Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
We knew going in that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would capitalize on its reality-crossing premise by featuring some mind-blowing cameos. The trailers confirmed that Patrick Stewart was involved as Professor X, which seemed like an implicit promise that there was plenty more where that came from. Sure enough, the movie — which is now in theaters — opens the doors to a major new corner of the MCU that fans have been waiting years for.
Yes, Doctor Strange 2 marks the introduction of the Fantastic Four into the MCU for the first time. Well, kind of. Marvel’s First Family are set to star in their own movie, which Spider-Man‘s Jon Watts just stepped away from directing, but this film gave us an initial flavor of what to expect when that reboot gets here. Here’s everything Multiverse of Madness told us about the MCU’s Fantastic Four.
Do the Fantastic Four appear in Doctor Strange 2?
First things first, did the Fantastic Four actually appear in this movie? While Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm were nowhere to be seen, Mr. Fantastic did have a cameo. Here’s how that came about.
When escaping Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and America Chavez journey to Earth-838, a world where the slightly totalitarian superhero team the Illuminati rule. Their members are Stewart’s Charles Xavier, Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), Black Bolt (Anson Mount), and Reed Richards (John Krasinski).
Unfortunately for the Illuminati, Wanda Maximoff follows them to this Earth and single-handedly takes out the entire team, including Reed Richards, by unraveling his elasticated molecules. Earth-838’s Mr. Fantastic may be dead, but his cameo tells us a lot about where Marvel could take the hero next.
John Krasinski is Mr. Fantastic
Yes, after all those fan campaigns, John Krasinski is officially the MCU’s Mr. Fantastic. Or, at least, he’s the Mr. Fantastic Four of this alternate universe. Until we hear more from either Marvel or the actor himself, it’s hard to judge whether Krasinski’s cameo here is intended as a one-off treat for everyone who wanted him to suit up as Reed or if it’s actually setting him up for a continuing role in the franchise.
It’s worth pointing out that all the other variants we meet on Earth-838 — like Mordo, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), and the deceased Strange — are physically identical to their counterparts on Earth-616. So it stands to reason that, once we do finally meet the prime version of Richards, he will likewise be played by Krasinski. That’s what we’re keeping our fingers crossed for, anyway.
The Fantastic Four might date back to the 1960s
If your theater lit up with cheers and applause when Krasinski appeared on screen, you might’ve missed Strange’s intriguing reaction to being introduced to Reed Richards. Upon hearing the name Fantastic Four, the sorcerer jokes something to the effect of “didn’t you have some hits in the ’60s?”
On one level, this could simply be a jab at the silliness of the team’s name, with Strange’s quip serving as a reference to the Beatles, aka the Fab Four. On the other hand, it could also be interpreted as a hint that the group have been around since the 1960s in the mainstream MCU.
This is a theory that fans have been batting around forever, as it would be a neat way for Marvel to retroactively establish the Four as having been part of the MCU all along (like how Captain Marvel revealed Carol Danvers was around in the 1990s).
Reed is married to Sue Storm
While the Invisible Woman isn’t visible in Doctor Strange 2, she is talked about. When Reed attempts to reason with Wanda by mentioning his children (more on them in a moment), Wanda asks him if they have a mother. Reed replies that they do. Though he doesn’t say who his kids’ mom is, we can surely take it as read that it’s Sue Storm.
Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman are the original Marvel power couple and were the first super-duo in the universe to tie the knot, getting married way back in 1965. The Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba versions also got hitched in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Sue doesn’t appear in person, then, but Krasinski’s casting leaves the door open for his real-life spouse Emily Blunt to take on the part in the future.
The Richardses have children
So, yes, not only is this universe’s Mr. Fantastic married, he also has kids. This likely means that Franklin and Valeria Richards, Reed and Sue’s son and daughter in the comics, both exist on Earth-838.
Franklin is the couple’s first born. created in 1968, and is known as one of the most OP individuals in the Marvel universe as he possesses colossal reality-warping abilities. As for his younger sister Valeria, first appearing in 1999, she is a genius tech prodigy who was actually raised by Doctor Doom
Again, while the kids are only currently confirmed for Earth-838, it’s possible this reflects the depiction of the Richards family on Earth-616, too. The Fantastic Four reboot could skip over retelling the team’s origins and jump straight to Reed and Sue having already settled down and raising children together, all while balancing their duties as heroes at the same time.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters now.
Published: May 5, 2022 09:48 pm