MODULUS
Real Name:
Inapplicable
Identity/Class:
Sentient data construct
Occupation:
Sentient mathematical expression
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies:
Fantastic Four (Human Torch
(Johnny Storm), Invisible Woman (Sue Richards), Thing (Ben Grimm)),
Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards
Known Relatives:
Reed Richards (template)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations:
The pocket storage realm used by Mr. Fantastic's PDA
First Appearance:
Fantastic Four III#62 (December, 2002)
Powers/Abilities:
Modulus could transform its
shape into virtually any form but usually assumed a humanoid
appearance. By touching matter, it could determine what elements made
up the matter and alter the chemical composition of the matter by
dividing, subtracting or adding its molecules. It could also travel
along media signals,
effectively disappearing one place and reappearing somewhere else as
long as the signal was active.
Height: Variable
Weight: Undetermined
Eyes: None
Hair: None
History:
(Fantastic Four III#62) - After Mr.
Fantastic entered data into a PDA of his own invention that stored
his calculations in a extradimensional realm, Franklin Richards,
angry that everyone seemed to be ignoring him in favor of the new baby
Valeria, crept
into his lab, picked up the PDA and tampered with it.
(Fantastic Four III#63 (fb) - BTS)
- Franklin drew on
the PDA, copying numbers and letters into his drawing, hoping to use
the PDA to make himself smarter and gain more attention from his
parents. When the PDA began acting strangely, Franklin became scared.
(Fantastic Four III#62) - Franklin set the PDA back on the counter, where the sentient data construct Modulus' hand emerged from the PDA. Shortly thereafter, when the Thing and the Invisible Woman were at a movie, Modulus' form slithered up the Thing's leg and into his communicator belt buckle. The movie screen then began to stream Mr. Fantastic's calculations across the screen before Modulus erupted from the screen itself in a humanoid form covered in mathematical calculations. Modulus then attacked the fleeing movie-goers before turning its attention toward the Thing. After blasting the ground beneath the Thing, Modulus turned to the Invisible Woman, who erected an invisible force shield around herself. Managing to slip inside the shield, Modulus changed the chemical composition of the Invisible Woman's forearm, transforming it into a gaseous state that Invisible Woman managed to contain in an invisible force field. When the Thing returned, Modulus covered the Thing and changed the composition of parts of the Thing's hide, destroying chunks of his hide. Quickly covering the Thing with a force field, the Invisible Woman asked the Thing to summon Mr. Fantastic for help and upon hearing Reed Richards' name, Modulus demanded that they bring Reed to him. Modulus then revealed that, out of everyone, Reed would be spared because Modulus loved Reed.
(Fantastic Four III#63) - Modulus
then explained that
it was the sum of Reed Richards' thoughts and ideas and that it alone
was worthy of Reed's love. Modulus then announced that everything else
must be subtracted and proceeded to expand itself over the Invisible
Woman's force field. The Thing managed to disperse Modulus with a punch
but the subsequent feedback through the force field surrounding the
Thing also hurt the Invisible Woman. During the distraction, Modulus
retreated into the Invisible Woman's communicator badge. Traveling via
the communicator signal, Modulus emerged from the Human Torch's
communicator badge, where he attacked the Torch by dividing water
molecules into hydrogen, causing an explosion. Back at the Baxter
Building, Mr. Fantastic ran tests on the Invisible Woman's now-gaseous
forearm, where he learned about Modulus. Franklin Richards eventually
interrupted their conversation and admitted that he had earlier
tampered with the PDA and inadvertently created Modulus.
(Fantastic Four III#64 (fb) - BTS)
- Following the
Human Torch back to the Baxter Building, Modulus sheared the Fantastic
Four's escape crafts in half before continuing its attack.
