When superhero fans read the comics, they usually focus on two main things - the story and the characters, how they act, how they change. So it's no surprise that the setting of the story, where it takes place, often isn't as prominent as the story itself. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule, even in the world of superhero comics. Some places have long become iconic and the stories of the superheroes associated with them wouldn't be the same without these places.
One such location is the Baxter building in New York that's closely connected to the Fantastic Four. It's been around for quite some time but there are still some things the fans might not know about the building but they should.
10 It's In Manhattan
A lot of superheroes have the base in New York, only in various districts of the city. There's Spider-Man in Queen, for example. Daredevil resides in Hell's Kitchen.
And the Fantastic Four chose the prestigious Manhattan as their place of residence. That gives them enough space to see what's going on in the heart of the city but also makes causes them to stay in the public eye - which isn't always a good thing, all things considered.
9 It Has Many Floors
The Baxter building is easy to spot which makes it simple for other superheroes to find the Fantastic Four's headquarters even if they've never visited the superhero family before. It's a properly large building which totals 35 floors. However, the headquarters of the Fantastic Four takes up only five of the highest floors, not all of them.
Not even one of the largest superhero families needs an entire skyscraper for their living space. Well, at least they didn't - in the later comics, the family actually owns the building.
8 Date Of Appearance
Just like many good things in the Marvel comics, the Baxter building also first appeared in the good old nineteen-sixties. More specifically, its premiere took place in March 1962 in the third issue of Fantastic Four.
Ever since then, the building has been closely connected to Fantastic Four and it's safe to assume this will also be true in the future - regardless of how many challenges the superhero family may face.
7 Its Creators
Stan Lee is a name well-known to any fan of Marvel superheroes. He's been one of the most prominent Marvel creators, and without him, there would be no Spider-Man or Fantastic Four for the matter. Stan Lee also created the Baxter building.
However, he wasn't the only one - Stan Lee and Jack Kirby worked together and Kirby deserves as much appreciation for creating the superhero lair as Lee does. Speaking of - not everybody knows that the Baxter building was the first superhero lair that the general public knew about in the superhero comics.
6 Its History
Considering its rich history, it won't come as a surprise that the Baxter building has been around for quite some time. According to the comics, it was built in 1949 by the Leland Baxter Paper Company (hence the name of the building). Its original purpose was much different from the latter.
It was supposed to host pulp recycling machinery. Practical, but serving as a superhero lair has a better ring to it.
5 Multiple Attacks
As said above, the Baxter building is one of the few superhero lairs whose existence is well-known to the rest of the world. That means that people can come into the building and ask to see the Fantastic Four (whether they'll succeed or not, well, that's a whole other matter).
However, it also means that the villains have half of their job done for them. Since they know where the Fantastic Four resides, there have been multiple attacks at the building. For example, Doctor Doom went as far as to launch it into space!
4 There Are Multiple Baxter Buildings
Technically, there's only one Baxter building. But since destruction is a common occurrence in the comics, it also fell on the Fantastic Four and their lair. It was destroyed in May 1985 in issue 278 of Fantastic Four.
John Byrne, who wrote and drew the issue, explained that the building's height was no longer as astonishing as when it was first introduced so he decided to use somewhat drastic measures to change it. Needless to say, the building was later rebuilt.
3 It Has A Museum In It
Since the Fantastic Four is so popular among the general public (less so among the villains, of course), they can also gain monetary profit from their popularity. How exactly do they do it? Well, in the new Baxter building, there's a museum and a gift shop set up, both dedicated to the Fantastic Four.
It's safe to assume that the money from the merchandise sold is also a welcome addition to the superhero family. After all, even superheroes have to eat and Reed Richards' experiments require considerable resources.
2 Other Superheroes Use It
Even though the Baxter building is most closely associated with the Fantastic Four since it serves as their home and a base of operation all in one, it doesn't mean that other superheroes don't use the building or visit it. It's not as frequent but it happens. For example, Spider-Man stopped by when he needed Reed's help with the Venom symbiote suit.
He was certainly luckier than Jessica Jones - in her solo series Alias by Brian Michael Bendis, Jessica aimed to speak to the Fantastic Four but didn't even get any further than the lobby of the building!
1 It Appeared In Other Series And Media
Finally, if the fans want to learn more about the Baxter building, the best place to start is by reading the Fantastic Four comic book series (of which there are many). However, if they wish to delve into more details, they should be aware that the Baxter building pops up in other comic book series as well from time to time.
As established above, it appeared in both Spider-Man and Jessica Jones, and the list doesn't end there. It also has alternate versions in alternate universes - for example, in the world of the series 1602 the Baxter building is a house sir Richard Reed rents from lord Baxter and he has a laboratory and he has an observatory in the manor.