Reed Richards’ Plan To Save The Day in Fantastic Four: First Steps Was Flawed From the Beginning

by

The MCU’s version of Reed Richards first appeared with an ambitious plan that, honestly, had problems right from the start. This is surprising, considering he’s established as the most intelligent person in the entire cinematic universe, especially if Marvel Studios plans to stay true to the character from the comics.

Fortunately, things haven’t fallen apart this July. However, with the team getting ready to join the main Marvel Cinematic Universe from their different reality (Earth-828), there’s still optimism that Reed Richards will devise a more effective strategy in their battle against Doctor Doom.

Reed Richards Intended To Teleport The Entire Planet

The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduced Galactus to the MCU, a powerful, godlike being whose main goal is to devour planets in a never-ending quest to satisfy his immense hunger. Galactus hadn’t been well-represented in his first movie appearance in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, so Ralph Ineson’s version, which stayed true to the comics, was a great addition to the already highly successful movie series. This version accurately showed how Galactus destroys planets to absorb their energy. He does this using his massive ship, Taa II, which breaks planets apart before he takes their energy.

As expected, Galactus turns his attention to Earth when Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer from Earth-828, announces his coming. This alerts Earth’s defenders, the Fantastic Four, who try to convince the powerful being to hold back. However, Galactus refuses, stating he’ll only spare Earth if they give him Franklin Richards. This forces the Fantastic Four to look for other ways to save their planet. It’s then that Reed Richards proposes a daring solution: teleporting the entire planet outside of Galactus’s range.

He tried to accomplish this with his newest creation, the Bridge. Although the MCU’sversion of the Bridge had a simpler purpose, its planned size was, to be honest, unbelievably large.

Reed Richards’ Plan Was Frankly Ridiculous

For his plan to succeed, Reed needed a huge amount of power, and amazingly, he persuaded every country on Earth to reduce their energy usage to fuel the teleportation towers that had sprung up everywhere. While convincing the world to cooperate showed the Fantastic Four’s positive impact, it’s hard to ignore how unrealistic the plan was when you look at the bigger picture. In the end, many details make you wonder about Reed’s supposed genius and reveal some significant plot holes. It raises questions about whether his intelligence is truly incomparable.

For instance, the Bridge is first shown when Reed uses it to teleport an egg between two devices, implying that a Bridge must also exist where the egg is being sent. Because there isn’t a scene depicting the team setting up receiving towers on the planets they plan to visit, the viewers are expected to simply ignore this detail. Instead, the story asks us to assume it’s a result of Reed’s intelligence and his ability to solve problems as they arise.

Even within the bounds of a fantastical story, the idea of teleporting the entire planet stretches credibility. Earth occupies a truly special place in our solar system – it’s perfectly positioned relative to the sun to sustain life. To find an identical location in another solar system, and then move the entire planet across vast light-years, feels a bit too far-fetched, even for a film that includes a planet-devouring cosmic being. The risks and logistical challenges are simply unbelievable.

Another major problem is shown in the final part of The Fantastic Four: First Steps itself. The idea of depending on many teleportation towers all over the world isn’t realistic. The plan fails when the Silver Surfer quickly flies around the Earth, destroying each tower and, with it, humanity’s chance of surviving. Even if the very powerful Shalla-Bal hadn’t intervened, it’s likely that one of the groups who worshipped Galactus after the Silver Surfer announced his arrival could have found a way to damage these towers as well.

Reed Richards Could Have Cooked Up A Much Better Plan

In the end, the Fantastic Four had to use their backup plan: attracting Galactus and then teleporting him away from Earth, using the last tower still standing. Though they succeeded, it was a close call and cost Sue Storm her life, which raises the question of why this wasn’t their first choice. If the team was capable of building multiple towers around the globe, it seems logical they could have moved those towers to meet Galactus in space instead.

This would have prevented the dangers of Galactus arriving on Earth, and would have also bought them more time if their first plan hadn’t worked, considering how long it took for Galactus to even reach Earth. Or, as many people guessed before the event, the Bridge could have functioned more like its comic book counterpart – a device allowing Reed Richards to move Earth’s population to an entirely different universe.

Perhaps building a fleet of escape ships, similar to the Life Raft used by the Future Foundation in Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars, would have been a more practical solution, and certainly something a genius could have achieved. The Future Foundation already has a rocket capable of deep-space travel and a faster-than-light docking station, allowing them to explore the universe for planets like Earth that could support life.

Of course, there’s the device that would have stayed truer to the comic books: the Ultimate Nullifier. While it wasn’t included in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, this interesting device played a key role in stopping Galactus when he first faced the Fantastic Four in Marvel Comics. This small, but incredibly powerful, device was made by a Watcher – beings we’ve already seen in the MCU – and was eventually found on Taa II by Johnny Storm. Using this device in the movie might have seemed like an easy fix, but it would have been just as plausible as Reed’s original plan.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Risked Tarnishing Reed’s Reputation

Because The Fantastic Four: First Steps features such a well-known and loved team, there was a lot of expectation to portray Reed Richards, one of Marvel’s most intelligent characters, correctly. Fortunately, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and especially Pedro Pascal’s performance, generally succeeded in doing so.

The MCU’s Reed Richards is realistically shown as being consumed by his work, sometimes neglecting his family as a result. His incredible intelligence also compels him to make tough choices, even if they’re regrettable, believing they’re for the greater good of everyone. This mirrors the difficult situations he and other exceptionally intelligent heroes faced during the Time Runs Out storyline in Marvel Comics. There, he secretly worked with the Illuminati, contemplating the destruction of alternate realities to save their own universe (though they eventually decided against it).

I have to admit, while I get that Reed’s plan to just teleport the entire planet to escape Galactus bought them some time, it feels a little…out there. It makes me wonder if he’s still the smartest man in the world, you know? I mean, he did what he could with what he had – no Ultimate Nullifier or anything like that to actually *stop* Galactus – and everything *did* move the story forward. But honestly, looking back, it feels like there were a lot of other options he could have explored. It’s a bit of a risk to his reputation, in my opinion.

Fortunately, Marvel Studios still has ample opportunity to establish Reed Richards as their most intelligent character to date. Reed and the rest of the Fantastic Four are expected to be key players in the concluding chapters of the Multiverse Saga, specifically in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. We can anticipate that this will involve Reed developing complex and plausible strategies to combat Dr. Doom. Considering what we’ve seen so far, this will probably start with him perfecting multiversal travel as the team journeys towards the MCU’s primary Earth, designated Earth-616.

Read More

2025-10-02 04:43