title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: Step Empress Nara grew up as Lady Qingying, the niece of Empress Xiaojing, during the Yongzheng Emperor's reign and was future Qianlong Emperor's childhood friend; he was referred to as fourth prince Hongli prior to his ascension. Initially chosen to be his "difujin" (primary consort) when he was a prince, Lady Qingying's status in the Imperial Court was compromised after the Yongzheng Emperor exposed Empress Xiaojing for raising a traitor and trying to usurp his throne, and took third prince Hongshi from the line of succession. Prince Hongli, now the new successor to the throne, is forced to rescind his decision, and takes future Empress Fuca Langhua as his "difujin" instead. However, he compromised with Yongzheng Emperor to let him take Lady Qingying back as "cefujin" (secondary consort) so that she could stay with him in his Harem. Another candidate, Lady Gao Xiyue is taken as his concubine as well. Ruyi is uneasy with the arrangement, especially the fact that his mother and her aunt are rivals, but Prince Hongli vows to protect her and promises he would not let her suffer despite what had happened to her aunt and the situation regarding her standing in the Imperial Family. All three women are promoted once Prince Hongli became Qianlong Emperor ascended to the throne; Lady Qingying becoming Consort Xian and Lady Gao becoming Noble Consort Hui. The women become new members of the Imperial Harem after Qianlong Emperor's succession.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: Due to her involvement with the Ula-Nara clan and her reputation as Qianlong Emperor's favored wife and childhood friend, Consort Xian is initially not well received in the Imperial Harem and Imperial Family. His mother Consort Xi, now the Dowager Empress, initially distrusted Consort Xian but granted her the name "Ruyi" when the latter requested to be give a new name to start anew; she is referred to as Ruyi by Qianlong Emperor and various others in private and informal settings. Empress Fuca feels threatened by Ruyi's favor, with Noble Consort Hui's assistance, they set traps and planted accusations against her in order to make her less favored. Torn between his love for Ruyi and his duty to both the Empress Fuca and the Dowager Empress, as well as imperial affairs and his desire to maintain the Qing's good reputation, Qianlong Emperor often turns the other way when Ruyi is in need or sides against her instead. As a result, Ruyi is eventually demoted to become a commoner and sent to The Cold Palace for years after being accused for harming Concubine Yi and Concubine Mei's children. During her time, she struggles to survive in her new home but endured with the help of her servant Suoxin and low-ranking guard, Ling Yunche. She also discovers Empress Fuca's plans to intentionally make both her and Noble Consort Hui infertile via a bracelet given to both of them as a wedding gift when they first married Qianlong Emperor.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: Eventually, Ruyi is able to escape with the help of her allies within the Imperial Harem and return to the Imperial Court as Consort Xian once more. Noble Consort Hui learns of Empress Fuca's bracelet through Ruyi and as a result exposes Empress Fuca's actions to Qianlong Emperor before her death. Empress Fuca began to lose favor and her health went into decline as Ruyi's allies began to gain favor from the Emperor. After nearly drowning on accident, she eventually succumbs to illness. Qianlong Emperor forces everyone to mourn for Empress Fuca to pretend that he deeply cared for her.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: It is revealed that Empress Fuca and Imperial Noble Consort Hui's actions were manipulated by Consort Jia, a favored consort from Joseon who wanted the title of Empress herself in order to win the love of the Joseon Crown Prince and remove Qing's influence from her home country. Ruyi's ascension from Consort to Imperial Noble Consort to Step Empress was made uneasy due to Consort Jia's attempt to curb her favor with scathing rumors and other actions that led to various injuries and deaths to those Ruyi loved. Eventually, as Consort Jia is demoted and re-promoted over the years due to her scheming, she loses favor from Qianglong Emperor and is humiliated by the women in the Imperial Harem who were wronged by her. Her plan to put her oldest son on the Qing throne for Joseon were revealed and she is demoted by Qianlong Emperor to become a commoner. She dies heartbroken after learning why the Joseon Crown Prince would never love her and all her sons were taken out of the royal succession.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: Ruyi's relationship with Qianlong Emperor is challenged throughout their marriage but went into further decline. As wrongful accusations, rumors, and scheming ladies of the Imperial Harem causes Ruyi to lose favor and respect from Qianlong Emperor, her differing opinions also began clashing with his personal desires, expectations, and wants. Consort Ling, a look-a-like of Ruyi and former maid of Consort Jia and Imperial Noble Consort Chun, eventually rose to power as a means of spiting those within the Imperial Harem who wronged her in the past and from financial pressure from her family. As a result of her supporting Qianlong's choices regardless of their consequences, Consort Ling grew in favor over the years and her influence caused the rift between him and Ruyi to grow further. More people within the Imperial Harem and Imperial family began to divide themselves into factions that either supported Ruyi or Consort Ling. More people within the Imperial Palace also died due to Consort Ling's machinations.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: The events of the story escalates during a trip to Jiangnan when Ruyi confronts Qianlong Emperor when he falls to Consort Ling's machinations to be in the company of courtesans. This angers Qianlong, whose comparison of her to Empress Xiaoxian and Consort Ling forces Ruyi to admit that his suspicions exhausted their love and scheming made the women of the harem insecure. Ruyi cuts off a lock of her hair in front of him to symbolically end their marriage, an act that was seen as a curse against the Qianlong Emperor, after he forcefully slaps her for her impudence; Ruyi is thus confined. After Yongqi's death (caused by Consort Ling), Ruyi plans to expose the newly promoted Imperial Noble Consort using the help of her closest allies. The final confrontation arrives when Qianlong catches Consort Ling red-handed for trying to name his next successor. Consort Yu and Empress Dowager both give strong testimonies against Consort Ling, both witnesses and proof provided; Consort Ling is sentenced to consume poison for the rest of her life.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: With Consort Ling exposed, Ruyi is asked by Qianlong Emperor to return as Step-Empress but she refuses him and refuses to see the harem. She then passes away from tuberculosis, a chronic illness she hid from Qianlong Emperor. Initially, Qianlong Emperor attempts to memorialize Ruyi but discovered that she not only returned her Imperial gifts, which were bestowed on her when she became Step Empress, but also destroyed a painting of herself that was given by him as a peace offering during her house arrest. Qianlong then demotes her to Imperial Noble Consort and is buried as such, though her funeral is much smaller as that of an untitled Ula-nara clanswoman. Records of her are destroyed, which brought controversy throughout China and the Imperial Palace. Thereafter, the Qianlong Emperor designed and dedicated a pavilion to her, spending the rest of his life sitting inside of it, forever haunted by her memory as he grew older. To save their only surviving son from the pressures and tragedies that come from being an emperor, he made Consort Ling's youngest son to be his successor instead.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: The series ends with an elderly Qianlong Emperor cutting a piece of his hair and intertwining it with the lock of hair Ruyi cut in front of him years ago and dying peacefully. Ruyi's favorite plant that she left behind for him, the green plum, blooms for the first time in decades, and his last memory of her is the moment that Ruyi came late to his wife selection. The ending sequence states that no woman from Ula-Nara ever entered the Imperial Harem again after Ruyi's death.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: The series is directed by Wang Jun, produced by Huang Lan, and written by the author of the original novel Liu Lianzi. It also employed William Chang and Tongxun Chen as their overall style director, Han Zhong as art director and Peng Xuejun as cinematography director.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: Wu Xuelan, also known as Liu Lianzi, started to write the original novel in 2011, and changed her work several times to achieve the best version in the next five years.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: New Classics Media picked up the series for a 90–episode season (later shortened to 87), with a ¥300 million budget, making it the most expensive television series in China.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: On January 14, 2016, it was announced that Zhou Xun will play the leading role of the Step Empress. The role of the Qianlong Emperor, the male lead, was announced to be portrayed by Wallace Huo on May 27. On August 3, actors Janine Chang, Vivian Wu, Dong Jie, Tong Yao, Jing Chao, Xin Zhilei, Li Chun, Zeng Yixuan and Chen Haoyu were cast in major supporting roles for the drama. Around 5,000 actors competed for roles in the drama.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: Shooting began on 23 August 2016 and took place in various locations including Hengdian World Studios, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, and Hangzhou. The series wrapped up filming on May 5, 2017.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: Many felt underwhelmed by the unaggressive heroine, who was not able to face off the villain consorts even in the second half of the drama, thus making her character design flawed and unconvincing. The drama was also criticized for its anticlimactic story and depressive tone. Critics felt that it was ironic and unbelievable for the protagonist to pursue monogamy in a highly feudalistic context. The slow pacing in the first half of the drama was pointed out, with critics believing that the screenwriters neglected to write with compact story-telling to flesh out the characters.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: The series has also received criticism over the age of the leading performers, with viewers saying they made unconvincing teenagers, and criticized the series' producers for not using younger actors to portray the lovestruck teens. Viewers were also divided over the lack of dubbing for Zhou Xun's 15-year-old character, as they felt that her voice was "too raspy" and "mature" for a teenager.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: However, there were also praises for the drama. Zhang Hanyue, a writer and critic, said "The show becomes more and more heart-tugging as the story goes deeper." Many viewers agree that Ruyi bears many characteristics of a modern female. Vogue magazine commented that the drama actually recorded "the failure of a high-end girl" because what Ruyi had been pursuing was spiritual connections with her spouse; and such a pursuit represents the taste and ideal of the modern middle class. Critics agree that the drama introduces a new light to and narrative of palace dramas, deviating from the existing patterns of treacherous harem games. The drama won acclaim for its exquisite props, lavish sets, and stellar cast.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: On January 25, 2019 the "Beijing Daily", an official government newspaper, criticized the program for failing to promote socialist values. Four days later, on January 29, the Chinese government cancelled the program and similar programs such as Story of Yanxi Palace. CNN and other media outlets quickly reported on this incident, calling it Chinese censorship.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: On 10 June 2016, Fox Networks Group Asia (FNG) acquired global rights outside mainland China to the series. It was the first epic period drama secured by FNG for markets outside China, and was carried by STAR Chinese Channel (SCC), the flagship Chinese general entertainment channel, starting 20 August 2018 in selected countries, rerun on August 6, 2019, in all countries for return a year.


