Reed Richards, aka Mr. Unbelievable, is usually cited as the smartest hero in Marvel Comics. Whereas official rankings debunk that assertion, many followers nonetheless choose to think about the hero this manner. With out Reed, the Unbelievable 4 (as it’s now) would by no means have existed. Then there’s the huge record of creations below Richards’ belt, starting from The Bridge, Demolo-Gun, and the Anti-Matter Injection System. Positive, a few of his creations are a bit extra controversial, like the Unfavourable Zone Jail, however there’s no denying the intelligence behind its building. Nevertheless, as sensible as Reed Richards could also be, he sometimes makes a transfer that can have readers scratching their heads. Usually, these choices are much more complicated due to his well-known intelligence.
At the finish of the day, Reed Richards is a fancy character. He’s human, which implies he has flaws and may make errors. It makes him a compelling character, even because it opens the door to a special argument. As a rule, the errors Reed Richards makes come from a spot of vanity. While you’re typically seen as the smartest particular person on the planet, it’s straightforward to fall below the assumption that you just don’t must have a second pair of eyes look over your newest idea. In the comedian e book universe, this inevitably results in chaos.
1) The Unbelievable 4 Origin Story
We’d be remiss to not begin with the traditional Unbelievable 4 origin story. All of it started when Reed Richards was working to show his faster-than-light rocket would work. When he didn’t get permission to check it, he determined to go for an unauthorized flight. Sounds fairly dangerous, proper? Reed, assured that his new know-how would work, introduced his girlfriend, Sue Storm, alongside for the experience. In flip, her brother, Johnny, insisted on coming. The final a part of the story? Ben Grimm was talked into flying the rocket for this unauthorized launch.
The remainder, as they are saying, is historical past. Solely not. Whereas the Unbelievable 4 did get unimaginable powers from this tour, it’s protected to say that this wasn’t one thing Richards predicted or anticipated. In different phrases, the staff bought actually fortunate. They might simply as simply have died, with no emergency response able to getting there in time (or retrieving their our bodies, for that matter). It was Reed Richards’ vanity that put them in that state of affairs. Their journey since this level has not been all rainbows and sunshine, as Ben Grimm can simply inform any reader prepared to hear.
One might argue all day about how Reed Richards might by no means have predicted this flip of occasions – and admittedly, even an official and approved check run might have had the similar unintended effects. Nevertheless, Reed wouldn’t have had his household on board in that case. Whereas that labored out in the future for the staff, it was a poorly thought-out resolution that might have value the hero-to-be every thing he held pricey.
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2) Protecting Secrets and techniques (From His Spouse and Workforce)
Reed Richards is known for being one among the brightest minds in Marvel Comics. He’s additionally well-known for being a part of the Unbelievable 4 and for his many innovations. Nevertheless, he ought to most likely even be recognized for his tendency to maintain secrets and techniques. Now, protecting categorised intel from the remainder of the world is all superb and good – we don’t have an issue with that. We do have an issue with him protecting secrets and techniques from his spouse and the remainder of the staff. On a couple of event, these secrets and techniques have come round to chew Richards in the again, typically forcing others to pay the worth for him.
For instance, one among Reed’s earliest unilateral actions was taken towards a gaggle of Skrulls. He knew that they couldn’t afford to simply let the Skrulls go, however he additionally didn’t wish to kill them. The answer? He compelled them to rework into cows. He then promptly forgot about them. If he had knowledgeable the staff of this resolution, they might have labored collectively to maintain observe of the Skrull cows. As a substitute, they had been blended in with one other group of cows and summarily processed into burgers.
