The Fantastic Four make their official Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. They join several other pre-established MCU teams, including The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Thunderbolts. However, The Fantastic Four stand apart from these teams because they are poised to be the most powerful by far, although their power level is contingent on just one team member.
The Fantastic Four Has A Secret Weapon
The original Fantastic Four team—Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), the Invisible Woman (Sue Storm), Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and Thing (Ben Grimm)—is fairly robust on its own because there’s more to their powers than meets the eye. For example, Mister Fantastic isn’t just stretchy; his elasticity can be utilized to absorb significant damage and radically alter his body, size, and mass, giving him significant advantages in battle. Additionally, his intelligence enables the team to consistently achieve a technological edge in most fights.
When The Fantastic Four mix their intelligence, Thing’s superhuman strength, Sue’s power of invisibility, and Johnny’s pyrokinesis, they’re pretty formidable. Even so, viewers may be skeptical if they truly measure up to The Avengers, which includes a Hulk, a Norse god, and a supersoldier in The Avengers, and later adds a Sorcerer Supreme in Avengers: Infinity War. However, there’s one secret weapon that puts The Fantastic Four above all teams: Franklin Richards.
Even before its release, The Fantastic Four: First Steps revealed the inclusion of Franklin (Ada Scott), the newborn son of Reed (Pedro Pascal) and Sue (Vanessa Kirby). The inclusion of Franklin sets The Fantastic Four: First Steps apart from previous Fantastic Four films, which have never featured Reed and Sue’s son. Although he’s only an infant in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, in the comics, that baby grows up to become one of the most powerful figures in the entire Marvel universe.
Franklin Richards Lives Up To His Alias: Powerhouse
The Fantastic Four received their powers through exposure to cosmic radiation, which also affected Sue’s body during pregnancy and labor. As a result, Franklin was born with a genetic mutation, making him a mutant. However, he’s not just any mutant. He is an Omega-level mutant, the most potent class of mutants with powers that know no upper limit. Meanwhile, his specific mutant ability is reality warping.
As an Omega-level mutant with the power of reality warping, there’s really not much Franklin can’t do. He can warp reality up to a cosmic level, meaning he can manipulate matter, energy, and time at will. His powers are strong enough for him to create entire pocket universes. In addition to his reality-warping skills, he also has Omega-level psionic abilities, including telekinesis, telepathy, and astral projection. His psionic abilities are so potent that they could wipe out all life on Earth if he ever fully unleashed his psionic energy.
Unlike most mutants, Franklin’s powers manifested at a very young age. Even as a toddler, he began utilizing his powers to help his family in battle. As he grew up and gained control over his powers, he continued to assist The Fantastic Four and took on the codename Powerhouse.
What Is Franklin’s Future In The MCU?
Although he’s just an infant in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Franklin holds immense power that is just waiting to manifest. Once it does, he’s poised to become one of the most powerful figures in the MCU and an asset that no other superhero team boasts. The fact that he is in the MCU suggests the franchise has plans for him, though it remains unclear what those plans could be.
However, Franklin’s psionic and reality-warping powers certainly fit well with the direction of the MCU as a whole. As the MCU delves deeper into the multiverse and reportedly toward a whole universe reboot, it’s quite convenient to have a universe-altering or universe-creating individual on hand.
Where To Watch The MCU’s Superhero Teams Online
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