Warning: SPOILERS for The Fantastic Four: First Steps are ahead!
Besides being set on an Earth in the 1960s where technology is a lot more advanced than what we had back then and showing Galactus as an actual giant walking and talking entity, another big way The Fantastic Four: First Steps distinguished itself from the previous Fantastic Four movies was by using Franklin Richards. Not only was Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s son born in the middle of the 2025 movie release, he also had the same reality-bending powers that he does in the comics. In fact, that’s the reason Galactus came to Earth-828 in the first place!
Well, this was just the start of Franklin’s journey in the MCU, as the Fantastic Four: First Steps mid-credits scene teased Doctor Doom’s interest in the boy. This will be explored more in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday, which, along with Avengers: Secret Wars, will bring the Multiverse Saga to a close. But the more I think about Franklin’s introduction in First Steps, the more I’m convinced that he’s not just tagging along with his parents and uncles in these next Avengers movies. Rather, he’s going to play an integral role in these upcoming Marvel movies.
What Happens To Franklin In First Steps’ Mid-Credits Scene
With the ending of The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ main story briefly checking in with the team a year after Galactus and Silver Surfer were banished from Earth, the movie’s mid-credits scene picks up four years after that, placing Franklin around about five years old. After she’s done reading a book to her son, Sue goes to the other side of the room to pick up another one of his favorites (not Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species). When she turns around though, Franklin is standing in front of a mysterious man in a green cloak holding a metal mask.
This man is, of course, Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis in the comics. While he didn’t factor into the events of First Steps, Robert Downey Jr.’s version of Doom has taken over from Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror as the lead antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s also been confirmed that this scene was shot by directors Joe and Anthony Russo during filming on Doomsday rather than as part of the First Steps’ production.
There’s An Interesting Fan Theory About Doctor Doom And Doom And Franklin
The sight of Franklin Richards reaching up to touch Doctor Doom’s unobscured face caught my attention, as Doom almost takes off his metal mask because of his scarred visage. So I decided to see what other people thought of this Fantastic Four: First Steps moment and stumbled across an interesting theory posited in various places, including Reddit: that Franklin will be the reason Doom looks like Tony Stark.
The idea is that Franklin will manipulate Franklin into changing his face so that he can fool the Avengers and other heroes on Earth-616. It’s a fascinating idea, although I wonder if it’s not so much about transforming Doom’s face, but rather just healing his scars if Robert Downey Jr.’s version of the character is a Tony Stark variant. Regardless, I think there’s a more important reason that Franklin is necessary to the story being told across Doomsday and Secret Wars.
I Think Franklin Will Substitute For Another Character From 2015’s Secret Wars
There are two Marvel Comics storylines known as Secret Wars, with both premises involving locations called Battleworld. Although Avengers: Secret Wars will incorporate plot elements from both storylines, given that we’re still in the Multiverse Saga, it’s reasonable to assume that the movie will be more influenced by the 2015 event. That story saw Doctor Doom gaining godlike powers and merging various Earths into one Battleworld. While the multiverse was restored by the end, the comics’ Earth-616 and elements of the original Ultimate Universe were merged, most notably Miles Morales and his family and friends.
It was revealed during 2015’s Secret Wars that Victor von Doom become God Emperor Doom when he channeled the power of Earth-616’s Molecule Man, who’d absorbed the powers of his counterparts from other universes when they were destroyed in an effort to kill the Beyonders. It was only when Molecule Man was freed and he transferred his enhanced power to Mister Fantastic that the multiverse was restored. But I don’t think we’ll be seeing Molecule Man in the MCU.
Rather, I think that Franklin Richards will be the power source for whatever scheme Doctor Doom has concocted for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, whether that be forming his own Battleworld or reshaping the multiverse in some other way. Maybe Doom simply continues manipulating the boy after kidnapping him, or maybe he finds a way to siphon off Franklin’s power directly into himself. Either way, without Franklin, the events of Doomsday and Secret Wars don’t happen.
What This Could Mean For The Future Of The MCU
Needless to say that when all is said and done, Doctor Doom will be defeated by the end of Secret Wars, just like Thanos was in Avengers: Endgame. It’s also safe to assume that Franklin will be returned to his parents safe and sound. However, that doesn’t mean everything will be back to normal by the time the Multiverse Saga has concluded.
Quite the contrary, as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige described Secret Wars to Variety as a “reset” of the MCU and indicated there will eventually come a time when characters like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are recast. Then there’s the Jake Schreier-directed X-Men reboot in development, which will presumably feature the mutant superheroes in the same main MCU timeline following our reunion with various versions of these characters from 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film series.
However the MCU ends looking post-Secret Wars, my money is on Franklin Richards being responsible for any changes that occur. Ok, let me rephrase: Franklin’s powers will be responsible, except this time, it’s another individual who’s harnessing them to undo whatever Doctor Doom did. Maybe it’s Reed Richards who does it like he did in the comics with Molecule Man’s power, or maybe it’s someone else. Though now that I think about it, I suppose it’s also possible that Franklin’s intelligence could also increase to a point where he could handle this himself.
Either way, we’ll have him to thank for closing out one MCU era and ushering in a new one. Alas, since Avengers: Doomsday doesn’t come out until December 18 on the 2026 movies schedule, and Avengers: Secret Wars following on December 17, 2027, it’ll be a while until we learn if my speculation is on the money or not.