title: Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

text: From 27 November 2018, it aired on Fox Taiwan. From 27 December 2018, it aired on Talentvision Canada. To date it has debuted in 18 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Philippines.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Joseph Robert Theismann (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Theismann spent 12 seasons with the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and helped the team to consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XVII over the Miami Dolphins and losing Super Bowl XVIII. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Following his retirement from football in 1985 after a career-ending injury to his right leg, Theismann worked as a sportscaster and an analyst on pro football broadcasts with ESPN for nearly 20 years. He primarily partnered with Mike Patrick, for the network's "Sunday Night Football" package and for one season of "Monday Night Football" with Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser. Theismann also worked as a color analyst on NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football" package with play-by-play voice Bob Papa and Matt Millen. Theismann also co-hosts the network's weekly show "Playbook."


title: Joe Theismann

text: Since 2011, he has worked on the Washington Commanders preseason television broadcast team. Additionally, he works on the NFL Network on a variety of programs, primarily as an analyst.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann is the owner of Theismann's Restaurant and Bar in Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1975. He also performs as a speaker for corporate events, speaking on topics such as leadership and self-motivation.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann was born to Austrian Joseph John Theismann who "ran a gas station and worked in his brother's liquor store." His Hungarian mother, Olga Tóbiás, worked for Johnson & Johnson until her retirement. Theismann was raised in South River, New Jersey, and attended South River High School, where he lettered in baseball, basketball, and football.


title: Joe Theismann

text: He was a high school teammate of Drew Pearson. Theismann accepted a college football scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame, where he lived in Zahm Hall.


title: Joe Theismann

text: At Notre Dame, Theismann became the starting quarterback in his sophomore year, after Terry Hanratty was injured late in the season.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In the three remaining games in the regular season, he led the Irish to two wins and a tie. In 1969, Theismann led the Irish to a number five ranking, but lost to the University of Texas in the 1970 Cotton Bowl Classic, 21–17. The next year, the Irish had a 10–1 record, a number two ranking, and won against Texas in the 1971 Cotton Bowl Classic, 24–11.


title: Joe Theismann

text: That year, Theismann was an All-American and an Academic All-American, and was in contention for the Heisman Trophy. Theismann, whose last name was actually pronounced THEES-man, recounted in 2007 that it was Notre Dame publicity man Roger Valdiserri who insisted that he change the pronunciation of his name to rhyme with "Heisman", but he finished second to Jim Plunkett of Stanford University.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann set school records for passing yards in a season (2,429) and touchdowns in a season (16). He also set a school record for passing yards in a game (526) and completions in a game (33) while playing against the University of Southern California in a torrential downpour in 1970, which they lost 38–28. As a starting quarterback, Theismann compiled a 20–3–2 record while throwing for 4,411 yards and 31 touchdowns. His 4,411 passing yards rank fifth on Notre Dame's career passing list.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He was the eighth Notre Dame quarterback enshrined into the hall, joining former Heisman Trophy winners Angelo Bertelli, John Lujack, and Paul Hornung.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann was selected 99th overall in the fourth round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins and in the 39th round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins. After prolonged negotiations with the Dolphins failed, Theismann elected to sign with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League for $50,000 per season.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In his rookie year, Theismann quarterbacked the Argonauts to a 10–4 record, led the league's Eastern Conference in passing statistics and won a berth in the Grey Cup game in Vancouver, British Columbia versus the Calgary Stampeders (59th Grey Cup). A fumble late in the fourth quarter by Argonaut running back Leon McQuay close to the goal line cost the Argonauts what would have been their first Grey Cup victory since 1952.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In 1971, Theismann completed 148 of 278 passes for 2,440 yards and 17 touchdowns (with 21 interceptions). His 1972 season was shortened by injury, but he hit 77 of 127 passes for 1,157 yards and ten touchdowns. During his last CFL season, 1973, 157 of his 274 passes were complete, for 2,496 yards and both 13 touchdowns and interceptions. He was an all-star in both 1971 and 1973.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In 1974, the Washington Redskins obtained Theismann's rights from the Dolphins in exchange for the team's first-round draft pick in 1976 (the Dolphins selected linebacker Larry Gordon with the pick). Theismann left the CFL and joined the Redskins, where he served as the team's punt returner during his first season. In 1978, Theismann became the Redskins' starting quarterback, succeeding Billy Kilmer.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In 1982, Theismann led the Redskins to their first championship in 40 years against the Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII. He threw two touchdowns and, with the Redskins trailing 17–13 in the third quarter, made arguably the most important "defensive" play of the game – after his pass was deflected by Dolphins lineman Kim Bokamper, causing what appeared to be an interception and sure touchdown (which would have given Miami a two-score lead and effectively taken MVP running back John Riggins out of the game), Theismann himself was able to knock the ball out of Bokamper's hands, keeping the score close enough for Washington to stick to the run-heavy strategy that would eventually lead to victory. He also led the team to an appearance in Super Bowl XVIII the following year, and would go on to set several Redskins franchise records, including most career passing attempts (3,602), most career passing completions (2,044) and most career passing yards (25,206), while also throwing 160 touchdown passes, with 138 interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 1,815 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was named NFL MVP in 1983 by four organizations. He earned the Player of the Game Award in the second of his two Pro Bowl appearances. Theismann also punted once in his career, for one yard against the Chicago Bears.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In an era when most quarterbacks had long since used variations of a double-bar facemask (or even triple-bar facemasks) that afforded more protection, Theismann refused to use anything but a one-bar face mask throughout his career.


title: Joe Theismann

text: However, on at least one occasion, Theismann wore a helmet with a more standard facemask. Substituting for an ineffective Billy Kilmer against the Dallas Cowboys on October 16, 1977, Theismann entered the game wearing a facemask similar to the style worn by Kenny Stabler at the time.


title: Joe Theismann

text: On November 18, 1985, Theismann suffered a comminuted compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg during a sack by linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson during a "Monday Night Football" game against the New York Giants telecast by ABC from RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.


title: Joe Theismann

text: The injury was later voted the NFL's "Most Shocking Moment in History" by viewers in an ESPN poll, and the tackle was ultimately dubbed "The Hit That No One Who Saw It Can Ever Forget" by "The Washington Post".


title: Joe Theismann

text: The game's score was 7–7 in the second quarter when the Redskins attempted to run a "flea-flicker" play; Theismann had handed off to fullback John Riggins, who subsequently lateralled the ball back to the quarterback. The Giants' defense, however, was tightly focused, and they tried to blitz Theismann. As Taylor pulled Theismann down, Taylor's knee came down and drove straight into Theismann's lower right leg, fracturing both the tibia and the fibula as Giants linebackers Gary Reasons and Harry Carson also joined Taylor in the sack.


title: Joe Theismann

text: The pain was unbelievable, but it didn't last more than a second or two. My leg snapped like a breadstick. I heard it clearly, it sounded like two muzzled gunshots over my left shoulder. Pow, pow! ... It was at that point, I also found out what a magnificent machine the human body is. Almost immediately, from the knee down, all the feeling was gone in my right leg. The endorphins had kicked in, and I was not in any great pain.”


title: Joe Theismann

text: As Theismann was down, Taylor waved for emergency medical technicians. Initially, many Redskins personnel thought that Taylor's calling and pointing directed at their sideline was him taunting over the fact that he had successfully stopped their play, and it was a few moments later that they realized Theismann was seriously injured. The "Monday Night Football" announcer team of Frank Gifford, O. J. Simpson and Joe Namath had correctly inferred from the start that Taylor was calling for help.


title: Joe Theismann

text: While initially only the players on the field could see the extent of the damage to Theismann's leg, the reverse-angle instant replay provided a clearer view of what had actually happened: Theismann's lower leg bones were broken midway between his knee and his ankle, such that his leg from his foot to his mid-shin was lying flat against the ground while the upper part of his shin up to his knee was at a 45-degree angle to the lower part of his leg. ABC's decision to screen the reverse-angle instant replay several times despite its palpably graphic content shocked millions of viewers, although as the replays were shown, Gifford repeatedly urged viewers at home to exercise discretion. The repeated screening of this replay remains to this day one of the most controversial in-game television production decisions in NFL history.


title: Joe Theismann

text: The compound fracture of the tibia and fibula led to insufficient bone growth during Theismann's recovery, leaving his right leg shorter than his left. As a result, the injury ended Theismann's career, forcing him to retire at the age of 36. Theismann never blamed Taylor for his injury; while Taylor has apologized to Theismann many times, the quarterback has reiterated that Taylor was merely doing his job.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann's injury was highlighted in the film "The Blind Side" as the reason that, after the quarterback, one of the highest paid football players is the left tackle, who protects a right-handed quarterback's blind side. The same injury occurred exactly 33 years later to another Redskins quarterback, Alex Smith, on November 18, 2018, in a game against the Houston Texans when cornerback Kareem Jackson and defensive end J. J. Watt sacked Smith, a game that Theismann himself was attending. However, unlike Theismann, Smith managed to play an additional season two years later, making his season debut against the Los Angeles Rams and retiring at the end of the season after he was released from the team a month prior.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In 1985, Theismann helped call Super Bowl XIX for ABC alongside Frank Gifford and Don Meredith, becoming only the second player to do commentary on a Super Bowl telecast while still an active player at the time (the first was Jack Kemp when he helped call Super Bowl II for CBS). Theismann served as a color commentator on regional CBS NFL coverage in 1986 and 1987, then worked on ESPN's "Sunday Night Football" telecasts from 1988 to 2005, and on their "Monday Night Football" coverage in 2006.


title: Joe Theismann

text: In addition to covering football, Theismann hosted the first half of the first season of "American Gladiators" in 1989.


title: Joe Theismann

text: On March 26, 2007, ESPN announced that Ron Jaworski would replace Theismann in the "Monday Night Football" booth. Theismann rejected an offer to work on the network's college football coverage. He has since done a number of Washington Redskins pre-season games on CSN. On September 16, 2009, the NFL Network announced that Theismann would analyze game films on the show "Playbook", airing Thursday and Friday nights at 6 p.m. Eastern.


title: Joe Theismann

text: On January 9, 2010, Theismann and his former head coach Joe Gibbs served as color commentators, along with play-by-play man Tom Hammond, for the Saturday AFC wild card game between the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals.


title: Joe Theismann

text: On September 6, 2010, NFL network announced that they had added Theismann to their "Thursday Night Football" broadcast crew alongside Bob Papa and Matt Millen. The grouping lasted one season. He also co-hosted NFL games on NBC in 2010, and co-hosted NFL Network's "No Huddle" in 2011.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann has occasionally acted, although most appearances are as himself or as himself in a fictional context. He does have several TV and movie appearances, including the "B.J. and the Bear" (1981), "Cannonball Run II" (1984), and "The Man from Left Field" (1993).


