The Future Foundation is a fictional organization appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by writer

Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', '' The Manhattan Projects'' and '' East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on Marvel's '' Fantastic Fo ...

, the team first appeared in ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' #579 (July 2010) and stars in the series ''FF,'' written by Hickman and illustrated by

Steve Epting Stephen "Steve" Epting is an Americans, American comics artist. He is best known for his work on ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers'' and ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' for Marvel Comics. Early life Epting's influences ...

. The Future Foundation is a philanthropic organization created by

Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character is a founding member and the leader of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mast ...

dedicated to better serve humanity's future.

Publication history

Jonathan Hickman published FF in May 2011 with various artists assisting him. The volume ran for 23 issues. As part of

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

, ''FF'' was relaunched with creative team of

Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' FF'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', '' Uncanny X-Men'', an ...

and

Mike Allred Michael Dalton "Mike" Allred (born 1962) is an American Comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He is most well known for his Alternative comics, independent comics creation Madman (Mike Allred character), Madman and for co-creating and dra ...

in November 2012 and ended with issue #16 in January 2014. A new volume of Future Foundation was released by writer Jeremy Whitley in 2019, but was soon canceled after five issues due to low sales.

Fictional history

After becoming discouraged by how Earth's scientists view science and its applications,

forms a new group dedicated to create a better future for all of humanity. Following the death of the Human Torch in "Annihilation," Mister Fantastic plans to mold the young and great minds he has gathered into a team that will form solutions to the world's problems. Zero-G (Alex Power); Dragon Man; evolved Moloids Tong, Turg, Mik, and Korr; and Bentley 23 (a clone of the Wizard) are the first recruits to the organization.

Artie Maddicks M-11 M-11 is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally known as the Human Robot, the character was named "M-11" in the 2006 to 2007 ''Agents of Atlas'' miniseries as an allusion to its first ...

then joins the Future Foundation, as does

Leech Leeches are segmented parasitism, parasitic or Predation, predatory worms that comprise the Class (biology), subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the Oligochaeta, oligochaetes, which include the earthwor ...

. The organization next gains Mister Fantastic's father Nathaniel Richards followed by Uhari co-heirs Vii and Wuu.

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

joins the team as well at a final request from

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...

. Mister Fantastic is disturbed to discover that his daughter and father have also invited

Doctor Doom Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...

to join, following Valeria's proposition for

to help the Future Foundation. After learning about Doctor Doom being a member of the Future Foundation, the

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

objects and attacks him, but Mister Fantastic and

Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), The Fantastic Four'' #1 (November 1961). Susan St ...

break up the fight. Later, Reed takes everyone to the Room, a classroom where the Future Foundation has sharing time and naps. One of their early projects is to create a stylish tuxedo for the Thing. When Valeria asks Doctor Doom if he has a backup for restoring his memories, he reveals that

Kristoff Vernard Kristoff Vernard (formerly known as Kristoff von Doom and Dr. Doom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The adoptive son of Victor von Doom, he has been involved mainly with the Fantastic Four, a ...

is his best man. Afterward, Mr. Fantastic, Spider-Man, Nathaniel, Valeria, and Doctor Doom head to

Latveria Latveria is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted within the storylines of Marvel's comic titles as a small, isolated European country ruled by the fictional Supreme Lord Doctor Doom, su ...

to meet with Kristoff and request his help. Mister Fantastic sets up a brain-transfer machine to help restore Doctor Doom's memories and knowledge, which is successful. When Kristoff wants to return the throne to him, Doctor Doom states that it is not time yet because of a promise he made to Valeria. When Mister Fantastic asks what promise Doctor Doom made to Valeria, Doctor Doom states that he made a promise to help defeat Mister Fantastic. Doctor Doom decides to hold a symposium on how to finally defeat Reed Richards. The Thing and the evolved Moloids give an invitation to the

High Evolutionary The High Evolutionary (Herbert Edgar Wyndham) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a scientist who seeks to evolve different life forms such as the New Men. The High Evolutionary ...

