Valeria Richards

FIRST APPEARANCE: Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #254 (May 1983)

MISCARRIAGE APPEARANCE: Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #267 (June 1984)

Valeria Meghan Richards is the second child of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, and Susan Storm Richards, aka Invisible Woman. She was conceived in the Negative Zone, and just before her birth, she began to emit bursts of deadly radiation that threatened both mother and child. Despite bringing in fellow scientists and radiation experts Bruce Banner, Michael Morbius, Walter Langkowski, and Otto Octavius, Reed Richards fails at saving his daughter, who is thought to be stillborn.

Though her older brother, Franklin Richards, felt a deep loss over the sister he would have had; unconsciously guided by Omniversal Guardian Roma, he secretly uses his vast psionic powers to travel back in time and save his sister, taking her from her native reality (Earth-616) and sending her “someplace else” — an alternate future (Reality-99315). Another Invisible Woman, who had married a heroic Victor von Doom after the death of her first husband, raise the child giving her the name, Valeria Von Doom.

She grows up considering Dr. Doom to be her father. Though Roma, who has her own plans for the child, keeps a watchful eye on Valeria, ensuring her well-being. Valeria’s friends as she grew up included Alysande Stuart, aka Caledonia, a member of Roma’s inter-dimensional Corps and of this future’s Fantastic Four, and Lancer, her father’s mutant bodyguard; her stepbrother, whom she nicknamed Sparky, who annoys their mother by using his powers to go “time-dancing.”

As she grew older and her powers and adventurous streak began to emerge, Dr. Doom designs armor for her protection, and she takes the title “Marvel Girl”. At age 12, she is formally recognized as Doom’s heir in the throne room of the Baxter Building. Not long after this, her father and her uncle Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch, and “uncle” Ben Grimm, aka Thing, die saving the world. Subsequently, while visiting the Blue Area of the Moon to see Alicia Masters’ memorial statue for the fallen heroes, both Valeria and Franklin briefly communicate with a temporally displaced echo of Earth-616’s Reed, Ben and Johnny.

In a family as unique as hers, Valeria’s early years were full of adventure, from being temporarily kidnapped by the Impossible Man and Woman (who were missing their own children), to having Inhuman babysitters on the Moon. Child Welfare Services briefly considered placing Valeria and Franklin in protective foster care, feeling that constant attacks on the Baxter Building endangered them, but was soon convinced that the children would be even more at risk away from their parents’ personal protection.

When the Fantastic Four of Earth-616 were in Paris, Valeria accidentally “time-danced” into the modern-day Pier Four, encountering the younger Franklin and his babysitters Caledonia and Alyssa Moy. When the inter-dimensional hunter Bounty attacked, seeking to arrest Caledonia, Valeria immediately came to her aid; but the battle was interrupted by the arrival of the Bacchäe, warrior women working for the Amazon Hippolyta.

Wanting to pay back the Fantastic Four for an earlier encounter, the Bacchäe kidnapped everyone present and took them to face their mistress and her lord, the Olympian God Pluto. Caledonia dueled with the Amazonian queen, while Marvel Girl tried to lead everyone else to safety; when Caledonia defeated his champion, the vengeful Pluto sent her to Tartarus. Marvel Girl and the others pursued, using the teleportation abilities of Franklin’s pet, Puppy, arriving in the Olympian underworld after a side trip to the Asgardian Hel and an encounter with Hela. They freed Caledonia and together battled past the combined forces of Tartarus, until Marvel Girl confronted Pluto himself and demanded he let them go in peace. Though not initially inclined to do so, the Lord of Hades changed his tune when the FF arrived, accompanied by Hercules and Persephone, Pluto’s wife.

At first Susan Richards found it difficult to accept Valeria; the implication she would one day marry Doom shook her, and Valeria’s presence brought back painful memories of the child Sue believed had died. Hearing her “mother” reject her, Valeria ran away. She roamed the streets for several hours, eventually stumbling upon the Absorbing Man, Mary MacPherran, aka Titania, and a mind-controlled She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, battling the police. Marvel Girl tried to stop them single-handedly, but was outmatched by the combined might of her opponents. When the Thing and Bounty arrived, they too were swiftly placed under mind-control; arriving to see Valeria in peril, the Invisible Woman accepted her daughter and dealt painful retribution to her attackers.