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann appeared as himself, as part of a buyer group for the fictional "New York Hawks" football team on the TV series "Necessary Roughness" (2013) and on the post-Super Bowl episode "Operation: Broken Feather" of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2014). His most recent acting appearances were in movies for the Hallmark Channel. In 2016's "Love on the Sidelines," he appeared as the father of an injured professional football player. In 2019's "SnowComing," he played an agent for professional athletes (in particular, a professional football player).


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann fathered three children – Joseph Jr., Amy, and Patrick – with his first wife, the former Shari Brown. Soon after Theismann's injury, the couple divorced, after which Theismann began a seven-year relationship - including a brief engagement - with television personality Cathy Lee Crosby. Early in 1991, Crosby sued for $4.5 million, touching off a counter suit. The suits were settled several months later.


title: Joe Theismann

text: His second marriage, to former Miss Connecticut winner and Miss America contestant Jeanne Caruso, ended in divorce after three years in 1995. Theismann was ordered to pay nearly $1 million of marital property and $3,500 a month in alimony.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann is currently married to the former Robin Smith, self described as "a country girl from Memphis." They have homes in Virginia, Tennessee, and the Florida Panhandle.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Tom Landry in 1983.


title: Joe Theismann

text: Theismann was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1997.


title: Joe Theismann

text: On September 5, 2014, Theismann was honored by the Ride of Fame as they christened a double decker sightseeing bus in Washington DC dedicated to him and his achievements.


title: Joe Theismann

text: On August 19, 2010, head coach Jay Gruden of the UFL's Florida Tuskers "confirmed that Theismann introduced himself to the Tuskers as the team's new part owner". Theismann expressed disappointment at the way he was treated during his time in the league and left the team when it was folded into the Virginia Destroyers in January 2011.


title: David Giuntoli

text: David Giuntoli (born June 18, 1980) is an American actor. He portrayed Det. Nick Burkhardt in the NBC supernatural drama "Grimm", and has appeared in films such as "" (2016) and "Buddymoon" (2016). He currently portrays Eddie Saville on the television series "A Million Little Things".


title: David Giuntoli

text: Giuntoli was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Mary and David Giuntoli. His father is of Italian descent while his mother is of Polish and German descent. He was raised in Huntleigh, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Admitting to not being very athletic as a boy Giuntoli stated "I was like three feet shorter than I am now until I was a sophomore in high school." He says his head has stayed the same size. "I was an awkward little fellow. In high school I started gravitating a little toward acting." After graduating from St. Louis University High School in 1998, he attended Indiana University Bloomington, earning a bachelor's degree in International Business and Finance in 2002.


title: David Giuntoli

text: Giuntoli returned to St. Louis after college. However, his heart was in being an entertainer instead of a career in finance, something his family realized early on as he always enjoyed making people laugh from a young age. Reconnecting with his high school theater teacher, he began taking acting lessons locally.


title: David Giuntoli

text: His first career break came in 2003 when he was discovered by talent scouts for MTV and cast in the network's reality series "Road Rules" for its . The three-month adventure in the South Pacific, and a subsequent appearance on the seventh season of "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" provided the resources to pay off his college debt and further cemented his decision to pursue acting as a full-time career.


title: David Giuntoli

text: In 2007, he moved to Los Angeles to further pursue an acting career. There he studied under director and acting teacher Chris Fields before joining the Echo Theater Company. A long series of guest appearances on various TV series and TV movies followed, including "Nip/Tuck", "Veronica Mars", "Grey's Anatomy", "Ghost Whisperer", "Privileged", "Without a Trace", and "Cold Case" among others. Giuntoli was also in consideration for the title role of the relaunched "Superman" movie "Man of Steel" but was eventually beaten out by English actor Henry Cavill.


title: David Giuntoli

text: His biggest role in TV to date is the series "Grimm", which premiered in October 2011 and ran for six seasons and 123 episodes until March 31, 2017. He played the lead role of Nick Burkhardt, a Grimm detective who hunts creatures. In addition to his work on "Grimm", Giuntoli was seen in 2012 in the motion picture "Caroline and Jackie" in a supporting role. He played the role of Scott Wickland, DS agent, in "", directed by Michael Bay. In 2016, he played the lead role of David in the comedy film "Buddymoon".


title: David Giuntoli

text: He is currently starring in the ABC series "A Million Little Things", which premiered in September 2018.


title: David Giuntoli

text: He often rode his bicycle to the set of "Grimm". During a 2012 break in production, Giuntoli visited an elephant orphanage in Kenya, adopting one of the animals.


title: David Giuntoli

text: Giuntoli married his "Grimm" co-star Bitsie Tulloch in June 2017. They announced her pregnancy with their first child in October 2018, a girl, Vivian, who was born in February 2019. In January 2020, the family moved to Washington State to be closer to family and their work in Vancouver.


title: Arabian Prince

text: Kim Renard Nazel (born June 17, 1965), better known by his stage names Arabian Prince or Professor X, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. He is best known as a founding member of N.W.A.


title: Arabian Prince

text: Nazel was born in Compton, California to the son of Joseph "Skippy" Nazel Jr., a prominent African-American author and radio talk show host. His musical background came from his mother, a piano teacher and classical musician. His family tried its best to shelter him, sending him to a Catholic school and keeping him busy with football to keep him away from the gangs. The younger Nazel got his first experience with making music at the radio station his father hosted his talk show on; Nazel used the radio station's equipment to put together mixtapes that he would sell at school. Nazel went on to graduate from Junípero Serra High School in nearby Gardena.


title: Arabian Prince

text: Nazel took the stage name of DJ Prince and started selling mixtapes at school. While working at a luggage store at the Del Amo Mall, its owner, Sam Nassif, asked him to DJ a party at a community center. He kept performing there for several weekends and the success persuaded Nassif to invest even more in the place, renaming it "The Cave", where Nazel would continue to host for over three years and even after his N.W.A. days. Nassif also funded DJ Prince's first record, "Strange Life".


title: Arabian Prince

text: He changed his stage name when he was 15 years old at the Skateland USA, the same skating venue credited for launching the NWA a few years later, due to a fan's suggestion. He said about his name:


title: Arabian Prince

text: Arabian Prince started working with Bobby Jimmy & the Critters in 1984. He also produced the hit single and album for J.J. Fad, "Supersonic".


title: Arabian Prince

text: In 1986, he was a founding member of N.W.A, but soon after fellow member Ice Cube came back from the Phoenix Institute of Technology in 1988, Arabian Prince left over royalty and contract disagreements. "I started off as a solo artist", he said, "so I was aware of what a royalty statement was. I knew that when these many records were sold, there is a quarterly statement. When you look at it, you can see how much money was paid and then share it. This was not the case. We were also never paid for touring." Eazy-E, Ice Cube and MC Ren remained as the main performers, DJ Yella was the turntablist and Dr. Dre was the main producer.


title: Arabian Prince

text: After leaving N.W.A, Arabian Prince began a solo career. His first album, "Brother Arab", was released in 1989 with the single "She's Got A Big Posse"; "Where's My Bytches" followed in 1993.


title: Arabian Prince

text: In the mid-2000s, he started releasing music again, with his Professor X project on the Dutch label Clone Records. "I could not release the record under Arabian Prince", he said, "because I already had a single out, so I called myself Professor X on that record." In 2007, he performed as a DJ on the 2K Sports Holiday Bounce Tour with artists from the Stones Throw label. In 2008, Stones Throw released a compilation of his electro-rap material from the 1980s. One of his songs was included on the 2007 video game, "College Hoops 2K8".


title: Arabian Prince

text: In 2015, a biopic about N.W.A. titled "Straight Outta Compton" was released; however, Arabian Prince was not portrayed in the film, and his role was omitted completely. The following year, N.W.A. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but again, Arabian Prince was not included nor mentioned.


title: Arabian Prince

text: In 2018, Arabian Prince appeared on the "AmeriKKKant" album of industrial-metal band Ministry. He made a second appearance on Ministry's 2021 album "Moral Hygiene".


title: Arabian Prince

text: After the release of the NWA film, "Straight Outta Compton", in 2015, Arabian Prince said to VladTV: "A lot of the scenes in real life, I was there -I'm just not there in the film, which I'm like, if you're gonna write me out of a movie, shoot some other scenes. Don't write scenes where I was there." Some of the pivotal scenes would be choosing the name for the band, the tour and the infamous Detroit concert. He also remembers himself as the main opposer to Jerry Heller about the royalties and the money, a role that in the movie was instead given to Ice Cube.


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and electrical engineering, chemistry, all levels of physics, and human and alien biology. "BusinessWeek" listed Mister Fantastic as one of the top ten most intelligent fictional characters in American comics. He is the inventor of the spacecraft that was bombarded by cosmic radiation on its maiden voyage, granting the Fantastic Four their powers. Richards gained the ability to stretch his body into any shape he desires.