. Dragon Man and Alex Power give an invitation to Diablo. Upon receiving an invitation from Spider-Man,

Mad Thinker The Mad Thinker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is portrayed to be an evil genius specializing in robotics. He is sometimes referred to just as "The Thinker". Publication history The Mad Think ...

is convinced to take part in the event. Bentley 23 even gives an invitation to his creator, the Wizard, along with two A.I.M. lieutenants. However, it is subsequently revealed that the 'Richards' they have been invited to defeat are actually members of the "Council of Reeds" (alternate versions of Reed who were trapped in this universe by Valeria a while back, possessing Reed's intellect while lacking his conscience). While Spider-Man and Invisible Woman make sandwiches for the kids, Mister Fantastic, Doctor Doom, Valeria, and Nathaniel Richards meet with the supervillain geniuses and

Uatu Uatu (), often simply known as the Watcher, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #13 (April 1963). He is a member o ...

the Watcher to discuss about what to do with the Council of Reeds. During Reed's discussion with the supervillains, Invisible Woman, Spider-Man, and Alex Power go to Old Atlantis where they find

Mole Man The Mole Man (Harvey Rupert Elder) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a recurring foe of the Fantastic Four and was the first villain they ever faced. His schemes usually consist of ...

and an alternate Mister Fantastic attacking it. While the Future Foundation is dealing with the remaining Alternate Reed Richards,

Black Bolt Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #45 (December 1965). Black Bolt is the ruler of A ...

suddenly returns to the Universal

Inhumans The Inhumans are a superhuman race of super beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many people associat ...

. It was revealed that Black Bolt was trapped in the Fault following the events of

War of Kings "War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six-issue limited series was published between March

. Black Bolt was able to hold his own, but he was unable to escape until Lockjaw found him. After killing the minister who objected to returning to Earth's Moon, Black Bolt and the rest of the Inhuman Royal Family return to the Moon as do the other Inhumans, the

Badoon The Badoon are a fictional Reptilian humanoid, reptilian List of extraterrestrials in fiction, alien species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Badoon Exfulgence are notable for living under strict Sex segregation, ...

, the Centaurians, the Kymellians, and the

Dire Wraith The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Space Knight. Publication history The Dire Wraiths firs ...

s. The prophecy that ended the Inhuman experiments spoke of five brides and one king with a mighty voice. However, another prophecy comes closer to fruition which ended up being a prophecy of four cities and a war to shatter everything. Spider-Man and the Future Foundation investigate several rifts in the space-time continuum: one in the Microverse, another in the distant future, and another on present-day Earth. Spider-Man and the Future Foundation arrive on a

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island where the tribal natives are being attacked by

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. When Franklin Richards claims that the battle is similar to the

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

cartoons, Invisible Woman uses her powers to discover that one of the zombie pirates is actually

Mysterio Mysterio is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #13 (June 1964). He is one of the super ...

in disguise. It also turns out that the tribal chief is a disguised

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

. Soon the rest of the Sinister Six arrive, though Spider-Man comes to realize that

Doctor Octopus Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''The Amazin ...

, Electro,

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, and

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...

are all robots. Meanwhile, the real Doctor Octopus infiltrates the

Baxter Building The Baxter Building is a fictional 35-story office building appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the building first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #3 (Marc ...

to look for specific technology plans. During the " Fear Itself" storyline, the Future Foundation is analyzing one of the seven hammers that fell from the sky and landed near the Baxter Building. The Thing ends up lifting it and is transformed into Angrir, Breaker of Souls. Although the Thing is almost killed in battle by Thor, Franklin is able to use his powers to restore him to his original rocky form. The Future Foundation discovers that

is alive and that the insects implanted into him by

Annihilus Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published ...

revived him. Human Torch was surprised that his teammates have formed the Future Foundation in his absence. The Future Foundation visits Africa, specifically

Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

where Valeria meets Onome, the daughter of a Wakandan engineer. Valeria secures a spot for Onome with the Future Foundation. During the "

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'', is a 12-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter ...

" storyline, most of the Future Foundation members are loaded into Mister Fantastic's lifeboat during the final Incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610. A hull breach occurs, separating the part of the ship carrying

and most of the young Future Foundation where they are destroyed by the Incursion before Mister Fantastic can rescue them. When the Multiverse is restored, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Valeria, Franklin, the members of Future Foundation, and Molecule Man work to restore the Multiverse one reality at a time with Molecule Man creating clones of himself as anchors. Some years later, the Future Foundation, Mister Fantastic, and Invisible Woman are confronted by the Griever at the End of All Things after Franklin's reality-warping abilities have become depleted. When Molecule Man is killed by the Griever, Mister Fantastic persuades Griever to let him summon Human Torch and Thing. Griever agrees to the condition as Mister Fantastic summons them and anyone else that has been a part of the Fantastic Four at some points in their lives, including Iceman. After Griever is defeated and retreat to her home-world, all of the expanded Fantastic Four members, and Iceman returns to their former locations. However, due to the device to transport to Earth-616 is limited since it was temporarily destroyed to prevent Griever from invading the said Earth, Dragon Man and the other staying Foundation members sacrifice their turn for the Fantastic Four and both Franklin and Valeria to return to their home-world, as the latter are needed there, with the Foundation continues their journey across the multiverse.

