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It's Too Late - The MCU Has Already Ruined Mister Fantastic
The plan to introduce Mister Fantastic into the MCU is great, but Phase 6's Fantastic Four is far too late, especially as the franchise has already ruined any chance it had of doing the character justice. Though the Fantastic Four are among the most iconic of all Marvel heroes, they have yet to be properly introduced into the MCU. This is ultimately for the same reason that other Marvel heroes, such as the X-Men, haven't played a part in the MCU to date: the rights to the characters were owned by another studio and have only recently reverted back to Marvel.
The release of the MCU's Fantastic Four movie is still a way off yet, with the film currently slated for November 2024. However, as the MCU is an ever-shifting, ever-growing organism, it's safe to say that though the team's appearance is on the horizon, other projects and stories are Marvel's current priority. While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured the character's first appearance in the franchise, that film's version of Reed Richards was that of Earth-838, and it's unclear whether the longtime fan-casting pick of John Krasinski will return to play Mister Fantastic for the MCU's fully-canon Earth-616.
The necessity of bringing Reed Richards into the MCU cannot be understated, as he's an incredibly influential and important character within the Marvel universe. However, introducing the character as late as Phase 6 — especially after the nature of his short-lived role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Illuminati — only serves to highlight just how much the MCU has already ruined its chances at doing Mister Fantastic justice. The many narrative avenues already explored by the MCU actually serve to undermine the most important aspects of Reed Richards' character, meaning that the MCU has already ruined its best version of Mister Fantastic.
One Of Reed Richard's Biggest Marvel Roles Has Already Been Filled
A significant part of how the MCU pre-emptively ruined Mister Fantastic is through the importance placed on another hero. After 2008's Iron Man laid the foundation for the entire MCU, Tony Stark was quickly elevated from one of Marvel's B-list heroes to one of its most recognizable and iconic leaders. His role as one of the MCU's most prominent Avengers led to him creating a number of important technologies and inventing solutions to a large number of the Avengers' problems.
In making Iron Man such a prominent and important character, the MCU risks making Reed Richards a Tony Stark replacement. Richards' traditional role within the Marvel universe is similar to Stark's in the MCU: he's a brilliant scientist and inventor. With Stark tech being such a major component of the MCU's world even after his death in Avengers: Endgame, it would appear that the franchise will have a tough time ever making Reed Richards as important as Tony Stark. What's more, Richards' role as a high-profile member of the Avengers may also be a tough sell, with the character being introduced so much later than the majority of the team's other members. Ultimately, Mister Fantastic's place within the wider MCU has already been usurped in a number of ways, and that can only hurt the franchise's version of the character.
Doctor Strange Already Wasted Mister Fantastic Once (And Ruined Him For Earth-616)
With John Krasinski's Mister Fantastic acting as the character's informal introduction into the MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness presents a number of issues for Reed Richards' future. Introduced as a powerful hero and prominent member of Earth-838's Illuminati, Mister Fantastic is teased as something of a big deal. He's then destroyed by the Scarlet Witch with relative ease, making him seem a particularly weak and ineffective hero. As Krasinski's Multiverse of Madness hero isn't the same character who will be introduced into the MCU proper, this shouldn't be a problem, but unfortunately, the subtext of his brief appearance will be a barrier to the success of the MCU's real Mister Fantastic.
Though the Illuminati's MCU future seems impossible, Mister Fantastic's role within the Earth-838 team hints at a darker side to the hero that Earth-616 may need to address. By having him act as an ineffective pseudo-villain and then killing him unceremoniously, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness didn't just waste Mister Fantastic, it ruined his MCU future. When the character eventually appears in the MCU proper — whether he's played by John Krasinski or not — he'll forever be tainted by Multiverse of Madness's treatment of his variant. There's also the added complication of Krasinski's fan-casting: the actor has long been the top pick to play Reed Richards in the MCU, but the Doctor Strange sequel may have irreparably damaged his ability to do so convincingly. Even so, replacing Krasinski will be tough, because Marvel has already acknowledged, and sort of catered to, that fan-casting.
Mister Fantastic Wasn't Part Of The Infinity Saga (But Should Have Been)
It's well-established that there were heroes missing from Avengers: Endgame's final battle, but the exclusion of the Fantastic Four could be more problematic than it seems. As the Fantastic Four are among Marvel's most important heroes, their omission from the biggest event of the franchise so far will be a permanent black mark on their story within the franchise. Even assuming that the characters don't yet have their powers in the MCU and Phase 6's Fantastic Four will explore their origins, Mister Fantastic should still be one of Earth's most brilliant scientists. Every conceivable solution to his absence from the Infinity Saga ruins the character by failing to do him justice, and it makes it seem as though the MCU is now doomed to sell the character short.
Why There's No Way The MCU Can Redeem Mister Fantastic In Phase 6
The vast majority of the MCU's Fantastic Four movie problems stem from the fact that it's simply too late in the franchise to finally include such an important set of heroes. Mister Fantastic in particular plays a huge role in Marvel's wider continuity, and so including him only after the Infinity Saga and Tony Stark's sacrifice makes him feel less like an original hero and more of a replacement. This just doesn't do the character justice — particularly as the MCU will finish both Phase 4 and Phase 5 before the Fantastic Four are ever introduced. Though the worst of this mistake was out of Marvel's hands, with the rights to the characters being with Fox until the MCU was well-underway, there's just no good way to establish the importance of Mister Fantastic in the MCU with Fantastic Four coming so far down the line.
