A diabolical genius known as The Maker used time travel to create his ideal Earth by systematically preventing anyone from ever becoming a superhero and by establishing a secret council of supervillains, The Maker's Council, that rules the world from the shadows.
But now the Maker is gone, locked away for the next sixteen months by inventor Howard Stark, this reality's Iron Man. Howard's teenage son, Tony, has taken on the codename Iron Lad and begun recruiting a network of heroes to fight back against the Maker's Council and prepare for the Maker's return.
Instrumental in sealing away the Maker and forming this new team with Iron Lad is Doom, the broken shell of the man once known as Reed Richards, who was kept inside the Dome and uncovered the Maker's secrets, though not that the Maker is himself the Reed Richards of another universe.
As you may recall, The Maker was the original Ultimate Universe's Mister Fantastic who, rejected by Sue Storm and traumatised by Ultimatum, became a villain.
In today's The Ultimates #4, we finally learn how The Maker's machinations ensured the Fantastic Four would never form on this new Earth-6160.
We learn that Reed's ambitions to travel into outer space got the better of him and, after going over budget and failing safety expectations, his project was shut down (all The Maker's doing, of course). Despite that, he convinces Ben, a reluctant Sue, and her younger brother Johnny, to travel into a cosmic storm with him.
It never comes and an explosion burns poor Johnny to death. Disgraced, Ben takes his own life by jumping into a quarry and Sue dies due to being exposed to radiation on that flight.
Reed remains in prison before he's aged up and tortured by his doppelganger. Electrocuted and facially disfigured, he's experimented on and even attacked by rats before Doom's burning hot mask is placed on his face. With that, Reed finally gives in and declares himself Doom.
Traumatised by The Maker, he's now trying to do the right thing alongside Iron Lad but there's a darkness in him and we see that this twisted Reed is attempting to recreate the Fantastic Four with experiments which have, thus far, failed.
Check out some panels from The Ultimates #4 below.
THE FATE OF THE ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR! Doom's years of torture at the hands of the Maker finally catch up to him in this secret history of the real Reed Richards! And tensions rise among the Ultimates when Doom might be more fixated on re-creating the life he should have had than the life he's got...
THE ULTIMATES #4
Written by DENIZ CAMP
Artwork by PHIL NOTO
Cover by DIKE RUAN