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic acts as the leader and father figure of the Fantastic Four, and although his cosmic ray powers are primarily stretching abilities, his presence on the team is defined by his scientific acumen, as he is officially acknowledged as the smartest man in the Marvel Universe. This is particularly a point of tragedy in regards to his best friend, Ben Grimm, who he has constantly tried to turn back into his human form but who typically remains a large, rocky creature called the Thing. He is the husband of Susan Storm, father of Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards, and mentor of his brother-in-law, Johnny Storm.


title: Reed Richards

text: The character was portrayed by actors Alex Hyde-White in the 1994 "The Fantastic Four" film, Ioan Gruffudd in the 2005 film "Fantastic Four" and its 2007 sequel "", Miles Teller in the 2015 film "Fantastic Four" and John Krasinski in the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness".


title: Reed Richards

text: Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in "The Fantastic Four" #1 (Nov. 1961). He was one of the four main characters in the title. Lee has stated the stretch powers were inspired by DC's Plastic Man, which had no equivalent in Marvel.


title: Reed Richards

text: Reed Richards has continued to appear regularly in the "Fantastic Four" comic for most of its publication run.


title: Reed Richards

text: Born in Central City, California, Reed Richards is the son of Evelyn and Nathaniel Richards. Nathaniel was a scientific genius, and Reed inherited a similar level of intellect and interests. A child prodigy with special aptitude in mathematics, physics, and mechanics, Reed Richards was taking college-level courses when he was 14. He attended such prestigious universities as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Columbia University, and the fictional Empire State University. By the age of 20, he had several degrees in the sciences under his belt.


title: Reed Richards

text: It was at Empire State University that he met Benjamin J. Grimm. Reed had already begun designing a starship capable of traveling in hyperspace. Sharing his plans with his new roommate, Grimm jokingly volunteered to pilot the craft.


title: Reed Richards

text: Also while at State U he met a brilliant fellow student, Victor Von Doom. In Richards, Doom met the first person who could match him intellectually; regarding Richards as his ultimate rival, Doom became increasingly jealous of Richards. Determined to prove he was better, Doom conducted reckless experiments which eventually scarred his face and would lead him to become Doctor Doom.


title: Reed Richards

text: During the summer months, Reed rented a room in a boarding house owned by the aunt of a young woman named Susan Storm, who was an undergraduate student at the time. Reed fell in love with Sue instantly and began courting her. Ultimately, Reed was too distracted from his work on his dissertation due to his romance with Sue and decided that the best thing for the both of them was to move out of Marygay's home.


title: Reed Richards

text: Moving on to Harvard, Reed earned Ph.D.s in Physics and Electrical Engineering while working as a military scientist, all this by the age of 22. He also worked in communications for the Army. Three years later, in his mid-20s, Reed used his inheritance, along with government funding, to finance his research. Determined to go to Mars and beyond, Richards based the fateful project in Central City. Susan Storm moved into the area, and within a short time, found herself engaged to Reed. Reed's old college roommate, Ben Grimm, now a successful test pilot and astronaut, was indeed slated to pilot the craft.


title: Reed Richards

text: All seemed well; however, when the government threatened to cut funding and cancel the project, Reed, Ben, Sue, and Sue's younger brother Johnny, agreed to sneak aboard the starship and take it up immediately. They knew they had not completed all the testing that had been planned, but Reed was confident they would be safe. Ben was initially skeptical about the unknown effects of radiation, while Reed theorized that their ship's shielding would be adequate to protect them.


title: Reed Richards

text: It was on Reed's initiative that the fateful mission which had Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm accompanying him into space took place. When their ship passed through the Van Allen belt they found their cockpit bombarded with nearly lethal doses of cosmic radiation. Reed had neglected to account for the abnormal radiation levels in the belt's atmosphere. The cosmic rays wreaked havoc on the starship's insufficient shielding and they were forced to return to Earth immediately. When they crash-landed they found that their bodies were changed dramatically. Reed's body was elastic and he could reshape any portion of his body at will. At his suggestion, they decided to use their new abilities to serve mankind as the Fantastic Four. Reed was chosen to lead the group, under the name "Mr. Fantastic". He later told his daughter, by way of a bedtime story, that the reason he suggested they become adventurers and gave them such outlandish costumes and names as "Mister Fantastic" and "The Thing" was that he knew they would likely be hated and feared for their powers without such an over-the-top public image.


title: Reed Richards

text: This history has been changed over the years in order to keep it current. In the original comics, Richards was a veteran of World War II who had served behind enemy lines in occupied France, and the goal of his space mission was a crewed space flight to the moon before the Communists were able to. This was later changed to getting there before the Chinese Communists and to explore the interstellar areas of the red planet and beyond. Also, Reed originally states that he and Sue "were kids together" and that Sue was the "girl next door" who Reed left behind to go fight in the war. This origin story was, many years later, altered so that Sue was thirteen years old when she first met Reed, who was in his early twenties, at her Aunt Marygay's boardinghouse. Current official Marvel canon has since altered this origin story by combining elements of both—it eliminated the large age gap but maintained that Reed and Sue did not meet until their late teens at Aunt Marygay's boardinghouse. The change in age was an editorial decision made in 2013 as Reed developing, several years later, a romantic interest in a girl he first met when she was thirteen years old was deemed inappropriate.


title: Reed Richards

text: The early career of the Fantastic Four led Mister Fantastic to a number of discoveries, and had their first encounters with many unusual characters. In the team's first appearance, they battled the Mole Man. They then battled the Skrulls. Soon after that, the team encountered the Sub-Mariner. They then had the first of many battles with Doctor Doom. They later journeyed to a subatomic world. Soon after that, they encountered Rama-Tut. They then battled the Molecule Man.


title: Reed Richards

text: As the team leader, Mr. Fantastic created numerous exotic devices and vehicles for the team to use such as clothing made of 'unstable molecules' so that it can be used with their powers safely. Furthermore, he often leads the team into daring expeditions such as into the Negative Zone in addition to opposing evil. Also, he has felt personally responsible for Ben Grimm's grotesque change and has labored off and on to reverse it permanently.


title: Reed Richards

text: Under his guidance, the team went on to become Earth's most celebrated band of heroes. Together, they would save the world countless times. Ever driven by his quest for knowledge, Reed is believed by most to be the Earth's foremost intelligence. There is little he cannot create, fix, or understand given time. The patents and royalties on his inventions alone have funded the group over the years.


title: Reed Richards

text: However, there are drawbacks to his association with the team. Chief among them is the team's violent encounters with Doctor Doom, who believes that Reed was responsible for the accident that scarred him. Doom has never forgiven Reed and has sworn revenge. Doom has even gone as far as transforming Reed into a monstrous freak, attacking Reed's children and attempting to seduce Sue.


title: Reed Richards

text: After many adventures as the Fantastic Four, Reed married Sue. Not long after that, the team encountered the Inhumans for the first time. They next encountered Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Reed then opened a portal to the Negative Zone for the first time. Soon, the team first battled the Psycho-Man. Before long Reed and Sue had a baby, Franklin; the team battled Annihilus right before Franklin's birth. Franklin was a mutant with incredible powers, but, due to the cosmic ray alteration to his parents' DNA, they manifested while he was still very young (in the Marvel world, most mutants like the X-Men get their powers while teenagers). Franklin appears to have power that can rival a member of the Celestials; the power of a god in the body of a small child. The couple briefly separated, and Reed further alienated Sue by shutting down Franklin's mind in order to prevent his power from causing global catastrophe; Sue Storm initiated divorce proceedings but the two were reconciled soon after.


title: Reed Richards

text: Reed also saved Galactus's life during the course of his adventures. He then bought the Baxter Building. Later, he was tried by the Shi'ar for saving Galactus's life, but the charges were dropped when Eternity briefly granted all those attending the trial a moment of 'cosmic awareness' that allowed them to understand that Galactus was necessary for the continued well-being of the universe. Reed's battle with Gormuu prior to getting his powers was recounted. Just after that, Reed was reunited with his father in an alternate timeline. Some time later, Reed and Sue retired from the Fantastic Four, and then joined the Avengers, although Reed's past experience as leader of the Fantastic Four meant that he had trouble adjusting to following Captain America's lead regardless of his respect for the other man. Eventually, Reed and Sue did rejoin the Fantastic Four.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the course of fighting an alien called Hunger, Doctor Doom was seriously injured. The Fantastic Four were also part of the battle against Hunger and Doom asked for his old enemy to take his hand. At that point they both disappeared in a flash, leaving nothing but ashes. It would appear as if the two sworn enemies had fittingly died in each other's hands.


title: Reed Richards

text: However, unknown to anyone else at the time, Reed and Doom had actually been thrown back into the time of barbarians and onto an alien world by a being called Hyperstorm, Reed's grandchild from an alternate future, the child of Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey. They were so far into the past, and with no technology, that even their brilliant minds couldn't find a way back home. Doom was captured and held prisoner by Hyperstorm. Reed wandered aimlessly for about a year.


title: Reed Richards

text: Meanwhile, the rest of the FF recruited Scott Lang as scientific advisor. They even confronted an insane alternative version of Reed called the Dark Raider who was traveling from reality to reality, destroying all the various versions of himself after his own failure to save his world from Galactus in their original confrontation.


title: Reed Richards

text: A while later, the remaining members of the FF along with the Sub-Mariner, Lyja and Kristoff Vernard found themselves trapped in the same era as their Reed and Doom. They found Reed but faced a new problem: during his time alone, Reed had resigned himself to the reality that it was impossible for his old friends to stage a rescue and attacked them but soon realized that these truly were his friends. After returning to their own time period, he sought Galactus, as he was the only being in the Universe who could defeat Hyperstorm. Upon Hyperstorm's defeat at the hands of Galactus, the FF returned to the present day where they continued their lives, not only as a team, but as a family.


