It is only a matter of time before the Marvel Comics character, Reed Richards, is officially added to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The Fantastic Four movie has already been announced by Marvel Studios, and the character has already made a cameo appearance in the form of a multiversal variant.
Although the character is most likely going to appear as the heroic leader of Marvel’s First Family, his DC crossover proves that the MCU needs him as a villain instead. Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic, is perhaps the smartest person in the Marvel Universe and the leader of the Fantastic Four. Throughout most of his Marvel Comics career, Reed has been a hero who commits his mind and body to the pursuit of science and planetary protection.
Reed Richards’ DC Crossover Proves the MCU Needs Him… As a Villain
However, there are many different versions of Reed throughout the multiverse, with most of them claiming seats on the multiversal Council of Reeds. One of these versions is the Maker, who is the result of a Reed Richards who reached his breaking point and was twisted into a sinister villain.
The Maker is the perfect example of Reed Richards breaking bad, but he certainly isn’t the only one, nor was he the first. Reed Richards has been a Fantastic Four villain long before the Maker, as shown in the Amalgam Universe comic Spider-Boy #1 by Karl Kesel and Mike Wieringo.
Reed Richards is arguably the smartest man in the universe, and the times he’s gone bad shows that he’s also the most ruthless. His go-to seems to be using symbiotes for his own gain, as two separate evil versions of the character have done so, but his true talent is intellectual manipulation. Reed Richards always starts off as a hero before falling into villainy, with his DC crossover variant as well as the Maker being the best examples of that being true. This is absolutely the journey Reed Richards’ character should go on when he arrives in the MCU as his villainous potential is too great to not be tapped into.
It’s only a matter of time before Reed Richards is officially added to the plethora of Marvel Comics characters within the MCU. Not only has the character already made a cameo appearance in the form of a multiversal variant, but the Fantastic Four movie has already been announced by Marvel Studios. While Reed Richards is most likely going to appear as the heroic leader of Marvel’s First Family, the character’s DC crossover actually proves that the MCU needs him as a villain instead (and this ultimate crossover wasn’t the only time).
Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic is the leader of the Fantastic Four as well as perhaps the smartest person in the Marvel Universe. Throughout most of his Marvel Comics career, Reed has been a hero who commits his mind and body to the pursuit of science and planetary protection. While Reed won’t be caught going out on patrol like, say, Daredevil or Spider-Man, he is the man to call when the entire planet is in danger. That is, unless he is the reason behind that danger in the first place. Throughout the multiverse, there are many different versions of Reed–with most of them claiming seats on the multiversal Council of Reeds–including one from the Ultimate Universe: the Maker. The Maker is the result of a Reed Richards who reached his breaking point, and was twisted into a sinister villain. While the Maker is the perfect example of Reed Richards breaking bad, he certainly isn’t the only one–nor was he the first.
Reed Richards was a Fantastic Four Villain LONG Before The Maker
In the Amalgam Universe comic Spider-Boy #1 by Karl Kesel and Mike Wieringo, the amalgamation of Scarlet Spider and Superboy–Spider-Boy–is fighting the amalgamation of Carnage and Bizarro, Bizarnage. This is happening in the laboratory of the Challengers of the Fantastic (this universe’s Fantastic Four), as Bizarnage is a part of a scientific research study known as Project Cadmus. Bizarnage was an interdimensional symbiote, and the havoc he could have wrought upon the Earth would have been catastrophic. Thankfully, Spider-Boy was able to contain the symbiote once more, and leave the scene without anyone getting hurt. However, the true villain behind the attack was still at large: Reed Richards.
The Amalgam Universe introduced the idea of Reed Richards using a symbiote for his own villainous agenda, which is something the Maker can also say. In 2018’s Venom Vol. 4, Venom is manipulated by the Maker into helping him repair his synthetic symbiote from the Ultimate Universe. The Maker–with the help of the Council of Reeds–was able to make a multiversal portal, as he wished to travel from Earth-616 to his original Earth-1610 and rebuild the world in his image. To do that, he needed to be bonded with a symbiote, and using Venom to repair his own was his only option. In the end, the Maker was successful, and it is only a matter of time before the true nature of his villainy presents itself. The fact that two separate versions of an evil Reed Richards used a symbiote is an interesting constant. Though, the same can be said for his penchant for using and manipulating superheroes–with Spider-Boy and Venom being just two examples–which would be perfect if adapted in the MCU.
Reed Richards is arguably the smartest man in the universe, and the times he’s gone bad shows that he’s also the most ruthless. His go-to seems to be using symbiotes for his own gain, as two separate evil versions of the character have done so, but his true talent is intellectual manipulation. Reed Richards always starts off as a hero before falling into villainy, with his DC crossover variant as well as the Maker being the best examples of that being true. This is absolutely the journey Reed Richards’ character should go on when he arrives in the MCUas his villainous potential is too great to not be tapped into.
