Fantastic Four: First Steps mostly focuses on its titular group, but Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing aren’t the only heroes introduced in the film. One major player doesn’t get a superhero name, but is a pretty significant one in Marvel’s comics. Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, is presented as a god-like being in the making. Galactus believes the infant can usurp the planet-eating hunger he has been cursed with, and that’s before he’s actually seen him do anything. He was still in utero at that point. If you’re not a comics person and are wondering what’s up with the little tike, we’re here to unwrap the mystery First Steps swaddles him in.
Galactus gestures at Franklin’s potential throughout the movie, but we only get a small glimpse of it in action after Invisible Woman dies in the final battle. She uses so much of her power to push Galactus through a portal to the other side of the galaxy that she overexerts herself and dies. As the rest of the Fantastic Four mourn her, Reed puts their son on her chest to say goodbye, and then he miraculously resuscitates her. The parents spend most of the movie worried that Franklin might be some kind of monster like Galactus, but his lone power we see on display doesn’t seem malevolent at all.
We then see Franklin a few years later in the post-credits scene, but we don’t see any more powers on display. He definitely seems to have inherited his parents’ genius, though, as the kid is reading about scientific theories before he’s even started kindergarten. So, what can we expect from Franklin further down the line in the MCU? Let’s look at the source material.
Franklin has gone by several aliases throughout Marvel history, but most recently he goes by Powerhouse. In all honesty, though, this kid is less of a superhero and more of an all-powerful god-like presence in the universe. Franklin is able to literally warp realities with a thought, and that means he creates energy and can change molecular structures and manipulate the forces of nature. He can even create pocket universes. If you scroll down to the Powers section of his Marvel wiki page, you’ll find an exhaustive list of feats this kid is capable of. He has basically limitless power, so yeah, reviving his dead mom was probably nothing to him. Franklin is bringing people back from the dead while he’s in diapers. Who knows what he’ll be capable of when he’s forming full sentences or making adult decisions down the line?
That seemingly limitless power has made Franklin a controversial figure in the Marvel fandom. Some argue that he’s too powerful, sometimes letting him serve as a disruptive deus ex machina in a given narrative. The substance of his superpowered nature has also been inconsistent (he’s been considered a mutant like the X-Men at some points, but that’s been retconned in later comics), which makes him harder to nail down at a time when people are trying to quantify everything in a wiki. While those frustrations are valid, Franklin can also be a fascinating character to watch struggle with his all-encompassing powers, especially as a young child with childlike needs and wants. We’ll likely see him and his family struggling with this in future films, whether that’s in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday or the inevitable follow-up films. For now, he’s just a little guy who saved his mama, but his limitless potential could change the MCU forever.