Valeria Richards

Valeria Richards is a female comic character who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Valeria Richards was a female human born the daughter of Reed Richards and Susan Richards with her being the younger sister of Franklin Richards.

As Valeria von Doom, she first appeared as the supposed child of Sue Storm and Doctor Doom in an alternate timeline, though later revelations clarified her true nature. She was depicted living in Castle Doom in Latveria, a young blonde girl who accompanied her “father” Doom and called Sue her mother. In this issue, Valeria was present during interactions between Doom and the Fantastic Four, where she clung to Doom for support and watched events unfold from his side, showing trust in him as her guardian. Her activity was limited to being a witness to the conflict, but her very presence acted as a central point of tension between the heroes and Doom. (Fantastic Four v3 #15)

Valeria was again shown in Latveria, where Doom presented her as his daughter. She was involved in scenes where Sue Storm attempted to bond with her, creating an uneasy family dynamic. Valeria was depicted engaging in ordinary childlike activities under the supervision of Doom, but her attachment to him was highlighted through her affection and reliance. Her behavior underscored her status as a child caught between two worlds, that of the Fantastic Four and Doom’s Latveria. She was shown speaking openly to both Sue and Doom, demonstrating both innocence and confusion as her guardianship was contested. (Fantastic Four v3 #20) She later traveled with the Fantastic Four where she was shown interacting with Sue more naturally, accepting her guidance and care, whilst also displaying signs of independent thought for her young age. In one scene, she followed Sue closely, asking questions about her surroundings and showing curiosity beyond simple obedience to Doom. Her actions in this issue demonstrated her adaptability as she adjusted to new environments outside of Castle Doom, and she began to show more recognition of Sue as her mother. (Fantastic Four v3 #21) Valeria was central to the ongoing custody struggle between Doom and the Fantastic Four. She was physically present during confrontations, often seen alongside Sue, to whom she displayed affection and trust. Valeria’s activities involved speaking up about her own feelings, revealing both her desire for a family and her innocence in the larger conflict surrounding her. She was consistently depicted as being protected, either in Sue’s arms or closely guarded, reinforcing her vulnerability while at the same time marking her as someone whose identity carried weight in the battle between Doom and the Fantastic Four, (Fantastic Four v3 #22)

Fantastic Four

She then came to find the machine built by her father with this being the Bridge that was a doorway into the Multiverse. Deciding to investigate, she went through the portal and encountered the Interdimensional Council of Reeds who all came from different Earth's in different universes that they all controlled. However, they drew the attention of angry gods that were a mad group of Celestials that looked to destroy them. Valeria then fled back through the portal to Earth-616 with three members of the Council following her to her universe. They then set out to achieve their goals in this universe where they told Valeria to inform her father of her actions before departing the scene. Knowing the scale of the threat posed, Valeria believed she needed help to defeat these alternate universe incarnations of her father. She confided this information to her grandfather Nathaniel Richards where the two agreed that they needed to assemble a gathering of top scientific supervillains with the purpose of defeating these Reeds. Among their actions included restoring the intellect of Doctor Doom who then set an invitation that called the High Evolutionary, Diablo, the Mad Thinker and the Wizard to a meeting. Valeria then revealed the reason for the gathering and that their mission was to defeat the Council of Reed members operating on Earth-616. (FF v1 #3)

Return

During their multiversal adventures, Franklin came to deplete his ability to create entirely new realities. It was then that the family were confronted by the cosmic being known as the Griever at the End of All Things who sought to end all existence. To accomplish her goals, she had been responsible for the collapse of hundreds of the new universes that were charted by the Future Foundation. This forced them to make a final stand against this foe where the Fantastic Four came to be re-united when the Griever was tricked into summoning Johnny and Ben to them. Reed then came to summon every hero that had been a part of the Fantastic Four as they confronted this foe. (Fantastic Four v6 #2)

The Fantastic Four then relocated to Ben Grimm's residence at 4 Yancy Street where she along with her father helped convert the residence into their new headquarters. This included folding several dimensions to make the building bigger on the inside so that they had space for their laboratories. (Fantastic Four v6 #5)

She was working on a new teleporter design when she struggled with finding a power source for it. Her father then detected a higher dimensional beings entry to Earth where it was heading to the Baxter Building and he came to be concerned for Container Zero. The Fantastic Four along with Franklin left to confront this threat whilst Valeria was left behind with Jo and Nikki though she came to learn about the contents of Container Zero from her fathers database. Valeria then had her teleporter taken into the field to help her family when Container Zero was fractured thus releasing the Zero Source. This was a pre-primordial power that brought about the end of a universe and started another where it threatened to expand until it consumed the entire cosmos. To stop it, Valeria deployed her teleporter that capped the Zero Source and used this cosmic energy as a power source with the device becoming the Forever Gate that was a doorway to any place in space-time. Unable to move it, Richards reclaimed the site of the ruined Baxter Building to protect the gate thus beginning a new age of exploration for the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v6 #25)

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Valerie Richards was a young Caucasian female child with blonde hair and blue eyes. She had shoulder-length hair often drawn with soft, slightly curled ends, framing her round, innocent face. She wore simple, modest children’s clothing, such as dresses or skirts paired with blouses, emphasizing her youth and vulnerability. In her initial depiction as Valeria von Doom, some outfits incorporated Latverian-style ornamental details, reflecting Doom’s influence on her upbringing. Her wide-eyed expressions and small stature underscored her role as a dependent child caught between two powerful adults. (Fantastic Four v3 #15) She later decided to take her own superhero name which was Brainstorm. (Fantastic Four v6 #4)

Valerie’s personality was defined by curiosity, innocence, and attachment. She displayed trust and affection toward Doctor Doom, seeing him as her guardian, while also showing interest and openness toward Sue Richards. She spoke freely, asked questions about her surroundings, and reacted emotionally to the conflicts around her, revealing both naivety and a budding sense of self-awareness. Even at a young age, Valerie showed flashes of independence, voicing her feelings and demonstrating awareness of the tension between Doom and the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v3 #15)

Powers and abilities

Valerie Richards possessed no superhuman abilities or extraordinary physiology. She was an ordinary human child, physically small and fully dependent on adult protection. Her importance in the story stemmed from her familial connections — as the child of Reed and Sue Richards — rather than any innate abilities. Her early activities involved typical childlike behavior: observing, questioning, and responding to her environment under the care of Doom or the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v3 #15)

She had claimed that she was in fact smarter than her father. (Fantastic Four v1 #573)

Among her creations included:

• Forever Gate : a new teleporter design that blended various technologies ranging from Kree Omni-Wave Projectors to Griever tele-pods and even Krakoan bio-tech gateways. An issue Valeria had with the machine was a source of power which she came to use by using the teleporter to cap the Zero Source where it became the Forever Gate. (Fantastic Four v6 #25)

She had built a special belt like device that she designed to exhibit the same ability of her mother to project force fields. (Fantastic Four v3 #26) With it, she could project force fields for protection or as platforms which she could use to stand on and propel herself through the air. In addition, she could wrap herself in forcefields tightly around the body that allowed her to simulate superhuman strength for punches and invulnerability. (Fantastic Four v3 #22)

Notes

• Valeria Richards was created by Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca where she made her first appearance in Fantastic Four v3 #50 (February, 2002).

Appearances

• Fantastic Four: (2002)
• FF v1:
• FF v2:
• Fantastic Four v6:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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