for himself. It was during
this period of his life that he first encountered the Thing.
General T.E. "Thunderbolt" Ross (who is an air force general; his first
name was not revealed and may not be Thaddeus
Bruce Banner (never seen, but never became the Hulk but rather Ross'
son-in-law)
This info from Olshevksy's Index.
Fantastic Four I#118 (January, 1972) - Archie Goodwin (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Jim Mooney (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Fantastic Four I#160 (July, 1975) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Chic Stone (inks)
Fantastic Four I#161-163 (August-October, 1975) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Rich Buckler (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks)
Uncanny X-Men#435-436
She-Hulk II#21 (October, 2007) - by Dan Slott & Ty Templeton (writer), Rick Burchett (penciler), Cliff Rathburn (inker),
Molly Lazer (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com