title: Reed Richards

text: Shortly after their return, the FF were confronted by a being called Onslaught. Onslaught took control of an army of Sentinels and invaded New York City, hunting down every mutant being he could find. Onslaught wished to add the abilities of the godlike Franklin Richards to his own. Only through the apparent sacrifice of the Fantastic Four's own lives and that of many of the heroes in the Marvel universe was Onslaught finally vanquished. The heroes would have died then and there if not for Franklin, who created an alternate reality for them to reside in. Completely oblivious to what had taken place, Reed and his compatriots relived most of their lives. In their absence the Fantastic Four's headquarters, Four Freedoms Plaza, was annihilated by a super villain group called the Masters of Evil, posing as heroes, The Thunderbolts. One year later, Franklin returned with his family along with the other heroes from the parallel reality. Reed was overjoyed to see his son again, but he and the rest of the FF found themselves without a home, moving into Reed's storage warehouse on Pier 4, overlooking the East River. Making this their home, the Fantastic Four continued with their lives, eventually managing to move back into the Baxter Building.


title: Reed Richards

text: It has emerged that Reed is one of the members of the "Illuminati", unknown to his wife. He is also in possession of the "Power" gem of the Infinity Gauntlet.


title: Reed Richards

text: In Marvel's Civil War miniseries and crossover event, Reed Richards is one of the leading figures, along with Iron Man, on the side which is in favor of the Superhuman Registration Act. He speculates that this will lead to conflict with his wife, which came true in issue #4 of the miniseries when a clone of Thor, created by him and Tony Stark, went out of control and killed Goliath and nearly killed all the rest of the Secret Avengers until Sue Storm stepped in and saved them. Soon after, Sue left Reed, along with Johnny, to join the Secret Avengers in hopes that it would drive Reed to end the conflict quickly.


title: Reed Richards

text: In "The Amazing Spider-Man" #535, which takes place shortly before the events of "Civil War" #5, Peter Parker demands to see the conditions inside the detention facility designed by Reed to hold unregistered superhumans. After being escorted to and from the prison by Iron Man, Parker returns with more doubts than ever about whether he is on the right side and asks Reed why he supports the Superhuman Registration Act, a question Reed answers by telling the story of his paternal uncle, Ted. A professional writer, Reed remembers his uncle as "funny", "colorful", and "accepting". As a boy, Reed loved spending time with Ted. Unfortunately, Ted was also "an eccentric" and "stubborn". Because he had a career in the arts and because he stood out, Ted was called before HUAC, imprisoned on contempt of Congress charges for six months, and was unable to find work after he'd served his sentence. He was even shunned by Reed's father. Ted lost everything, which Reed says finally "killed him" without going into greater detail. Richards opines that his uncle was wrong to take such a stand, to pick a fight he couldn't win, and to fail to respect the law.


title: Reed Richards

text: However "Fantastic Four" #542 reveals that the real reason for supporting the registration act is due to his development of a working version of Isaac Asimov's fictional psychohistory concept. His application of this science indicates to him that billions will die in escalating conflicts without the presence of the act. In the final battle of the war, he is shot by Taskmaster, saving Sue Storm's life. With Reed on the brink of death, a furious Sue crushes Taskmaster with a telekinetic field. Reed survives, however, and Sue returns to him in the aftermath of the battle, having been granted amnesty. Seeking to repair the damage done to their marriage as a result of the war, Sue and Reed take time off from the Fantastic Four, but ask Storm and the Black Panther to take their places in the meantime.


title: Reed Richards

text: Within the midst of Civil War, Reed Richards learned from a brief conversation with Mastermind Excello that the Hulk is not on the planet where the Illuminati attempted to exile him. After a conversation over the good the Hulk has done for humanity, Reed tells Iron Man of what happened to the Hulk and also states that the Hulk has friends, and "may God help us if they find him before we do".


title: Reed Richards

text: Within the aftermath of Civil War, Reed Richards had been keeping tabs on Mastermind Excello and when the She-Hulk learned about the Hulk's exile, Reed Richards sends out Doc Samson to confront her when he sees her meeting with Mastermind Excello.


title: Reed Richards

text: In "World War Hulk" #1, Reed is shown with Tony Stark as Iron Man. Both men were trying to convince Sentry to fight the Hulk, thinking that the calm aura that the Sentry produces may be able to stop the Hulk's rampage. In "World War Hulk" #2, with the aid of the rest of the Fantastic Four, Storm, and the Black Panther, Reed is able to create a machine that projects an image of the Sentry and recreates the hero's aura of calm. He uses the machine on the Hulk just as he is about to defeat the Thing, but the Hulk knows it is not the real Sentry and destroys the machine. In a last line of defense, Sue Storm tries to protect her husband by encapsulating the Hulk in an energy field while pleading with him to spare Reed. The Hulk does not listen and is able to easily exert enough strength against her force field to cause Susan to collapse and experience a nosebleed from the stress, before she dooms Reed to the Hulk's wrath.


title: Reed Richards

text: Reed is later seen among the various heroes that the Hulk defeated so far, within the depths of the Hulk's Gladiator arena located within Madison Square Garden. He and all of the heroes are implanted with "obedience disks" that are used to suppress their powers. These disks are the same that were used upon the Hulk during his time on Sakaar. The Hulk orders Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic to face off in battle. Richards, after having the upper hand on Stark, is then given the thumbs down by Hulk, instructing Richards to kill Stark. However the Hulk spares their lives, showing them that he proved his point to the world. They survived the encounter by Hulk's mercy and the timely intervention of the Sentry. The Illuminati are partially cleared from the responsibility of Sakaar's destruction when Miek, one of the Hulk's alien allies, admits he saw the Red King forces breach the ship's warp core. Miek kept quiet to initiate what he felt was Hulk's destiny as the "Worldbreaker".


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic is at the Illuminati's meeting discussing the threat of the Skrulls when the Black Bolt with them is revealed to be a Skrull in disguise.


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic and Hank Pym autopsy the body of the Skrull who impersonated Elektra (with Reed pretending to be seeing the corpse for the first time, thus keeping the secret of the Illuminati). After completing the dissection, Reed claims to have discovered the secret of how the Skrulls have been able to conceal their identities. Before he can elaborate, "Hank Pym" reveals himself to be a Skrull and shoots Richards with a weapon that violently leaves his elastic body in a state of chaotic disarray similar to Silly String. In "Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four" #1, it is shown that a Skrull assumed Reed's form in order to successfully ambush and capture Sue Richards, to facilitate an attack on the Fantastic Four's headquarters.


title: Reed Richards

text: A conscious but still mostly shapeless Reed Richards is seen being forcibly stretched in all directions to cover the floor of a medium-sized arena aboard a Skrull ship, with all of the seats filled by Skrull onlookers. He is freed by Abigail Brand, and then travels with her to the Savage Land and uses a device to reveal all the Skrull invaders present. After helping the Avengers to defeat the imposters and return to New York, Reed aids the heroes and villains of Earth in their battle against the Skrulls.


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic aids the New Avengers in the search for the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. He and the rest of the Fantastic Four are magically reduced to television signals by the chaotic activities of the Elder God Chthon, to prevent them from intervening, though after Chthon is defeated, he and the other three are turned back.


title: Reed Richards

text: Norman Osborn has sent H.A.M.M.E.R. agents to shut down the Fantastic Four and capture them, expelling them from the Initiative and stripping them all their rights. Taking place a week from the Secret Invasion, which has caused Richards to seriously reevaluate his own life and the life he has built for his family, resulting in turbulent internal conflicts. Richards, as he takes a long, hard look at the life, is prompted to construct a machine that is capable of bending reality itself, to do so. Agents from H.A.M.M.E.R. (sent by Norman Osborn, a man well aware Reed is one of the few that have intellect exceeding even his own and thus pose a great threat to his carefully constructed shadow world) arrive just as Reed activates the machine, interfacing with the Baxter Building's power supply, resulting in an energy fluctuation that sends Sue, Ben and Johnny back to the prehistoric era, fraught with dangers, which manifest in the form of the First Celestial Host. Reed searches for answers which can only be found in alternate timelines as the three find themselves in a super hero Hyborian-age civil war; Franklin and Valeria are the only ones available to confront the agents Osborn sent. Richards studies other parallel Earths to see if any found a peaceful solution to the Civil War, which resulted from the Superhuman Registration Act. Reed peers into different worlds, some more bizarre than our own, to see what they did differently. This is an insightful look into where the Marvel Universe has gone in the past "year" (in Marvel time) and to see who was at fault, if anyone. Reed meets with the other five Illuminati to handle the problem. Ultimately, after seeing about a million alternate Earths, he had concluded that there was no way for the Civil War to be resolved but that he, as the cleverest man in the Marvel Universe, had a responsibility to put things right. But before turning the machine off, he searches for other realities where they have the same machines he is using; the machine locates them and the people he finds tell him that they can help him.


title: Reed Richards

text: Reed Richards reappeared in "The Mighty Avengers" #24 refusing to give Hank Pym an invention previously left in the care of the Fantastic Four, following Bill Foster's untimely death, causing the Wasp to lead the team of Mighty Avengers to retrieve the device. In the next issue, Pym's attempting to knock down the Baxter Building (due to Loki's manipulations, likely) sows further displeasure and leads to a direct conflict between the Fantastic Four and Loki's Mighty Avengers, stretching across to "The Mighty Avengers #26". This conflict eventually ends in a new base for the Mighty Avengers and a shockingly disturbing alliance of the "Dark Reign"; the next issue of the Mighty Avengers will show a new character, a ruler known as the Unspoken, one more powerful than any other in the universe, to the point he had to be erased from history, and how his return will impact the planet and the cosmos beyond, in the "War of Kings".


title: Reed Richards

text: After the Secret Invasion and some time into the "Dark Reign", in the "War of Kings", when Blastaar is about to open the portal to Earth, on the other side in Camp Hammond, Star-Lord and the Guardians tell Reed Richards and others to never open the portal, or they will face the wrath of Blastaar. Mister Fantastic agrees and says they will not open the portal and then asks who they are. Star-Lord replies, "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy" before leaving.


