Summary

• Ultimate Reed Richards, aka the Maker, is a dark alternate version of the brilliant leader of the Fantastic Four.
• The Maker's descent into villainy began after tragic events led to his disillusionment with heroism.
• Despite his defeat by the heroes of the Ultimate Universe, the Maker always finds a way to return, as he has traveled to Earth-616 and then on to a new Ultimate Universe of his own creation.

Reed Richards is the leader of the Fantastic Four and one of the most brilliant minds on the planet, but his Ultimate Universe counterpart, the Maker, is an enormous threat to existence. The Earth-616 version of Reed has invented all manner of things that have made life better for everyone on Earth. That's why it's such a terrifying thought that there's a version of Reed Richards who is a brutal villain, instead of being a benevolent inventor.

The Ultimate Universe's version of Reed Richards is very similar to that of the 616 universe, at least at first. But there are some important differences in the origin of the man who will one day become the Maker. Noticed for his brilliance at a young age, Reed Richards is recruited into a think tank at the Baxter Building, where he meets Franklin Storm, a brilliant scientist he studies under along with the rest of the Storm family.

Reed and his fellow members of the Fantastic Four are introduced in 2004's Ultimate Fantastic Four #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar and Adam Kubert. Instead of being middle-aged, the Ultimate Fantastic Four are young adults, being in their early 20s. Instead of being hit by a cosmic cloud that gives them their powers, they gain their abilities when they decide to test their teleportation technology, which they've been working on together for years. The teleportation works, but everyone involved gains new powers in the series' third issue.

The Ultimate Fantastic Four Are Born

Ultimate Fantastic Four (2004-2009)

After this event, Reed Richards and the rest of his friends try to become superheroes and change the world. By all accounts, they initially do a pretty good job, but this all changes in 2008 during the events of Ultimatum. Following the deaths of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, Magneto tries to end the world by disrupting the magnetic field of the Earth. This causes massive widespread destruction, such as a tsunami that nearly destroys New York and takes the life of Franklin Storm. This event drives a wedge between Reed and the rest of his team, and the Fantastic Four break up. The next time Reed Richards is seen, he's taken on a dark new persona.

Ultimatum was a major turning point in the Ultimate Universe and was not very well received by fans due to its brutality.

Reed Richards Becomes The Villainous Maker

Ultimate Comics: Doomsday (2010-2011)

Kang tells Reed there won't be a future, as the world is ending soon.

After the events of Ultimatum, Reed is completely disillusioned. This is only exacerbated due to Reed's inability to arrest Doctor Doom due to his diplomatic immunity. Add on top of that, the death of Franklin Storm, Sue Storm rejecting Reed's proposal, and the Fantastic Four disbanding, and Reed enters the darkest era of his life. He moves back in with his parents and contemplates what to do next until a version of Kang tells Reed there won't be a future, as the world is ending soon. With this in mind, Reed fakes his death, blowing up his family home and killing his family before disappearing.

The version of Kang that Reed teams up with is actually an alternate version of Sue Storm!

After Reed fakes his death, he orchestrates alien attacks on several other superhero bases, including the Baxter Building and the home of Peter Parker. Hunting down the source of the alien attacks, Sue Storm comes across a robbery in progress at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. It's here that she realizes Reed Richards is not only alive, but has been orchestrating the attacks against them. In a fit of anger, Sue tries to kill Reed, but he ultimately escapes. It's one of the darker reveals of the Ultimate Universe, that not only does a once-great hero fake his death, but he's no longer a hero, instead working for his own mysterious goals.

The descent of Reed Richards from despondent hero to full-blown villain takes place over a trilogy of miniseries: Ultimate Enemy, Ultimate Mystery and Ultimate Doom. These miniseries by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Rafa Sandoval were published between January 2010 and March 2011 and are collectively known as Ultimate Comics: Doomsday.

Reed can't avoid the heroes of the Ultimate Universe forever, though, and eventually, they catch up with him at his secret base in the Negative Zone. It's here that Reed is pretty easily defeated, with Johnny Storm even unleashing a massive fire attack on him, which scorches half of his face, as revenge for Reed hurting Sue Storm earlier. But while the heroes are destroying Reed's base and dismantling his equipment, Reed is able to escape once again. The next time Reed is seen, he is now known as the Maker and has become far more dangerous.

The Maker Becomes A Multiversal Villain

Secret Wars (2015)

The Ultimate Universe meets its end as part of the massive 2015 Secret Wars event by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribić. The Maker is one of the few Ultimate Universe characters who see the end is coming, but he fails to prevent his universe's destruction. Earth-1610 is destroyed, but the Maker survives and makes it to Doctor Doom's patchwork Battleworld. Following a confrontation with Molecule Man, Reed is shattered into pieces and spread across the multiverse. He is believed to be dead, but ends up making his way to Earth-616.

It's here that the Maker's goals really start to really take form. He forms a terrorist organization known as W.H.I.S.P.E.R., and runs afoul of the New Avengers, Venom and Spider-Gwen. With the absolute destruction of the Ultimate Universe, the Maker begins plotting to bring it back, to hopefully secure his place on the multiversal Council of Reeds. This doesn't prove to be an easy feat, but with genius like Reed's, almost anything is possible.

The Maker Is Marvel's Ultimate Villain

Ultimate Invasion (2023)

During the events of 2023's Ultimate Invasion by Jonathan Hickman, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Alex Sinclair, and Joe Caramagna, the Maker travels to Earth-6160, where he does actually manage to recreate the Ultimate Universe, but with a few caveats. Wanting complete control over this new universe, the Maker edits a few aspects of character histories to remove this universe's heroes. Instead of Matt Murdock being in an accident and becoming Daredevil, the accident never happens and Matt becomes a priest. Likewise, this Ultimate version of Spider-Man is never bitten by a radioactive spider and simply becomes a family man.

When the Maker arrives on Earth-6160 to create his new Ultimate Universe, he imprisons that universe's Reed Richards. This Reed becomes his world's version of Doctor Doom, who teams up with Howard Stark's Iron Man. Together they trap the Maker in the City, the villain's futuristic home base where time moves differently than in the outside world. With the Maker trapped for two years, Doctor Doom and Tony Stark's Iron Lad begin assembling the new Ultimate Universe's heroes to fight back against the evil Reed Richards.

There are plenty of geniuses in the Marvel Universe, but none of them compare to Reed Richards. He is often considered the smartest man in the universe, and the Earth-616 version has always used that brilliance to help his friends, his family, and the world around them. Unfortunately, the Earth-1610 version went through a much darker life and came out much worse. The Maker has brutally killed people with no regard and created his twisted version of his home universe to rule over. No matter how many times the heroes of the Multiverse try to defeat the Maker, he always seems to come back, which is why Reed Richards is Marvel's ultimate villain.