Members

The Future Foundation consists of a combat team along with a science team, with some members being part of both groups. Other groups include a replacement group for the core members of the original Fantastic Four as well as a temporary supervillain group.

The Future Foundation

Current members

* Alex Power *

Julie Power Julie Power (also known as Lightspeed) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman, the character first appeared in ''Power Pack'' #1 (May 1984). Publication history Juli ...

* Artie * Bentley-23 - A clone of the Wizard * Dragon Man * Onome - The daughter of one of

's greatest engineers * Vil - The female co-heir to the Uhari throne * Wu - The male co-heir to the Uhari throne * Mik - An evolved Moloid who identifies itself as a male * Korr - An evolved Moloid who identified itself as a male * Turg - An evolved Moloid who identified itself as a male * Tong - An evolved Moloid who formerly identified itself as a male and now identifies itself as a female

Former members

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

Valeria Richards Valeria Meghan Richards, originally von Doom, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is the daughter of Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) and the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm-Richards) ...

* Franklin Richards ** Original Earth-616 ** Earth-10235 * Valeria Richards from Earth-10235 * Nathaniel Richards *

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in '' Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) as Dr. Henry ...

She-Hulk She-Hulk (Jennifer Susan Walters) is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she First appearance, first appeared in ''The Savage She-Hulk ...

* Adolf - The son of the Impossible Man * Ms. Thing

Council of Doom

The following supervillain geniuses were recruited by Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom to deal with the alternate Mister Fantastics: * Diablo *

* Wizard

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

The Future Foundation appears in a self-titled

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

series, written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and drawn by Mario Guevra. This version of the organization consists of Susan Storm,

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

, Danny Ketch /

Machine Man Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...

, and

Phil Coulson Agent Phillip J. "Phil" Coulson ( ) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longt ...

. Additionally, a group of genetically-engineered humans created by the Maker called the "Children of Tomorrow" appear in '' Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates''.

Secret Wars (2015)

A variation of the Future Foundation, referred to simply as the "Foundation", appears in ''

''. This version of the organization was established in the Battleworld domain of Doomstadt and consists of Valeria Richards, Dragon Man, Bentley-32, Minister Alex Powers,

Psycho-Man Psycho-Man is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Psycho-Man first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four annual publication, Annual'' #5 (Nov. 1967) and was creat ...

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinisation of names, Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French Astrology, astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed Oracle, seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéti ...

, and

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

/ Night Machine.

In other media

Television

Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniform appears in '' Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man''. This version was developed by

Oscorp Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...

Film

The Future Foundation will appear in '' The Fantastic Four: First Steps''.

Video games

* Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniform appears as an unlockable alternate skin in '' Spider-Man: Edge of Time''. * Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniform appears as an alternate skin in '' Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3''. * An inverted version of Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniform appears as an unlockable skin in ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

''. * Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Thing, and Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniforms appear as unlockable alternate skins in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * Spider-Man, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Thing, and Doctor Doom's Future Foundation uniforms appear as alternate skins in '' Marvel Super Hero Squad Online''. * The Fantastic Four's Future Foundation uniforms appear in '' Marvel Super War''. * Spider-Man, the Thing, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and Doctor Doom's Future Foundation uniforms appear as alternate skins in '' Marvel Heroes''. * Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Thing, and Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniforms appear as alternate skins in ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' is a 2013 Lego-themed action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xb ...

''. * Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniform appears in '' Spider-Man Unlimited''. * Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniform appears as an alternate skin in '' Marvel's Spider-Man''. * Spider-Man's Future Foundation uniform appears as an unlockable alternate skin in ''

Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a 2017 Battle royale game, battle royale video game produced by Epic Games. It was originally developed as a companion game part of the early access version of ''Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival ...

''.

Collected editions

References

External links

Future Foundation
at Marvel Wiki
Future Foundation
at Comic Vine
Spider-Man Joins The FF!
{{Fantastic Four Fantastic Four Fictional explorers Fictional families Marvel Comics superhero teams Superhero comics Comics by Jonathan Hickman 2010 comics debuts