Futurist (Randolph James) is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

Publication history

The Futurist first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #215-216 (February–March 1980) and was created by

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...

and John Byrne.

Fictional character biography

Doctor Randolph James was a scientist who evolved himself into a large-skulled, highly intelligent humanoid with great psionic abilities. Randolph James was a classmate and friend of Reed Richards, who later became

Mister Fantastic 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 a ...

. He later became a professor and research scientist though he became somewhat unstable when his wife died. Years later Reed and his team, the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

came to visit Dr. James. Right after the Fantastic Four departed, a group of young thugs broke into Dr. James' home and robbed and assaulted him. Dr. James tried to call the Fantastic Four, but they were busy fighting

Blastaar Blastaar (, ), sometimes called the Living Bomb-Burst and Blasstaar, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Blastaar is an opponent of the Fantastic Four and lives in the Negative Zone. He is also a ...

. Fearing his own demise, Dr. James in his desperation used his evolution-accelerator to heal the severe trauma he received. When Mister Fantastic returned, he found his friend transformed into the Futurist. The Futurist discovered the gang that had attacked him still lurking in his neighborhood, and turned them into rats. The Futurist floated towards the Fantastic Four's headquarters, the

Baxter Building The Baxter Building is a fictitious 35-story office building appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The building is depicted in Manhattan, and its five upper floors house the Fantastic Four's headquarters. Publication hist ...

, displaying his raw power along the way. Once there, Blastaar tricked the Futurist into making an alliance with him, convincing the Futurist that the Fantastic Four were dangerous and needed to be destroyed. Blaastar and the Futurist broke into the Baxter Building, placing the

Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel during ...

into a deep slumber. The Futurist sensed Blastaar's evil intent, and allowed Franklin Richards to send Blastaar back to the

Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain Mar ...

with his psychic powers. The Futurist left the Earth, seeking out new vistas of exploration in outer space.

Quasar A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...

briefly glimpsed the Futurist, first on the

Stranger A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity and character can be ascertained. Different classes of strangers have been identified ...

's Labworld, and then during his journeys in the cosmos.''

'' #15 From what Quasar saw, the Futurist seems to be paired with another highly evolved humanoid, named

Alpha the Ultimate Mutant Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abraxas, sometimes called the Dark Man, is a cosmic entity who embodies the destruction of the Marvel multiverse. The existence of Galactus prevents him from emerging. The character, created by Carlos Pach ...

References

External links

*{{Marvunapp, http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/futuristff.htm, Futurist *http://www.comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=1311 Characters created by John Byrne (comics) Characters created by Marv Wolfman Comics characters introduced in 1980 Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics supervillains