title: Reed Richards

text: Tragedy strikes the team when Johnny is apparently killed in the Negative Zone. As the Fantastic Four recover from Johnny's apparent death, Mister Fantastic grows disillusioned at how scientists see science and its applications. Therefore, he creates a new team, the Future Foundation, to help create a better future for mankind. However, the team's initial tasks are complicated when they are forced to deal with the 'Council of Reeds', a group of alternate versions of Reed Richards who lack his morality or family that became trapped in the FF's reality after an accident with Reed's dimensional portal.


title: Reed Richards

text: After Johnny is returned and the team resume using the Fantastic Four name, they are systematically attacked by the mysterious Quiet Man, a figure who reveals that he has been behind many of the villain attacks the FF have faced over the years, now stepping forward to take a more active role as he shuts down Johnny's powers, frames the Thing for murder, has Reed and Sue Richards declared unfit guardians for their children, and then abducts Reed with the intention of framing him for a series of attacks committed by the heroes created in Franklin's pocket universe. However, Reed is able to defeat the Quiet Man's plan to proclaim himself the hero who defeated Reed's 'attack' on the world when he realizes that the Psycho-Man - one of the Quiet Man's allies - intended to betray him, forcing Reed and the Quiet Man to work together to deactivate the Psycho-Man's equipment.


title: Reed Richards

text: During the "Secret Wars" storyline, Reed is one of the few survivors of Earth-616 to come through with his memories intact, hiding in a 'life raft' with various other heroes and eventually released by Doctor Strange. Learning that the new 'Battleworld' is now ruled by Doctor Doom, who has absorbed the power of various Beyonders and Molecule Men to become a virtual god, Reed and the other heroes disperse across Battleworld to come up with a plan.


title: Reed Richards

text: Reed eventually starts working with his counterpart from the Ultimate Marvel universe who calls himself Maker. The two find themselves disagreeing on their methods, with Reed preferring to find a way to save the world while Maker is more focused on killing their enemy, Reed countering his other self's accusations that he is weak by musing that he simply has things to care for outside of himself. In the final confrontation, Reed and the Maker discover that the source of Doom's power is the Molecule Man (Owen Reece), but although the Maker attempts to betray Reed by forcibly devolving him into an ape, Reece reverses the Maker's attack and turns him into pepperoni pizza. When Doom comes down to confront Reed, Reed challenges Doom as Reece temporarily deprives Doom of his new god-level powers, Reed proclaiming Doom to be nothing more than a coward for taking control of what was left of existence rather than trying to reshape it. Inspired by Reed's words, Reece transfers Doom's power to him, with Reed recreating the former Earth-616 before he, Susan, their children, and the rest of the Future Foundation move to use Franklin and Reed's powers to rebuild the multiverse.


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and the Future Foundation were later confronted by the Griever at the End of All Things after Reed had expended most of his Beyonder-based energies while Franklin was left with only limited reality-warping abilities. Due to the Griever causing the collapse of 100 worlds, the Future Foundation had to make a stand even after Molecule Man was killed. When Mister Fantastic tricked the Griever into bringing their Fantastic Four teammates to them, Thing and Human Torch were reunited as every other superhero that was part of the Fantastic Four showed up as well. Faced with these numbers, the Griever was eventually driven back when most of her equipment was destroyed, forcing her to return to her universe or be trapped in this one, while the heroes were able to repair the damaged equipment to create a new teleporter to send them all home.


title: Reed Richards

text: Reed Richards gained the power of elasticity from irradiation by cosmic rays. He has the ability to convert his entire body into a highly malleable state at will, allowing him to stretch, deform, and reform himself into virtually any shape. Richards has been observed as being able to utilize his stretching form in a variety of offensive and defensive manners, such as compressing himself into a ball and ricocheting into enemies, flattening himself into a trampoline or a parachute to catch a falling teammate, or inflating himself into a life raft to aid in a water rescue. He can willfully reduce his body's cohesion until he reaches a fluid state, which can flow through minute openings or into tiny pipes. Reed is also able to shape his hands into hammer and mace style weapons, and concentrate his mass into his fists to increase their density and effectiveness as weapons.


title: Reed Richards

text: Having an elastic-like texture allows Reed protection from damage. He can be punched with incredible force, flattened, squished, and still re-form or survive without any form of sufficient injury.


title: Reed Richards

text: Reed's control over his shape has been developed to such a point that he has been able to radically alter his facial features and his entire physical form to pass among human and non-humans unnoticed and unrecognized. He has even molded himself into the shapes of inanimate objects, such as a mailbox. He rarely uses his powers in such an undignified fashion. However, he appears to have no qualms about stretching out his ears, taking the shape of a dinosaur, becoming a human trampoline, or inflating his hands into pool toys to entertain his children.


title: Reed Richards

text: The most extreme demonstration of Reed's powers is when at one point he was able to increase his size and mass to Thing-like proportions which also increased his physical strength.


title: Reed Richards

text: Assuming and maintaining these shapes used to require extreme effort. Due to years of mental and physical training, Reed can now perform these feats at will. His powers (and those of the Red Ghost) were also increased when they were exposed to a second dose of cosmic rays. Maintaining his body's normal human shape requires a certain degree of ongoing concentration. When Reed is relaxed and distracted, his body appears to "melt in slow motion" according to Susan Storm. Being forcefully stretched to extremes during a short span of time (by a taffy-puller-type machine or a strong character, for example) causes Reed to suffer intense pain and the temporary loss of his natural elastic resiliency. He possesses other weaknesses too; a great shock to his body - for example, from the likes of Doctor Doom when he constructs around him - can make his body so rubbery he loses motor control. Enough energy can reduce him to a liquid state in which he is immobile.


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic's strength comes more from the powers of his mind than the powers of his body; indeed, he once told Spider-Man that he considers his stretching powers to be expendable compared to his intellect. Some stories have implied that his intellect may have been boosted by his powers, as he once visited an alternate universe where his other self-had never been exposed to cosmic rays and was notably less intelligent than him, though purely human versions of Reed that are as or even more intelligent than himself have been shown, particularly among the Council of Reeds. Tony Stark has commented that Reed's ability to make his brain physically larger (via his elastic powers) gives him an advantage, though this seems to be meant more as a joke. That said, scenes from the same issue show Reed "inflating" his skull as he calculates the power output of Tony's Repulsor-battery heart implant.


title: Reed Richards

text: For virtually his entire publication history, Mister Fantastic has been depicted as one of the most intelligent characters in the Marvel Universe. A visionary theoretician and an inspired machine smith, he has made breakthroughs in such varied fields as space travel, time travel, extra-dimensional travel, biochemistry, robotics, computers, synthetic polymers, communications, mutations, transportation, holography, energy generation, and spectral analysis, among others. However, he is never afraid to admit when others have greater expertise in certain fields than him, such as recognizing that Doctor Octopus possesses greater knowledge of radiation, that Hank Pym is a superior biochemist, or that Spider-Man can think of a problem from a biology perspective where he would be unable to do so, since his expertise is in physics. Richards has earned Ph.D.s in Mathematics, Physics, and Engineering. His patents are so valuable that he is able to bankroll the Fantastic Four, Inc., without any undue financial stress. Mind control is rarely effective on him and when it does work, it wears off sooner than it would on a normal person, due to what he describes as an "elastic consciousness". However, this intelligence can be a handicap in his dealings with magic, as it required an intense lesson from Doctor Strange and facing the threat of his son being trapped in Hell for Reed to fully acknowledge that the key to using magic was to accept that he would never understand it.


title: Reed Richards

text: Richards is also an accomplished fighter due to his years of combat experience with the Fantastic Four, and has earned a black belt in judo.


title: Reed Richards

text: Following the Battleworld crisis, Reed has acquired the powers of the Beyonders that were once wielded by Doom, but he relies on his son Franklin's creativity and new powers to help him recreate the multiverse after the incursions destroyed the other parallel universes.


title: Reed Richards

text: Although the Fantastic Four have numerous devices, crafts, and weapons, there are some items that Reed Richards carries with him at all times.


title: Reed Richards

text: Fantastiflare: Launches a fiery "4" into the sky that is used during combat situations to let other members of the group know their location.


title: Reed Richards

text: Uniform Computer: Like all the Fantastic Four's costumes and the rest of Reed's wardrobe, his suit is made of "unstable molecules". This means that the suit is attuned to his powers, which is why Johnny's costume doesn't burn when he "flames on", Sue's costume turns invisible when she does, and Reed's costume stretches with him. The costume also insulates them from electrical assaults. In addition, the team's uniforms are also, in essence, wearable computers. Their costumes have a complete data processing and telemetry system woven into the material of the uniform on a molecular level. This forms a network with the entire team, providing a constant, real-time uplink of everyone's physical condition as well as their location and current situation. The suit is capable of displaying data and touch-pad controls on the gauntlets. Its sensors can track all of the team's uniforms and provide a picture of their immediate vicinity. The suit has an intricate scanner system which can detect things around the wearer, from how many people are in the next room to what dimension or planet they are on. Reed can also up-link the bodysuit to any computer by stretching his fingertips to filament size and plugging them into an I/O data-port. With this, Reed can establish a fairly comprehensive database of any computer's cybernetic protocols and encryption algorithms.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the alternate reality known as the Age of Apocalypse, Richards never received superpowers as he was never bombarded with cosmic radiation in space. Instead, he attempted to evacuate a large group of humans from Manhattan during Apocalypse's regime. Along with Ben Grimm as the pilot and his friends Johnny and Susan Storm as crew, Richards used one of his prototype rockets to fly off the island. Unfortunately, a mutant sabotaged the launch and both Reed and Johnny sacrificed themselves to let the others blast off safely.


title: Reed Richards

text: Following the rise of Weapon Omega, it is revealed that when Apocalypse came into power, Reed became the world's foremost authority on the Celestials and had collected all the information he could gather about these cosmic beings in several journals. Apocalypse himself was known to fear Reed Richards' knowledge and had him targeted and created a special taskforce to locate the journals but while they succeeded in killing him, they weren't able to find the journals which eventually came to Victor von Doom's possession.


