FRANKLIN STORM

Real Name: Dr. Franklin Storm

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Surgeon

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: The Fantastic Four (Human Torch, Invisible Girl, Mr. Fantastic, The Thing); Mary Storm

Enemies: Morrat, Super-Skrull, unnamed loan shark

Known Relatives: Mary Storm (wife; deceased), Jonathon Storm (son), Susan Storm (daughter), Reed Richards (son-in-law), Franklin Richards (grandson), Valeria Richards (granddaughter)

Aliases: believed to be the Invincible Man

Base of Operations: formerly Glenville, Long Island, New York
    later State Prison, New York State

First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#31 (October, 1964)

Powers/Abilities: Franklin Storm was one of America's foremost surgeons.

Height: 6'2"                    Weight: 205 lbs.                    Eyes: Blue                    Hair: Blonde; later Grey

History: (Fantastic Four I#32 (fb)/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe#20) - While driving to a Medical Society dinner with his wife, Mary, Franklin Storm lost control of his car and got into a horrible crash, severely injuring her. Virtually untouched, Franklin performed drastic surgery on his wife, but there was nothing he could do -- she was dead. Sinking into a deep depression, Franklin began to waste his life away gambling.

Eventually his gambling losses took everything from him, and when a loan shark came to collect, Franklin was forced to defend himself. The loan shark inadvertently shot himself, but Franklin ended up being convicted of manslaughter anyway, as he simply wouldn't say anything to defend himself in court. Hoping to spare his children the pain of having a father in jail, Franklin told his daughter, Sue, to stop visiting him, and to tell her brother, Johnny, that he had died. While he served his 20 year sentence, Franklin's son and daughter became the adventurers known as the Human Torch and the Invisible Girl, members of the famous Fantastic Four.

(Fantastic Four I#31) - Around the same time as an assault on the city by the Mole Man, Franklin Storm was able to escape his cell. During the ensuing battle between the Mole Man and the Fantastic Four, the Invisible Girl was hit by a piece of flying shrapnel, and lay on her deathbed. Giving up his chance at freedom, Franklin Storm came to the hospital and performed surgery on his daughter, saving her life. Immediately after he was finished, he was placed back under arrest.

(Fantastic Four I#32) - Back in jail, Dr. Storm was confronted by the Super-Skrull, who disguised himself as the famous doctor, and teleported Storm away to the Andromeda Galaxy, home of the Skrulls. After the Super-Skrull's defeat, the Skrull Warlord Morrat came up with an idea: Franklin was returned to Earth, but as a Trojan Horse, with an energy beam projector strapped to his chest. His children, overjoyed to see him, rushed to his side, but he yelled for them to get away, and fell to the floor, taking the full blast himself. As he died, he told his kids that he was proud of them, and that he finally wouldn't be lonely anymore, as he was going to join his wife.

(Fantastic Four I#94 - BTS) - Susan Storm, now married to Reed Richards, named her son Franklin Richards, in memory of her dead father.

Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee, Jack "King" Kirby, and Chic "Magnet" Stone

Franklin Storm appeared in the second season of the 1994 Fantastic Four cartoon, on an episode which appeared to be sort of a retelling of Fantastic Four I#32 and#37. More info can be found here (courtesy of TV Tome)

As pointed out by Snood, Franklin Richards naming took quite a while, as his first appearance was in Fantastic Four Annual#6, which took place between Fantastic Four I#80-81, and he remained nameless until Fantastic Four I#94! Talk about indecisive.

Profile by: Zerostar

CLARIFICATIONS:

Franklin Storm has no known connection to...

• Chili Storm: actress, former model and rival of Millie the Model--Dazzler#34
• Storm: Ororo Monroe--Giant Sized X-Men#1
• Storm: aka Tempest--Cloak & Dagger III#9
• S.T.O.R.M.: pan-European defense and counter-terrorist organization--Gene Dogs#1
• Stormworld: alien world, environment laced with constant electrical storms--Defenders#38
• Any other "Franklin" or "Storm" characters

Images: Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe#20; p3, pan 1