Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps makes the case for Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards beating Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man to the тιтle of the MCU’s smartest man alive. In Marvel lore, several people dispute the honor of being the world’s smartest person. Characters like Hank Pym, Shuri, and even Doctor Doom have chased that тιтle at some point.
Iron Man was Earth’s top MCU genius for a long while before his death. Although other brilliant minds rivaled his intellect, Tony Stark was the visionary who pushed the boundaries of the MCU’s technology for years. However, The Fantastic Four: First Steps suggests that an even smarter character is replacing Stark once he arrives in Earth-616 in Avengers: Doomsday.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Makes Reed Richards A More Capable Hero Than Tony Stark
Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards Has A Laundry List Of Extraordinary Inventions
As his debut movie reveals, Earth-828’s Reed Richards invented the flying Fantasticar, unstable-molecule clothing, faster-than-light travel, state-of-the-art medical equipment, and AI, all in the sixties. Reed’s experiments with teleportation become his biggest weapon against Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ ending. And on top of that, Reed singlehandedly keeps New York’s criminals under control using technologically-ᴀssisted patrolling.
The Fantastic Four’s special clothing isn’t limited to their costumes. Johnny Storm’s everyday outfits are also immune to fire.
According to The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ easter eggs, Reed stops villains like Puppet Master and the Wizard without moving a finger. When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner tried something similar, their failed attempt led to Ultron’s uprising. And on Earth-616, space travel mostly relies on the Universal Neural Teleportation Network. Howard Stark’s flying cars apparently never caught on, either.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Alternate Universe Is A Big Factor In Reed Richards’ Intellect
Reed Richars Seems To Be The Only Genius-Level Hero In His Universe
Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards is undeniably his universe’s most brilliant mind. However, Reed doesn’t have too much compeтιтion. Earth-828 is naturally a much more peaceful world than Earth-616. With fewer heroes, villains, and a more united society, Reed Richards has plenty of freedom to experiment and focus on his inventions than Tony Stark, who faced countless threats and conflicts.
The biggest difference between Earth-828 and Earth-616 is evident when the Fantastic Four successfully get a whole city to evacuate quickly and smoothly. Such a complicated strategy definitely wouldn’t work in a more realistic version of New York, like Earth-616’s. Likewise, it may be much easier for Reed Richards’ inventions to be received and encouraged in his world.
Reed and Sue’s second child, Valeria Richards, is also one of the world’s smartest characters in Marvel Comics.
The Fantastic Four’s integration into the MCU’s main timeline may affect Reed Richards deeply at some point in Avengers: Doomsday‘s story. On Earth-616, Mister Fantastic will likely find himself lost without his scientific legacy and the support of the whole world. Iron Man faced more difficulties in his career, but those obstacles made him tougher.
