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History

The early life of Franklin Richards largely mirrors that of his Earth-616 counterpart.

Early Life[]

Franklin Richards was born the son of adventurers and heroes Reed Richards and Susan Storm. Franklin was born a powerful mutant, with seemingly no limit to his abilities. Unbeknownst to his parents, Franklin's mutation was so advanced that he was on the cusp of entering the second tier of human mutation, which would have granted him a type of "every-power" akin to the shapeshifting of the alien Skrulls. [1]

This made Franklin malleable, and he would spend much of his childhood in different physical forms, a part of it spent in an adult body, part in the body of a teenager and part of it occurring in a far future.[1]

As Franklin grew up, he joined his family as a member of the Fantastic Four. To Franklin, the life of the Fantastic Four was one big adventure, a game, devoid of death and hardship. This left Franklin woefully unprepared for the Fantastic Four's final mission.

Following the mutation of humanity, the Fantastic Four attempted to stop Doctor Doom and Prince Namor from attacking a U.N. meeting convened to solve the famine gripping the Earth. During the battle, Namor snapped the Human Torch's neck, killing him instantly. The trauma of seeing his beloved Uncle Johnny die before his eyes drove Franklin over the edge, and pushed his mutation into the second tier. He used his powers to curse Namor, causing half his body to burst into flames whenever he left the ocean. As Namor fled, Doctor Doom's plan to assassinate Reed Richards failed, but instead caused the death of both Doom and Franklin's mother Susan. [1] [2]

Becoming Galactus[]

Some time later, Reed and Franklin were approached by the High Evolutionary, Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock. Years earlier, Reed had killed Galactus by transforming him into a star. Unbeknownst to Reed, this had shattered the balance of the universe and left it vulnerable to the Celestials. The three men convinced Franklin of the need for a Galactus, and despite his father's process, he agreed to allow the High Evolutionary to use his machines to advance Franklin's mutation to the third tier, wherein he would be shaped by the beliefs of those around him. Shaped by the Silver Surfer, Franklin became Galactus, losing all memory of his former self. [3]

As Galactus, he roamed the universe consuming planets impregnated with Celestial embroys, with the Silver Surfer serving as his herald, ensuring he did not forget his new self. He eventually reunited the Surfer with his lover Shalla-Bal, granting her the power cosmic and making her one of his heralds along with the Surfer.[3]

Years after his transformation, the Celestials travelled to Earth to scour all life from the planet in order to defend the embryo growing within. Desperate to stop them, Reed asked Black Bolt for a favor; after fighting the Celestials, Black Bolt used his dying breath to scream Franklin's true name. Intrigued and disturbed, he was drawn to Earth and arrived just in time to fight off the Celestials. [4]

Reed spoke with Galactus, asking him to spare the Earth, and told him that he knew Galactus to be far more compassionate than he had been in the past. Due to the nature of Franklin's mutation, the belief that others thought him compassionate made it so. When Galactus asked Reed why the voice that called for him had called him "Franklin", Reed lied, afraid that the truth would cause Galactus to revert to Franklin, leaving the universe defenseless before the Celestials. Galactus agreed to spare the Earth, but could not leave it as it was, and therefore destroyed the embryo within before departing. He told Richards that they would not meet again.[5]

In the course of the battle, Galactus lost Shalla-Bal to the Celestials, while the Surfer, crushed by sorrow, opted to remain on the Earth.[6] Unable to let go of the fact that he had been summoned with the name "Franklin", Galactus approached X-51, the new Watcher of Earth, and asked him to tell him all he knew of Franklin Richards. While witnessing Franklin and the Fantastic Four's history deeply disturbed Galactus, he pressed on, demanding to know the fate of Franklin Richards. While X-51 attempted to stall for time, afraid that revealing the truth would cause Galactus to revert to Franklin's form and doom the universe, his machinery ultimately solved the issue by showing Galactus the fate of an alternate reality version of Franklin. With his fears allayed, Galactus departed, once again secure in his identity.[1]

Attributes

Powers

Prior to being mutated to the third tier of mutation by the High Evolutionary's machines, Franklin Richards presumably had the same powers as his Earth-616 counterpart.

Following his transformation, Franklin entered the third tier of mutation in which his powers, and appearance were at the whim of what people believed him capable to do. As he was believed to be Galactus, Franklin literally became Galactus. As such, when in the form of Galactus, Franklin presumably had the same abilities and powers of the Earth-616 Galactus.

See Also

Links and References

References

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