title: Reed Richards

text: Amalgam Comics is a 1997-98 shared imprint of DC Comics and Marvel, which features composites of characters from the two publishers. Two alternate versions of Reed Richards appear in this series.


title: Reed Richards

text: In "Bullet Points", Dr. Reed Richards is drafted by the government to act as technical support to Steve Rogers, who in this reality is Iron Man. Along with Sue, Ben and Johnny, he later attempts the rocket flight that in the mainstream continuity saw the creation of the Fantastic Four, but the flight is sabotaged and the rocket crashes, killing everyone aboard except Reed. He thus never develops superpowers, and following the tragedy, he accepts the position as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Having lost his eye in the rocket crash, Reed wears an eyepatch, giving him a strong resemblance to Nick Fury.


title: Reed Richards

text: The Interdimensional Council of Reeds first appeared in "Fantastic Four" #570 (Oct. 2009). The council is composed of multiple versions of Reed Richards from alternate universes, each with different powers, intellects, and abilities. Reeds join the council when they are able to invent a device (called "the Bridge") that allows them to cross into the nothingness between realities. The leaders of the council are the three Reeds that have acquired their reality's Infinity Gauntlet. The 616 Reed discovers that the other Reeds have one thing in common: each of them grew up without their father Nathaniel Richards, whose influence made the 616 Reed a more compassionate man. Reed declines membership to the council after realizing he would have to sacrifice his family ties to join. Nearly all the Council members are killed when the mad Celestials of Universe-4280 gain entry to the Council headquarters and attack the Reeds.


title: Reed Richards

text: Due to an accident caused by Valeria Richards, four Reeds gain access to the Earth-616 reality. 616-Reed is forced to assemble a team of his old enemies - including Doctor Doom, the Wizard, and the Mad Thinker - to try to outthink his alternate selves before they destroy their world.


title: Reed Richards

text: The Counter-Earth version of Reed Richards is from a world created by the High Evolutionary; Counter-Earth originally existed within the reality of Earth-616 and is thus, technically, not an alternate Earth. His exposure to cosmic rays gives him the ability to transform into a savage purple-skinned behemoth called the Brute. The Brute makes his way to Earth, where he traps Mister Fantastic in the Negative Zone and replaces him. He manages to trap the Human Torch and the Thing shortly thereafter but is found out by the Invisible Woman, who rescues her teammates and leaves the Brute trapped in their place. The Brute is later a member of the Frightful Four Brute joined the Frightful Four and assisted them in fighting the Fantastic Four. He first appeared in "Marvel Premiere" #2 (May 1972).


title: Reed Richards

text: An alternate Reed Richards from Earth-944, he first appeared in "Fantastic Four" #387 (April 1994). He is driven mad when he fails to save his reality's Earth from Galactus. Taking the identity of the Dark Raider, he travels from reality to reality on a quest to destroy every possible version of himself. The Fantastic Four first encounter him when they traveled to an alternate past and see younger versions of themselves die at his hands. When the Dark Raider comes to the Fantastic Four's reality, he attempts to activate the Ultimate Nullifier but is apparently destroyed by Uatu. This appearance of Uatu is later revealed to be Aron, the Rogue Watcher, who had simply teleported the Raider away. The Dark Raider returns, and is finally killed by the Invisible Woman in the Negative Zone.


title: Reed Richards

text: In this reality, only Reed and Ben Grimm go up in the experimental spacecraft. Reed is transformed by cosmic radiation into The Thing, while Ben gains the stretching powers of Mr. Fantastic and the flaming powers of the Human Torch.


title: Reed Richards

text: An Earth dominated by hedonistic Skrulls since the late nineteenth century is attacked by Galactus. This Reed Richards is portrayed as an inventive genius with nothing to confirm that he possesses the powers of his 616 counterpart. He leads the super-human effort to drive off Galactus and save the planet. He becomes one of the caretakers of Thunderbird, a dimension-hopping hero who had been severely injured in the battle.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the 2021 "Heroes Reborn" reality, Reed Richards is a scientist at S.H.I.E.L.D. Labs. He alerts Hyperion that the inmates of the Negative Zone have escaped.


title: Reed Richards

text: Set in the 17th century "Marvel 1602" universe, Reed (apparently called Sir Richard Reed, although he is often addressed as "Sir Reed" or "Master Richards") is the leader of 'The Four from the Fantastick', and his pliability is compared to water. Sharing the genius of his counterpart, he has devised uses for electrical force, categorized the sciences, and speculated as to whether light has a speed.


title: Reed Richards

text: According to Peter David, who is writing a "Marvel 1602" miniseries about the Four, Gaiman describes Sir Richard as even more pedantic than the mainstream Mr. Fantastic. During a trip to Atlantis, Richard Reed had trouble accepting the idea that the Atlanteans had a connection to Poseidon or their brief encounter with the Watcher, until Susan helped him realise that just because such things could not be understood by their present standards did not mean that humanity could not come to understand them later.


title: Reed Richards

text: The Reed of this reality is an intelligent ape given stretching powers by exposure to cosmic radiation, as in the mainstream Marvel universe. He tries to find a way to send Marty "The Gibbon" Blank back to his home reality. He is also one of the few that realizes Captain America is really a disguised Baron Blood. Reed is impaled and killed by Blood in an attempt to stop the vampire from trying to invade Earth-616 for a new source of blood. The rest of the Marvel Ape-verse heroes are led to believe Marty is responsible for Reed's death and pursue him until discovering the truth.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the Marvel Mangaverse comics, Reed Richards leads the Megascale Metatalent Response Team Fantastic Four as a commander, not a field operative like Jonatha, Sioux, and Benjamin. In Mangaverse, Richards has been re-imagined as a long-haired intellectual with a laid-back attitude. The other members of the team often describe him as a "smartass". His team used power packs in order to manifest their talents on mecha-sized levels so that they may fight the Godzilla-sized monsters from alien cultures that attack Earth for performing experiments which endanger all of reality. Along with assigning battle tactics, Richards okayed the amount of power his team was allowed to use. He has stretching talents which he considered "near useless" except for stretching his neurons, allowing him to brainstorm new ideas. In the New Mangaverse, Richards (along with the rest of the Fantastic Four with the exception of the Human Torch) was murdered by ninja assassins.


title: Reed Richards

text: This version of Reed Richards deliberately infects his team and himself with the zombie virus after suffering a mental breakdown due to the murder of his children at the hands of a zombified She-Hulk. Regarding the zombies as a superior form of life, Reed sets out "to spread the Gospel", a twisted plan to start turning the survivors of the Marvel Universe into zombies. Reed later assists his fellow zombies in tracking down several Latverian human survivors; they escape to alternate dimensions but Doctor Doom does not. Using a dimensional crossing device created by Tony before his infection, Reed makes contact with his Ultimate counterpart. The Zombie FF attempts to escape into the Ultimate Marvel universe, but the zombie Reed is neutralized when the Ultimate Invisible Girl destroys a chunk of his brain, allowing the Ultimate team to contain their counterparts. When the Zombie FF try to escape after a brief period of imprisonment, Ultimate Reed Richards (in Doctor Doom's body) destroys them by covering him with maggots, and their corpses returned to their universe. It is suggested in "Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution" that Richards was inadvertently responsible for allowing the zombie virus to infect this reality through the construction of a device allowing access to alternate dimensions, namely he was responsible for bringing in the zombie Sentry, the only zombie left.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the MC2 continuity, Reed Richards designs a small robot into which he claims to have transferred his brain after his body was scarred in an accident; in reality, Richards' injuries are minor, and he controls the robot remotely from an outpost in the Negative Zone. This robot, called Big Brain, is a member of the Fantastic Five, and is capable of projecting force fields and can hover or fly. When Reed solves the problem keeping Susan in stasis in the Negative Zone, the mental block preventing his scars from healing dissolves, and his appearance returns to normal.


title: Reed Richards

text: In an alternate universe in the MC2 line, the Red Skull conquered the world and killed Captain America. The Skull is later killed by Doctor Doom, for whom Reed serves as an advisor. After Doom and Crimson Curse fall into a portal, Richards turns on fellow advisor Helmut Zemo. Later Reed becomes a mad scientist, aided by evil versions of Ben Grimm, Franklin Richards and Peter Parker. They are defeated by Spider Girl, Thunderstrike and Stinger.


title: Reed Richards

text: When Dr. Doom returns, Reed is forced into a mental duel with the villain, which ends in a tie that banishes both their minds to the "Crossroads of Infinity". He is currently in Latveria, under the care of his wife.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the alternate universe visited by Alex Summers, a.k.a. Havok, the Fantastic Four have no powers, though Reed still has his genius-level intelligence. Reed generally wears a battle suit with two extra arms. In his first appearance, he is attempting to build a machine that will allow the Goblin Queen to summon demons from another dimension. In the final issue of the series, Reed joins a makeshift team of villains and heroes in order to stop the Goblin Queen's threat against the entire multiverse. He is interrupted in his work by Dracula, who slices open his throat, killing him.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the universe featuring Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman, Reed is an African-American child genius that shares his inventions with other kids around his age. He is asked for help by Jessica Drew from the 616 universe to try to get her home, and reveals that he has encountered other Dimensional hoppers before her. He aids the Spider-Women by altering their weaponry for their final battle against his earth's Cindy Moon and later serves as an ally to Spider-Gwen.


title: Reed Richards

text: "" features an alternate continuity where the characters naturally age after Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man in 1962. In the 1970s, Peter Parker and Otto Octavius began working for Reed at Future Foundations. He and Peter got into several arguments over the Vietnam War and how superheroes should serve humanity, eventually leading Peter to quit. In the 1980s, Peter and Reed made amends while participating in the Secret Wars, though Peter laments that Richards is a ghost of his past self, having pushed away all his friends and loved ones out of a misplaced sense of responsibility for Doctor Doom. In this continuity, Sue left Reed to be with Namor.


