The MCU just set up how an evil Mister Fantastic can play a role in the franchise according to one interesting The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie theory. The debut of the MCU’s Fantastic Four is a huge moment for the franchise – both because of how long fans have waited, and because of how star-studded the team’s castings are.

The debut of the Fantastic Four happening in the Multiverse Saga raises the possibility for some of the team’s villainous variants to emerge shortly after in upcoming MCU movies. While Sue Storm actor Vanessa Kirby has spoken about hoping Malice will enter the franchise, the team’s debut makes it easier for one other antagonistic variant to debut.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Teases How Things Could Have Gone Wrong For Mister Fantastic

The Fantastic Four: First Steps does a solid job of depicting Reed Richards in all his complicated glory. Mister Fantastic’s heroism, determination, and love for his family are at the forefront of this depiction, but the 2025 MCU movie also takes care to show the scientist’s fears and concerns, and his efforts to ensure his plans mirror his own moral compᴀss.

Reed makes it clear he considers every eventuality in the scenarios he and his family face – no matter how dire or awful – in order to try and protect his world and family during a conversation where Sue notes she knows Reed has considered sacrificing Franklin. Reed agrees that he has, and is suitably horrified by having done so.

Mister Fantastic also alludes to his own inner conflict – and his own intense and seemingly unfair judgement of himself – further when taking care of Franklin by himself, telling his infant son:

I don’t want you to be like me. There’s something wrong with me, always has been.

This speaks to Reed’s inner guilt, and also how important the love of his family is in terms of showing him there isn’t something wrong with him, and taking him out of this dark inner place – as evidenced by Ben Grimm consoling Reed when he blames himself for their transformations, and via things like their routine meals and bonding times.

While The Fantastic Four: First Steps uses all of this to demonstrate Mister Fantastic as one of the MCU’s most well-intentioned and effective heroes, the context of this taking place in the Multiverse Saga is notable. As such, it’s no surprise theories have emerged showing how this same setup could have a different endgame in another universe.

The MCU’s Multiverse Would Clearly Have A Version Of Mister Fantastic’s Villain Form

In the same way Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revealed a variant of Scarlet Witch who still had her family to show how Wanda’s villain arc was born from her losing her own, The Fantastic Four: First Steps seems to underline how dark things could get for Reed Richards were anything to happen to his family.

Indeed, it’s worth noting that – much as Scarlet Witch has had villainous comic turns – Marvel’s comic world has a fully villainous Mister Fantastic variant known as The Maker. This version of Richards also starts out as Mister Fantastic, though he’s steadily warped by his desire for control and more distant relationship with the Fantastic Four into a different role.

With this in mind, and theoretically infinite variants of the MCU’s Mister Fantastic out there in various worlds, it seems perhaps par for the course that one universe would see Reed’s family either ᴅᴇᴀᴅ or without their connection to him, and that this could take him down a darker path.

It’s clear Reed’s desire to protect others involves him considering some very grim approaches, and that other versions of the character may not have the support system in place to handle this in a healthy manner. A different Reed may have found himself with no alternative but to sacrifice Franklin, and spiraled into misusing his powers and intellect from there.

Avengers: Doomsday & Avengers: Secret Wars Are Perfectly Set Up For An Evil Mister Fantastic Story

In the build-up to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, there are already theories that villainous variants of several characters – including Captain America, Black Widow, and many more – will appear. This makes sense, as a theoretically limitless multiverse would logically have these variants, especially since they can mirror the comics in this way.

With Robert Downey Jr. now playing a villainous role following his iconic stint in the MCU timeline as Iron Man, this does set a precedent for other actors to potentially reappear in a similar way. This would also be a logical way to ensure Doomsday and Secret Wars mirror the spectacle of the Avengers series’ history at the same time.

Given the 2015 Secret Wars comic story that the MCU’s future appears to at least partially draw from features variants as a core concept – leading to things like the Thor Corps, who are comprised of a range of different versions of the God of Thunder – this approach would be entirely in line with the source material as well.

Altogether, the backdrop for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars currently appears to support the theory of a villainous Mister Fantastic variant being out there in the multiverse – and potentially being impending for the MCU. However, only time will tell whether this theory will bear fruit for the franchise in the near or far future.