Mr. Fantastic

Dr. Reed Richards is a scientist, who had been working on a space craft, which was about to have its funding cut off. In a last ditch attempt to get the flight off the ground, Reed, his fiance (Sue Storm), his fiance's brother (Johnny Storm), and one of his college classmates and a test pilot (Ben Grimm), snuck through security to take the shuttle for a test flight. Turns out that there wasn't enough shielding, and the Fantastic Four was born.

Reed has the ability to stretch or reform his body in just about any way that he chooses. He can stretch to about 1500 feet before the onset of pain. He can use his body as a sort of a catapault for both objects and people; this catapaulting ability can be used to fire projectiles back at their original firer. He often uses his body to wrap around people that he wishes to detain. He can reduce his molecular cohesion, and become a "blob" of sorts. He can expand his body and use it as a makeshift glider. He can slim down enough for his body to fit through the eye of a needle.

Susan Storm - The Invisible Woman

She is older than Johnny, and younger than Reed.
Initially, she didn't have much to do on the team than be a nurturing, etc, traditional female comic book character. She would often faint after "overexerting" herself with one of her force fields. Later, however, she became more independant,
abandoning the title "The Invisible Girl" for the more appropriate "The Invisible Woman."

The Invisible Woman has two basic powers: the power to make things invisible, and the power to create invisible force fields. As far as invisibility goes, she can make herself, or just about anything else, invisible to normal sight. The larger the object, of course, the more strain it places upon her, and the shorter amount of time she can keep it up. Some beings have the means to see her through means other than sight. The Invisible Woman can create incredibly strong force field that can be used either defensively or offensively. Like her powers of invisiblity, the larger the force field, and the more force it is deflecting, the more strain it puts on her.

Johnny Storm - The Human Torch

When introduced, Johnny Storm was a 17 year old "hothead" with an affinity for fine (fast) automobiles. He owns a Corvette, a sign of his impetuousness, as the "kid" of the group.

In the letter which Stan Lee wrote stating the original bios and powers of the Four, he said that Johnny Storm's greatest power would be that he could fly, since the comics code would not allow him to burn people or throw fireballs. Originally he was only supposed to be able to fly for about five minutes before he "flamed off." Well, things have changed a little bit. He does throw fireballs (usually at unliving things), he does burn people, and he can fly much longer. When Johnny becomes the Human Torch, he usually yells "Flame On!" Anyway, he needs oxygen to burn (obviously), so when he gets out of control, his sister can encase him in a force field until he uses up all of the oxygen. He can't fly unless he is aflame, so he can't fly in outer space. His control of his flame and his flying are very precise. He can melt the insides of a lock with out destroying it, can stop on a dime (literally), and can fly at speeds of up to 150 mph.

Ben Grimm - The Thing

Once a war veteran and test pilot, Ben Grimm's life was changed forever on the day when he was goaded by "Suzie" to fly Reed's ship. Sue even gave him his righteningly appropriate name; "Ben's turned into some kind of a -- Thing!" Early on Ben was a lumpy Thing, unlike the rocky Thing we now know and love. Also, early on he was depicted as something of a monster with an incredible temper. He never truly got over being the Thing, although he did calm down -- a lot. Reed once theorized that Ben could change between his human form and the Thing at will. However, Ben subconciously believed that Alicia Masters loved him only because he was the Thing, and therefore his subconcious blocked his ability to become human again.

Superpowers
.... Strength Level : Can press 85 tons
.... Can withstand great heat, cold, and pressures
.... Can hold his breath for upwards of 10 minutes

Obviously, Ben's strength is his greatest asset. Strength is really the only super ability he possesses, all other apparent abilities are merely an extension of his incalculable strength.

Victor Von Doom, Dr. Doom

Dr. Doom is the Fantastic Four's eternal arch foe. An evil genius, he was one of Reed and Ben's college classmates. He was interested in the occult, and one of his experiments resulted in a large explosion which left his face hideously scarred. He then exiled himself, and created his armor and face mask to hide his scarring. Doom has "died" several times, along with Reed. He often brags about his genious, while refusing to admit Reed's comperable genius. Though he is evil, he is also a man of his word, a fact which the FF have found useful several times. Doom is the "monarch" (dictator) of Latveria, a small country which he tries to use to conquer the rest of the world. The capital of Latveria and the location of Doom's castle is Doomstadt.