title: Reed Richards

text: In the comic book based on the "Spider-Man Unlimited" animated series, Peter is assigned by the "Daily Byte" to investigate the Counter-Earth version of Reed Richards, as Richards is suspected of knowing about a mysterious creature called the Brute. After fighting the Brute as Spider-Man, it is revealed that the Brute is actually Reed Richards himself, who is helping the rebels fight the Beastials, while Reed is actually a spy. He is also assisted in this mission by his friend, Ben Grimm, who gathers data held by the High Evolutionary. Reed reveals that after a test flight similar to the one that gave the mainstream Fantastic Four their powers, the cosmic rays transformed Reed into the Brute, leaving Grimm unaffected, Johnny Storm dead, and Susan Storm in a coma.


title: Reed Richards

text: Maker, previously known as Ultimate Reed Richards is the Ultimate Marvel's version of Mister Fantastic. The origin of Ultimate Reed's powers is different than the original Reed. Ultimate Reed Richards gets engulfed in a malfunctioned teleporter experiment to get the superpower to stretch. He founds the Ultimate Fantastic Four that explores the N-Zone and fight various villains. After the Fantastic Four disbands due to the damage caused by "Ultimatum", Reed begins to change his worldview and eventually calls himself Maker and becomes a nemesis to the . When Galactus arrives in the Ultimate universe due to a temporal distortion, the Ultimates are forced to approach the Maker for help. Maker travels to Earth-616 to access his counterpart's files. Using the information gained, Reed defeats Galactus by sending him to the Negative Zone.


title: Reed Richards

text: After the events of Secret Wars, Maker moves to the main Marvel universe, also known as Earth-616, where he continues his nefarious plans.


title: Reed Richards

text: Marvel's "What If?" comic book series featured several alternate versions of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four.


title: Reed Richards

text: On the world designated Earth-772, in "What If?", Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four, but his presence resulted in Sue feeling increasingly sidelined in favour of the four male members of the team, resulting in her leaving the team to marry the Sub-Mariner. Although Reed was briefly driven insane and declared war on Atlantis, he eventually recovered and the two apparently reconciled, resulting in the 'Fantastic Five' reforming once again in time to confront Annihilus in the Negative Zone to help Susan give birth.


title: Reed Richards

text: In "What If?" #6 (Dec. 1977), after the team are exposed to cosmic rays, they develop powers based on their personalities. Reed Richards' vast intellect causes him to become a giant floating brain, and he takes to calling himself "Big Brain". Reed's brain is destroyed during a battle with Doctor Doom, but not before he manages to transfer his mind into Doom's body. This version of the Fantastic Four reappeared in the Volume II story arc 'Timestorm', summoned by the Watcher to persuade the man who would become Kang/Immortus not to become a threat. Richards' and the other members of his Fantastic Four are killed by Immortus.


title: Reed Richards

text: In "What If?" #11 (May 1978), an alternate universe is shown wherein the original 1960's staff of Marvel Comics are exposed to cosmic rays. Stan Lee gains the powers of Mister Fantastic, and is described as slowly gaining Reed's scientific intellect as well. Lee continues to write and edit Marvel Comics by day, but fight evil along with his fellow members of the Fantastic Four. The story was written by Lee, and drawn and co-written by Jack Kirby, who in this reality became the Thing.


title: Reed Richards

text: In "What If?" vol. 2 #11 (March 1990), the origins of the Fantastic Four are retold, showing how the heroes lives would have changed if all four had gained the same powers as the individual members of the original Fantastic Four.


title: Reed Richards

text: Mister Fantastic was ranked as the 41st Greatest Comic Book Character of All Time by "Wizard" magazine IGN ranked Reed Richards as the 40th Greatest Comic Book Hero of All Time stating that "Mister Fantastic numbers among the very smartest men in the Marvel Universe" and that "Sure, his obsession with science sometimes comes at the detriment of his family life, but a kinder and nobler hero you'll rarely find." Mr. Fantastic was also listed as #50 on IGN's list of the "Top 50 Avengers".


title: Xiangqi

text: Xiangqi (; ), also called Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. "Xiangqi" is in the same family of games as "shogi", "janggi", Western chess, "chaturanga", and Indian chess. Besides China and areas with significant ethnic Chinese communities, this game is also a popular pastime in Vietnam, where it is known as , literally 'general chess'.


title: Xiangqi

text: The game represents a battle between two armies, with the primary object being to checkmate the enemy's general (king). Distinctive features of xiangqi include the cannon ("pao"), which must jump to capture; a rule prohibiting the generals from facing each other directly; areas on the board called the "river" and "palace", which restrict the movement of some pieces but enhance that of others; and the placement of the pieces on the intersections of the board lines, rather than within the squares.


title: Xiangqi

text: Xiangqi is played on a board nine lines wide and ten lines long. As in the game Go (; "or Wei ch'i" ), the pieces are placed on the intersections, which are known as "points". The vertical lines are known as "files" (), and the horizontal lines are known as "ranks" ().


title: Xiangqi

text: Centred at the first to third and eighth to tenth ranks of the board are two zones, each three points by three points, demarcated by two diagonal lines connecting opposite corners and intersecting at the centre point. Each of these areas is known as , a castle.


title: Xiangqi

text: Dividing the two opposing sides, between the fifth and sixth ranks, is "hé", the "river". The river is usually marked with the phrases , meaning "River of the Chu ", and , meaning "Border of the Han", a reference to the Chu–Han War. Although the river (or "Hanchu boundary") provides a visual division between the two sides, only two pieces are affected by its presence: soldiers have an enhanced move after crossing the river, and elephants cannot cross it. The starting points of the soldiers and cannons are usually, but not always, marked with small crosses.


title: Xiangqi

text: The pieces start in the position shown in the diagram above. Which player moves first has varied throughout history and from one part of China to another. Different xiangqi books advise either that the black or red side moves first. Some books refer to the two sides as north and south; which direction corresponds to which colour also varies from source to source. Generally, Red moves first in most modern tournaments.


title: Xiangqi

text: Each player in turn moves one piece from the point it occupies, to another point. Pieces are generally not permitted to move through points occupied by other pieces, the exception being the cannon’s capturing move. A piece can be moved onto a point occupied by an enemy piece, in which case the enemy piece is captured and removed from the board. A player cannot capture one of their own pieces. Pieces are never promoted (converted into other pieces), although the soldier gains the ability to move sideways after it crosses the river. Almost all pieces capture using their normal moves, while the cannon has a special capture move described below.


title: Xiangqi

text: The game ends when one player checkmates the other's general. When the general is in danger of being captured by the enemy player on his next move, the enemy player has "delivered a check" (, abbreviated as ), and the general is "in check". A check should be announced. If the general's player can make no move to prevent the general's capture, the situation is called "checkmate" (). Unlike in chess, in which stalemate is a draw, in xiangqi, it is a loss for the stalemated player.


title: Xiangqi

text: In xiangqi, a player—often with a material or positional disadvantage—may attempt to check or chase pieces in a way such that the moves fall in a cycle, preventing the opponent from winning. While this is accepted in Western chess, in xiangqi, the following special rules are used to make it harder to draw the game by endless checking or chasing, regardless of whether the positions of the pieces are repeated or not:


title: Xiangqi

text: Different sets of rules set different limits on what is considered perpetual. For example, club xiangqi rules allow a player to check or chase six consecutive times using one piece, twelve times using two pieces, and eighteen times using three pieces before considering the action perpetual.


title: Xiangqi

text: The above rules to prevent perpetual checking and chasing, while popular, are not the only ones; there are numerous end game situations.


title: Xiangqi

text: Each player controls an army of 16 pieces; the armies are usually coloured red and black. Pieces are flat circular disks labelled or engraved with a Chinese character identifying the piece type, and in a colour indicating which player has ownership. The black pieces are marked with somewhat different characters from the corresponding red pieces.


title: Xiangqi

text: On mainland China, most sets still use traditional Chinese characters (as opposed to simplified Chinese characters). Modern pieces are usually plastic, though some sets are wooden, and more expensive sets may use jade. In more ancient times, many sets were simple unpainted woodcarvings; thus, to distinguish between pieces of the two sides, most corresponding pieces used characters that were similar but varied slightly. This practice may have originated in situations where there was only one material available to make the pieces from and no colouring material available to distinguish the opposing armies. The oldest xiangqi piece found to date is a (chariot) piece. It is kept in the Henan Museum.


title: Xiangqi

text: Generals (or kings) are labelled 將 (trad.) / 将 (simp.) ("general") on the black side and 帥 (trad.) / 帅 (simp.) ("marshal") on the red side.


title: Xiangqi

text: The general starts the game at the midpoint of the back edge, within the palace. The general may move and capture one point orthogonally and may not leave the palace, with the following exception.


title: Xiangqi

text: If the two generals face each other along the same file with no intervening pieces, the 飛將 ("flying general") move may be executed, in which the general to move crosses the board to capture the enemy general. In practice, this rule means that creating this situation in the first place means moving into check, and is therefore not allowed.


title: Xiangqi

text: The Indian name "king" for this piece was changed to "general" because of Chinese naming taboos; China's rulers objected to their royal titles being given to game pieces. Despite this, the general is sometimes called the "king" by English-speaking players, due to their similar functions.


title: Xiangqi

text: Advisors (also known as guards or ministers, and less commonly as assistants, mandarins, or warriors) are labelled 士 ("scholar", "gentleman", "officer", "guardian") for Black and 仕 ("scholar", "official", "guardian") for Red. Rarely, sets use the character 士 for both colours.


title: Xiangqi

text: The advisors start on either side of the general. They move and capture one point diagonally and may not leave the palace, which confines them to five points on the board. The advisor is probably derived from the mantri in chaturanga, like the queen in Western chess.


title: Xiangqi

text: There is some controversy about whether "士" really is intended to mean "scholar", "gentleman" which would be "士人", or "guard", "guardian" which would be "衛士" (simplified Chinese: 卫士). One argument for the latter is that their functionality seems to be to guard/protect the general. The common Western translation "advisor" does not reflect this layer of meaning.