Brute (Reed Richards)

Brute is a fictional character featured in Marvel Comics publications, most notably Fantastic Four.

Publication history
The Reed Richards of Counter-Earth first appeared in Marvel Premiere #2 (May 1972), and was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane.

The character subsequently appears as The Brute in Warlock #7 (August 1973), Fantastic Four #175-179 (October 1976-February 1977), #181-183 (April–June 1977), Fantastic Four Unlimited #3 (September 1993), Paradise X: Heralds #1-2 (December 2001-January 2002), and Fantastic Four #47 (November 2001), and #49 (January 2002).

The Brute received an entry in the Marvel Legacy: The 1970s Handbook #1 (2006), and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC vol. #2 (2008).

Fictional character biography
Brute is a version of Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic, leader of the Fantastic Four) from a world created by the High Evolutionary called Counter-Earth. He was exposed to cosmic rays that that initially did not affect him; Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm were unaffected, and Susan Storm was left in a comatose state.. The cosmic rays eventually gave him the ability to transform into a savage purple-skinned behemoth called the Brute. The Brute became evil after being hit on the head with a metallic cylinder.

The Brute made his way to True Earth, where he joined the Frightful Four to beat the Fantastic Four, Thundra and Tigra. Later, the Impossible Man inadvertently freed the Fantastic Four, who overcame the Frightful Four. During the ensuing fight, the Brute managed to trap the original Reed Richards in the Negative Zone and replace him. Once accepted as the leader of the Fantastic Four, he sent the Human Torch and the Thing into the Negative Zone and battled with Sue Storm. However, the remaining trio made it back from the Negative Zone with the help of Annihilus who lost his Cosmic Rod to the Mad Thinker's android. After seeing Reed Richard's selfless dedication to his wife, the concussion that made the Brute evil wore off and he sacrificed himself to keep the original Reed Richards' promise to return the cosmic Rod to Annihilus.

Powers and abilities
Reed can transform at will into the Brute, who possesses an 8-9' tall form with significant superhuman strength and durability. In addition, he retains the brilliant genius and much of the knowledge of Reed Richards.

At one point he proved able to absorb geothermal energy from the Earth's core, increasing his own power. In such form, he could also fire energy blasts.

Other versions
The Brute makes an appearance in the tie-in comic, Spider-Man Unlimited. In this continuum, a Counter-Earth version of Reed and his friends were exposed to cosmic rays like their Earth counterparts. Reed became a creature known as The Brute, Sue ended up in a coma and Johnny was dead. Only Ben was unaffected. Using his good standing with The High Evolutionary as Reed Richards (who tries to maintain his secret identity by putting up a snobby front), The Brute secretly aids the Counter-Earth rebels against them. Ben Grimm helps out by gathering data held by The High Evolutionary.