The MCU’s New MacGuffin: Franklin Richards And The Power Cosmic

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The movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps lays the groundwork for future Avengers films, notably by introducing what will replace the Infinity Stones. The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t quite matched the popularity it had before Avengers: Endgame, and one reason is that the current Multiverse Saga hasn’t had a clear, overarching story to tie everything together.

The Infinity Stones were central to connecting all the stories in the Infinity Saga. They acted as the main driving force of the plot, giving characters reasons to act and creating conflicts throughout the series. We saw hints of each Stone in earlier movies, building up to Thanos’s quest to collect them all in Avengers: Infinity War.

With the Infinity Stones no longer driving the story, the Marvel Cinematic Universe needed a new central element to tie everything together. The film First Steps seems to have provided that, introducing Franklin Richards, the son of Sue Storm and Reed Richards. He could be the crucial piece in the upcoming fight across the multiverse.

Franklin Richards Is The MCU’s New MacGuffin

Franklin Richards was central to the story in First Steps, even though the main conflict revolved around the Fantastic Four battling Galactus. Galactus wasn’t just trying to destroy the planet; he was specifically after Franklin, who, as Galactus explains, has incredible cosmic power and could potentially take over as the new Devourer of Worlds.

In Marvel Comics, Reed and Sue Richards’ son is incredibly powerful, ranking among the strongest beings in the universe. He can create entire universes, bend reality to his will, and read minds. He even has the power to bring people back to life, as seen when he rescues his mother after a major battle.

The movie ends with a scene showing Victor Von Doom visiting Franklin, and he even removes his mask so Franklin can see his face. Considering Doom’s ambition, he probably wants to exploit Franklin’s incredible powers for his own evil schemes. We’ll find out what he’s planning in Doomsday, but many fans are wondering why he’s so interested in the son of Sue and Reed Richards.

The upcoming ‘Doomsday’ event is expected to set the stage for the ‘Secret Wars’ storyline in 2027. This could involve Doctor Doom creating Battleworld, a war-torn planet where he rules as a supreme leader. Because the Beyonders haven’t appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet, Doom might use the reality-bending powers of Franklin Richards to construct Battleworld.

Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking: there’s a real chance Franklin, that kid with crazy powers, might be the key to Doctor Doom hopping between universes. We all saw that Thunderbolts scene hinting at the Fantastic Four showing up, right? But what if that was a clever fake-out? I’ve got a theory that it wasn’t the FF on that ship at all, but actually Doom and Franklin, using Franklin’s abilities to jump across the multiverse. It would explain how Doom could end up on our Earth – Earth-616 – and really set up a huge storyline!

The ending scene of The Fantastic Four movie strongly suggests Franklin Richards will be a major player in future Marvel stories. He could be the link between different groups of heroes – like the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four – who are all vying to understand and control his incredible abilities. While Thanos used the Infinity Stones to dominate the universe, Franklin might hold the power to control the entire multiverse.

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2025-11-07 04:04