Valeria helped Reed identify the microbial nanites that had been used to brainwash their friends, and the search for a cure brought the group into conflict with the Mad Thinker, whose carefully laid plans were disrupted because he had not factored in Marvel Girl’s presence.

Later, after a magical attack left Alyssa Moy in a coma, Valeria was instrumental in identifying Selene and the Hellfire Club as being linked to the assault. She, Franklin and Caledonia were next used as hostages by another magical foe, Jihad, to make the FF go on a quest to recover four mystic items for him.

An impending Chaos Wave heralded the return of Dr. Doom from Counter-Earth and led to Valeria confronting this younger version of the man she considered her father; however, when events conspired to trap Reed Richards within Doom’s armor while Doom was apparently killed, it began to look like Valeria’s future was coming true, but that Richards was her true father. For their own safety, Valeria and Franklin were sent under the care of Caledonia to Haven, a school for gifted children on the other side of the universe; in their absence, Richards was freed from Doom’s armor, while Doom himself was found to have survived, once more calling into question Valeria’s future timeline.

The two children returned from Haven shortly before the arrival of Abraxas, a cosmic being who sought the Ultimate Nullifier and dominion over the multiverse; while the FF sought the Nullifier in other realities, Abraxas targeted Valeria as a temporal anomaly. Franklin and Roma whisked her away, but Abraxas soon tracked them down, seemingly killing Roma and taking the Nullifier. As Abraxas appeared about to claim victory, Roma’s plan came to fruition; Franklin and Valeria combined their powers to resurrect Galactus, the one being who could seize the Nullifier from Abraxas. Galactus gave the device to Mr. Fantastic, who activated it, obliterating Abraxas and resetting reality. This depleted Franklin’s cosmic powers, and Valeria reverted to an unborn child within Sue’s womb.

Sue soon came to term, but her life was again threatened by bursts of radiation from the child within her. With Mr. Fantastic captured by the Hidden Ones, an offshoot of the Inhumans, the Human Torch desperately sought the aid of Dr. Doom; Doom combined science and sorcery to safely deliver the infant, and in return was allowed to name her while her uncle Johnny was named her Godfather. Doom chose Valeria, after his childhood love, but even at this juncture, love was far from Doom’s mind. Holding the newborn in his arms, he took the opportunity to weave an enchantment, turning Valeria into his familiar, enabling him to see through her eyes and use her as a focus for spell casting. Reed asked Johnny to be her Godfather and he accepted.

A few months later, after he sacrificed Valeria’s namesake in return for greater magical abilities, Doom launched an assault. As Franklin was literally sent to Hell, Valeria spoke her first word: “Doom.” The villain taunted his foes through the young girl’s mouth, and when the FF flew to Latveria to confront him, he easily overcame them, teleporting Valeria into his arms. With the assistance of Dr. Stephen Strange, Reed eventually managed to turn the tables and recover his children, leaving Doom trapped in Hell and his link to Valeria broken.

During the Skrull invasion of Earth, the Baxter Building was transported into the Negative Zone, but Valeria and Franklin were saved from its hostile natives by Johnny and his ex-wife Lyja. Shortly after the family returned from a time-travel holiday, the children gained a new nanny, Tabitha Deneuve, secretly an aged Sue Richards from 500 years in the future of Reality-807128, who told Valeria she knew her secret, and counseled her to tell her family, advice Valeria followed soon after. Despite Valeria’s prior reservations, everyone accepted this revelation, though Franklin was a little resentful when Valeria began treating him like he was the younger sibling, and to be the only family member currently without powers.

When the family visited Reed’s cousin in Armailt, Scotland for Christmas, Valeria was kidnapped to be sacrificed to the town’s secret patron, the alien Korgo, but the FF intervened, and Valeria and Franklin helped the adults capture Korgo. Val later developed a new form of canine artificial intelligence, which she entered into a cybernetics expo and discussed optioning to Disney.