Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.The Fantastic Four: First Steps once again touches on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s surprising Fantastic Four death trend; however, the movie also ends it through its most powerful character. With the MCU’s new take on the team, there are now three cinematic Fantastic Four franchises. Deaths are a common part of superhero projects, and the Fantastic Four movies feature plenty.

Interestingly, no member of the Fantastic Four dies in both the 2000s franchise helmed by director Tim Story nor in the ill-received 2015 Fantastic Four reboot. However, in the two franchises, the fate of the team’s main villain is ambiguous. First, the original live-action Doctor Doom was frozen in place before being sent to Latveria. However, he would survive it.

That said, the fate of Toby Kebbell’s Doctor Doom in the 2015 Fantastic Four movie was darker. The Thing punched Doctor Doom directly into an energy beam, causing Victor von Doom to disintegrate. Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom debuts in The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ post-credits scene, but a member of the team is responsible for the MCU’s Fantastic Four death trend.

The MCU Debuted Two Fantastic Four Members Before The Team’s First Movie

The Multiverse Saga Opens The Door From Alternate Versions Of MCU Heroes

While The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the MCU debut of Marvel’s First Family, the movie is not the first project in the franchise to include Fantastic Four members. With the Multiverse Saga, the studio has had the opportunity to explore other universes, bringing back characters from other franchises, as well as making fans’ casting dreams come true.

Both connect to the Fantastic Four’s MCU history. The first member of the team to show up in the MCU was Mister Fantastic. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, John Krasinski was cast as Reed Richards, with his Marvel hero part of Earth-838’s Illuminati. A fan-favorite for Reed, Marvel cast him in the one-off role to make fans happy.

Sadly, the Scarlet Witch brutally murdered Krasinski’s Reed. Another major Fantastic Four death came in the MCU’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. The multiverse-heavy movie featured the return of MCU Captain America star Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, or a variant of him, from the 2000s Fantastic Four movies. Cᴀssandra Nova stripped the Human Torch of his skin, mercilessly killing him.

Marvel Establishes An MCU Fantastic Four Death Trend In First Steps

The Franchise Just Killed A Major Fantastic Four Hero

After the two multiverse members of the Fantastic Four died, I was not expecting any deaths to come in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Well, I was wrong. The Fantastic Four movie’s ending was incredibly emotional, with the MCU team having to fight Galactus to save Franklin Richards. They succeeded due to Sue Storm pushing her powers to the limit.

Vanessa Kirby’s Sue died due to that, which left me shocked. This marks the third time that a Fantastic Four member has died in the MCU, with all the deaths happening in the same project in which said characters debuted. Thankfully, The Fantastic Four: First Steps used its most powerful character to demolish the MCU’s Fantastic Four death trend shortly after Sue died.

The driving force of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is how Galactus wants Franklin Richards due to his immense power, and the heroes try to save Reed and Sue’s son, as well as their Earth, from him. Even though he is still a baby, Franklin is powerful enough to resurrect Sue. As such, the MCU’s Fantastic Four death trend was broken.

The MCU Movie Did Tease Another Possible Fantastic Four Death

Multiple Heroes Were Ready To Sacrifice Themselves

While Sue Storm was the only Fantastic Four member to die on the team’s debut, the movie also teased another possible death. During the final fight, Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm decides to sacrifice himself to save his family. The Human Torch was fully ready to fly Galactus through the portal and go to the edges of the universe with him.

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While traveling through the portal itself would not have killed Johnny, I can imagine that the level of frustration Galactus would present after the ordeal could lead to the villain murdering the MCU hero. However, Julia Garner’s Shalla-Bal, aka the Silver Surfer, intervened, pushing Johnny out of the way and taking Galactus through the portal herself. She saved Johnny.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps has many Marvel Comics connections. One of the biggest is the existence of the Future Foundation. The organization was created in the comics right after the Human Torch was thought to be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. While Franklin Richards broke the MCU’s Fantastic Four death trend by resurrecting Sue, there are enough teases involving Johnny going around.

How The MCU’s Fantastic Four Death Trend Is Unlikely To Continue After First Steps

Franklin Richards Changes The Franchise

Despite the Human Torch death teases, I find it hard to believe that the MCU will really kill a main Fantastic Four member. The Fantastic Four will return in Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars, with the team playing a key role in the upcoming MCU movies. With Avengers: Secret Wars‘ confirmed MCU reboot, the franchise should see veteran heroes recast.

Given how the MCU’s Fantastic Four just entered the franchise, the movie’s cast must be in for the long run. The new iteration of the MCU will need major heroes that the audience is attached to in order for the new actors to ease into their roles. Besides, with Franklin’s powers growing, no team deaths should happen after The Fantastic Four: First Steps.