Marvel has showcased an awesome new look for the Fantastic Four‘s Reed Richards, as the super-genius hero adopts a new look that fans of the iconic franchise could never have predicted. For 63 years, the Fantastic Four have acted as Marvel’s premier adventurers, protecting the planet Earth from threats including the Skrull Empire, Galactus the Devourer of Worlds, and the Latverian dictator Doctor Doom. Now, the First Family’s connection to one of those iconic villains have been given a wild new twist.

Reed’s new look comes in newly released variant cover art for Ultimates #4 by Inhyuk Lee. The cover showcases his transformation into Doctor Doom, wearing the iconic iron mask and hood of his oldest enemy. However, in a nod to Reed’s history with the Fantastic Four, his ‘Doom’ makeover keeps the team’s iconic blue and white color scheme.

The Reed Richards depicted in Inhyuk Lee’s art is from Earth-6160 – a recently launched alternate reality imprint called the Ultimate Universe, where the Marvel timeline fans know and love has been broken beyond repair. In this world, Reed Richards’ family were killed before they could become the Fantastic Four and he was imprisoned by the villainous Maker, forced to build weapons of destruction for the new ruler of the world. Recently, Reed/Doom broke free with the help of Tony Stark’s father, joining up with Tony, Captain America, Sif and Thor to form the Ultimates and fight against his former master. Marvel has also released Phil Noto’s intriguing main cover and Rod Reis’ variant, which shows the Maker torturing Doom.

Reed Richards Is Marvel’s New Doctor Doom

Inhyuk Lee Showcases Doom’s Bold Blue Costume

This version of Doctor Doom was introduced in 2023’s Ultimate Invasion, by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch. In that series, the despicable villain known as the Maker stole the mainstream Reed Richards’ technology and traveled to an alternate dimension, using time travel to reshape its timeline in his favor. The Maker now rules this reality, having prevented the superhero origins of (or killed off) anyone who might stand in his way. Currently, the Maker is locked away in a time prison, giving the Ultimates 18 months to destroy his regime and prepare for his return. So far, Reed Richards’ Doctor Doom has been one of the main heroes fighting the good fight, but the summary for Ultimates #4 suggests that his grief over his murdered family is becoming a bigger and bigger distraction.

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Fans had already seen Reed Richards’ transformation into Doom, including a tactical blue costume with an elaborate tunic. However, Inhyuk Lee’s art strips the new Doom down to the basics, going from his arch, supervillain-esque look to a more superhero-style outfit similar to that worn by Blue Marvel or Captain America. Fans of the mainstream Fantastic Four will be shocked to see Reed Richards turned into a new version of Doctor Doom, although he is still a hero. However, having had his family stripped away and living most of his life in captivity serving a totalitarian regime, this version of Reed has far more demons to harness if he’s going to make the world a better place.

In its original incarnation in the 2000s, Marvel touted the Ultimate Universe as a place where it could big, ambitious swings that aren’t possible in its mainstream comics. Reed’s transformation into Doctor Doom shows that spirit is alive and well in ithe reborn Ultimate Universe imprint, which addresses real-world issues and imagines its Avengers-alike Ultimates as underdog freedom fighters attempting to bring down a corrupt system. Sadly, they’ll be doing so without the Fantastic Four, as this deeply damaged but still brilliant Reed Richards fights for freedom as Doctor Doom.

Ultimates #4 is coming from Marvel Comics September 4, 2024.