Marvel Finally Reveals First Look at the MCU’s New Most Powerful Character

Marvel Studios loves to keep its cards close to the vest when it comes to marketing. In some instances, such as the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, which features a shot of a bunch of heroes, including Hulk, running in Wakanda, moments end up on the cutting room floor. Other times, the powers that be remove and add characters to scenes and moments that they aren’t in during the marketing phase. Thunderbolts* is a great example because Taskmaster appears in various posters and trailer shots despite having a very limited role in the movie. However, the next MCU movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is doing things its own way.

The trailers haven’t revealed too much about the upcoming movie outside of the fact that the public loves the Fantastic Four and Galactus is coming to devour the Earth. One plot point that the marketing has been teasing, though, is that Susan Storm is pregnant. Well, with tickets finally on sale for the movie, Marvel is done beating around the bush, revealing the first look at what may just be the MCU’s newest most powerful character.

To announce that fans can now reserve their seats for First Steps showings in July, Marvel released a short teaser featuring plenty of new footage. The Thing is driving the Fantasti-Car, Human Torch is dropping one of his teammates’ iconic catchphrases, and Silver Surfer finds herself in the middle of the action. But the most interesting shot is of Susan and Reed Richards in bed with a baby.

It’s safe to assume that the child that Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman are looking after is Franklin Richards, a powerful character in the pages of Marvel Comics. He’s probably going to need some time to gain control of his abilities, but when he does, the MCU will never be the same.

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Very Few Characters Will Be Able to Challenge Franklin Richards in the MCU

Due to his parents being exposed to cosmic rays, Franklin is born with incredible gifts. He can make use of telepathy, telekinesis, and even astral projection. However, his calling card is reality warping, which allows him to make just about anything he wants out of thin air. A being of limitless potential, Franklin finds himself on the radar of some pretty powerful characters in the comics, including Celestials, Eternity, and First Steps‘ villain, Galactus.

The trailers for First Steps reveal that Reed believes his work is what causes the Devourer of Worlds to set his sights on Earth. However, there’s a decent chance that Galactus sends the Silver Surfer to the Fantastic Four’s home world because he senses the presence of a new challenger, one that could put him on a diet by stopping him from eating planets. Until First Steps hits theaters, that’s all speculation, but no matter what Galactus’ motivations are, Franklin isn’t going to be a small part of the action.

With the Fantastic Four set to play a major role in Avengers: Doomsday, Franklin is sure to join his family and travel to the Sacred Timeline. He’s not going to be much help as a baby, but the MCU has messed around with aging technology before, such as the fiasco with Scott Lang in Avengers: Endgame. That gives Marvel Studios the option to have its most powerful character come into his own before enough time has passed in-universe to turn him into a full-fledged hero.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025.

Are you glad to finally get a good look at Franklin Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps? How big of a role do you think he will have in the movie? Let us know in the comments below!