Marvel’s Ultimate Version of Kang Made Reed Richards a Villain

Reed Richards and Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four are one of Marvel’s most iconic couples. However, in the Ultimate Universe, both characters became villains when Reed sent her back in time and accidentally created a new Kang the Conqueror. As a result, Mr. Fantastic would become a villain himself, desperate to save the world from pending doom. Reed would become the Maker and serve his wife as they hoped to prevent an apocalypse from destroying the Marvel Universe.

In the Ultimate Universe, the world was nearly destroyed when Magneto unleashed a powerful Ultimative Wave that killed thousands of people. Reed Richards watched as many, including his own father, died in the attack. In its wake, Reed attempted to find some semblance of normalcy, proposing to Sue Storm. But, unlike on the 616-Earth, Reed was rejected by his Sue. So instead, the events led Reed down a darker path, leading him to become a villain named the Maker – but only after meeting Kang the Conqueror.

In The Ultimates #30 by Joshua Hale Fialkov, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Lorenzo Ruggiero, Jim Charalampidis, and VC’s Clayton Cowles,  it’s shown Kang – who revealed herself as Sue Storm from the future – visited Reed a week after Ultimatum occurred and told him an even greater cataclysm was coming. Sharing that Reed created Kang’s suit and pushed Sue through time to save her before being killed in the event, she tells him they need to acquire the Infinity Gems to prevent the world from ending. Initially, Reed rejects Sue’s claims but later accepted her quest to save the planet from another Ultimatum.

Given Reed’s anger and weakened mental state, he was ripe for manipulation. Considering it was Sue who gave him the directive to hunt down the Infinity Gems and prevent the world from ending – no matter what the cost – it’s easy to see why he accepted the quest. He lost so much and didn’t want to lose more. He had already attacked the original Sue and lost her trust entirely. Kang opened the door to a much darker pather for Reed. The Ultimate version of Reed Richards would never recover from that day, as it would lead him to become the Maker, one of the Avengers’ biggest threats. Even when Kang learned it was too late to stop the dark future from happening and traveled back in time, Reed stayed and would evolve into an even more egotistical villain.

The Maker would go on to become an even more dangerous villain in the Multiverse and was last seen bonding with his own symbiote and returning to the Ultimate Universe. Kang the Conqueror truly created a monster – one whose actions are still being felt in the pages of Marvel Comics today.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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