The Fantastic Four Is Powerful, But Sue Storm's Son Makes Most Marvel Heroes Look Weak

Marvel fans are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Fantastic Four: First Steps. Those who viewed the trailer for the movie were quick to praise the comic accuracy that Fantastic Four: First Stepspromises. This accuracy, in turn, has kept fans excited and particularly curious about how true to the comics the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be.

If Fantastic Four: First Steps truly seeks to be comic-accurate, then the movie could introduce, for the first time onscreen, the son of Sue Storm and Reed Richards: Franklin Richards. Franklin Richards is the first child of Reed and Sue, and the older brother of their daughter, Valeria Richards (named after Doctor Doom). He also happens to be among the most powerful characters in the entire Marvel Universe.

Franklin and Valeria Richards with Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm in Marvel Comics

To truly understand just how powerful Franklin Richards is - and why - one must first trace his history back to his on-panel debut 56 years ago.

Franklin Richard's Origins with the Fantastic Four, Explained

First Appearance: Fantastic Four Annual #6 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, and Sam Rosen

Although Franklin Richards may not be as widely known within the mainstream as his family, he debuted in the comics only eight years after the Fantastic Four did in Fantastic Four Annual #6 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. In fact, his birth is directly tied to their origin story. The space mission gone wrong that gifted The Fantastic Four their powers also induced Sue Storm with an excessive dosage of cosmic radiation. When she and Reed Richards became pregnant with their first child, the cosmic rays in her system proved dangerous enough to risk killing her and her child.

To save her, Mister Fantastic travels to the Negative Zone with the Human Torch and the Thing to find an element that could save her life: Element X. Despite trials and tribulations, Reed gets what he needs, returning to his wife and helping her deliver a healthy child. However, while healthy, the boy is anything but normal. The cosmic radiation that Sue Storm and the rest of the Fantastic Four were subjected to resulted in Franklin being born a mutant - like the X-Men.

Franklin Richards Is Easily the Fantastic Four's Most Powerful Member

Franklin's Powers and Abilities, Explained

Franklin Richards's list of abilities is practically endless, and he started manifesting them as early as when he was a toddler. He slowly started to manifest psionic abilities, but the natural development process for his powers was interrupted during an encounter with Annihilus, the villain behind Marvel's best crossover event. He put the boy in a cosmic ray gene transmitter that forced Franklin to release the full extent of his psionic abilities before he was ready, showing that he has enough psionic power to destroy the entire planet if not neutralized.

The explosion of powers harbored within him put Franklin in a coma for a time, until he awoke in one last psychic assault to defeat Ultron-7. In doing so, his powers suddenly became dormant, allowing him to freely live as a normal human child. Small hints of these powers would eventually manifest unconsciously and in small spurts, and he slowly gained new abilities with each spurt, including precognitive abilities that would develop in his dreams when he was a member of the Power Pack team.

The power that Franklin exudes has established him as an Omega-level hero.

Franklin's true power unlocked when it was revealed that Franklin was capable of warping reality and even creating new realities. While his mutant status was later retconned, the power that he exudes has established him as an Omega-level hero. He's been shown to fly, teleport, create energy constructs, manipulate molecules and reality itself, and above all else, serve as a telepath. There's very little that Franklin Richards can't do, and what he's been shown to do highlights his all-encompassing power. He's even more powerful than Galactus, as he once made the cosmic god into his Herald.

Should MCU Fans Expect Franklin Richards in Fantastic Four: First Steps?

What His Comics History Could Mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe

There is a strong possibility that Franklin Richards makes his MCU debut in Fantastic Four: First Steps. It has been speculated that the subtitle, First Steps, could refer to a child taking their first steps. In this case, the children of the Fantastic Four (at least Franklin, seeing as he's canonically the oldest) could be born in this movie. In addition, Invisible Woman's actress, Vanessa Kirby, has been seen on set holding a baby, leading to speculation that Sue will be giving birth to Franklin in this movie.

Franklin Richards tames Galactus in Fantastic Four: Life Story by Mark Russell and Sean Izaakse, which is available now both digitally and in a collected edition from Marvel Comics.

If Marvel Studios chooses to stay true to the comics, then the movies could introduce its next godlike being. The First Steps trailer teases an appearance from Galactus, and if Galactus' hypothetical encounter with Franklin in a movie is anything like their aforementioned interaction in the comics, then Franklin could be Earth's last hope for humanity against the cosmic threat. Time will tell, but in the meantime, readers can follow Franklin's story in the Fantastic Four comic books ahead of his possible debut in First Steps.

Fantastic Four Annual #6 is available now from Marvel Comics.