The MCU’s New Most Powerful Hero Creates 2 Major Problems for the Avengers

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Marvel is facing a recurring issue: introducing heroes who are so powerful they threaten to overshadow everything else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We recently saw this with the Sentry, whose world-destroying abilities created a challenge for writers to keep him contained and made it difficult to create believable villains. This isn’t new – Marvel previously toned down the Hulk’s power by giving Bruce Banner more control. Now, the MCU has introduced another hero who appears to be even more powerful, potentially repeating this pattern.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to maintain a balance of power to introduce compelling villains, and this new hero throws that balance off. Marvel and the Avengers will need to address this issue before it fundamentally changes the entire movie universe.

Franklin Richards is the Most Overpowered Character in the MCU

Within Marvel Comics, Franklin Richards is arguably the most powerful hero when operating at his full potential. He possesses the incredible ability to create entire universes and lifeforms from nothing. In several Fantastic Four comics, the beings he’s created actually worship him as a god – a fitting title, considering he’s their creator. He once even constructed an entirely new Earth to resurrect his family, the Avengers, and the Hulk after they were seemingly defeated by the X-Men villain Onslaught. That’s just how immense his power is.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has established Franklin Richards as incredibly powerful. In the comic The Fantastic Four: First Steps, he demonstrated this by bringing his mother, Susan Storm Richards, back to life after she was killed fighting Galactus. This ability to resurrect someone instantly puts him at the top of the power scale in the MCU, surpassing all the Avengers – with Scarlet Witch being the only possible exception.

Franklin’s beginnings are consistent between the comic books and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film. In the comics, Susan Storm was pregnant with him when she became trapped in the Negative Zone during childbirth. The combination of her and Reed’s cosmic abilities with the Negative Zone’s energy resulted in a child with immense power – capable of creating worlds. In the MCU, he was born during the return trip from encountering Galactus, and his powers over life and death likely stemmed from a similar combination of cosmic energies.

The MCU Has to Find a Way to Nerf Franklin Richards’ Powers

Fortunately, Franklin Richards is still very young, meaning while his abilities are powerful, they aren’t fully developed and he likely can’t control them well. But the post-credit scene in The Fantastic Four: First Steps shows Doctor Doom with Franklin, leading many to believe Doom will exploit Franklin’s powers to build Battleworld, which is expected to be the setting for Secret Wars. If Doom does this, it could potentially weaken Franklin’s powers when he tries to use them himself.

Marvel Comics demonstrated how to limit powerful abilities. Reed Richards attempted to suppress his son Franklin’s powers as an infant, nearly destroying his marriage in the process. While Franklin’s abilities did return, they were no longer boundless. He once created the illusion of being a mutant by simply willing it to be true, but this illusion vanished after a mission that temporarily removed his powers altogether. Franklin discovered that overusing his abilities could ultimately eliminate them.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe might use Franklin Richards’ powers to build Battleworld, and then have his father help restore Earth afterward. This could drain Franklin of his abilities, saving them for when the MCU needs him to fight future dangers. Similar to how Sentry avoids using his powers because of The Void, Franklin could lose his powers after Avengers: Secret Wars to keep the playing field balanced in subsequent movies.

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2025-10-26 21:10