The depth of Richards’ secret protecting got here to gentle throughout the 2013 Unbelievable 4 run. Early in the story, readers start to really feel that one thing is off, and it doesn’t take Reed lengthy to get to the supply of it – the Unbelievable 4’s powers are slowly killing them. Reasonably than instantly inform his staff (and household!) of this, he waits till the signs get so unhealthy that they will’t be hidden any longer. In different phrases, he waited and let the trauma drive itself to the forefront. Not the biggest option to be taught crucial info, Reed. Sure, the purpose was to repair the downside earlier than they knew one thing was flawed, however a) that isn’t his name to make, and b) that plan didn’t work. Including insult to damage is the proven fact that his household had been working arduous to drive one particular level into Reed’s thoughts: that they deserved to be stored up to date on pertinent info.
We might spend all day itemizing the secrets and techniques Reed Richards has stored, however we gained’t. As a substitute, listed here are just a few different fast examples: he injected his son with nanomachines, buried the physique of Galactus, secretly joined the Illuminati, and created the Council of Reeds. All of which was achieved behind his household’s again. At the end result of many of those plots, Reed finally confronted some penalties, often in the type of the Unbelievable 4 calling him out for (as soon as once more) protecting secrets and techniques from them. It appears it is a lesson Reed is dedicated towards studying, as he’s completely sensible sufficient to retain such a easy lesson.
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3) Taking part in Round With Cloning
The distinction between a superb scientist and a mad scientist is that, often, the former will draw a tough line in the sand. It is a line they’ll by no means cross, irrespective of how dire the state of affairs could appear. Sadly, it appears that evidently Reed Richards might not have made such a tough line for himself, or we’ve but to see what kind of science would make this hero shrink back. For instance, Richards doesn’t have any downside constructing prisons (the Unfavourable Zone), becoming a member of a secret society (the Illuminati), or sending a fellow hero into area to do away with a possible downside (Hulk, resulting in World Warfare Hulk).
He additionally doesn’t have an issue with cloning, because it seems. Throughout the occasions of Marvel’s Civil Warfare, Richards did far more than select a aspect with out consulting his staff or household. He instantly started offering help to the pro-registration aspect. Many actions Reed took throughout this time are nonetheless questioned to at the present time. For instance, he helped create Jail 42 – the notorious jail of the Unfavourable Zone. This jail was designed to carry heroes and others with superpowers, in case that wasn’t apparent. The jail housed many beloved heroes, together with Wiccan, Dagger, Cloak, Hardball, and Iron Fist.
The jail was simply one among many concepts that Reed helped dream up. Along with Tony Stark and Hank Pym (who was actually a Skrull, however that’s a special can of worms), Reed created a cloned model of Thor so as to add to the ranks. That is problematic on the floor, however it will get a lot worse. Thor was believed to be useless at the time, so there was no consent available to this course of.
Naturally, that is the comedian e book world, so the cloning course of was a hit. In different phrases, that they had efficiently created a cybernetic clone of an Asgardian – a terrifying thought! Nevertheless, the staff shortly misplaced management of their Thor, named Ragnarok. He blasted by the ranks, went rogue, and outright killed the hero Goliath. Finally, as a substitute of serving to to assist his aspect, this excessive motion did extra hurt than good, incomes near-instant condemnation from all sides.
Reed Richards’ actions throughout Marvel’s Civil Warfare show that he’s typically so caught up in what he can do this he doesn’t cease to ponder whether or not or not it needs to be achieved. Likewise, whereas he’ll attempt to predict what might go flawed with the invention or tech, he might not think about different penalties. For instance, he actually didn’t predict the penalties this is able to have on the struggle. Nor did he anticipate Sue Storm to go away him over it. Sure, Sue did truly go away Reed for some time at this level. She felt betrayed by his chilly rationalization and brutal decision-making, which helped her resolve her personal aspect of the battle. In case it wasn’t apparent, she started working towards the Registration Act.
As with all excessive state of affairs, Reed Richards did face penalties for his actions. He and plenty of different heroes have needed to stay with what they did throughout Marvel’s Civil Warfare. Nevertheless, it’s protected to say that Richards nonetheless hasn’t be taught as a lot as readers would love from this experiment, as he’s toyed round with many different topics the common scientist would keep away from. Maybe this implies Richards is nearer to the mad scientist aspect of issues than we beforehand realized.