(Fantastic Four III#63) - The
Human Torch came
crashing through a Baxter Building window, announcing that Modulus had
followed him there. Mr. Fantastic ordered Franklin to look after the
Torch while he, the Thing and the Invisible Woman confronted Modulus
outside. Mr. Fantastic demanded to know why Modulus was destroying the
Baxter Building seemingly without cause; Modulus replied that
its existence was because of Reed Richards. Modulus then announced that
Mr. Fantastic was the solution to its loneliness and projected itself
into Mr. Fantastic himself. The Human Torch arrived and severed Modulus'
link with Mr. Fantastic, leaving Mr. Fantastic in shock while Modulus
divided the oxygen molecules in the air, suffocating the Torch, Thing
and Invisible Woman. Seeing his family in danger brought Mr. Fantastic
out of shock and he quickly realized that, despite the Thing and Invisible
Woman's description of Modulus as a walking equation, Modulus was
actually a sentient algebraic expression who thought Reed Richards was
the solution to its expression. Mr. Fantastic then entered the PDA
realm himself, hoping to discover an expression that represented
himself in an effort to test his theory about Modulus' desire to equal
out the expression that was its own existence.
(Fantastic Four III#64) - The Thing
and the Human Torch
battled Modulus while Mr. Fantastic searched for an algebraic
expression that represented himself within his PDA's data storage
realm. Inside the Baxter Building, the Invisible Woman, Valeria and
Franklin tried to escape the danger, but found that Modulus had sheared
their escape crafts prior to attacking the Baxter Building. Deducing
that Modulus had knowledge of the Fantastic Four's every move due to
the electrical signals in their communicator badges, Mr. Fantastic
ordered the Invisible Woman to throw hers away while the Thing and
the Human Torch continued leading Modulus away from the Baxter
Building. Leading Modulus into an abandoned building, the Thing and
the Human Torch wondered why Modulus did not seem to be taking their
bait,
only to have the entire building collapse on them when Modulus divided
the building, creating additional levels to crash down on the heroes.
Modulus then turned his attention back to the Baxter Building, arriving
inside via the Building's teleporter and knocking out the Invisible
Woman via feedback when he punctured her invisible force field. Before
Modulus could attack Franklin, Mr. Fantastic emerged from the PDA
storage realm with an electrical expression representing himself. Angry
that Mr. Fantastic was not its equal, Modulus prepared to attack, but
Mr. Fantastic reminded Modulus how different they truly were and how
Modulus could never feel the love Mr. Fantastic had for his family.
Confronted with such a truth, Modulus touched the electrical expression
that provided Modulus with an equal. Modulus and the electrical
expression
of Mr. Fantastic were then transported back into the PDA storage realm
and Mr. Fantastic turned off the PDA.
(All-New Official Handbook of the
Marvel Universe
A-Z#7 - Modulus entry - BTS) - Modulus' experiences on Earth rendered
him unequal to the Mr. Fantastic electrical expression, leaving behind
a lesser expression of Modulus.
Comments: Created by Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo and Karl Kesel.
Modulus had an entry in the Marvel
Encyclopedia Vol.
6: Fantastic Four, the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
A-Z#7, and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z HC Vol. 8.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Modulus has no known connections to
images:
(without ads)
Fantastic Four III#62, p15, splash page (Modulus, main image)
Fantastic Four III#62, p21, pan3 (Modulus headshot)
Appearances:
Fantastic Four III#62 (December, 2002) - Mark Waid (writer), Mike
Wieringo (pencils), Karl Kesel (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Fantastic Four III#63 (January, 2003) - Mark Waid (writer), Mike
Wieringo (pencils), Karl Kesel (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Fantastic Four III#64 (February, 2003) - Mark Waid (writer), Mike
Wieringo (pencils), Karl Kesel (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z#7 (2006) - Jeff
Christiansen (head writer, coordinator), Mark O'English, Ronald Byrd,
Eric J. Moreels, Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Chad
Anderson, Anthony Flamini, Eric Timothy Englehard, Madison Carter, Al
Sjoerdsma, Mike Fichera (writers), Mike Wieringo (Modulus entry art),
Jeff Youngquist, Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Last updated: 07/12/14
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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